Zoom the White Dolphin
Zoom the White Dolphin (イルカと少年) was a 1971 Japanese–French anime series, of 13 episodes, created by Vladimir Tarta, directed by René Borg.
Zoom the White Dolphin, Oum le dauphin blanc | |
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Genre | anime |
Created by | Gaston Pomier Layrargues, Marc Bonnet, René Borg and Vladimir Tarta |
Directed by | René Borg |
Theme music composer | Michel Legrand |
Composer(s) | Michel Legrand, Vladimir Cosma, J. Drejac |
Country of origin | France Japan |
Original language(s) | English (originally French) |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Release | |
Original network | ORTF |
First shown in | 1971 |
The original French version was broadcast in 1971 on ORTF's second network and rebroadcast in France from 29 June 1981 on FR3. An English version was produced and broadcast internationally on networks such as CBC Television (Canada),Nickelodeon (USA) and ITV in the United Kingdom. The Japanese version of the series was titled Iruka to Shōnen (イルカと少年), which means "The Dolphin and the Boy". It was broadcast on TBS in 1975.
Production companies involved in the series were Telcia, Saga Films, and Japan's Eiken.
Synopsis
The series presents the adventures of Zoom, a white dolphin, and his friends, two children who live with their sailor uncle. The cast includes several animals including a mynah bird (who understands the dolphin language in addition to the language of the other animals and the humans on the island and acts as a translator), a koala, and a sloth.
During their adventures, Zoom meets a beautiful female dolphin, called Za-za-zoom in the English version, with whom he has a baby.
A condensed feature-length version, dubbed in English, was released on videocassette in the United States by Embassy Home Entertainment in 1985. The release was never re-issued on any other home video format.
Product promotion
Zoom was the mascot for Nestlé's Galak chocolate brand until the company ended its licence in 2003. However, the series rights-holders sued Nestlé after extant stocks of Galak product featuring the character continued to circulate.
External links
- Zoom the White Dolphin on IMDb
- Iruka to Shônen : information on Japanese version of the series
- (in French) Series description at Planète Jeunesse
- (in French) Coucoucircus: series theme
- Iruka to Shonen (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia