Frank Frankly

"Arguably the smartest neighbor in Welcome Home, Frank Frankly is the resident bookworm with an expertise on butterflies. Despite being the grumpiest and greyest of this colorful cavalcade of neighbors, it’s good to have someone so organized and matter-of-fact amidst the bunch. After all, he enjoys being frank, even if it means being Frank, whatever that means! He is Julie's best friend." 
- from Frank's character card.
"Frankly, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being frank!" 
- a variation of Frank's signature catchphrase.

Frank Frankly is one of Home’s nine residents, and a member of Welcome Home’s central cast. Back when Welcome Home was airing, he was best known for being an ill-tempered intellectual with a passion for entomology. Although he was often a source of information for the other neighbors, his input was just as often disregarded for comedic effect. In several sketches, he was paired with none other than his best friend Julie. Although it is difficult to determine his exact status, several items imply that he is still active.

For a full image gallery of this character, please click here.

Profile

Background

Similar to Wally, no information has been uncovered regarding Frank’s origins or details about his life before moving into Home. Unlike Wally, however, Frank does not have the excuse of being an audience surrogate to explain this gap in information. Although the concepts for the construction of Frank’s puppet have yet to be found, there is apparently evidence that his puppet’s only expression was a frown, and that its head really could turn a full 360 degrees. His puppet is believed to have only required one puppeteer to operate.

Appearance

Frank is a gray humanoid puppet with short black hair styled into a side part, a unibrow, teal eyelids, a long yellow nose, and red circles on his cheeks. His body is best described as "cylindrical," and although thin, he has no discernible neck. His standard outfit consists of a white long-sleeved button-up shirt, a vest with an argyle pattern consisting of yellow, orange, green, and blue, a yellow bowtie, black pants, red socks, and black shoes.

Personality

Frank may seem like a killjoy in comparison to his neighbors, but in truth, he doesn't detest the idea of having fun. It just so happens that his ideas of fun - tending to his vegetable garden, creating visually elaborate (but largely inedible) gelatin sculptures, and most of all, studying Home's colorful array of insectoid wildlife - typically require a level of peace and quiet that is hard to come by in Home. Frank is very outspoken, and true to his name, he isn't one to shy away from pointing out the more unpleasant aspects of a given situation, even if it means coming off as unpleasant himself. Despite this, Frank is just as willing to look out for his fellow neighbor as any of the town's residents are, and beneath his stern and orderly demeanor is a softer side that is at its most apparent whenever he gets a chance to fully indulge in his passions, especially in the company of close friends.

Plot

Initially, Eddie is never seen directly in the prologue outside of illustrations, although there are several implications that Wally is still in contact with him. We see (and hear) more of him after the July 27th 2023 update, in both publicly available audio and hidden pages such as the bug videos. Like his fellow neighbors, he expresses confusion at the caller's apparent silence in his Talking Telephone Toy audio, suggesting that the call was received in real time. In the bug videos, he is heard interacting primarily with Julie, Barnaby, Poppy, Eddie, and of course, Wally.

A photo of Frank can be seen in the gallery for "Staff Only," depicting him surrounded by spare parts and holding a glowing red rectangle, suggesting the shape of an envelope. In the photo, he is visibly frightened. The significance of this is unknown as of the time of this writing.

Although Frank attends the Macabre Menagerie of Monstrous Mischief-Making party heard in the October 13th update, his presence there is of relatively little note. His presence at the Homewarming party seen in the March 9th 2024 update is similarly unremarkable - until the very end. When Eddie comes to, it is Sally and Frank he sees in front of him, it is Frank who first addresses him, and it is Frank who first notices Eddie's distress and is appropriately alarmed, even calling Eddie by his first name to grab his attention.

Relationships

Julie Joyful

As both the show and many, many tie-in products will have you know, Julie and Frank are best friends, and not without reason. The two seem to take pride in their “straight man and wise guy” dynamic, and play it up whenever they’re together, even when the only people around to appreciate it are themselves. As seen in tracks like the “Just So” song demo and 6-14-jf, Julie is one of the few people who can tease Frank and get an actual joke in response, as opposed to his typical uptightness. Meanwhile, Frank is one of the few people who can keep Julie on track when it comes to her ever-evolving games. Both characters are very passionate about their interests, and equally passionate about encouraging each other's pursuits of said interests. Although some show sketches and tracks from tie-in products suggest that the two are a couple, it is unknown if either Julie or Frank feels the same way, as neither of them have ever referred to each other as romantic partners.

