Anything is possible; the show has given us very little to go on. There's a lot of mystery surrounding the lady, which almost certainly contributes to her appeal for some people. The only things about her past that I'm certain of are that she's been showing up for picture day for many years, and that her parents told her there's no such thing as ghosts. And she has a college education, too, but I'm looking at earlier events right now.

I'd have to agree with Sparky. She seems to have grown up in an entire house full of imaginary friends; even when she wasn't living there pernamently like she does now. Why would a little girl need to think up an imaginary friend of her own, when she was surrounded by imaginaries for so long? For instance if she was looking for some sport related activity to do, she'd go to Wilt. To be girly and throw tea parties etc. she'd go to Eduardo and the more feminine imaginaries. And to be out right crazy, as kids sometimes get, Coco'd be the one to turn to. I think Frankie just never saw a reason to create an imaginary at all.

It's like growing up in a house full of stray dogs your parents take in. Why would you want to ask for your own?

I would like to know if there is any specific reason for Frankie's unwavering loyalty and commitment to the house, it's residents and her job.

We already know how much she cares about the IFs, but I'd want to know what particular events happened in her life to make her so utterly dedicated to something that so many others would find thankless and unworthwhile. She's a very strong, self-reliant person who could easily quit her job and successfully make it on her own in the outside world. We know that she doesn't get paid much, we often see her get frustrated and mad over her job, we've seen her treated unfairly. And yet she doesn't leave.

That's part of what makes me love her like I do. And that, along with the nature of her parents and whether or not she ever had an IF, would make a wonderful basis for a potential movie.

Some people are just born to care about others. You see volunteers who offer up their precious time to cater for people who are without a home, food, or simple needs like that. They just have that desire to help others seeded within them, and that is what they act upon more so then anything else. Yes, Frankie is known to get frustrated but she's only human after all. Plus being a young woman in today's world, she's more or less given a right to have a voice for herself and she makes good use of it obviously.

I think she just takes after her grandmother, both have this need to help the needy imaginaries that show up on their doorstep.

But can you really imagine Frankie quitting? That would cause some awkwardness within the house to be sure. They'd have to look for someone else (probably even more since Frankie does the job of many) to fill her shoes and I definately think that would be next to impossible. Frankie's just... built to be there. Literally, since Craig obviously thought about all what would suit the house. A young woman, powering on in her work despite all the obstacles a certain rabbit and blue blob throw at her. She's got some determination, I'll give her that much.

I reckon that's why a lot of women find her appealing as well. She's not weak at all. A good role model, I do believe.

Meh I'm just rambling now. I'll get back to my own work. ;)

I personally feel that Frankie dosent have an IF because she just never had the need too.And I like to think that she stays at Fosters because she's just too wonderful a person to leave all the IF that rely on her - wether they dmit it or not.
I don't like to think that there is any strife between Frankie and her parants. I think she's where she is because she wants to be. And I also like to play with the idea that Duchess or Kathy is her IF. We know they arent, but the idea of Duchess being Frankie's IF just tickles my funnybone.:D

I personally think that something happened in her life that kind of stumped the child in her. Frankie to me seems like she never had the chance to be a child, she's a mixture of an adult and a child in more ways then one. I'm guessing that possibly her parents died and this happened at a rather early age in her life.

I think Frankie was so heartbroken or just plain "broken" that she never had the spark to want to create an imaginary friend. Plus, even if she did, I think we can all agree it would prove pretty unnecessary to create an IF when she ends up living in a house full of them and spending her whole life taking care of them.

Being with so many imaginary friends and her grandmother, Frankie would never really be alone again. And something tells me that Frankie has been alone for some time. As happy as she is to be social and want a boyfriend, something about her tells me Frankie has spent more the one occasion alone.

Like enough to affect her personally. Perhaps that's why she takes care of IFs, not wanting to be alone, not wanting to lose her friends or family, she fills it by constantly working herself to be around others, to help others. That's one idea. Another thing I believe is that Frankie has a lot of love to give.

I don't think Frankie has many places where she can truly be affectionate with people or IFs outside of Foster's. Here, she expresses love, concern, and care for others on a daily basis. However, despite her admirable dedication to Foster's, Frankie to me doesn't seem like one of those "red cross" kinda people.

Not that it's BAD to be one of those blood drive, hard working, dedicated kind of professionals, I just can't see her as one of those people. Foster's is the only thing she is dedicated too and I think the reason for that comes in several parts. Family, friends, following in her grandmother's footsteps maybe.

