Pocket Dragon Adventures

Pocket Dragon Adventures is a 1998 syndicated animated series, based on the Pocket Dragon character created by artist Real Musgrave, best known from Pocket Dragons figurines also based on his work.[1] The cartoon is about the Pocket Dragons (a group of very small dragons) who live with a kindly old wizard, and their many adventures.[2] The series was produced by Bohbot Entertainment, D'Ocon Productions and DIC Productions, L.P. The show first aired in the late-1990s/early-2000s in syndication in the US and about 50 other countries.

Pocket Dragon Adventures
DVD Cover
GenreChildren's adventure
Fantasy
Created byCraig Miller
Marv Wolfman
Directed byEric S. Rollman
StarringIan James Corlett
Jason Gray-Stanford
Sam Vincent
Kathleen Barr
Tabitha St. Germain
Venus Terzo
Terry Klassen
Christopher Gaze
Robert O. Smith
Saffron Henderson
Country of originCanada
United States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes52 (104 Segments)
Production
Executive producer(s)Eric S. Rollman
Production company(s)D'Ocon Productions
Bohbot Entertainment
DIC Productions, L.P.
DistributorBKN International
Release
Original networkSyndication
Original release1998

The show itself was created by Craig Miller and Marv Wolfman, who produced and story edited the series. Together or separately, they wrote over 40% of the total number of episodes. Pocket Dragon Adventures was also the first animated series signed to a labor contract with the Writers Guild of America.[3]

Setting

The setting is shown to be in the Medieval era, with other elements thrown in, often bizarre ones (e.g., yellow-painted taxicabs pulled by rhinoceroses). Stories have included standard Medieval fare, such as armored knights, and some science fiction elements, such as flying saucers.

Characters

The Pocket Dragons
  • Filbert, who wears a red bandanna around his neck, is the largest and oldest of the six Pocket Dragons, and assumes the role of leader, even though he's seldom in control of the others. Voiced by Ian James Corlett.
  • Zoom-Zoom, who wears an old-style aviator's helmet, wishes that he could fly, despite the Pocket Dragons' inability to fly. He's the fastest runner of the group. Voiced by Jason Gray-Stanford.
  • Specs, who wears a pair of human-sized eyeglasses balanced on his nose, is the bookworm of the bunch. He has a crush on the Princess. Voiced by Sam Vincent.
  • Scribbles, one of the two female Dragons, is a somewhat scatterbrained inventor whose creations tend to cause more problems than they solve. She and Specs disagree as to which of them is smarter. She wears a special quiver in which she carries a pencil. Scribbles often fills in the leadership position when Filbert is incapacitated. Voiced by Kathleen Barr.
  • Binky, the other female, is the smallest and youngest of the six dragons. (In one episode, "Attack of the 50 Foot Binky", she wanted to be as tall as Filbert, so she used a growth potion and because she didn't put a limitation on it, she gradually grew bigger until the others found the antidote) Despite her childlike qualities, she sometimes surprises the others with her competence and clear-headedness. She's the only one who usually wears nothing. Voiced by Tabitha St. Germain.
  • Cuddles, who wears bedroom slippers and carries a pillow, is usually either drowsy or sleeping. Sometimes when he sleeps, he "sleep-plays" that he's a daring adventurer named Sir Cuddles; he snaps out of this and wakes up whenever someone says "Cushladoo." Voiced by Venus Terzo in Season 1 and Terry Klassen in Season 2.

