Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg is the protagonist in the 1872 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days. An inspiration for the character was the real round-the-world travels of the American writer and adventurer William Perry Fogg.
Fictional biography
Fogg makes a wager of £20,000 with members of London's Reform Club that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days or less. He sets out with his French servant Jean Passepartout to win the wager, unaware that he is being followed by a detective named Fix, who suspects Fogg of having robbed the Bank of England. In the second half of the book Fix helps Fogg in order to get him back to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, where he will be under British jurisdiction and Fix can arrest him.While in India, Fogg saves a widowed princess, Aouda, from sati during her husband's funeral and she accompanies Fogg for the rest of his journey. Together, the trio have numerous exciting adventures which come to an abrupt end when he is arrested by Fix immediately upon their arrival back in England. Although Fogg is quickly exonerated of the crime, the delay caused by his false arrest appears to have cost him the wager. Soon, Fogg drew back his arm and punches Fix, while Passepartout cries, "Well hit!"
Believing himself ruined, Fogg returns home to ponder his options. Seeing his despair, Aouda, who has grown to love him and who feels guilty that he might have won the wager if he had not delayed to rescue her, proposes to marry him to help him cope with a difficult future. At this selfless offer, Fogg's reserve finally breaks and he joyously accepts Aouda's proposal. As it turns out, Aouda's gesture actually does save the day because as a result, Passepartout discovers that Fogg has miscalculated their travel time. Fogg did not take into account that because they crossed the Pacific Ocean from west to east, they gained a day when they crossed the International Date Line, and they have not missed the deadline after all. The three hurry off to the Reform Club and arrive just in time for Fogg to win the wager. Fogg splits his profits with Passepartout and Fix, and marries Aouda.
The Character
Fogg has a philosophy in life to never worry about things which are beyond his control but to leave no stone unturned if they are. He is a balanced fellow not just in his thought processes but also his physiognomy which is a true manifestation of his psychology. He is a man of regular and precise habits which may border eccentricity. He doesn't like to be drawn into useless confrontations as he believes them to be utterly dissipative akin to friction. He is quiet and reserved in his expressions but decisive in his actions. He likes to travel light and has good knowledge of geography. He is not immune to softer emotions like love. He has no moral compunctions about using money to grease the wheels yet he has his own high moral standards specific to his era. He is brave but not foolhardy and doesn't mind slipping into masterful inactivity when required.Other appearances
In Albert Robida's Voyages tries extraordinaires de Saturnin Farandoul, Fogg appears in the narrative having gone on an attempt to travel the world again, this time in 77 days. He is portrayed as a serial savior of ladies, having over three hundred rescued women accompanying him on his travels, which have lasted well over three years by the time he is introduced.In Philip José Farmer's The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, he is said to be Eridanean, an Earth-born member of the more benevolent of two extraterrestrial factions attempting to control the Earth; Fogg is a member of Farmer's Wold Newton family. Fogg's adventures continue in Phileas Fogg and the War of Shadows and Phileas Fogg and the Heart of Orsra, both by Josh Reynolds, and in "Being an Account of the Delay at Green River, Wyoming, of Phileas Fogg, World Traveler, or, The Masked Man Meets an English Gentleman" by Win Scott Eckert.
In other media
Film
- Fogg was played by Conrad Veidt in the 1919 film adaptation of the book.
- Fogg was played by David Niven in the 1956 film adaptation of the book.
- In the 1963 movie The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze, Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe circle the globe with Phileas Fogg III.
- Fogg was voiced by Simon Callow in the 1999 animated film adaptation of the book.
- Fogg was referenced by Allan Quatermain in the 2003 film adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
- Fogg was played by Steve Coogan in the 2004 live action film adaptation by The Walt Disney Company.
Television
- In a television episode of Have Gun, Will Travel starring Richard Boone, Fogg was used in the episode "Fogg Bound" that first aired on 3 December 1960.
- In the 1972 animated series, Fogg was voiced by Alastair Duncan. This version of Fogg took the bet to travel the world in eighty days in order to win the hand of Lord Maze's niece, Belinda.
- On the TV show Voyagers!, Fogg is said to have been named after the main character Phineas Bogg, when the latter met Jules Verne in Montmartre.
- A 1980s cartoon series, Around the World with Willy Fog was based on, and expanded on, the original story. The characters are anthropomorphisms of various animals, with Fog as a lion. Furthermore, this character appears in the sequel series, Willy Fog 2, where he and his companions undertake adventures based on Verne's major science fiction novels, Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.
- Fogg was played by Pierce Brosnan in the 1989 television adaptation.
- Fogg was played by Michael Praed in The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.
- The Count Duckula episode 'Around the World in a Total Daze' features a spoof of the character called Sibellious Smogg.
- Alexei Sayle did a parody of Fogg in one of his comedy sketches where Fogg has to reach the front of a Post Office queue in 80 days.
Video games
- The 2016 video game 80 Days by Inkle Ltd., based on the novel by Verne, also featured an eccentric Mr. Fogg who was accompanied by his valet Passepartout.
Homages
- The creators of Disney's Phineas and Ferb named Phineas Flynn after Phileas Fogg, whose first name is changed to Phineas in some adaptations.
- Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin was a BBC television travel series first broadcast in 1989. It was presented by comedian and actor Michael Palin, who followed Fogg's journey and modes of transport as closely as possible, and achieved the feat in 79 days 7 hours.
- Mr Fogg's is a chain of UK pubs specialising in international drinks and exotic cocktails. The bars are referred to in print as places where Phileas/Phineas Fogg lives or visits.