And possibly to give something back to the creatures that spent so much time with her. I do think Frankie, despite her sweet demeanor does get down sometimes. I think putting up with Bloo and Herriman and so many countless jobs and problems, Frankie really gets affected by all of this constant work.

I think the fact it is a thankless job when it SHOULDN'T be one is what hurts her the most, that Frankie isn't appreciated and sometimes proves to be more level headed and responsible then the person who started this monumental home and foster care center in the first place.

I know Frankie really looks up to Madame Foster and I think it bothers her sometimes that she has to be the rational one, and that her role model can go bonkers at the drop of a dime. But I don't think Frankie ever wants to leave her grandmother or Foster's. Let's face it, Foster's would fall without her.

Very nice and thoughtfull theory, Mr.Marsmallow. But, as naive and childish as it makes me sound, I don't like to think that Frankie's past could be so dark and troubled. We ala love to bits and I care about her too much to think that she may have had a hard life (the inabillity to physicaly hug her when she's down can really bother me :( ). I'm not saying you could be wrong, just that I prefer to think that Frankie's past is much brighter and happier than many of the theorys say.
I also want to say that I feel partially responsable for this threads recent slowdown. After getting the season 1 dvd, I really wanted to talk about much of what Frankie had to say in the commentary. I chose not to because I didan't want to spoil anything for those who have'nt seen it yet.

Plus gotta remember, this is a cartoon. Pasts aren't meant to be totally dark. Sure for Wilt things were kind of dark, but not so terrible as if he was abused or something.

Ok on everything discussed for the last page:

I agree with Marshmallow, Sparky,etc.. Frankie didn't have an imaginary friend because she has a house full of friends. So why create one, it'd sort of be ignoring the others.

I'd think Frankie quitting would be a good episode. Frankie probably lost it on Herriman or Bloo & declared she quit. At first she loves it. Then she feels guilty & wants the job back. Meanwhile,the gang is sad except Bloo, who rules the house like a dictator.("YOU bring me a PADDLEball! You get me some pop, NOW! You turn the channel, I'm too precious to touch a controller!")

So what do you guys think happened to Frankie's parents? I like to think they just disapeared like Arnold's parents. (From Hey Arnold!) I'd like to see it explained in a future episode like Wilt's parentage has. (Or creatorage in his case ;) ) I have a feeling that Craig has something dark in mind, like they were killed or something else that would never be on the show.:wiltshock:

Not necessarily. There are plenty of ways to get around death or reword it so it sounds nice. I understand it's a kids show, but even a kids show has to obey the concept of life and death. How else would there by any kind of laws pertaining to the stuff they do?

If death has no bearing in this show because it's a kids show, then Bloo and the others had NOTHING to fear from the Extremesaurus that was trying to kill them way back in "House of Bloo's". I remember even kiddie shows like "bobby's world" and "Darkwing Duck" were able to acknowledge and even say death out loud.

If Frankie's parents did die, they could always say "there not with me anymore" or there gone, passed on, or something like that. I kinda hope it is a death thing though simply because I think any less serious excuse would sound kind of stupid. Like "they travel around the world" or some stupid thing like that.

Or the other possibility is that Frankie did something or something happened to her relationship with her parents that caused them to leave. Kiddie show or not, Craig's got a mystery hanging around Frankie and unless the show starts to phase her out, sooner or later fans are going to start to wonder.

They made a character, and it'd be almost criminal not to explain Frankie's life. Especially considering this is someone who is by blood more connected to the show more so then Mac or Bloo. I mean she's Madame Foster's grand daughter, the term "grandma" alone envokes curiosity about family issues.

Like I said, I'm not opposed to a darker past. I wouldant mind it if Frankie's past is a dark one as long as it's handled well.

Pardon me, but why does Frankie's past have to be necessarily dark? I have known people who were raised in decent families that still had more issues than Marvel Comics. Maybe Frankie's curiosity with IF's got her as a little girl and she decided to work with same.:frankiesmile:

It can be conflicted without being overly dark or scary, like with Wilt's past in GWH. His life began happily, until a very unfortunate event occurred that ruined it, which remained hidden inside of him throughout the show until the Creator/Friend reunion, making him go on a journey that eventually leads to him finding redemption and resolution. Frankie's hypothetical movie could play out using that same setup(in a different way, of course, instead of just cloning GWH).

I know the crew said that they will not deal with the subject of death... but they had an IF pizza and balloons killed for the sake of comedy. If they could do that, I wouldn't mind if they incorporated the subject of death in a way that was serious yet classy and touching.