Other characters
  • The Wizard, who owns the castle in which the Dragons live, is a kindly, avuncular fellow who watches over them and tries to keep them from getting into too much trouble. An accomplished magician, he has a vast library and a laboratory in the castle. Voiced by Christopher Gaze.
  • Library Cat is a winged-cat who is the wizard's familiar and a helpful companion to the pocket dragons. Also wears spectacles.
  • Theobearus is a living teddy bear, who occasionally aids the pocket dragons.
  • Sparkles is a full-sized dragon who's not very bright. He's able to float through the air by inflating himself like a balloon. Voiced by Robert O. Smith.
  • Princess Betty Bye Belle runs the town library; when the former librarian retired, the Princess offered to let him live in the royal castle while she took over the library, because of her love of literature. She seems to be aware of Specs' feelings toward her, although she sees him more as a friend. Voiced by Saffron Henderson.
  • Shmahz, a short wizard who hates the Dragons for disrupting his evil schemes and often tries to get revenge on them.
  • Sir Nigel is a full-sized dragon who's a friend of the Wizard and the Pocket Dragons. He's a figure of culture and learning. Voiced by Garry Chalk.
  • Trafalgar is a villainous full-sized dragon, who takes tips on how to be evil from his guidebook.
  • The Pie-Rats are a trio of rodent thieves named Cuda, Wuda, and Shuda who specialise in stealing pastries.
  • Gnorman the Gnome is a bumbling, sometimes villainous, sometimes helpful character. The "G"'s in his name are not silent (It is pronounced "G-norman the G-nome"). His brother is called Gnasty and his sister is called Gnoxious. Voiced by Brian Drummond.

Format

Each half-hour episode contained two 11-minute cartoons. The stories contained some educational quality, but were mostly written for fun and imagination. The plots usually involved the Pocket Dragons getting into some kind of mess, either due to their own actions or those of others, and going through some wild and crazy situations while trying to make things right.

Some of the episodes' plots and titles are parodies of movies or TV shows, such as the episodes "Binky, Warrior Princess", and "Attack of the 50 Foot Binky".

104 eleven-minute episodes were produced. They aired as 52 half-hour episodes in the US, with some countries airing them as 15-minute programs (in the UK, for example, the series ran seven days a week on BBC1 and BBC2 for six years).

Cast

Additional voices

Episodes
No. Titles Original airdate
1"Day for Knight / All Alone and Feeling Boo"TBA

  • The pocket dragons aid Nigel from Sir Kenneth, by making the knight swear off dragon hunting forever.
  • In the Wizard's absence, the pocket dragons are attacked by shadow monsters, until Binky reverses the spell that brought them.
2"Zoom-Zoom's Wish / Gnome Alone"TBA

  • The Pocket dragons build a flying machine to fulfill Zoom-Zoom's desire to fly, but run into much danger in the skies.
  • Gnorman and his gnome family evict the Pocket Dragons from the castle. While keeping the gnomes busy, Cuddles starts an incantation to remove them.
3"The Art of Magic / Never Wish Upon a Star"TBA

  • Specs develops a crush on the new librarian Princess Betty Bye Belle, but is forced to duel the sorcerer Shmahz after a mishap.
  • The Wizard receives a mysterious star. The pocket dragons recklessly make several wishes with chaotic results until they start working together.
4"Stop! Pay Troll! / Whookerpop"TBA

  • A troll named Hukamuk guards a river bridge for food. The pocket dragons and wizard aid him to restore him to his true form and purify the tainted Lord Fermul who took his castle.
  • Sir Nigel and the pocket dragons seek the Whookerpop dragon Sparkles. Sparkles is revealed to be a chaotic but friendly dragon, so the pocket dragons invite him to live with them.
5"Speed of Flight / Just Desserts"TBA

  • Zoom-Zoom and Scribbles race to see who is faster. They compete until they get exhausted, but Cuddles wins the race instead.
  • The pocket dragons have a go at baking cookies, but create a cookie dough monster. As the situation gets out of hand, the Wizard comes to the rescue.
6"In Your Dreams / Science Friction"TBA

  • In his sleep, Cuddles is captured by Grackul. Being brave in his sleep Cuddles aided by captured Tummygrumblies and the other pocket dragons scare away Grackul.
  • The pocket dragons construct a building machine for the science fair, but it goes haywire. Instead they help with rebuilding a farmhouse.
7"A Harp Day's Night / It Came from Outer Space"TBA

