Wowser (TV series) facts for kids
Wowser | |
Screenshot from Wowser
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Quick facts for kids どんどんドメルとロン(Don-Don Domeru/Dommel to Ron) |
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Genre | Comedy |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Keiichiro Mochizuki |
Written by | Kaoru Toshima |
Studio | Telescreen Japan Inc J.C.Staff |
Network | TV Tokyo |
English network | |
Original run | 5 April 1988 – 27 March 1989 |
Episodes | 52 (104 segments) |
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 The Family Channel in 1989.
Contents
Plot
Wowser is a large white bear/dog who has a big appetite and lives with his owner Professor Dinghy, a genius inventor. They live 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 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 bear, 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.
- 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 interfering with them. He mostly likes to use Wowser to check his inventions. Japanese voice actor: Kaneta Kimotsuki. English voice actor: Simon Prescott.
- 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.
- 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 Dinghy also seem to have a crush on her. Japanese voice actress: Mīna Tominaga. English voice actress: Wendee Swan.
- 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 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: Wendee Swan.
- 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 English dub changed the names of the characters and replaced the original music.
In the UK, Wowser aired on ITV and later on Channel 4 in the early and mid-1990s. Two videos of the series were released in two volumes by Stylus Video. In the United States, in 1990 and 1991, Wowser was released on video in four volumes in episodes with running times of 30 minutes and 60 minutes. In Canada, it aired on YTV between 1990 and 1993.
Elsewhere, the series was dubbed in Arabic in Jordan, and released throughout the Arab world; this version was named Ka'abool (Arabic: كعبول). It was also dubbed into Euskera, and re-titled as Dommel Artzain Txakurra ('Dommel the Shepherd Dog'); and into Dutch, titled as Dommel and aired by BRT, VARA and Kindernet from 1989 to 2003. The latter channel relaunched as Nickelodeon Kindernet on Comedy Central (Netherlands), and the series aired from May 2011 until 31 October 2013. Since 2015, it has aired on Pebble TV. The Italian version of Wowser was titled Teodoro e L'Nnvenzione Che Non Va ('Theodore and the Wrong Invention'). The Chinese version of "Wowser" was titled IQ 零蛋多毛狗 ('IQ Zero Egg Hairy Dog').
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