Mr. M's theory would make since. I mean, I, myself, can't rule out the possibility of Frankie's parents not being around anymore in the Foster's world. Another possibility would be Frankie not being very close to her parents at all, thus having her spend much more time with Madame Foster.

The show's creators have at least touched on the subject of death more than once, in spite of them saying they weren't going to do that. I guess probably they meant, like, having a major character die on the show, but several characters have mentioned their fear of death, and Mr. Herriman made a reference to Heave in that Episode I Shall Not Name.

I personally believe that Frankie's parents are deceased, and they must have both died at the roughly the same time, in a car crash, possibly. I think that the crew could probably(and in my humble opinion, NEED to)tackle the subject of what happened to them in the same way that the death of Lilo's parents was covered in Lilo and Stitch: "It was raining, and they went for a drive..." Still a bit dark, and poignant, but not to the point that little kids will have nightmares for weeks about it. It's no worse, honestly, than the way they dealt with Wilt's injuries and 30-year guilt trip. I also really wish that they'd have another episode dealing with the emotional struggle that Frankie is going through, choosing between following the crowd, and following her heart, something most of us have to face at one point or another. That would really be something realistic, another way for the audience to connect with a character on the show, that they touched pretty strongly on in the DVD commentary, and show how her memories of her parents might influence that. I for one don't get the extremely "dark" and violent fanfics, why so many believe that Frankie's parents were absolutely horrible drunks and junkies who abused her, emotionally, physically, and even sexually, murdering her siblings and torturing her every day. Frankie does not seem like someone who's been through that, and the one time she speaks of her parents on the show, she speaks of them as with fond memories, not horror.

pitbulllady

I honestly don't recall when she ever talked about her parents on the show. But I still stand by my belief that Frankie's parents are indeed dead. It seems the most likely of scenarios considering how extremely air tight Frankie has kept not only her personal life but her family life as well.

No one on the show or in the audiences had any idea Frankie HAD a social life with dates, boyfriends etc. until "Frankie my dear". So if she could easily hide how what's going on in her school life and personal life, hiding something as dark and depressing as a traumatic death in the family could easily be hidden.

Plus, I still find this whole "too dark" thing to be a load of crap. What exactly is too dark? it's DEATH it happens, and it happens whether you watch cartoons or don't watch cartoons. Ignoring it's existence is stupid and pointless unless you have a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon where they can be blown up on a regular basis.

Foster's ISN'T one of those kind of shows, and people like Frankie and Mac can't get burnt into a pile of ashes and then suddenly appear fine in the next scene. Kids can't get nightmares over the word "death", images maybe but not the word. She could say they died or "there not around anymore".

It's an easy way to state what happened and at the same time, it could show the still tender sensitivity of the issue to the viewers. Frankie hides alot. As weird as that sounds it's true, you look at what we know about her back story and I gurantee you you'll be finding alot of blank spots in her time line.

I consider dark material to be like blood, horrific images, or scary looking things like that. I don't see saying the word "dead" or "died" as something so horrific Cartoon Network's viewers would go to sleep shaking in their sheets. Besides, look at Wilt. He's the nicest IF around and he's got a shady past.

Granted no one died but feeling rejected, deformed, and basically living your whole life with self pity is pretty shady stuff to deal with too. I agree with pit bull also in that I think both her parents died at the same time, I don't think it was something as simple as like they moved away or got a divorce.

While I admit divorce seems another likely idea, I kind of doubt that consider Frankie would first and foremost live with ONE of the parents before she'd live with her grandmother. And don't bother saying possible "circumstances" preventing Frankie from staying with her parents and forcing her to Foster's.

I don't buy that theory. Only because that leaves way too much speculation available, and would require more explanations and in depth into the circumstances. Which we all know they won't do as I can't see the show putting this much time on Frankie's life unless she had a special like Wilt did.

So like I said before, I'm sticking with the idea that her parents died.

