Lara Croft

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Lara Croft
Lara Croft, as she appears in a promotional image from Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Game series	Tomb Raider series
First game	Tomb Raider (1996)
Created by	Toby Gard
Voiced by	Video Games Shelley Blond (1996) Judith Gibbins (1997-1998) Jonell Elliott (1999-2003) Keeley Hawes (2006-present) Animated Series Minnie Driver
Motion capture actor(s)	Heidi Moneymaker (Underworld)
Live action actor(s)	Films Angelina Jolie

Lara Croft is a fictional character and the protagonist of Eidos Interactive's Tomb Raider video game series. Designed by Toby Gard, she has also been featured in movies (in which she was portrayed by Angelina Jolie), comic books, novels, and a series of animated short films. In 2006, Lara was honoured with a star on the Walk of Game,^[1] and was awarded a Guinness World Record recognising her as the "most successful human video game heroine."^[2]

Lara is generally presented as an intelligent, athletic, and somewhat reckless Englishwoman of noble birth who travels the world in pursuit of priceless artefacts. Known as both an archaeologist and an adventurer, she frequently ventures into ancient, and often very hazardous, tombs and ruins. In addition to traps and puzzles, Lara encounters a variety of enemies including rivals, gangsters, dangerous animals (including dinosaurs), legendary creatures, and supernatural beings. The fantastic nature of her archaeology related adventures have drawn comparisons to Indiana Jones.

Contents 1 Character creation 2 Actor portrayal 2.1 Video games 2.2 Film and animation 2.3 Models 3 Characteristics 3.1 Continuities 3.2 Back story 3.3 Personality 3.4 Costume and equipment 3.5 Discovered artefacts 3.5.1 Other media 4 Controversy 5 In popular culture 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Character creation

Initially, designer Toby Gard focused on creating the settings for Tomb Raider and the main character was essentially an Indiana Jones clone. When this character was deemed unacceptable, Gard placed his attention on designing a new one. One factor that influenced Gard to use a female character was that he noticed his male co-workers often preferred using female characters in Virtua Fighter. The redesigned character was initially a South American woman named Laura Cruz. She eventually evolved into an English woman named Lara Croft. Her name was picked from a phone book for sounding "UK friendly."^[3]

[edit] Actor portrayal

[edit] Video games

Lara has been voiced by four actresses throughout the video game series:

• Shelley Blond in Tomb Raider
• Judith Gibbins in Tomb Raider II and Tomb Raider III
• Jonell Elliott in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider Chronicles, and Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
• Keeley Hawes in Tomb Raider: Legend, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Tomb Raider: Underworld

In the upcoming Tomb Raider: Underworld, Olympic gymnast and stunt woman Heidi Moneymaker is providing motion capture for Lara's movements.^[4]

[edit] Film and animation

Lara was brought to life by actress Angelina Jolie for the movies Tomb Raider (2001) and Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003).

In the 2007 Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series, Lara was voiced by Minnie Driver.^[5]

[edit] Models

Lara has also been portrayed by the following models for public appearances and promotions:

• Katie Price (Jordan) 'portrayed' Lara Croft at ECTS before official models were cast.^[6]
• Nathalie Cook 1996-1997 (mostly unknown before Tomb Raider became famous)
• Rhona Mitra 1997-1998
• Vanessa Demouy 1997 (hired by a French video game magazine for a photoshoot)
• Nell McAndrew 1998-1999
• Lara Weller 1999-2000
• Ellen Rocche 2000 (hired by Brazilian distributor of Eidos' games to promote The Lost Artifact)
• Lucy Clarkson 2000-2002
• Jill de Jong 2002-2004
• Karima Adebibe 2006-Present

Nell McAndrew was immediately axed from her stint as Lara in 1999 after posing nude in an issue of Playboy. This was partly due to the fact Playboy printed references to Lara Croft and Tomb Raider on the cover (which were quickly removed when Eidos threatened with a lawsuit).^[3]

On 14 February 2006, it was announced that a previously unknown 20-year-old sales assistant from London, Karima Adebibe, would star as the new Lara Croft model and would shortly begin a training program to play the role.^[7] The Official Playstation Magazine has speculated that Karima Adebibe may be retiring from the role in 2008.^[8]

Many of the models were united by FHM in May 2007 to celebrate the release of Tomb Raider: Anniversary.^[3]

[edit] Characteristics

[edit] Continuities

There are two different continuities within the Tomb Raider video games. The first continuity was created by Core Design, and encompasses the first six Tomb Raider games. The second and current continuity was introduced by Crystal Dynamics for the series' reinvention in Tomb Raider: Legend. Both continuities were created with the participation of Toby Gard.^[3]

