Flo, little Robinson
Original title: Kazoku Robinson Hyoryuki Fushigi na Shima no Furone Characters:
Flo, Ernst (Flo's father), Anna (Flo's mother), Franz (older brother), Jack (younger brother), Mr. Morton, Tomtom, Emily (Franz's friend) Production:
Nippon animation Author: Johann Wyss Regia:Yoshio Kuroda | Country: Japan Year: January 4 1981 Broadcast in Italy: October
1982 Gender: Comedy / Adventure Episodes: 50 Duration: 25 minutes Recommended age: Children from 6 to 12 years old |
Flo is the little protagonist of the cartoon "The island of little Flo"(original title kazoku Robinson - fushigina shima no Flone) produced by Nippon Animation in 1981 and broadcast for the first time in Italy in 1982 on Rete4. The anime is part of the project World Masterpiece Theater. Flo Robinson is a generous and altruistic child, who loves animals very much and often gets into trouble (as we will see in the course of the episodes), but thanks to the support of her wonderful family she always manages to get by and to draw from her precious misadventures teachings. Flo's father, Hernest, is a skilled and trained doctor, but above all a model parent and an ingenious man. Anna, on the other hand, is a calm and kind woman, who places great trust in the talents of her husband and children. Franz, Flo's elder brother is a diligent and helpful little man and very inclined to study and music (he would like to become a talented musician): he is his father's right hand.Finally, there is little Jack, who despite his tender age is very promising.
The Robinson family lives happily in Bern in a beautiful house (the family also includes the young housekeeper Mary who establishes a very intense relationship with Flo, but who unfortunately will have to separate from the said family for personal reasons: the separation will be very painful) . It happens, however, that Hernest, after having consulted his parents, decides to move to the still little civilized Australia to serve as a doctor; then, having established what to do, they embark on the long journey. On the boat they meet many people, having the opportunity to demonstrate their great generosity and nobility of soul. Franz spends most of his time with young Emily (his age and a music lover). One day, due to a misunderstanding, the girl's parents quarrel until they decide to separate, causing the girl a great displeasure. Then Franz and Flo, with the help of the captain, organize a plot to help the new friend: for a few days Flo in the role of captain takes control of the ship; therefore in order to honor Thanksgiving the same prohibits drinking alcohol until a certain time, with the punishment that anyone who broke the ban would have to spend five days locked in the hold.
Therefore Franz offers a semi-alcoholic drink to his friend and mom, allowing Flo to act out his warning. So the two women are locked up in the hold in order to prevent them from abandoning the ship. But the forced isolation lasts only the time necessary to make the two spouses come to their senses who, realizing that they cannot be separated, restore harmony (to the satisfaction of all, even of little Flo, although forced to bed by a terrible stomach ache. for eating a whole cake by herself!). Another significant episode is that in which Hernest is publicly humiliated by a rich and rude gentleman, who demands him to kiss his wife's shoe to repay him for Jack's accidental loss of a precious hat. For the sake of his son he decides to make the gesture, but the kind lady prevents him, apologizing for her husband's arrogance. Later the same lady will suffer pains, but the ship's doctor is unable to assist her because he is drunk; so Hernest, despite the offenses previously suffered, offers his care to the woman and helps her to give birth to a beautiful boy.
In finding in the doctor the same man who had been vilely humiliated the illustrious gentleman will be very ashamed and full of consternation and emotion he will offer his apologies, learning a great life lesson from his mistake. Meanwhile, the days on the ship pass pleasantly, until one day this quiet is interrupted by the raging of a ruinous storm. In such circumstances Franz falls into the sea risking to die, but will be saved by the captain. Everyone abandon the ship (now on the point of sinking), except Hernest and Anna for the love of their son, who fortunately will be found by his father, recovering after a few days. Then together they build a raft with which they reach the island of Flone, where they live for a year partly in a house built by them on a hollow tree (i.e. empty, therefore habitable internally) and partly in a large cave. On the island they will face many difficulties linked to the need for strict survival; nevertheless there will be wonderful and happy days, even in the company of the strange animal, which Jack, its rightful owner, will call Mercr. One day, however, Flo accidentally discovers a spring, whose sudden warming informs the family of the impending awakening of the volcano. So together with the other two inhabitants (an elderly man with gruff ways and a black boy, of a reserved but very helpful nature) known on the island, they built a second raft and managed to leave the island just before the eruption. Little Flo's island is a very educational anime, because importance is given to the little things that make up our daily life: situations and objects from here too often we underestimate the importance. Each episode teaches us the importance of loyalty, hard work and the importance of keeping alive habits and customs typical of civil society (for example education). Other important messages are respect for nature, which should never be defrauded, but cultivated only for the purpose of survival. Flo then teaches us that animals are creatures to be loved and respected and that activities such as hunting are strictly aimed at survival. From a technical point of view you can appreciate the well-kept and evocative designs, also thanks to the use of bright and lively colors. by Helga Corpino
The island of little Flo is copyright Nippon Animation and of the right holders and are used here for cognitive and informative purposes.
Video of Flo, little Robinson
|