  • The pocket dragons visit Count Cornelius of Yakminster, but find the castle taken over by Gnorman's family. With Sparkles' help they drive out the gnomes.
  • A space meteor has caused several insects to grow larger and hostile. The pocket dragons hold them off until the meteor loses its glow.
8"Sea Sickness / A Clear and Present Scribbles"TBA

  • The pocket dragons journey to find the herbs needed to cure the Wizard's illness. They are met by the Pie-Rats, who after a brief fight, aid them in their quest.
  • After a quarrel, Specs accidentally turns Scribbles invisible. While the pocket dragons try to catch her, Gnorman comes trying to persuade the Wizard to buy something from him.
9"The Unicorn Hunters / Down Deep"TBA

  • The pocket dragons rescue a herd of unicorns from the gnome family. After a brief chase, Gnorman reveals that he was trying to befriend the unicorns to start a circus.
  • The pocket dragons find Binky in the dungeons and are met by the long lost gargoyle Gladstone. They help Gladstone overcome his vertigo to unite him with the other gargoyles.
10"Snow Job / A Rocky Friendship"TBA

  • The pocket dragons and Sparkles tell four different stories to the Wizard of creating snow by magic and the presence of a snow monster. The Wizard also has his own story.
  • A basilisk named Jewel is forced to turn creatures into stone as ornaments for the evil Duke Drake. The pocket dragons help Jewel free her hostage son and overthrow the duke.
11"A Cold, Cruel World / Pen Pals"TBA

  • Thinking that the Wizard is going to get rid of them, the pocket dragons compete to impress him. The Wizard clears up this misunderstanding.
  • The pocket dragons travel with Betty Bye Bell to visit Scribbles' pen pal Princess Gwendolyn, but are in tangle with Shmahz for a second time.
12"Pocket Dragons vs. the Flying Saucer / Minky Business"TBA

  • An alien spaceman called Walter has a mission to destroy the planet for his fiancee. The pocket dragons help Walter stage an attack
  • The Wizard duplicates Binky to make her a playmate called Winky. Unfortunately the spell has created a second evil duplicate named Minky as well.
13"Masquerade / Ducks Amok"TBA

  • A gremlin named Carnuckle steals the Wizard's theatrical mask. Cuddles manages to stop him and Carnuckle reveals that getting the mask was his duty.
  • The pocket dragons try out a duplication spell, which makes the Wizard's bath duck, copy six times and cause trouble across the land, until the spell wears off.
14"Shmahz Strikes Again / The Nervous Novice"TBA

  • The pocket dragons go to Crumbling Castle. With most of the dragons and the genie Cookie under Shmahz's control it's down to Specs and Zoom-Zoom to rescue them.
  • The Wizard's new apprentice Neezo is a very good cook, but not such a good spellcaster. After failed attempts, Binky encourages him to pursue cooking.
15"A Dragon in This Dress / Malice with the Chalice"TBA

  • A trio of strange knights try to save the pocket dragons from Betty Bye Belle. To protect the princess, the pocket dragons trick them into completing their quest.
  • The Wizard's chalice is broken somehow. Each of the pocket dragons move it around as they try to fix it, while Gnorman comes trying to sell some merchandise.
16"King of the Hill / Disguise in Love with You"TBA

17"Follow the Leader / Trashmandu"TBA

  • After his friends insult his authority, Filbert leaves to capture the Grackul. After the pocket dragons rescue Filbert, they outwit and catch Grackul.
  • The pocket dragons go all they way to Trashmandu to recover the Wizard's spellbook. The gnomes however won't easily part with it due to their local law.
18"Surely you Joust / Tree's a Crowd"TBA

  • The pocket dragons assist Sir Kenneth in a knightly contest, but only succeed in making him look bad. That is until he completes the final test.
19"Mulch Ado about Nothing / Mission: Indigestible"TBA

  • The pocket dragons apply some the Wizard's magic fertiliser on themselves and bloom plant-like appendage, which later turn them more like plants. Cuddles helps restore them to their normal states.
  • Walter returns for the pocket dragons' help to recover his lost jewel for his fiancee. But first they have to extract it from the belly of a Kraken and the clutches of a shrimp.
20"A Dry Spell / Weather or Not"TBA