I too would love a Frankie-centered episode like that. :frankiesmile:

Frankie mentions her parents in only one episode, "Who Let The Dogs In". When she finds Mr. Herriman(dressed in what he apparently considered appropriate battle gear), in the kitchen, ranting about the killer "hounds", she tries to get him to convince himself that there are no dogs in the house by telling him, "Just do what my parents told me to do when I was little and I was afraid of ghosts-say, 'there's no such thing as dogs'...OK, maybe not THAT...". This is the only time I've heard any mention of Frankie's parents whatsoever. When she spoke of them, she didn't sound like someone who'se memories of them were unpleasant, nor did it seem like whatever happened to them, she had trouble dealing with it to the point of being unable to talk about them comfortably, either. If her parents were simply divorced, you'd think that she would still have contact with at least one of them on a regular basis, and that would hardly necessitate her leaving them at an early age and going to live with her grandma, since couples divorce all the time, and one usually winds up with the kids. I too, think that her parents were killed when she was a child, and Madame Foster was her nearest living relative.

pitbulllady

This also does help semi-clear up one question that was floating around, I think Frankie has no siblings then and is an only child. Because like we both said, a child would go directly to one of the parents if they were in fact divorced.

And if Frankie did have a brother or sister they wouldn't split them up, they'd send both to the only living relative, Madame Foster.

My theory is just that we never see Frankie's parents because... well, it's a cartoon, and that might not hold the attention of the kidlets. It's horrible, but their target audience unfortunately does not watch the show for the adult characters, much less the parents of the adult characters. I think the possibility of them being dead (if all the Foster's fans' theories were correct, everyone we've only heard about would be dead) as, say, not spending a lot of time with her. Maybe she was just closer to her grandmother than her parents. Hey, it happens.

I don't think everything has to have an in-show explanation, but that's just me. As much as I'd like to see a Frankie-centric episode should they decide to reveal that information on the show, for the moment I'm content with assuming she lives with Madame Foster because Craig and Co. wanted Foster's to be run by a kooky old lady and a younger, less kooky lady.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that whatever happened in Frankie's past, I doubt it's something that could be in E! True Hollywood Story accompanied by slow zoom-ins and grave, intoning narrative.

That's probably the most sensible post on the subject I've read in a long time. :frankiemad:

Yeah but it felt more like a buzz kill pin to me.

She never created one because she would hate it?

it's like someone who had a really, really bad experience in a day-care center, and NEVER WANTS BABIES.

All this speculation is REALLY makeing me crave a Frankie special more and more! And I think it would make for a truely touching, tear jerking masterpiece.:D It dosant have to be dark like others have said, just intellagent.
As for theorys regarding Frankie living with Madam Foster: My sister moved out and lived with my grandmother when she was a teenager because her and my mom just couldant see eye to eye. Things have worked out, ofcourse. I'm just trying to help with the brainstorming.
But like PitBullady said, when she refers to her parants, she does so fondly - or at least not negatively. So her haveing probloms with her parants may not be the case.

I would love to see an episode centered around Frankie (her past) - PERIOD! I have read a lot of the hypothetical posts here, and I do not put it past some of them. I do have the tendency to lean more toward what pitbull lady said about fond memories; Medikor said something interesting that there is a possibilty that Frankie just plain moved in with her Grandmother (based on his bit about sister not getting along with mother).:frankiesmile:

...if that were true, why would she remain so loyal and commited to something that is basically the exact same thing you mentioned(except she didn't personally create them)? If she can handle taking care of thousands of IFs and withstand the likes of Bloo, Herriman, Duchess and that one-shot moron whose name I won't mention on this thread, why would she "hate" to have an IF of her own?

No offense, but that post didn't make any sense to me. That isn't like Frankie at all.

Kageri unfortunately is right, but I'm still hopeful. Wilt(despite being an IF) is an adult character who appeals more to the older folks, and he got his own special. They balanced the dynamic by handling it in a way that would appeal to everybody, children and grown-ups. I don't see why they couldn't do the same with a Frankie special. Now that Wilt got his spotlight, Frankie deserves it the most.

I, like Marshmallow, think they're dead. But the only reason it's dark IMO is because it looks (by the photo albulm episode, I forgot!!! *Beats head*) like she was very little. When your parents die & your little it seems a little to much for a kids show. If they died when she was older I could understand, but it dosen't appear that way.

Based on the annual photos in "The Big Picture", Frankie has lived at Foster's-sans parental units-since she was about five or six. Mr. Herriman states that the photos contain the residents of the house, so I didn't get the impression that Frankie was just visiting for all those years. IF she was a visitor, and still living with her parents, why didn't she show up in the photos earlier? We know that she did visit when she was only four, since she let the Scribbles out then, but she doesn't appear in the photos at that age. A child of that age has no option or choice of whom they live with, and normally, that would be their parents, or at least ONE parent, if the parents are separated or only one is alive. The only reasons that a child would be placed in the care/custody of another relative would be if both parents were to die, or be found unfit to raise a child by a court of law, under recommendation of Social Services. A child of that age cannot simply say, "I don't get along with my mom, so I want grandma to raise me". On the DVD, Frankie indicates that Madame Foster bought her clothes, and told her how to dress, and how to act socially, since she was a young child, but makes no mention of her mother or anyone else buying her clothes or telling her how she should dress, so that seems to me like Madame Foster was the only female adult(human, anyway) in her life throughout most of her childhood. We know she remembers her parents, so the big question is, what happened to them?

pitbulllady

The thing is though, I don't agree on the idea that it wouldn't be used just because it's not "interesting". Mac's mom isn't what i call super interesting character material either, but we still see her involved and hear of her and etc. It's a natural tendency to wonder about someone's past.

