Michael "Crocodile" Dundee
| Michael "Crocodile" Dundee | |
|---|---|
| Crocodile Dundee character | |
| First appearance | Crocodile Dundee |
| Created by | Paul Hogan |
| Portrayed by | Paul Hogan |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Crocodile hunter |
| Spouse(s) | Sue Charlton (wife) |
| Relatives | Michael 'Mikey' Dundee (son) |
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee (also called Mick), played by Paul Hogan, is a fictional character, the protagonist in the Crocodile Dundee film series consisting of Crocodile Dundee, Crocodile Dundee II, and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. The character is a crocodile hunter, hence the nickname and is modeled on Rodney Ansell.
In TV Week magazine, Paul Hogan spoke of the character:
"Mick's a good role model. There's no malice in the fellow and he's human. He's not a wimp or a sissy just because he doesn't kill people."
He said the character was seen by people in the USA as a cross between Chuck Norris and Rambo. This didn't sit well with Hogan who said people would rather see his character "who doesn't kill 75 people" than the likes of "those commandos, terminators, ex-terminators and squashers".
Dundee was supposedly born in a cave, in the Northern Territory, and raised by Aborigines. He is unaware of his age; he asked an Aboriginal elder when he was born once, the reply was "in the summertime". Until the events of the first film, Dundee said he had never lived in a city, or even been to one. ("Cities are crowded right? If I went and lived in some city, I'd only make it worse.") Mick owns a piece of land called "Billongamick" ("belong to Mick"), meaning "Mick's place." It takes "about 3 to 4 days" to walk across. It was left to him by an uncle of his. Dundee considers the land itself to be useless, but its one redeeming feature is that it has a goldmine in it that Mick calls his "retirement fund". Dundee is rarely seen without his black "Stetson" or Bowie Knife.
During the first film, Crocodile Dundee, Mick is visited by a New York reporter, Sue Charlton, who travels to Australia to investigate a report she heard of a crocodile hunter who had his leg bitten off by a crocodile in the outback, but made it the supposedly hundred or so miles back to civilization and lived. However, by the time she meets him, the story turns out to be a somewhat exaggerated legend where the "bitten off leg" turns out to be just being some bad scarring on his leg; a "love bite" as Mick calls it. Still intrigued by the idea of "Crocodile" Dundee, Sue continues with the story. They travel together out to where the incident occurred, and follow his route through the bush to the nearest hospital. Despite his macho approach and seemingly sexist opinions, the pair eventually become close, especially after Mick saves Sue from a crocodile attack. Feeling there is still more to the story, Sue invites Mick back to New York with her, as his first trip to a city (or "first trip anywhere," as Dundee says). The rest of the film depicts Dundee as a "," showing how despite his expert approach to the bush, he knows little of city life. Mick meets Sue's fiance', Richard, who work together and have a lot in common, but they do not get along. By the end of the film, Mick is on his way home, lovesick, when Sue realizes she loves Mick, too, and not Richard. She runs to the subway station to stop Mick from leaving and, by passing on messages through the packed to the gills crowd, she tells him she won't marry Richard, and she loves him instead. With the help of the other people in the subway, Mick and Sue have a loving reunion as the film ends.
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