Eddie Dear

Frank's relationship with Eddie is one laced with contradictions. Although Frank seems just as likely as any other neighbor to take Eddie’s considerate nature for granted, and the two appear to be on a surname-only basis with one another, there are also several details that imply that they are closer than one would expect. As seen in both public and secret recordings, Frank is unusually playful with Eddie whenever the two of them are alone, his banter becoming less snide and more lightheartedly teasing; he even allows himself to exhibit a genuine interest in Eddie's wellbeing. Meanwhile, Frank's presence is a great relief to Eddie whenever he believes himself to have lost control over a situation, ranging from smaller dilemmas such as a stray beetle in the post office, to things darker and more difficult to explain or solve, such as the events of the Homewarming party. Their aforementioned surname-only basis also does not appear to be a natural habit, but something consciously enforced, broken only by accident or in order to establish sincerity with one another.

Poppy Partridge

Frank reserves a level of patience with Poppy that he rarely does for other neighbors, being quick to reassure her whenever she becomes anxious over ensuring either her own safety or that of others - but rarely, if ever, making fun of her for it. With Frank being among the neighbors commonly chosen to assist Poppy in the kitchen, it’s little wonder that the two frequently bond over their shared interest in baking, even if they do so for different reasons.

Wally Darling

Like with all of his neighbors, Wally looks up to Frank as a source of knowledge, and while Wally is not exempt from being the target of Frank’s exasperation, for the most part he seems happy to oblige. Frank is aware of Wally’s artistic inclinations and is willing to indulge them, as evidenced by a 1971 letter addressed to Wally seen on the WHRP website's “Merchandise” page, in which Frank attaches a diagram of an insect he believes would appeal to Wally for its unique coloration.

Barnaby B. Beagle

Frank has both a rather dry sense of humor and a love for order - something that frequently clashes with Barnaby’s more free-spirited comedic stylings. Frank’s frustration only seems to encourage Barnaby to rile him up further, much to the former’s chagrin. It is all but outright stated that Frank considers his and Barnaby's relationship to be a rivalry, albeit one that Barnaby takes much less seriously than Frank.

Howdy Pillar

Although Frank and Howdy have yet to be seen interacting one-on-one, Frank mentions that Howdy was unimpressed the last time he tried to tell him a joke as payment - something that is implied to be a frequent occurrence.

Sally Starlet

Frank and Sally's relationship seems to turn from amicable to rivalrous on the turn of a dime, likely as a consequence of the both of them being some of Home's most headstrong residents.

Trivia

Note: In order to ensure that this wiki has the most accurate information it can, this list does not cite any posts prior to January 2021.

