Jungledyret Hugo

"Jungledyret Hugo" is a Danish media franchise featuring the cartoon adventures of a cute anthropomorphic mammal named Hugo. Created by Danish author and filmmaker Flemming Quist Møller and produced at A. Film A/S, the franchise currently consists of two animated features, an animated television series, and a third film done in CGI.

The two feature films were translated, edited, and released in the United States on a single DVD in 2005 by Mirimax.

The Films

The original films are known in various locales under different translated names, including "Jungledyret", "Jungledyret Hugo", "Amazon Jack", "Jungle Jack", "Go Hugo Go", "Hugo the Movie Star", "Jungo", and recently seen as "Hugo" and "Hugo II".

"Jungledyret" (1993)

This film introduces us to Hugo, an apparently one-of-a-kind anthropomorphic animal who lives in a jungle. Youthful and carefree, Hugo is prone to playing practical jokes on his friends, Zig and Zag the monkeys. His idyllic lifestyle is interrupted when he is captured by Conrad Cupmann to be co-star in a Hollywood-style film. In order to return from Copenhagen to his jungle home, he must escape with the help of a newly found friend, Rita the fox.

In this film, the animated depiction of Hugo is reminiscient of Don Bluth's style of animation; other animated films from A. Film A/S also share this kind of animation, such as Help! I'm a Fish.

"Jungledyret" is played for laughs, with several characters exhibiting visual hyperbole characteristic of toons, such as a snakelike native slithering and darting his tongue like a snake. It is also a musical, featuring several songs sung and acted by the on-screen characters.

This feature is listed as "Go, Hugo, Go!" on the 2005 Mirimax release, and is five minutes shorter than its original release.

"Jungledyret 2 - den store filmhelt" (1996)

The sequel, "Jungledyret 2", picks up where the first movie left off. Hugo and Rita each tell their friends about how much they miss one another. Meanwhile, the CEO of the movie studio still wants to catch him. His plan is to have Hugo co-star in a film, and then earn lots of money through merchandising.

Though the second movie is also a musical, and though it is similar in plotline to the first film, the sequel is played as a drama, with themes of friendship, loyalty, courage, and adventure.

This feature is listed as "Hugo the Movie Star" on the 2005 Mirimax release, an almost literal translation of the Danish title.

2005 Miramax Release (United States)

In 2005, Mirimax Family released a translated, edited edition of the two animated films. Released directly to stores without publicity, the disc has no special features. This release was criticized for its awkward voice acting, altered music, and poor translation.

"Jungledyret 3 - Fræk Flabet og fri" (2007)

The third film continues where the animated series left off, which in turn is a sequel to the second movie. It is a CGI film. The plot again involves Hugo being captured, this time by several competing groups of humans who are all after Hugo for their own reasons.

The Characters

In the "Jungledyret" films, many animals talk to each other, but humans can't understand them. This is a standard conceit, seen in such films as "Balto".

The following character names are from the 2005 Miramax Family DVD.

Hugo

Hugo is a rare, apparently unique, fictional mammal of the previously unknown species "Hugus Primiticus". His parents are never mentioned. He looks something like a living teddy bear, and has yellow fur. In the second film, he mentions to a pig that he only has a summer coat.

He has prehensile (grasping) hands, each with three fingers and a thumb. He has large, fuzzy ears, and human-like feet with four toes. He is bipedal, though he can run in a quadrupedal manner for speed. He uses tools such as levers and skateboards, and can outwit other animals, such as snakes, cats, and squirrels. He is noted for his cleverness, his kind heart, his love of food, and the occasional bout of childish selfishness. He eats mostly fruits and loves bananas. Rita is Hugo's love interest.

In the original Danish release, Hugo was voiced by Jesper Klein. On the 2005 Miramax release, Hugo was voiced by Bronson Pinchot, probably best known in the United States for his role as Balki Bartokomous on the sitcom "Perfect Strangers".

