Adventures of the Little Koala

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Adventures of the Little Koala


caption = Title screen
ja_kanji = コアラボーイコッキィ
ja_romaji = Koara Bōi Kokki
genre = Adventure, kodomoInfobox animanga/Anime
title =
director =
writer =
studio =
licensor =
network = flagicon|Japan TV Tokyo
network_en = flagicon|Canada flagicon|UK flagicon|USA Nickelodeon flag|USA Nick Jr.
network_other = flagicon|Canada flagicon|France flagicon|Greece flagicon|Italy
first = 1984-10-04
last = 1985-03-28
episodes = 52
episode_list =

nihongo|"Adventures of the Little Koala"|コアラボーイコッキィ|Koara Bōi Kokki is an anime TV series that aired originally in Japan on TV Tokyo from October 4, 1984 through March 28, 1985, and then aired in the United States on Nickelodeon dubbed in English from 1987 to 1993. It also aired in Greece, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, in the Arabic-speaking world, and other countries, but its biggest success by far was in the United States on Nickelodeon. Production of the English and French versions of the series was done by Canadian studio Cinar Films. The storyline revolved around Roobear Koala and his friends in a utopian village.

Characters

Roobear (Kokki), an inquisitive, adventurous young boy koala, lived with his younger sister Laura and his parents, known simply as Mommy and Papa. Mommy was a devoted homemaker, wife and mother, but she had other talents as well: ten years prior to the events portrayed in the series, she won the village's airplane race, and proceeded to win a second time in the episode "Mommy Can Fly." Papa worked as a photographer for the village magazine, and had an apprentice, a bespectacled boy kiwi bird named Kiwi. He also had a tendency to overeat, leading his family to try to put him on a diet and exercise program in the episode "Papa On Stilts." Roobear also had a girlfriend, a young girl koala named Betty.

Roobear's nemesis was a kangaroo named Walter, who loved to show off his boomerang skills. Walter was usually accompanied by his two younger brothers, Colt and Horsie, and the three of them loved to stir up trouble in the village. One source of friction between Walter and Roobear was that Walter had a crush on Betty (who obviously liked Roobear), but Betty thought Walter was boorish and rude. Nevertheless, Walter and Roobear often did get along well, when they weren't fighting.

Roobear and Laura had a number of other friends as well. Floppy, a boy rabbit, was a science enthusiast and a budding inventor who always wore a Walkman. Floppy's sister Mimi was also involved in some of the gang's adventures. Pamie was a somewhat chubby girl penguin who loved to eat but was also self-conscious about her weight (in the episode "Balloon Pamie," she decided to starve herself to lose weight after Walter and his gang teased her about her big stomach). Pamie had an unrequited crush on Roobear. Pamie and her twin brother, Nick, always wore scarves, and Nick also wore a bobble hat; they had three younger brothers who were triplets.

The show also featured a few regular adult characters aside from Roobear and Laura's parents. Miss Lewis, a young female koala, was the editor of the village magazine for which Papa worked; her constant concern was whether things would be of interest to her readers. There was some implication, in at least one episode, that she was also a teacher; this would likely explain the close relationship she had with Roobear and his friends. Then there was the enigmatic Weather, a dingo who was always shrouded with a heavy coat, scarf and hat, even in the hottest weather, and could predict the weather with great accuracy. Weather's constant companion was a sugar glider named Mingle, who was often included in the children's adventures.

It could be assumed that the series takes place in Australia due to the presence of koalas and kangaroos and the fact that Ayers Rock is mentioned in one episode. Including different types of animal creatures in the daily life of the village was likely meant to demonstrate the virtues of pluralism and diversity.

Historical Background

In 1984, the Tama Zoo in western Tokyo welcomed its first koala, and the government of Australia sent six koalas to Japan as a token of goodwill. As a result, according to "The Anime Encyclopedia" by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy, Japan went into a koala frenzy and anything to do with koalas became very popular. It was during this "koala-mania" that "The Adventures of the Little Koala" was made, as was another anime on Fuji TV, Nippon Animation's "Fushigi na Koala Blinky", which would later be broadcast alongside "Little Koala" on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block in 1988, as "Noozles".

Production Notes

The Japanese animation studio Top Craft, best known for providing animation duties on many of Rankin-Bass' American animated TV specials as well as the feature film "The Last Unicorn", worked on "The Adventures of the Little Koala." Top Craft provided animation assistance for Hayao Miyazaki's 1984 feature film "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind"; in fact, some of the animators who worked on "Little Koala" also worked on "Nausicaa". After "Nausicaa", a number of Top Craft animators went on to work for Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli.

Some notable animators who worked on this series included Katsuhisa Yamada and Hidekazu Ohara.

Trivia

* When the English-language theme song mentions Mimi's name during the bridge in which some of the other characters (such as Laura, Nick and Floppy) are named, Betty is shown onscreen. This error was never corrected.

