Phan Phan

"Third one's the charm! Get him, Phan Phan!"

- King Dedede

Phan Phan is a recurring mid-boss in the Kirby series. It resembles an elephant head, but with two legs. It will attack Kirby by rolling into him, throwing him around, or throwing apples at him which are similar to Whispy Woods's apples. Kirby may inhale the apples and spit them back. When Phan Phan is defeated, Kirby may inhale it to get the Throw ability. In Kirby Super Star Ultra, however, Phan Phan gives the Suplex ability.

Phan Phan replaces Rolling Turtle from Kirby's Adventure. Rolling Turtle is quite similar, but more aggressive in its behavior. Phan Phan's most aggressive form is the hidden green variation in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, although it is more skilled than aggressive. Rolling Turtle would also try to throw miniature turtles at Kirby instead of apples.

Phan Phan appears in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, in the Mustard Mountain, Carrot Castle, Peppermint Palace, and Candy Constellation levels.

Phan Phan also appears in Kirby: Canvas Curse as a painting in Paint Panic.

In Kirby Super Star Ultra, Phan Phan appears in Revenge of the King as a mid-boss. It is fought in Purple Plants and in The Revenge. In Purple Plants, Phan Phan appears with its usual grey color, while in The Revenge, it has an orange palette color instead. It also appears in The True Arena along with Fire Lion, Mr. Tick Tock, and Grand Wheelie, and shares a life bar with them as part of a boss called True Mid-Boss All Stars.

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!


Phan Phan is an ally of Kirby in the anime, first appearing in the episode Cowardly Creature. It was first shown escaping from Nightmare Enterprises and scared everyone in Cappy Town. Surprisingly, Phan Phan was actually more afraid of everyone than they were of it. King Dedede attempted to attack Phan Phan but was stopped by Kirby. Kirby and his friends then showed the shy elephant their kindness and Phan Phan was happy to befriend Kirby. They were later seen having fun playing at a pond. They were just doing so when Dedede showed up with Whippy, the training Demon Beast, who gave Phan Phan an electric shock, turning it evil in the process. Thankfully, after Whippy was defeated with Throw Kirby, Phan Phan was back to normal, and everyone welcomed Phan Phan to its new, permanent home in Dream Land. Phan Phan is later seen having took up residence in Whispy Woods Forest (all subsequent references to Phan Phan are removed in the dub, as Phan-Phan was never introduced until the CW run of the show). Phan Phan's last appearance is in Cappy Town Down, as a cameo. It, along with Whispy Woods and the other wildlife, watched the Halberd's ignition.

When Phan Phan first appeared, it had a clown mask over its eyes. The mask had glowing, glaring blue eyes, puffy hairs, and a clown hat on top. Also, Phan Phan had a tail with a tuft of yellow hair in the anime compared to its game version. Phan Phan has also been shown to shoot spiked balls from its trunk, unlike its game version.

Phan Phan makes a short cameo in Cappy Town Down.

Etymology
Phan Phan's name comes from the "-phan" part of elephant, the animal it is based on.

Trivia

 * As a reference to the original Kirby's Dream Land, Phan Phan ambushes Kirby immediately after he gets off the Warp Star in Kirby Super Star Ultra, similar to how Poppy Bros. Sr. did in said game.
 * Phan Phan is one of the Demon Beasts not killed by Kirby or Meta Knight.
 * The orange alt sprite in Kirby Super Star Ultra may be based on African bush elephants, that, like most elephants, often take mud baths. However, the soil in their habitat is sometimes a reddish color, making them appear somewhat red.
 * The blue alt sprite in Nightmare in Dream Land bears a resemblance to the Pokémon Phanpy. Coincidentally, both characters' names incorporate the "phan" in "elephant".
 * The green alt sprite in Nightmare in Dream Land is only found in the secret area in Rainbow Resort's second level. It is an equivalent to the red Rolling Turtle.
 * Phan Phan is one of the tree mid-bosses to be allied with Kirby in the anime, the others being Cook Kawasaki and Bonkers.