Nic and Pic (French : Nic et Pic) is a Canadian children's television show, which aired during the 1970s. [1] Its stories revolved around the adventures of puppet mice Nic and Pic as they travelled around the world in a hot air balloon. [2]
The series aired in French on Télévision de Radio-Canada from 1972 to 1977, [3] and a dubbed English version aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1977. [1]
The French version was voiced by Jocelyne Goyette as Nic and Louise Matteau as Pic, while the English version was voiced by Joan Stuart as Nic and Madeleine Kronby as Pic. [1] The puppeteers were Pierre Régimbald and Michel Fréchette. [3]
The series was spun off to a number of children's books, written by Michel Cailloux and illustrated by Claude Poirier and Serge Wilson. [4] The puppets also hosted the first francophone broadcast of the Toronto Santa Claus Parade in 1973. [5]
Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 American Christmas comedy-drama film released by 20th Century-Fox, written and directed by George Seaton and based on a story by Valentine Davies. It stars Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn. The story takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas in New York City, and focuses on the effect of a department store Santa Claus who claims to be the real Santa. The film has become a perennial Christmas favorite.
Lorne Hyman Greene was a Canadian actor, musician, singer and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western Bonanza and Commander Adama in the original science-fiction television series Battlestar Galactica and Galactica 1980. He also worked on the Canadian television nature documentary series Lorne Greene's New Wilderness and in television commercials.
Santa Claus parades, also called Christmas parades, are parades held in some countries to celebrate the official opening of the Christmas season with the arrival of Santa Claus who always appears in the last float. The parades usually include themed floats, dancing or marching groups and bands playing Christmas songs. They are moving pageants that typically end near the centre of a city. Often sponsored by department stores, they may reinforce the store's brand recognition during the important Christmas shopping season.
The Toronto Santa Claus Parade, also branded as The Original Santa Claus Parade, is a Santa Claus parade held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Howdy Doody is an American children's television program that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell and E. Roger Muir. It was broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States from December 27, 1947, until September 24, 1960. It was a pioneer of children's programming and set the pattern for many similar shows. One of the first television series produced at NBC in Rockefeller Center, in Studio 3A, it pioneered color production in 1956 and NBC used the show to promote color television sets in the late 1950s.
Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment was an American production company located in New York City. It was known for its seasonal television specials, usually done in stop motion animation. Rankin/Bass's stop-motion productions are recognizable by their visual style of doll-like characters with spheroid body parts and ubiquitous powdery snow using an animation technique called Animagic.
Radio-Canada has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts, usually Montreal Canadiens', under the La Soirée du hockey brand; which was the French language equivalent of the English Canadian CBC's NHL broadcasts Hockey Night in Canada. Similar to its English language counterpart, the show used "The Hockey Theme" as its theme song. The show ran from 1952 to 2004.
Tales of the Riverbank, sometimes called Hammy Hamster and Once Upon a Hamster for the Canadian version, is a British children's television series developed from a Canadian pilot. The original series was later broadcast on Canadian and U.S. television, dubbed by Canadian and US actors for the markets they were to be broadcast in.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 stop motion Christmas animated television special produced by Videocraft International, Ltd. It first aired December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour. The special was based on the 1949 Johnny Marks song "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks's brother-in-law, Robert L. May. The concept was developed in New York City, the animation was done in Japan, the music was recorded in England, and most of the voice actors were from Canada. The production was completed in 18 months.
Humour is an integral part of the Canadian identity. There are several traditions in Canadian humour in both English and French. While these traditions are distinct and at times very different, there are common themes that relate to Canadians' shared history and geopolitical situation in North America and the world. Though neither universally kind nor moderate, humorous Canadian literature has often been branded by author Dick Bourgeois-Doyle as "gentle satire," evoking the notion embedded in humorist Stephen Leacock's definition of humour as "the kindly contemplation of the incongruities of life and the artistic expression thereof."
Santa Claus is a 1959 Mexican fantasy film directed by René Cardona and co-written with Adolfo Torres Portillo. In the film, Santa Claus works in outer space and battles with a demon named Pitch, sent to Earth by Lucifer to ruin Christmas by exposing Santa to the public and "making all the children of the Earth do evil".
Frosty the Snowman is a 1969 American animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. It is the first television special featuring the character Frosty the Snowman. The special first aired on December 7, 1969, on the CBS television network in the United States, airing immediately after the fifth showing of A Charlie Brown Christmas, both scoring high ratings. The special aired annually for the network's Christmas and holiday season until 2023. After 55 years, NBC acquired the broadcast rights to the special, and continues to air it yearly.
Sesame Street international co-productions are adaptations of the American educational children's television series Sesame Street but tailored to the countries in which they are produced. Shortly after the debut of Sesame Street in the United States in 1969, television producers, teachers, and officials of several countries approached the show's producers and the executives of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), renamed Sesame Workshop (SW) in 2000, about the possibility of airing international versions of Sesame Street. Creator Joan Ganz Cooney hired former CBS executive Michael Dann to field offers to produce versions of the show in other countries.
Santa Claus is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. Christmas elves are said to make the gifts in Santa's workshop, while flying reindeer pull his sleigh through the air.
Pinocchio is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan village. He is created as a wooden puppet, but he dreams of becoming a real boy. He is known for his long nose, which grows when he lies.
The First Easter Rabbit is an animated Easter television special that premiered April 9, 1976, on NBC and later aired on CBS. Created by Rankin/Bass Productions, it tells the story of the Easter Bunny's origin. The special is loosely based on the 1922 children's book The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. Burl Ives narrates the special, which also features the Irving Berlin song "Easter Parade". It marked Ives's return to a Rankin/Bass special for the first time since the company's 1964 stop motion television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer twelve years prior.
Pierre Perrault was a Canadian documentary film director with the National Film Board of Canada. Over his 40-year career, he directed 32 films and was one of Canada's most important filmmakers, although he is largely unknown outside of Québec.
Pepinot and Capucine was a Canadian children's television series which aired on Radio-Canada from 1952 to 1954, and on the English CBC Television from 1954 to 1955.
Howard Ryshpan is a Canadian anglophone screen and voice character actor, in radio, film, television and theater. He also taught theater. He has directed numerous plays, notably at festivals. As an artist, Howard Ryshpan is one of the pioneers of Black & White English television in Montreal which started in September 1952.
Walter and Tandoori, also known as Walter or Walter's World, is an animated children's series produced by Image Entertainment Corporation. The series centres on Walter, an inventor and fix-it specialist, and his friend Tandoori, a hyperactive chicken, who live together in the village of Trois-Montagnes or Hart's Landing, and embark on various adventures designed to teach children about the environment and ecology.