[edit] Back story

In the first continuity, the Tomb Raider game manual tells of Lara's birth to Lord Henshingly Croft and how she was raised as an aristocrat surrounded by wealth and luxury. It also tells how, at the age of 21, she was the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Himalayas and was forced to rely on her wits to stay alive. The incident changed her, and inspired her to forsake her life of comfort and security in favour of travelling around the world alone. This led to her being disowned by her family.^[9]

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation expanded Lara's back story by describing how, at the age of 16, she accompanied a famous archaeologist named Werner Von Croy on an expedition to Cambodia. The events there created a rift between them, but also fostered Lara's interest in ancient civilizations and artefacts.^[10]

The second continuity presents a different back story. Several flashback sequences in Legend show how Lara, at the age of 9, survived a plane crash in Himalayas which led to the mysterious disappearance (and presumed death) of her mother, Amelia Croft. Lara then somehow managed to survive a ten day journey to Kathmandu where she was able to contact her father, Richard Croft. Lara spent the remainder of her childhood under the watchful eye of her father, an archaeologist who allowed Lara to accompany him on archaeological expeditions. Legend and Anniversary both strongly imply most, if not all, of these expeditions were conducted to discover what happened to Lara's mother. At the age of 18, when her father died under unknown circumstances, Lara inherited the Croft estates along with the title "Countess of Abbingdon."^[11] According to the Tomb Raider: Anniversary game manual, Lara's pursuits are motivated by the hope that she will learn the truth about her parents' deaths.^[12]

[edit] Personality

Lara is consistently depicted as a highly confident, independent, and headstrong person. She is also very brave, rarely showing any sign of fear in very dangerous or lethal situations. Beyond this, there are a number of significant personality differences between the continuities. In the first continuity, Lara is shown as dark, enigmatic, sardonic, and even cold-blooded at times (see controversy below). In Legend, she is shown as a more light-hearted and respectful person who is more open emotionally, and is also portrayed as more feminine than the first continuity Lara. This is due in part to her higher level of interaction with people, such as her assistants, Zip and Alister, as well as people from her past. In Legend, she is also shown to have a love for dizzying heights and dangerous ancient traps, much to the dismay of Zip and Alister. In Anniversary (a remake of the first game), what is implied to be her first human kill is portrayed, and she is visibly disturbed by the incident throughout the rest of the game. By contrast, in the first Tomb Raider, she kills human antagonists without any emotional reaction whatsoever.

[edit] Costume and equipment

Lara's trademark costume consists of a blue-green sleeveless shirt, light brown shorts, calf-high boots, white socks, fingerless gloves, a small backpack, and a utility belt with two holsters. This outfit (or a close variation) has appeared in nearly every Tomb Raider game to date. Lara may also wear different outfits through the course of the games, such as a wet suit for a watery environment or trousers and a jacket for a colder area.

In most games, Lara's default weapon is a pair of dual semi-automatic pistols. These are typically not identified in-game, though they often resemble real life firearms - for example, in promotional computer-generated photographs (as well as in-game full motion videos), they resembled Browning Hi-Powers in the first three games, Desert Eagles in the fourth and fifth installments, Heckler & Koch USP Match pistols in Legend and the upcoming Underworld, and Springfield Armory M1911s in Anniversary. Lara is usually able to acquire more powerful weapons, such as a shotgun or assault rifle, throughout the course of the games. Lara can also be seen using a grappling hook in one of the cutscenes in Tomb Raider. However, this was not a part of her standard in-game equipment until Legend, when it was a magnetic grapple attached to her belt as opposed to a traditional grappling hook. In Anniversary, the hook was more traditional, in that it wasn't magnetic, but it was still attached to Lara's belt. In Legend, Lara also employs a waterproof PDA that displays mission information.