I mean, I don't think kids were scratching their heads over wondering about Eduardo and Coco. Wilt yes, but Ed and Coco's pasts don't seem like things kids were begging CN to explain. Either way, Frankie's parents are a mystery and whether it's something kids are dying to know or not, it doesn't really matter.

The fact is Frankie needs to have some background info. Why? Because she suffers from the same problem she has been dealing with in every other area of the show: under appreciation. Frankie is under appreciated at her job, at her responsibility, on the show and everywhere else but here more or less.

The show really doesn't give Frankie much credit considering the fact 95% of everything at Foster's runs on her exhaustion. And the characters don't appreciate Frankie fully because any crazy or wild ass antic or plot line the show goes through, she ends up cleaning.....ALONE.

I know it seems like I'm just beating around alot of speculative bushes and probably putting more thought into this whole Frankie's parents issue then I should. But why not? That's one of the reasons the internet was born: to talk about the most inane and minor to major aspects of TV shows and movies.

And being a strong supporter of this cute red head that does so much, the least that anyone could do is give Frankie's background a little more attention.

This could still apply - if she's used to taking care of thousands and thousands of IF's, that doesn't necesarrily mean she wants a one-on-one up-close-and-personal relationship with her own IF. She doesn't have the same relationship with any of them that Mac has with Bloo, or even Mrs. Foster with Herriman. Taking care of a lot of friends in a casual "friend/associate/patient/client" relationship is quite different from essentially creating yourself a sibling. Does she want that? She's incredibly loyal to her family name and cause, but that doesn't make her maternal for a specific friend.

I'm sorry if I rained on anyone's parade. I just... I don't think all the people we haven't seen on the show need to be dead. That's all. I mean, I don't doubt it's possible, I just like to think there are things more plausible than both of Frankie's parents dying in a fire or something when she was really young.

I don't think it would scar young viewers for life, but I wouldn't blame Craig and Co. if, had they been thinking about her past, they thought that if there are so many possibilities other than both of them dying, then why not pick one of those. She spoke about her parents fondly, but I wouldn't be that surprised if she just got closer to Madame Foster as she grew older or something of the sort. Of course, I'll be as happy as any of you if we ever finally find any of this out.... and I'll probably be completely wrong then, so you can save this post for posterity when it actually turns out that Frankie's parents died in a plane crash.

And about Mac's mom, I think her appearances are spaced-out enough not to become boring or redundant, but frequent enough so that he isn't like Charlie Brown. Besides, they can't very well have Terrence appear as much as he does or show Mac at home without showing their mom a few times.

By all we know, Frankie's reasons for staying at Fosters could be as simple as it just being a secure job. She did point out in "World Wide Wabbit" that she can get away with some things if she wanted because Madam Foster would never fire her own granddaughter.
But I can understand the problom of a simple answer like that: it means that Frankie's past wouldant have as much depth and make it less likely for an origen story for our favorite lady. And I really have to point out that I now realize that, thanks to everyones input, if Frankie's parant(s) did die in some way it wouldant have to be dark, gloomy, and depressing. I would still be a sad point yes, but it could certainly work and be a very powerful momant.:D

Exactly, very well said.

That would be a BIG TIME cop-out excuse of an answer, both emotionally and logically. It would basically erase her sincere compassion and loyalty to the friends, which wouldn't make me happy at all. :frankiemad:

Yeah really. The makes her Vicky like.:(

LOL! I'm just trying to add to the table, here. We know Frankie's better then that.:D

Much better. In any event, while some of her possible past histories may make for more intruiging storylines than others, I can in no way see any of them making any difference in how I feel about her. :-*

That will never change, will it, Cass? (Erm, hope you don't mind that nickname, I get lazy. lol)

But see, I have that kind of devotion to Bloo, so...I understand. ;)

No problem; I've been called worse. 8D

Definetly. Definetly.:D