Rupert (TV series)

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Rupert
Rupert TV series.png
Genre Action-Adventure
Drama
Fantasy
Educational
Children's television series
Based on Rupert Bear
by Mary Tourtel
Directed by
Voices of See article
Opening themeThe Happy Farmer Returning from Work by Robert Schumann
Ending themeThe Happy Farmer Returning from Work by Robert Schumann
Composer Milan Kymlicka
Country of originCanada
France (Seasons 1–3)
Original languagesEnglish
French
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes65 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Patricia R. Burns
  • Merle-Anne Ridley
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
Release7 September 1991 (1991-09-07) 
19 June 1997 (1997-06-19)

Rupert is a 2D traditionally animated children's television series based on the Mary Tourtel character Rupert Bear , which aired from 1991 to 1997 with 65 half-hour episodes produced. [1] The series is produced by Nelvana, in co-production with Ellipse Programme for the first three seasons, in association with YTV Canada, Inc. (Seasons 1–3 and 5), and ITV franchisees TVS Television (Season 1) and Scottish Television (Seasons 2–5).

Contents

Synopsis

Rupert is a very intelligent and witty bear, and he has many friends from every corner of the world. Although he lives in a small village called Nutwood, he enjoys traveling around the world, discovering new cultures, living great adventures, unraveling mysteries and unmasking villains. The visual style of the cartoon has many European and Nordic elements, with many castles, citadels and particular styles of dress, as well as myths like elves and the Loch Ness monster. The landscapes of the Rupert Bear books, which inspired the series, were based on the regions of Snowdonia and Vale of Clwyd , in the northern part of Wales.

Episodes

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 137 September 1991 (1991-09-07)23 November 1991 (1991-11-23)
2 1313 September 1992 (1992-09-13)9 December 1992 (1992-12-09)
3 133 March 1994 (1994-03-03)26 May 1994 (1994-05-26)
4 133 September 1995 (1995-09-03)26 November 1995 (1995-11-26)
5 1327 March 1997 (1997-03-27)19 June 1997 (1997-06-19)

Characters

Rupert's family

Recurring characters

Villains

Voice cast

Production

The series was produced by Nelvana, Ellipse Programmé, and TVS for its first season, with Scottish Television taking over for the second season onwards when TVS lost its franchise.[ citation needed ]

Broadcast

It was broadcast in syndication on YTV in Canada. In the United States, the series first aired on Nickelodeon as part of the Nick Jr. block in 1995 before moving to CBS Saturday mornings in 1999. [2] Repeats of the series came to Disney Channel on the Playhouse Disney block, Toon Disney, and on Qubo from January 8, 2007, to July 25, 2020.

The series was broadcast in the United Kingdom on CITV, Tiny Pop, and KidsCo. In Portugal, the series was broadcast during the 1990s on the RTP channel. In Australia, the series was broadcast on ABC, and later on Nickelodeon Australia, as well as on TV2 in New Zealand. It aired on RTÉ in Ireland as part of their children's block The Den .

In South America, the series was broadcast in Brazil by TV Cultura from February 2, 1998 to 2006, [3] with audience peaks between 2002 and 2004, according to the Folha de São Paulo portal. [4] In South Africa, the series was broadcast on both Bop TV and M-Net as part of their wrapper programme for children, K-T.V. In Zimbabwe, the series aired on both ZBC and ZTV. In Kenya, it aired on KBC. The series was also played in Namibia on NBC.

Rupert also aired in the United Arab Emirates; it was broadcast on the English free-for-air channel Dubai 33. The series was also broadcast on RTB in Brunei. In Guam, the series was screened on KUAM-LP. In Saudi Arabia, the series was played on the country's English-speaking channel Saudi 2, and in the Arab world, it aired on Spacetoon from 2000 to 2014 in Arabic.

Theme and closing song

Both the theme and closing song were composed by Milan Kymlicka.[ citation needed ] They are based on Robert Schumann's The Happy Farmer, Returning from Work in F major, Op. 68, No. 10 .[ citation needed ]

When the series aired on Nickelodeon in the US, a different theme song was used, with lyrics and vocals in the intro, and an instrumental of that same tune in the outro. This composition, Rupert's Number One, was co-penned by Sheree Jeacocke and Gerry Mosby.[ citation needed ]

Feature film version

According to BBC News, Nelvana made plans in 2000 to produce a Hollywood feature film based on the Rupert property, but the project was not implemented. The film would have been released possibly between 2001 and 2002. [5]

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References

  1. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 697–699. ISBN   978-1476665993.
  2. Josef Adalian (13 December 1998). "Nick vet CBS-bound as nets alter kidvid skeds". Variety. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  3. NewsPrime. "Programação de TV de 2 de fevereiro de 1998 (SP)" . Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  4. "Folha de S.Paulo – Programação de TV – 21/05/2003". www1.folha.uol.com.br. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  5. "Rupert the Bear turns 80". 8 November 2000. Retrieved 21 June 2018.