[edit] Discovered artefacts

First Continuity (Under Core Design)

• Atlantean Scion (Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: Anniversary)
• Dagger of xi'an (Tomb Raider II)
• The Golden Mask of Tornarsuk (Tomb Raider II Gold)
• Meteorite Artefacts: The Infada Stone, Eye of Isis, Element 115, Ora Dagger, The Hand of Rathmore (Tomb Raider III, Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artifact)
• Amulet and Armour of Horus (Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation)
• Philosopher's Stone, Spear of Destiny, The Bestiary, "The Iris" (Tomb Raider: Chronicles)
• Periapt Shards and Obscura Paintings (Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness)

Second Continuity (Under Crystal Dynamics)

• Atlantean Scion (Tomb Raider: Anniversary)
• Excalibur (Tomb Raider: Legend)

[edit] Other media

• Triangle of Light (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)
• Pandora's Box (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life)

[edit] Controversy

“	I just wish that when she was taken out of my hands they hadn't made her boobs so big.	”
—Toby Gard, [13]

Some fans, as well as Lara's original designer Toby Gard, considered Croft's growing status as a sex symbol in the video game fandom through each progressive game sequel—with increasingly gratuitous artwork and advertisements—detrimental to the character,^[14][15] who gained more attention from her appearance than her tough-as-nails spirit and determination. In response to this, it was stated that she would undergo a redesign and become more "demure" in Tomb Raider: Legend for the sake of becoming more appealing to female gamers.^[16] However, some of the outfits she wears in this game are far more revealing than anything seen in previous games, with many of them showing cleavage and/or midriff (though some of the available outfits are fairly modest).

Some fans had been critical of the series for portraying her in an increasingly bloodthirsty manner, and occasionally not giving players the option to avoid lethal force against human characters. Tomb Raider III was heavily criticised by some for showing Lara committing acts of murder against security guards, police officers and tribesmen.^[17]

Also controversial (again, in early games of the series) is Lara's killing of wildlife such as tigers, jaguars and other animals. In response to this, the makers of the 2006 "re-launch" game, Legend have toned down the violence of the game.^[18] While Lara still confronts wildlife (limited to eight big cats and four dogs in the game), it is made clear that she only kills in self-defence and feels remorse when she first has to do so, as indicated in the following exchange from the first level:

Alister: Why predators attack prey larger than themselves is a mystery.

Lara: And a pity.

Later in the level she states this when she kills another jaguar:

Lara: Someone picked an unfortunate place to hunt.

Lara also expresses sadness when she witnesses the deaths of her friends during a flashback, and expresses pity upon seeing the frozen corpses of Soviet scientists in the Kazakhstan level.

[edit] In popular culture

Lara Croft is considered by critics and fans alike as one of the most significant game characters in popular culture,^[19] and the most famous female video-game character, as listed by The Guinness Book of World Records.^[20]

Lara appeared in many "Lucozade" advertisements during the late 90's,^[21][22] and was the cover girl for popular style magazine The Face in 1997.^[19] In addition, writer Douglas Coupland dedicated a book to her, analysing the effect of her on pop culture.^[23]

Lara made a guest appearance during U2's PopMart Tour^[24] and appeared in a music video by the German punk band Die Ärzte.^[25] She has also been featured in SEAT car commercials,^[26] and three G4 commercials.^[27] In all of these appearances, Lara was represented by computer animation. Lara also appeared in a Visa commercial which featured a live-action Lara, portrayed by Sofia Vergara, interacting with her in-game counterpart.^[28] The website Education City parodies Lara Croft in a series of games starring "Klara Loft".^{[citation needed]}

Lara is the subject of a song, "Amami Lara" (Love me Lara) by the Italian songwriter Eugenio Finardi. The song was presented during the 1999 edition of the Festival della canzone italiana in Sanremo.^[29][30]

[edit] See also

• Girl Heroes
• List of women warriors in folklore, literature, and popular culture

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Evolution Of Lara Croft
• Official Tomb Raider Website
• High Resolution Pictures with Lara

v • d • e Tomb Raider series Video games 1st continuity Core Design Tomb Raider (1996) • Unfinished Business (1998) • Tomb Raider II (1997) • Golden Mask (1998) • Tomb Raider III (1998) • Lost Artifact (1998) • The Last Revelation (1999) • Chronicles (2000) • The Angel of Darkness (2003) 2nd continuity Crystal Dynamics Legend (2006) • Anniversary (2007) • Underworld (2008) Game Boy games Tomb Raider (2000) • Curse of the Sword (2001) • The Prophecy (2002) Film/Animation Lara Croft: Tomb Raider • The Cradle of Life • Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series • Ten Years of Tomb Raider: A GameTap Retrospective • The Action Adventure (interactive DVD) Characters Lara Croft • Jacqueline Natla • Larson • Pierre Dupont • Werner Von Croy • Kurtis Trent Music Music of the games • Lara Croft Tomb Raider Soundtrack • The Cradle of Life Soundtrack Composers Nathan McCree (1996-1998) • Peter Connelly (1999-2003) • Martin Iveson (collaborator) Troels Brun Folmann (2006-present) Miscellaneous Atlantean Scion • Dagger of Xian