Thank you to Popular Paxton for suggesting Kurt as our next character spotlight!
Kurt the Jungle Cutter isn’t exactly cutting edge technology, or is he?
He was built for a movie. Yes. That movie. Indiana Jones Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. A movie critics eviscerated for having too many CGI elements actually had a working deforestation machine play a part during a notorious monkey-swinging chase sequence. Also, there were ants. Lots of ants. And aliens too? Never mind, we won’t go down that rabbit hole.
Besides wielding two powerful spinning blades to mow down trees and brush, Kurt’s claim to fame is that he got to work with the legendary director Steven Spielberg. He felt as if his life had lead up to that opportunity, because it literally had been. It was what he was originally built to do. He loved working on a set, he loved feeling like he was good at what he did, and he was thrilled to be a part of a such a beloved film franchise.
Kurt also befriended the notoriously “curt” Harrison Ford himself, who he felt was quite down to earth. Harrison jokingly retorted that “Kurt” was the most down to earth of anyone that had set foot or tread on set that day. The crew had a good laugh at that, and in good time the jungle chase sequence’s principal photography was completed.
When the film had wrapped, Kurt was more excited than anyone else to see the finished product. He couldn’t attend the premiere (though I supposed he could cut the line if he wanted to!) but he was the first to read all of the Hollywood buzz and reviews from the comfort of his studio lot in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, “Indiana Jones Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” was a critical failure despite being a box-office success. Kurt took this very personally, despite the fact that the main gripes fans, audiences, and critics had expressed had little to do with him. The CGI and aliens didn’t win people over, but Kurt was the real deal!
Kurt was never interviewed about his involvement with the movie, and could only read reviews that were handed to him from the newspaper, and couldn’t even watch the movie until the DVD came out (a bootleg copy with egregious watermarks and important scenes missing).
When the excitement of the movie had reached its zenith, Kurt took a sharp descent into a lengthy depression. He was collecting dust in a studio garage with no temperature control, and there was talk of scrapping Kurt to make room for more props and machinery. It would take a miracle for Kurt to make any sort of comeback, seeing as the demand for Soviet Union-era Deforestation Vehicles in Hollywood were unsurprisingly low.
But a miracle would happen, if that’s what you’d like to call it. A man named Smash Rock, a protege of Gregory Larson and rider of Brammo the Dirtbike, was curious about Kurt and managed to make contact with Lucasfilm Ltd. and inquire about buying him. The quirky and slightly off-putting gear-heads would not be the recipients, however, as Larson had only been curious about finding Kurt and preserving him. Kurt’s new home would the Last Haven lumberyard under the crushing command of the curiously cantankerous Carlo Debris.
Kurt (after being shipped to Sodor and fixed up by Gregory Larson, Smash Rock, and Paul the Mechanic) started his new job as a deforestation machine right away. He excelled at it, and made quick work of all the brush and bramble. He also made friends with Smash Rock, Brammo, Stanley, Hank, and some of the lumberjacks. He tried to extend a gesture of friendship to Diesel 10 when he arrived there, but this went nowhere (no matter how you slice it...)
It was a good thing he had experience getting his heart cut out in the film world, because it gave him a “thicker coat of paint” that could protect him against Carlo Debris’ frequent mood swings and harsh criticisms. He takes great pride in his work, and can befriend anyone if they give him the chance. He loves to share his story, as he did with Wilbert when he was sent to help the lumberjacks at Last Haven.
Kurt is kind and affable, but it does seem his enthusiasm for deforestation might be a way of compensating for his big screen opportunity not panning out the way he hoped it would. It doesn’t help that Carlo Debris’ constant berating and alliterative insults have a way of bringing down the mood.
He wants to be really useful (just like any sensible engine would) but being useful in Kurt’s case is destroying the natural environment of the Waterton Wood as quickly and efficiently as possible. This does not always sit well with people and engines, including a large green one with very “green” thinking sentiments.
That of course, leads us to Henry. Kurt was not aware of Henry’s love of the forest, and that his mere existence caused Henry a great deal of anger and distress. Eventually, Henry showed his true colors after Kurt found himself in great danger. After nearly falling off the side of a cliff at a job site, Kurt would have been a smoldering pile of scrap if Henry hadn’t helped Hank and the lumberjacks with their rescue. Despite Henry making his feelings known, Kurt would still like to extend a gesture of gratitude (and understanding!) though he hasn’t quite cracked the code yet.
Trivia: The current rendition of Kurt has an updated face that was sculpted by Heisel Productions
Bonus Trivia: EE93 wants Indiana Jones to be a blockbuster franchise as well as a real person in the Enterprising Engines universe. What the hell?