Rita the fox

Rita is an adolescent red fox who befriends Hugo on the streets of Copenhagen. She and Hugo quickly become best friends. She's kind and spunky and has a decent amount of common sense unlike Hugo when in the city. She lives with her mother and her younger brothers (2) and sister in a den near some railroad tracks. Her father is never mentioned. Hugo is Rita's love interest. In the original Danish production, Rita was voiced by Kaya Brüel. On the 2005 Miramax release, Rita was voiced by Holly Gauthier-Frankel.

Meatball Charlie

Charlie is the cook aboard the cargo ship that transports Hugo to Copenhagen. He finds Hugo, who has escaped the cargo hold, and at the end of the voyage, donates him to the city zoo. He appears toward the end of the first film, and is not present in the second.

In the original Danish prodction, Meatball Charlie is named Dellekaj (a mixture of "Delle" which is slang for frikadelle, a special kind of Danish meatball and Kaj which is a common Danish name) and was voiced by Jesper Klein who also voices Hugo. On the 2005 Miramax release, Charlie was voiced by Marcel Jeannin.

Conrad Cupmann

Conrad is the main villain in both films. He owns a movie studio in Copenhagen, and dreams of making lots of money. He is morally bankrupt, willing to slash and burn the jungle to capture Hugo. His first relationship started off with Izabella Dehavalot, but rejected her wishes and left her when Hugo manages to escape Copenhagen. His 2nd relationship is with Barbie Turner, but instead, he is rejected by her for hurting Hugo.

On the 2005 Miramax release, Conrad was voiced by Mark Camacho.

Izabella Dehavalot

Izabella is a black-haired starlet with a sharp figure. She is also the wife of Conrad Cupmann during the first film. Her goal is to gain notoriety through the exploitation of an animal co-star; she cites several fictional actors, and then her "good friend Michael" and his chimp. Conrad divorced her in the time span between the two films. In all European versions she is called Izabella Scorpio.

On the 2005 Miramax release, Izabella was voiced by Susan Glover.

Barbie Turner

Barbie is a stereotypical dumb blonde, and in the second film is Cupmann Studio's new starlet. It is also implied that she is Conrad's lover. She often chews bubble gum, even on the sound stage.

On the 2005 Miramax release, Barbie was voiced by Jennifer Seguin.

Doctor Loongkoffer

Loongkoffer is an animal psychologist hired by Conrad to tame Hugo. His role is reminiscient of Animaniacs' Dr. Otto Scratchansniff, whose job was to civilize the Warner siblings.

On the 2005 Miramax release, Loongkoffer was voiced by Arthur Grosser.

Jungo

A small quadrupedal dog-like animal that is featured in the 3rd movie. Little information has been given out on him but he is assumed to be a rare jungle dog that Hugo and Rita found. Some fans of the film thought that Jungo was Hugo and Rita's child due to its yellow fur and fuzzy ears like Hugo and quadrupedal build like Rita.

Content issues

The films have some content which might make viewers in the United States uncomfortable.

In the first film, when Hugo is sleeping on a ship, a calendar above him displays a picture of a naked woman. The image was blurred in the Miramax dub. A scene where Hugo is shocked three times by telephone wires and climbs up a brick wall to find, through a window, a man changing channels on a television was cut from the dub.

Some characters also use inappropriate language that may not be good for younger viewers such as "damn".This was cut out in the Miramax dub as well as some grotesque scenes that included vomit and spit.

Offensive racial material is also used towards an Indian character.

The upcoming third film features a small animal presummably named Jungo that looks as if it is Hugo and Rita's child. This brings up the issue of inter-species breeding which was looked down upon by the United States.

External links

* [http://www.jungledyret.dk/ Jungledyret.dk] Official site
*Imdb_title|id=0107289|title=Jungledyret
* [http://www.afilm.com/ A Film, home studio of "Jungledyret Hugo"]
* [http://www.ultimatedisney.com/hugo.html UltimateDisney DVD Review of first two films by Aaron Wallace]
* [http://www.dfi.dk/english/Danish+films/Directors/DirectorFact.htm?DirID=1051 Flemming Quist Møller] Director and head writer
* [http://jungledyret.com/ Jungledyret.com] Unofficial site
* [http://www.filmtrailer.dk/trailer/676 Teaser Trailer to the 3rd Movie]