  • The Wizard has an assignment to renew his wizard's license. The pocket dragons try to help without the Wizard knowing. They also discover that a magic clock is key to the village's dry spell.
  • Betty Bye Bell returns to her kingdom to investigate weird weather. The pocket dragons discover that Carnuckle's magic ring is causing the weather changes and help the gremlin recover a magic book to undo the ring's effects.
21"Yonder Lies the Castle of My Wizard / Pillow Squawk"TBA

  • The Pie-Rats come in an airship and steal the Wizard's castle. After much persistence, the pocket dragons convince them to give up their pirating ways.
22"First Pocket Dragons on the Moon / All's Faire"TBA

  • The Pocket dragons build a rocketship to go to the moon. They land on what they think is the moon until they meet the Wizard who came to bring them home.
23"Hail, Hail, the Ghengis here / Thief in the Night"TBA

  • The pocket try to prevent Ghengis Khan from reaching the village. It turns out he has changed to delivery service and was giving Betty Bye Belle a package.
  • The Duke of Cummerbund and his servant Weevil claim the Wizard's castle as their own by the Right of Nocturnal Seizure. That is until the pocket dragons drive them away before dawn.
24"Something Wicker This Way Comes / There's No Place Like Gnome"TBA

  • In the mysterious forest, Binky befriends the Bramble, but the other pocket dragons think she's in danger, until Binky introduces them to him.
  • During the Blue Moon Festival, the village vanishes, but the Pocket Dragon think its their fault. What is more, Gnorman comes to claim the empty land his own.
25"Winter Take All / The Big Nap"TBA

  • The pocket dragons accidentally summon a frost giant called Slush who makes the castle his icy home. The pocket dragons convince him to leave by ventilating heat around the place.
  • A pixie is seeking his brother Sid turned into a music box. The pocket dragons help the pixie recover Sid and the Wizard restores him to his true form.
26"The Trouble with Scribbles / Attack of the 50 Foot Binky"TBA

  • In attempts to put things right Scribbles puts her inventions to the test. But an animation causes a chain of disasters.
  • Binky concocts a potion that makes her uncontrollably bigger. The pocket dragons go to the Mysterious Land to the cure but run into Grackul.
27"Snow Binky and the Six Pocket Dragons / Reservoir Clogs"TBA

  • The pocket dragons and Sparkles do their own play based on the classic fairy tale Snow White, with many plot twists and chaos on stage.
  • The pocket dragons help a village of cobalts to secure their water source by relocating the sleeping grendel. They discover the grendel also has a need for water.
28"Brother, Can You Spare a Dragon? / The Frill of a Lifetime"TBA

  • Sir Kenneth borrows Sparkles to get a promotion and vacation from King Biggity. Sparkles proves to be more a handful for the king than he thought.
  • Nigel reluctantly brings his clumsy brother Chumley on an adventure to Malicant Cave. Aided by the pocket dragons the adventure is a success.
29"A Babe in the Woods / A Really Bad Hair Day"TBA

  • The pocket dragons babysit the dragon Evangelina's son Meldrick. However Meldrick's antics lead them to a wild chase looking for him.
  • A freak spell separates the beard from the wizard into a living furball. The pocket dragons chase it until they find it was stolen by another wizard.
30"Sleepwalk on the Wild Side / To Hex or Not to Hex"TBA

  • Cuddles takes on different personalities after being doused in a potion. The pocket dragons pursue Cuddles to catch him before he gets himself in danger.
31"Binky, Warrior Princess / Rose-Colored Specs"TBA

  • A dragon named Trafalgar attacks the village. The pocket dragons leave Binky out due to her hurt wing, but proves them wrong after outwitting the evil dragon.
  • The pocket dragons accidentally break Specs' glasses. Zoom-Zoom, repairs them with a spell that makes the wearer see everything his or her own way.
32"Now You See Me, Now You Don't / Mortal Wombat"TBA

