Tulip Olsen
Tulip Olsen[1] is a fictional character and protagonist of the first book of the Cartoon Network-HBO Max anthology series Infinity Train. The character is voiced by Ashley Johnson, and designed by and loosely based on various friends of series creator Owen Dennis.[2] The character first appeared in the series pilot created by Dennis and released by Cartoon Network Studios Shorts with which he pitched the show; she later appeared in the first episode "The Grid Car". Tulip is the focus of the first book of the series, appearing in every episode, and is mentioned throughout the second book, of which the focus is her reflection "MT" (Mirror Tulip), later known as Lake, in which both explore the metaphysical space of a seemingly infinite train.
| Tulip Olsen | |
|---|---|
| Infinity Train: Book One character | |
 | |
| First appearance | "Infinity Train" (pilot, 2016) "The Grid Car" (series, 2019) |
| Last appearance | "The Engine" (2019) |
| Created by | Owen Dennis |
| Based on | Ira Sluyterman van Langeweyde |
| Voiced by | Ashley Johnson Naomi Hansen (5-year-old) Lily Sanfelippo (6–8-year-old) |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | Tulip the Literate (by Atticus) Miss Tulip (by One-One) Tulip Prime (by Agent Sieve) Kitten (by The Cat) The Passenger (by Amelia) |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Computer programmer |
| Family | Andy Olsen (father) Megan Olsen (mother) |
| Reflection | Lake / "MT" (Mirror Tulip) |
| Nationality | Irish-American |
Background
Tulip is a 13-year-old girl struggling with her parents' divorce who finds herself trapped on the train when trying to get to game-design camp. She is analytical, down-to-earth, and determined to get off the train. She encounters One-One, a spherical robot consisting of two separate hemisphere-shaped robots each known as One, one exuberant and optimistic and the other morose and pessimistic. Tulip has a neon green glowing number seemingly stamped permanently onto the palm on her right hand. In the pilot, the number 53 was on her palm but after the encounter with the Steward in Corginia, replaced by the number 49 towards the end of the pilot. In the series, the first number on Tulip's hand is 115, later raising or lowering depending on her moral choices and mental state.
Tulip's character design was kept simple so she could be drawn in multiple angles with ease. Her build resembles that of a typical schoolgirl. She has very pale skin and a thin build, giving her a frail physique. She has long red-orange hair that is kept tied in a ponytail by a green band. She also has a green clip attached to the right side of her hair. Adorning her face is a pair of elliptically shaped glasses that rest atop her nose with no visible bridge between the lenses, making it have an appearance of the infinity symbol (∞). She wears a green hooded sweatshirt that has brown patches on the elbows with a white shirt underneath. She also wears a light gray mini skirt that matches her boots, and dark gray tights that stop around her ankles. She carries around with her a brown backpack that contains a notepad and a pencil with an onion eraser and is usually where One-One is placed when being carried by Tulip.[3]
In a Reddit AMA in September 2017, Dennis described "Tulip [a]s sort of the natural foil to a train that is full of improbable things. If you have a world where every train car is completely different, where laws of physics might change or where animals talk, who would be the person who would have the most trouble dealing with that? A super straightforward, close-minded, logical person. So that’s who the main character becomes, the person that is least equipped but has the most to learn about what is going on around them", in addition elaborating on the development of her character and how "[he] realized the elective Tulip would take [would be] programming and [how] she became like a fully formed person in my head."[4]
Role in Infinity Train
Tulip Olsen is an intelligent and logical girl from North Branch, Minnesota, who boards the Infinity Train after running away from home to attend a game design summer camp in Oshkosh, Wisconsin after issues from her parents' divorce prevent either from being willing to take her themselves.[5][6]
In Book One, she is accompanied by a small robot named One-One she encounters in a meadow on the train, and later by Atticus, a corgi and king of Corginia,[7] and even later still briefly by her reflection, who later becomes known as "MT" (Mirror Tulip). Ultimately, Tulip returns One-One to his rightful position as the train's conductor in place of the usurper Amelia, teaching both the meaning of therapy and potential to grow after realising her own faults as a person.
In Book Two, Tulip is infrequently mentioned in reference to her former reflection MT, later known as Lake, who is being sought out by Agents Mace and Sieve of the Reflection Police, whom Tulip had previously saved her from in freeing her from the mirror world in "The Chrome Car", in addition in conversations between MT and Jesse Cosay.[2]
Tulip met One-One while passing through freight cars. They overall have a good relationship, with One-One accompanying her across the train. Owen states that One-One, and its dual personalities, are there to balance out Tulip's own mood.[8] Though initially apathetic to Atticus, she eventually warms up to him, even going out of her way to help him, and his people, in their plight, showing concern for him, shouting out his name when the Steward flicks Atticus towards a rock wall, exposing her location to the Steward. Tulip is shown to be very accepting of her reflection wanting to be her own person upon discovering them to be alive, bringing her into the prime world and allowing them to live their own life.[9]
References
- Infinity Train: Book One – The Perennial Child – "The Grid Car"
- https://medium.com/@brittany.williams881/youre-never-too-old-3b0ec259342
- https://the-pomegranate.com/2019/08/23/finding-your-exit-on-the-infinity-train/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/InfinityTrain/comments/5em4s1/im_owen_dennis_i_created_infinity_train_ama/
- https://www.bubbleblabber.com/season-review-infinity-train-season-one/
- https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2019-08-08/infinity-train-owen-dennis
- http://www.amboyguardian.com/2019/08/23/miniseries-review-infinity-train/
- http://www.noreruns.net/2020/04/18/digital-review-infinity-train-book-one/
- https://janmakshar.co.in/infinity-train-review-book-1-the-perennial-child-part-2/