Wowser (TV series)
Wowser (どんどんドメルとロン, Don-Don Domeru/Dommel to Ron) is an anime based on the Belgian cartoon comic strip Cubitus. It consisted of 52 two-part episodes the running time of 20 minutes in total, and it originally aired from 5 April 1988 to 27 March 1989. The show aired in the United States on the Family Channel in 1989.[1]
| Wowser | |
.jpg) Screenshot from Wowser | |
| どんどんドメルとロン (Don-Don Domeru/Dommel to Ron) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Keiichiro Mochizuki |
| Written by | Kaoru Toshima |
| Studio | Telescreen Japan Inc J.C.Staff Saban Entertainment |
| Original network | TV Tokyo |
| English network | |
| Original run | 5 April 1988 – 27 March 1989 |
| Episodes | 52 (104 segments) |
Plot
Wowser is a big white dog who has a big appetite and lives with his owner Professor Dinghy, who tries to sometimes solves eveyone's problems; and lives right next door to Beatrice, an old lady with brown hair and an apron; Linda Lovely and her brother Bob; and Ratso Catso, a black-and-white cat who often ruins Wowser's day or sometimes sabotages Professor Dinghy's inventions.
Characters
- Wowser (Cubitus in French and German, Dommel (ドメル Domeru) in Japanese, Dutch, Polish and Spanish, Teodoro in Italian and Kaaboul in Arabic) is the main character. A large, tall, white dog, he has a good-natured personality but a humongous appetite who often tries to have a good day, only to get annoyed by Ratso or Beatrice. He often tests out Dinghy's inventions. Japanese voice actor: Naoki Tatsuta. English voice actor: Jeff Winkless.[2]
- Professor Dinghy (Sémaphore in French, Ron (ロン) in Japanese and Polish, Semafoor in Dutch, Professore in Italian and Abqarino in Arabic) is Wowser's owner who has a big white moustache and wears a pink sweater. He is a genius inventor, although his eccentric creations usually backfire on him due to people using the wrong way or Ratso infering with them. He mostly likes to use Wowser to check his inventions. Japanese voice actor: Kaneta Kimotsuki. English voice actor: Simon Prescott.[2]
- Ratso Catso (Sénéchal in French, Blackie (ブラッキー Burakkī) in Japanese and Polish, Balthazar in Dutch and Spanish, Gatto in Italian and Mushakess in Arabic) is an annoying black-and-white neighbourhood cat who appears to be Wowser's rival or sometimes his friend, and often pretends to be nice and sabotages the Professor's inventions. Japanese voice actress: Rika Matsumoto. English voice actor: Robert Axelrod.[2]
- Linda Lovely (Cherry (チェリー Cherī) in Japanese, Dutch and Polish, and Nadine in Arabic; her name is also Linda in Italian version) is a teenager who seems to take quite a fancy interest towards Wowser. Wowser and Dingy also seems to have a crush on her. Japanese voice actress: Mīna Tominaga. English voice actress: Wendee Swan.[2]
- Bob Lovely is Linda's young little brother. Japanese voice actress: Tarako. English voice actress: Barbara Goodson.
- Beatrice (Beatrix (ベアトリクス Beatorikusu) in Japanese, Dutch and Polish, Bea in Italian) is a rather a plump tall bossy middle aged woman who is often very rude to Wowser. She also seems to have secret crush on Dinghy. Japanese voice actress: Kazuko Sugiyama. English voice actress: Barbara Goodson.
- Officer Whistle is a policeman who keeps a whistle in his mouth which is used to tell people off when there is trouble about. Japanese voice actor: Kōichi Yamadera. English voice actor: Mike Reynolds.
Foreign versions
The English-language version was produced by Saban Entertainment. Retitled Wowser, the series aired in 1989 on The Family Channel. The dub changed the names of the characters and replaced the original music and also had some scenes removed or edited due to their violent or sexual manner, such as one scene in "The Hip Hippos" where Dinghy beats Wowser on the head, and another scene in "Slap Happy Birthday" where a chicken attacks Beatrice, causing her to crash and rip and ruin her dress. Also in the Vaccum episode when Dingy's Vaccum backfires when Linda"s clothes fly out the window and land in parts of town a bra lands on a male statue's chest and he covers himself the whole scene is censored with the statue covering himself.
In the UK, it aired on ITV and later on Channel 4 in the early and mid 1990s, and two videos of the series were released in two volumes.
In the U.S. in 1990 and 1991, the videos of the Wowser series were released in four volumes, and also in episodes of the running time of 30 minutes and 60 minutes. In Canada, it aired on YTV between 1990 and 1993.
The series were also dubbed to Arabic in Jordan, and released throughout many countries of the Arab world. This version was named Ka'abool (Arabic: كعبول).
The series was also dubbed in Euskera, titled as "Dommel artzain txakurra" (Dommel the Shepherd Dog).
The series was also dubbed in Dutch, titled as Dommel and aired by BRT, VARA and Kindernet from 1989 to 2003 and when Kindernet relaunched as Nickelodeon Kindernet on Comedy Central (Netherlands) from May 2011 up until the block ended on 31 October 2013. Since 2015, the series airs on Pebble TV.
The series was also dubbed in Italian, titled as "Teodoro e l'invenzione che non va" (Theodore and the wrong invention).
Songs
Japanese version
Opening song:
"Fly away - Yume no Hikouki" Sung by Mitsuko Horie
Lyrics by Arisu Satou
Composed by Takanori Arisawa
Arranged by Seichi Kyouda
Ending song:
"GO! GO! My Friend" Sung by Mitsuko Horie
Lyrics by Arisu Satou
Composed by Takanori Arisawa
Arranged by Seichi Kyouda
Theme Song Production by Nippon Columbia
References
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 920–921. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- "Wowser (european)". CrystalAcid.com. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
External links
- Cubitus (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Cubitus on IMDb