The Bobobobs, the 1988 animated series
The Bobobobs (original title: Els bobobobs) are characters made by writers by Henk Zwart and Nerida Zwart, who have published several successful illustrated books and comics. From the characters of the Bobobos was born a television series of animation for children produced in 1988. The stories of the Bobobobs were originally published by Standaard Uitgeverij in Belgium, with later animation and merchandising produced by Toei Animation and BRB Internacional in Spain.
The animated series was directed by Tim Reid and produced by the Spanish company BRB Internacional, which was also responsible for series such as Around the world by Willy Fog , Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, The world of David Gnome and The Wisdom of the Gnomes during the 80s. The television series, consisting of 26 episodes, was subsequently dubbed in English by Cinelume, with the participation of Telefilm Canada, as well as being dubbed in Hungarian, Italian, Catalan, Dutch, Afrikaans and German. The English piece, lasting over 2 minutes, was composed by Guido & Maurizio de Angelis, while the lyrics were written by Ted Mather and performed by Rita Irasena and Emilio Aragon.
Set in the distant past, the plot revolves around a group of miniature nomadic humanoids known as Bobobob, who live in a part of the universe far from Earth. A crew of these Bobobobs, led by Bob Wouter, the captain, set sail on the Bobular Quest, their spaceship, described as a "galleon with a protective dome". They head to Earth where they plan to save humans from being terrified of dinosaurs. Along the way they encounter a variety of different alien species, some of which are hostile, and they use their psychic powers, such as their ability to go invisible and teleport, to help them.
Bobobobs merchandise has been produced in several countries, including tie-in books, and episodes of the series have been released in both PAL and NTSC VHS formats.
Bobobobs' story will continue with the future publication of more illustrated children's books (expected in 2011).
Bobobobs episodes in English and Spanish can be watched online on BRB Entertainment's official YouTube channel. In 2012 BRB Entertainment made the entire Bobobobs series available for streaming in English on their official website.
The animated series de The Bobobobs was broadcast in 1990 on Italia 1. The Italian theme song entitled Bobobobs was recorded by Cristina D'Avena with the Piccoli Cantori di Milano.
Characters
Bob Wouter - is the gentle and balanced Bob (Captain) of the Bobular Quest with a wooden leg. He is tasked with guiding his Bobobobs on their adventurous journey across the universe to a newly discovered planet (Earth).
Little Wouter (Little Bob) - is the son of Bob Wouter. He is a smart kid, smarter than many Bobobobs think. He is Fuzz's best friend.
Blush (Blip) - is the mascot of Cornelius and the eternal companion. She is a floating fuzzy purple head with small arms and big friendly eyes.
Cornelius - is the chief astronomer of the Bobular. He is very old, has a long white beard and wears purple robes and a purple wizard hat. He is extremely wise, but because he is very old he often falls asleep leaving Peter, his assistant, to do most of his work.
Willbur - is the son of the great leader of the Bobobobs, Big Bob, and the brother of Petronella. He is the not so practical handyman of the Bobular.
Petronella - is a lady you do not want to meddle with. Since she is Big Bob's daughter, she thinks she can give orders to everyone. She is mean to those around her, with the exception of her brother Willbur, and she constantly thinks about her own (nonexistent) beauty in her. She is married to AD
AD - is the architect of Bobobob and her husband pecked by Petronella's hen that is absorbed in his work.
Fritz - is the capricious cook. His food is nutritious but it tastes terrible. He loses his temper with anyone who disagrees, especially Aunt Agatha. His best friends are Ein & Stein.
Aunt Agatha - is everyone's aunt. She snuck aboard to take care of her grandson Peter, but she quickly became friends with everyone, especially Cornelius. She is a very nice old lady who makes a lot of much loved sweets.
Ein & Stein - they are Bobular's biologists. They are identical twins and never leave each other. Their main job is to grow "Obus" plants for the Bobular Quest crew. Although they tend to argue regularly, they care for each other deeply.