Credits

Japan

Source: Anime News Network
* Co-producer: Haruo Nakayama
* Scripts: Kenichi Ogawa, Kiichi Takayama, Mamoru Kanbe, Nanako Watanabe, Naoko Miyake, Riki Matsumoto, Toshiaki Imaizumi, Toshiro Ueno, Tsuyoshi Yatsuki, Yoshiaki Yoshida
* Storyboards: Akio Mitani, Katsuhisa Yamada, Kozo Takagaki, Masamitsu Sasaki, Sodatsu Ishikuro, Takashi Tanasawa, Tatsuya Matsumoto
* Animation Directors: Ai Kagawa, Hidekazu Ohara, Hiroshi Yamagishi, Kazuyuki Kobayashi, Masahiro Sasaki, Masahiro Yoshida, Masaru Hirakawa, Masayuki Uchiyama, Shinnosuke Kon, Takashi Watanabe
* Music: Tsuyoshi Kawano
* Animation Studio: Top Craft
* Original Animation & Story: Tohoku Shinsha Film Co., Ltd.

English version (produced in Montreal, Canada)

* Adaptation & direction: Ernest Reid
* Executive Producer: Micheline Charest
* Producer: Ronald A. Weinberg
* Associate Producer: Elizabeth Klinck
* Post-Production Supervisor: Pierre Michaud
* Production Coordinator: Liz Joyce
* Talent Coordinator: Marrielle Gaudreault
* Production Secretary: Donna Vektris
* Sound Editor: Tony Reed
* Music Production: Andre Perreault
* Rerecording Engineer: Andre Perreault
* Titles Sequences: Tony Reed
* Production: Cinar Films
* Distribution: Viacom International Inc.

Characters/Voice actors

* Betty Koala (Cleo Paskal)
* Colt Kangaroo (Rob Roy)
* Curator, Mr.
* Duckbill Platypus (Arthur Grosser)
* Floppy Rabbit (Tim Webber)
* Horsey Kangaroo (Dean Hagopian)
* Kiwi (Phillip Pretten)
* Laura Koala (Morgan Hallet, Japanese: Chisato Nakajima)
* Lewis, Miss (Bronwen Mantel)
* Macky Macky
* Mayor, Mr. A.J. Henderson)
* Mimi Rabbit (Barbara Pogemiller, Japanese: Mayumi Shou)
* Mingle
* "Mommy" Koala (Jane Woods, Japanese: Yoshie Asai)
* Nick Penguin (Ian Finlay, Japanese: Yumiko Shibata)
* Nose, Dr. (Walter Massey)
* Pamie Penguin (Bronwen Mantel)
* "Papa" Koala (Walter Massey, Japanese: Hachirou Ozuma)
* Roobear Koala (Steven Bednarski, Japanese: Yoshiko Fujita as "Kokki")
* Walter Kangaroo (A.J. Henderson)
* Weather (Richard Dumont)

Theme song

Brand new day, time to play, with Roo Bear and his friends,
where summer never ends, koalas show you how to,
fly a plane, catch a wave, there's nothing we won't try,
lot's to do, the fun starts here with you and me.

Look up there way up high koalas in balloons,
the laughter's on its way to you,
Laura, Nick and Roo, Mimi and Floppy too,
waiting here for you.

Brand new day, time to play, with Roo Bear and his friends,
the fun and laughter never ends.
Koalas lead the way, on this sunny day,
we all love to play!

Japanese theme music

* Music: Hiro Nagasawa
* Performed by: Princess Princess

English version "Koala Song" theme

* Music: Pierre-Daniel Rheault
* Lyrics: Liz Joyce
* Performed by: Sonja Ball, Shari Chaskin and Maxie Vaughann

List of episodes

There were 52 episodes; they are listed in the pairs they were aired in.
*The Old Clock Tower / Mingle Takes A Dive
*Is Weather A Frog? / Lost In A Race
*Ghost Ship / Balloon Pamie
*The King of the Castle / Hang-Gliding With Roobear
*The Mysterious Moa Bird / Love That Baby Moa!
*Snow White and the Seven Koalas / Roobear's Invention
*Papa On Stilts / Detective Roobear
*The Dinosaur Egg / Treasure Hunt
*Pamie Falls In Love / The Koala Butterfly
*The Koala Bear Gang / Back To Nature
*Roobear Saves the Day / Editor-In-Chief Roobear
*Monster Scoop / The Biggest Jigsaw Puzzle In the World
*Who Will Be the Flower Queen? / Circus Day
*Roobear the Babysitter / Papa Makes a Pie
*The Amazing Boomerang / The Runaway Hat
*Conquering Mt. Breadknife / Save the Eucalyptus
*Mommy Can Fly / The Secret of the McGillicuddy Vase
*Heavenly Fireworks / Save that Junk
*The Winner / A Hundred-Year-Old Camera
*Nurse Pamie / Any Mail Today?
*The Writing on the Wall / A Ride In A Spaceship
*Is Mingle a Nuisance? / Allowance Problems
*A Whale of a Ride / Laura Finds An Egg
*A Broken Umbrella / Save The Butterflies
*The Moon Goddess / The Flying Doctor
*Papa On Stilts / Roobear's Invention

ee also

*Blinky Bill
*Noozles

External links

*imdb title|id=0202181|title=Adventures of the Little Koala