Bobobobs

Infobox Television
bgcolour = #D0BC9B
show_name = Bobobobs


caption = Title image
format = Animation/Childrens/Sci-fi
runtime = 23 min. each
starring =
language = Catalan, English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Hungarian
network =
first_aired = 1988
num_series =
num_episodes = 26
website =
imdb_id = 0470640

Bobobobs (IPAEng|ˈboʊboʊ'bɒbs) is an animated children's television series. It was produced by the Catalan company BRB Internacional in 1988. In Catalan it was called 'Els Bobobobs', but when it was translated into English by Telefilm Canada it was merely entitled Bobobobs. It was also translated into Dutch, German, Italian and Hungarian. It was directed and adapted by Tim Reid, based on the characters created by Henk and Nerida Zwart. Each episode was 23 minutes long, and 26 episodes were made.

ynopsis

Thousands of years ago, a race of miniature humanoids called Bobobobs (often referred to simply as "Bobs") existed. Their species had the ability to become invisible, teleport and fly through their use of psychic powers. They also have extreme long life (Cornelius even reaching 1000). They appeared to live in a traveller community, living on various ships, only meeting together occasionally, where they would meet in a council led by the king.

They send off a ship to find the Earth, where they hope to save the native Bobs from monsters (which resemble dinosaurs). The ship is called the Bobular Quest and resembles a galleon with a giant glass dome. Along the way they have many adventures encountering pink space monsters, giant crabs and pirates, among many others.

Characters

*Captain Bob Wouter - the kindly and level-headed captain of the Bobular Quest, he has a wooden leg. He is one of the captains of the Bobular fleet, and is usually given missions because he is the most reliable captain. His son is Little Bob.
*Little Bob - The Captain's son, who often gets into mischief, though he refers to his father as "Captain Daddy Sir". He is Blip's best friend.
*Blip - a floating purple head with arms, it is Little Bob's best friend.
*Cornelius - a wisened old man, who has a long white beard. He wears a purple wizard's hat, and is an astronomer. Peter is his assistant.
*Willbur - the dim witted carpenter. He is a prince, being the son of Big Bob, and he is also Petronella's brother.
*Petronella - a mean woman who is constantly thinking of her own (non-existent) beauty. She is the princess of the Bobs, being the daughter of Big Bob. She is married to A.D.
*A.D. - Petronella's long suffering husband. He is an inventor.
*Fritz - The chef who can't cook, a real grump.
*Aunt Agatha - A kindly old lady who does a lot of baking. She is the aunt of Peter, and was a stowaway on the ship, however, after giving the captain a batch of cookies, she was allowed to stay.
*Ein and Stein - Two twins who are scientists. They are always bickering. Their name is a pun on the famous scientist Einstein.
*Peter - A young man, who often helps out Cornelius.
*Doc Bone - The Doctor. He has a German accent and big, thick moustache.
*Nurse Mimi - Doc Bone's attractive young assistant.
*King Big Bob - The King of all the Bob ships, he only appears in the first episode and decides to send his daughter and son on the Bobular Quest on the mission to Earth.

Episodes

In all, 26 episodes were produced, including:

(*)not definitely in right order

Merchandise

In both Spain and the Netherlands, various books and merchandise based on the series was released, though it was not so successful in the UK.

VHS Release

In English, several VHS videos were released, one in PAL (which featured the first two episodes) and five in NTSC. So far, no DVDs have been released.

List of North American videos:
*Bobobobs in Space - the Bobular Quest (1987)
*Bobobobs: Around the Galaxy in 80 Days (1987)
*Bobobobs Meet the Cosmic Creature (1989)
*Bobobobs: Bobular Quest (1989)
*Bobobobs: Little Wouter's New Friends (1990)

Related

*BRB Internacional
*Spanish animation

External links

* [http://www.tvwhirl.co.uk/childrensindex.html TVWhirl entry]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470640/ IMDB entry]
* [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=6456 "New York Times" entry]
* [http://users.skynet.be/Timo/jeugdsentiment/tekenfilm/bobobobs.htm Informative site (in Dutch)]