Peter - is Cornelius 'assistant whose ambition is to someday become chief astronomer, but he has a lot to learn and Blip, Cornelius' little companion, doesn't make things any easier for him.
Doc Bone - it's Bobular's doctor who is a bit distracted and has more eyes for Nurse Mimi than for her patients.
Nurse Mimi - is Doc Bone's sweet young nurse. She is always ready to help those in need, especially Willbur.
big bob - is the leader of the Bobobobs and father of Petronella and Willbur.
Episodes
1 Season
In all, 26 episodes were produced, including:
1 bobobob - While navigating space, Cornelius sees distant Earth in his telescope where the dinosaurs are terrorizing the Bobs. He arranges a meeting of all Bobs, led by their King, Big Bob. The consul agrees that the Bobular Quest should leave for Earth. Along the way, they stop for a picnic on a planet, but are attacked by two cyclops even if they manage to escape.
2 A queen in the swamp - The Bobular Quest is captured by giant vines and an away team consisting of the Captain, Little Bob and Willbur heads to the planet, inhabited by giant frogs. It turns out that the real Queen Croakadillia has been usurped by the evil Queen Toadella, who is using the ant army to keep control of her. Toadella captures the captain and Willbur and plans to eat them for dinner unless the Bobs can overthrow her and save them in time.
3 The demon of the universe - The Bobs crash into a planet inhabited by monsters and only Cornelius can save them from the most dangerous of all: a "hairy hermit" called the demon of the universe who curses the crew and takes control of Cornelius's body. Cornelius eventually chases the demon away and with the help of the crew burns him in the depths of space with a giant fireball.
4 Blip goes home - Blip has vivid nightmares in which his parents are engulfed in fire. She returns to her homeworld only to find that a severe food shortage has led to the former friendly Munchums kidnapping Blip's parents. The Bobobobs provide the planet with food in abundance and free both Blip's parents and the kidnappers.
5 Birthday - Cornelius turns 1000 and feels neglected by the crew, who only pretend to neglect him until his surprise party at the end.
6 The disguise - Bobs come across some octopuses as space creatures.
7 Monster of the tree
8 Little Wouter's new friends - While fishing from the side of the ship, Little Bob catches two small creatures called gubbies. He takes them as pets, but they soon start wreaking havoc everywhere, eating all the food and gnawing on wood. The innocent Blip is blamed, but the real culprits are eventually discovered. Bobs transform into giants using their special powers and scare off gubbies.
9 The spaceships - A pair of alien spaceships, the Lest and Pest brothers, climb aboard, much to Petronella's dismay, who ends up in the bathtub with them.
10 Help request - A very dirty ship arrives with a desire to trade with Bobular Quest, however their true intentions are revealed when it is discovered that they want to take over Bobular Quest.
11 The mummy comes to visit - An alien ship (resembling a flying saucer) tries to capture Bobular Quest.
12 The fall of Fritz - Fritz gets into a fight with Petronella which results in Fritz falling down the stairs. After his fall she becomes kind and decides to let Aunt Agatha take care of the kitchen. After being shot in the head again, Fritz returns to his normal petty self and the crew are happy again.
13 The Puffy Pink Space Spook - Crew members report seeing ghosts aboard the ship but their concerns are dismissed by Cornelius. After more and more sightings, the ghost is revealed to be the very dangerous pink space monster Puffy. The Bobs finally unite and, after drinking a blue potion that turns them into similar pink ghosts, they terrorize their enemy, who promptly explodes.
Technical data
Original title Els bobobobs
Original language Catalan
Country Spain
Author Henk Zwart, Nerida Zwart
Regia Tim Reid
Music Guido and Maurizio De Angelis
Studio BRB International, TV3
Network TV3
Date 1st TV 1988 – 1989
Episodes 26 (complete)
Relationship 4:3
Episode duration 24 min
Italian network Italia 1
Date 1st Italian TV January 1990
Italian dialogues Luisella Sgammeglia
Italian dubbing studio Deneb Movie
Italian dubbing direction Donatella Fanfani