  • Wombat Master comes and warns the pocket dragons incoming evil warriors emerging from a portal in the castle. However the Wombat Master is less than he appears to be.
33"Monster Mashed / Here There Be Dragons"TBA

  • The Pocket Dragons go on an adventure with Sparkles out to sea. On a ship, Captain Milo Meander captures Sparkles. However Sparkles saves the ship and the crew from a whirlpool.
34"The Echoing Dwarf / Binky and the Beanstalk"TBA

  • The Pocket Dragons explore the Echo Valley to recover the town crier's echo. Resinence the Echo Dwarf causes trouble in the village, but the Pocket Dragons make an agreement with him.
  • After days of no rain, Binky grows a beanstalk that reaches into the sky. There the pocket dragons prompt the Main Cloud and Cirrus to make rain.
35"Fled a Good Book Lately? / A Knight to Remember"TBA

  • Specs accidentally casts a spell that sends all the pocket dragon inside a storybook, where they thwart an evil vizier from overthrowing the palace sheik.
36"Altitude Adjustment / The Unbearable Lightness of Zoom-Zoom"TBA

  • Sparkles berry allergy causes him to sneeze making Zoom-Zoom and anything else afflicted go up into the air. Only water can wash off the anti-gravity effects.
  • Witch Mabity who has problems with her magic, casts a spell that makes Zoom-Zoom fly out of control. Together Mabity and the Wizard reverse the effects of the spell.
37"Jester Round the Bend / Dumb Diddy Do"TBA

  • Binky and Scribbles find the Wizard's old jester doll and accidentally bring it to life. With difficulty, the pocket dragons get the spell to turn it back into a doll.
38"Nothing But the Roof / Clanks a Million!"TBA

  • The Pocket Dragons try to fix a leaky roof. Additional problems occur around the castle as the Pocket Dragons make several mistakes.
  • Filbert gets trapped in a magic suit of armor, which goes out of control. At Binky's suggestion, Zoom-Zoom finds an instructions manual to shut down the armor.
39"Trap Happy / Opposites Distract"TBA

  • The pocket dragons fortify the castle against the wily Monsieur Packrat. The burglar evades every trap except Zoom-Zoom's until he is forced to surrender.
  • Specs and Zoom-Zoom compete for Princess Betty's affection, after a mishap with a love spell. Scribbles manages to undo the spell before things get out of hand.
40"All That Glitters / Clockwork Berserk"TBA

  • Hoping to get some gold to fund the library, Pocket Dragons find a pot of gold, but the Leprechaun Riggadoodle won't let them have it easily.
  • Tinker the evil inventor, captures the Pocket Dragons and the Library Cat and plans to destroy the wizard's castle with an alarm clock.
41"Bewitched, Bothered and Bedragoned / The Ransom of Sparkles"TBA

  • Witch Mildred moves in and tries to trick the Pocket Dragons to becoming her familiars for her evildoing. The Pocket Dragons cause her a great deal of trouble, for the better.
  • Three outlaws kidnap Sparkles and hold him for ransom, but he proves to be too much for them to handle, even after he rescues them.
42"Sharp Dressed Gnome / Dragon Snaps"TBA

  • Gnorman finds one of the wizard's robes and plays with the magic items inside, forcing the Pocket Dragons to solve the problems left in the process.
  • Hoping to make up to the villagers, the Pocket Dragons mass produce cookies for them. While looking for Cuddles, they cause chaos with the cookie machine.
43"Slice of Ice / Another Fine Hex"TBA

  • The Pocket Dragons anger Shmahz, who chases them through the snow until he gets frozen solid.
  • The Pocket Dragons unleash a curse from Nigel's box. Their attempts to remove the curse cause Nigel a lot of problems

Availability

Pocket Dragon Adventures has been released on DVD in the US and in other countries (including the United Kingdom, France, etc.) but availability is limited. DVDs contain selected episodes only. The entire series is not currently available.

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References
  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 469. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 626. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. TAG Blog: Women in Animation Panel.
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