Gilded Chris Award


 * View this page for stats about the various award ceremonies.

The Gilded Chris Award is the symbol of immunity in Total Drama Action, given to contestants who are safe from elimination. They are the equivalent of the marshmallows from Total Drama Island, Total Drama: Revenge of the Island, and Total Drama All-Stars, and the barf bags from Total Drama World Tour. According to Chris in Riot On Set, they represent "the luster of fame" and "immortal greatness." They are gold-colored statuettes of the show's host, Chris McLean. There are multiple awards and, like the first season, there will always be at least one castmate who will not receive an award at the Gilded Chris Ceremony. The one who does not receive an award must immediately take the Walk of Shame, ride the Lame-o-sine, leave the show, and presumably arrive to the aftermath studio to join the peanut gallery. It is unknown if they go somewhere else first before the aftermath studio.

In Riot On Set, Owen finds out that the Gilded Chris is actually a chocolate statue wrapped in gold foil when he decides to eat it, making them more similar to the edible rewards from the last season. However, in Alien Resurr-eggtion, a Gilded Chris hit Lindsay on her head and knocked her out with a loud, metal-like clang sound as if it were a real statuette. In The Aftermath: I, Izzy mentions that the statues are actually chocolate.

In Ocean's Eight - Or Nine, the Killer Grips gives all of their awards to the leaving contestant, Owen. When debuting cast member Courtney successfully votes off Owen that night, the Killer Grips all give their Gilded Chris Awards to Owen as a gesture of friendship, since he loves the chocolate that they are made of. Owen is the only contestant so far in the series to have been given this honor.

In Ocean's Eight - Or Nine, Chris says the statues are made of the finest Belgian chocolate in the world; trademarked, patented, and all his. The Gilded Chris Awards were last seen in Top Dog, where Duncan receives the final award of the season.

The Gilded Chris Award makes an appearance in the Japanese promo for Total Drama Action in Super Happy Crazy Fun Time Japan.

In A Mine Is a Terrible Thing to Waste, Gilded Chris Awards make a return as part of a challenge. They are green (for Toxic Rats) and red (for Mutant Maggots).

A photo of a Gilded Chris Award appears behind Chris in his jail cell in Heroes vs. Villains.

It is seen on a shelf when Mal was looking for the disk revealing his true nature in Sundae Muddy Sundae.

Mike is assigned to find the long lost Gilded Chris as a challenge in The Bold and the Booty-ful. It however, never appears.

Real-Life Merchandise
Cartoon Network released a Total Drama Action shirt, which it features a Gilded Chris image on it on the right of the shirt. It is light blue and had the words "Total Drama Action", each on a separate line in darker blue.

In the Total Drama Production Blog, Mark Thornton, one of the directors of the show, once presented a real life representation of the Gilded Chris award.

However, the real-life award and the cartoon award have some differences. The cartoon award has Chris' arms beside his hips while the real one has Chris crossing his arms. Also, the real one is grinning widely while the animated one is smiling.

Trivia

 * Bridgette and Geoff are the only Total Drama Action contestants to never receive a Gilded Chris, due to being the first eliminated.
 * Gwen and Trent both received the first Gilded Chris Awards of the season.
 * DJ is the only contestant to be eliminated without anyone on his team receiving a Gilded Chris.
 * This is because it was a Killer Grips elimination ceremony.
 * Right after the marshmallows, this is the symbol of immunity that was present the most.
 * The statuettes are either hand carved by interns or made by using a 3D printer. Chris prefers the former method as it had the "aura of the interns' sorrow".