  • Frank is roughly 4 feet tall. [Source: 1]
  • Like every other neighbor, Frank is an adult. [Sources: 1, 2]
  • Frank dislikes nicknames, being very insistent that his name is Frank and nothing else. He does not often give others nicknames for the same reason. [Sources: 1]
  • Frank, along with several other neighbors, is autistic and/or otherwise neurodivergent. [Source: 1]
  • Frank is gay and nonbinary. [Sources: 1, 2, 3]
  • On a related note, Clown has confirmed that Frank and Eddie either are or will be in a relationship at some point (and also admits that while not a major spoiler, it’s something he probably should have kept quiet about while still writing Welcome Home.) [Source: 1]
  • Clown associates the song “Esperar pra Ver” by Evinha with Frank and Eddie. [Source: 1]
  • Frank’s favorite food to eat is plain custard (as opposed to gelatin, which is his favorite food to work with.) [Source: 1]
  • Frank’s names for his tomatoes, Sole and Lyco, are derived from the scientific name for tomatoes: Solanum lycopersicum. [Source: 1]
  • There are plans for a spring holiday associated with Frank, but this is subject to change. [Source: 1]
  • Frank would prefer his coffee with something to compliment its bitterness, like a caffè mocha. [Source: 1]
  • In a band or other musical arrangement, Frank would play the oboe. [Source: 1]
  • Frank and Julie will go out of their way to include Home in their games if they’re nearby. [Source: 1]
  • Frank is the worst chess player in Home. Part of the reason for this is because he moves his pieces to organize them before anything else. [Sources: 1, 2]
  • Frank dislikes wearing turtlenecks, as he believes they make his neck look too long. [Source: 1]
  • Out of all of the neighbors, Frank likes children the most. [Source: 1]
  • Frank is the only neighbor who is actually annoyed by Barnaby wearing his hat lopsided. This only encourages Barnaby to do it more often. [Sources: 1]
  • The character of Frank was first created in 2018. [Source: 1]
  • Frank is the closest thing the neighborhood has to pest control; other neighbors frequently send for him to take bugs found in their homes back outside. [Source: 1]
  • Frank prefers his cheesecake plain. [Source: 1]
  • In an Alice in Wonderland adaptation/AU, Frank would be the Mad Hatter. [Source: 1]
  • Frank’s voice was inspired by Jim Rash as Gyro Gearloose, as well as John Roberts as Linda Belcher. [Source: 1]
  • Frank’s favorite Muppet would be Ernie. He would also get along well with Bunsen, due to his resemblance to Beaker and his status as a fellow understander of the endearment of scientific names. [Source: 1, 2]
  • When it comes to dancing, Frank is only as energetic as his partner is. Luckily for him, many of Home’s residents have enough energy for two people. [Source: 1]
  • Both Frank and Julie are terrible at telling jokes. [Source: 1]
  • Frank would pick a bug off the ground and stop whatever he’s doing to talk at length about said bug to whoever is nearby, before putting it back down and going about business as usual. [Source: 1]
  • Frank and Julie are often competitive with one another, and both are described as being “bad winners” by Clown. [Source: 1]
  • Other reasons Frank and Julie are best friends include: they can both scream very loudly, they can both stare at a bug for an extended period of time, Frank is the best at drawing hopscotch squares, and neither (but especially Julie) are afraid of getting their hands dirty. [Source: 1]
  • Frank dislikes playing “Business Woman in the Big City” with Julie, because even though she insists on making him her secretary every time, he never gets an opportunity to buzz anyone into her office before the company goes under. [Source: 1]
  • Frank’s head spins uncontrollably when he’s upset or panicked. Eddie’s hands are the perfect size to keep his head still when this happens, to keep Frank from getting dizzy. [Source: 1]
  • Eddie running into Frank at full speed while the former is making his rounds is/was planned to be a running gag. [Source: 1]
  • It is considered “normal” for Frank to ask Eddie for help with his garden. Eddie has a “delicate hand” for it. [Source: 1]
  • Frank often attempts to help Eddie try out different techniques for remembering tasks in a more timely fashion. Most of these are unsuccessful. [Source: 1]
  • Frank and Wally would read Insects Do the Strangest Things by Leonora Hornblow and Arthur Hornblow Jr. together. [Source: 1]
  • Frank and Poppy are considered the best chefs in Home. [Source: 1]
  • Frank and Howdy get along about as well as Frank and Barnaby - which is to say, not very well. Howdy considers Frank to be a wet blanket. [Source: 1]
  • On a related note, one of the many reasons Frank is grateful to have Julie around is that she’s better at telling jokes than he is, which makes grocery shopping easier on him. [Source: 1]
  • Although Frank is most heavily associated with butterflies, his favorite kind of “bug” are isopods, such as pillbugs. He could never pick a least favorite bug, as he believes their respective roles in their environment make them too valuable to be properly ranked. [Sources: 1, 2, 3]
  • Frank would like scented markers, particularly the lemon-scented ones. [Source: 1]
  • Frank would enjoy having a dog-sized beetle as a pet. [Source: 1]
  • If Frank were to play Splatoon, he would use a Flingza Roller, due to his love for precision and natural violent tendencies. [Sources: 1, 2]

Footnotes

* Although Clown refers to Frank using both he/him and they/them pronouns interchangeably in their own posts, given that the character is nonbinary, materials from the website itself only ever use he/him. I assume this will change later in the project, so I’m using he/him for now and will update this page accordingly when that happens.