Even though When Bob Became A Builder is a sweet, innocent animated special focusing on the origins of Bob The Builder and his rise to becoming the friendly handyman we all know and love, there are a few therapeutic meanings behind each of the flashback sequences in the show. Let us go into full detail about what each of those moments in these flashbacks represent, even to younger viewers watching:
In the second flashback, 15-year-old Bob starts off as a scrawny, tired teen who is helping his dad build a wall for their new home. However, here, this Bob tries hard but sometimes fails and gets everything wrong. This Bob is a representation of negativity and anxiety, meaning there are some things in life we can't control, and find difficult at first, but there are some strategies we can learn through coping with improving our hidden talents.
This goes well with what Bob did next - he snuck back to the building site and practised, and when his dad came to look at what he has done, he knew he had already done what he was meant to do. Bob's dad is a symbol of guidance, something we all need when we feel negative and feel like we're on the verge of giving up, and from the moment he started building a new home with his dad and joined him in the business when he left school, his new name - Bob The Builder - represents a newfound sense of perseverance and positive attitude, because as adults we gain that perseverance. No matter what we're doing, we never feel like giving up, no matter what. Our perseverance with a hobby or a task like building a wall or writing a story or cooking a meal, can lead to a brighter future, and that's just what happened to Bob. His urge to never give up lead to his bright, recognisable future.
Then, in the first flashback he met Scoop among a whole variety of diggers with different faces. In the fourth flashback, Scoop represents the symbolic method of family to Bob, because from the moment he got him he was like Bob adopted his very own son - Bob was never alone from this point onward, because the 'adoption' of Scoop meant he got more machines to join his 'family' of friends, which gave him more love and gratitude. The diggers on the other hand represent race and diversity in our world today, with individuality standing out among this crowd - the diggers here represent all kinds of people - black, white, yellow, brown, you name it, it's in here. However, Scoop was an individual, and that's why Bob picked him. The owner of the digger site is a representation of our government, which eventually made the decision to pick your individuality among all those different races of people. It means there's only one you in the world, and your talents stand out and shine. You are no longer a black sheep, but a shining star.
Then, Scoop found digging all these holes for a building project very hard, so Bob phoned the building site and that was how Muck appeared. With Muck helping Scoop in double quick time, all the holes and bases for the houses were dug. Muck, with his uplifting attitude and sometimes annoying sense of humor towards Scoop, represents levity - in a hard concrete jungle of a world we all need a little laughter and fun to guide us along. The many houses that were going to be built represent our world today - hard to control, with other issues in our world today like the wars in Gaza and Ukraine being some things in life we can't control. We have to wait until they're over with patience, but in the meantime, we have to 'keep it light' and focus on the positive things in life, which is why Muck helping Scoop on Bob's project shines a light on positivity outshining the negativity.
Then Dizzy arrived as the result of Muck and Scoop not being good at laying out concrete in the house bases. Dizzy the cement mixer listens to music to concentrate all the time and has a wild, active personality. She is a representation of friendly attitude and hyperactivity, which we gain from scenarios we experience in everyday life, like getting enough sleep or going for a walk. The concrete represents positivity, as I mentioned earlier, washing over the negativity, which of course are the houses that need to be built - so, in a sense, Dizzy is pouring the positivity over the negativity. It helps to be around people who are positive and not people who are negative, because negative people can lower your mood and give you a habit you cannot shake off. Dizzy and Muck are examples of positive people Scoop and Bob get to have in their lives, because being around negative people can lower their spirits and make them depressed.
Then, after a few more minutes, another flashback occurs where Lofty is introduced to the rest of the team. At first, he is too scared to enter the yard, but with encouragement from Bob and his machines, he finally goes in with confidence. Lofty is a representation of anxiety and fear, and his hesitation to go into the yard is a symbol of our less confident ways, which we adopt as children and try to shake off through everyday situations like potty training - in fact, like Lofty, we are placed in a 'comfort zone' of things we know and love. The machines and Bob are asking Lofty to try something new through their encouragement, and Lofty going into the building yard with a bit of bravery is a symbol of going beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone and trying new things. This gives us the energy to experience more freedom and happiness in the world, a kind of freedom and happiness which we didn't experience when we were in our comfort zone, which meant we are open up to new experiences and the opportunity to engage in new activities.
In the next flashback, the machines try to flatten a road laden with concrete, but feel like it's useless. That is, until a little bird named Bird brings along Roley, a steamroller, who rolls over the bumpy cement, making it nice and flat again. Roley himself is a representation of calm in a rowdy and noisy scenario - the world is at a high volume today, but there are a multitude of people who are learning to stay calm throughout the chaos and fast pace of our world today. The bumps in the cement represent the little problems we can control, and the cement represents our lives - there are some things in life we can control, like our breathing, or emotional regulation. Roley is a symbol of a solution to all the problems we have - not big problems that are affecting our world today, but small problems like stress and anxiety that affect our everyday activities. So think of the next time you encounter a problem like this scenario: your life is a sticky cement road with little bumps in them - which means there are little problems. But then, you sense a little Roley inside your head, which means you've found a solution to your problem. If you can find that 'Roley' that can solve the problem you're after, then there will be no need to ask any more questions about how to deal with it. And when you've found that 'Roley', your question is answered.
Bird on the other hand represents a good conscience - a little voice inside your head that guides you and encourages you to make good choices in your life the same way Roley made that exact same choice by helping Bob and his machines, which lead him to join the gang. By listening to positive advice and thoughts inside your head, you're gaining new ideas and making them into things you want to model into for your future, such as crafts, TV series, films or a best selling book series - this happens often when you're meditating, because you're so focused on your breathing and the positive affirmations you hear during the session that positive, calm thoughts replace the destructive, negative thoughts that go round inside your head when you develop this habit.
In the final flashback, Bob is overloaded with too much work from the office, which makes him late for jobs. Picture this as a real life scenario: you want to enjoy a moment of calm, but then you are overloaded with all these tasks on your to do list and can't do all of them in one day - it's called over scheduling, and it can affect our moods and behaviour in many ways. Too many tasks for one day can cause us to feel negative and depressed, and will lay off our goals and understandings of how our world works. However, a few moments later, Wendy arrives and tells Bob her evening classes had inspired her to become a builder and an office worker herself, which causes her to join the team as well. Wendy herself represents a light of hope among all those overwhelming tasks: this light is those simple mindfulness activities we do to calm ourselves, focus and continue straight on with our activities. It grounds us in the present and encourages us to do two or three tasks a day, not a big list full of tasks you are struggling to do. Wendy represents mindfulness in a crowded world, so:
Wendy = Mindfulness
Bob's office work = Our noisy and crowded world
However, when you compare Wendy's office work to Bob's office work, Wendy's work is more calm and collected, while Bob's work represents chaos and rush. Bob is the world we're living in today. Wendy is the world we want.
However, there are some things in life we can't control, like noise for instance. Looking back at everything I taught you about the symbolic meanings of Bob's origins, the story of Bob and his machines coming together represent a rollercoaster of different emotions and ways to tame them, from Lofty's symbolism of anxiety to Dizzy's representation of attitude. By finding the right ways to deal with these emotions, we are making our world a better place, like Bob in his bright future with his can do ways.
Can we feel it?
Yes we can!
