The Wuzzles - The 1985 Disney animated series

December 10 2021

The Wuzzles is a 1985 American animated series, aired for the first time on September 14, 1985 on the American television channel CBS. An idea launched by Michael Eisner for his new Disney TV animation studio. The originality of this series is that the main characters are hybrids of two different animals. The original 13 episodes aired on CBS for the first time

History

Wuzzles feature a variety of small, rounded animal characters (each named Wuzzle, which means to mix). Each is a roughly uniform and colorful mix of two different animal species (as the acronym mentions, "they live with a dual personality"), and all the characters sport wings on their backs, although only Apilone (Bumblelion) and Farforsa (Butterbear) are apparently able to fly. All the Wuzzle live on the island of Wuz. Double species are not limited to the Wuzzle themselves. From apples eating on the phone at home, or in a luxury home called Castlescraper, almost everything on Wuz is mixed together in the same way the Wuzzles are. Characters from the show have been widely commercialized - featured in children's books, Care Bears) and in a board game.

Disney premiered two animated series on the same day at the same time slot, 8:30 am ET, in the US, with the other The adventures of the Rubber on NBC, and both series were successful during their first seasons. However, the Wuzzles series stopped production after its initial programming, largely due to the sudden death of Bill Scott, the voice of Moosel. CBS canceled the show and ABC (later acquired by Disney in 1996) picked it up and showed reruns during the 1986-1987 season; they aired it at 8:00 a.m. so the two Disney shows weren't competing with each other.

It was a major success in the UK, where the first episode aired as a film production in 1986, along with a reissue of Disney's Bambi. In the UK, The Wuzzles and the Adventures of the Gummi originally aired on the same channel (ITV) in 1985/1986; hence, both series enjoyed high popularity. Reruns of the show aired on both the Disney Channel and Toon Disney. Songwriter Stephen Geyer performed as lead vocals and composed the theme song.

Characters

The speaker : The never-seen-before narrator welcomes the viewer to the “Land of Wuz” and in each episode we hear about different things.

Apylon (Bumblelion)

Half hornet and half lion, Apilone (Bumblelion) is mostly lion in appearance. It is a short, stubby, orange-furred creature with a pink mane, fuzzy antennae, a lion's tail, small insect wings, and horizontal brown stripes across its belly. He lives in a beehive, loves sports, is brave and has a crush on Farforsa (Butterbear). He is said to be the type who "rushes where the angels fear they will walk." He and Eleguro are best friends.

Eleguro (Eleroo)

Half elephant and half kangaroo. One of the larger Wuzzle, Eleguro (Eleroo) is purple, with the body and tail shape of a kangaroo and the trunk and ears of an elephant. It has a horizontally striped pouch (despite the fact that pouches are only found on female kangaroos). Eleguro (Eleroo) has a hard time remembering what he keeps in his bag. It's sweet, but accident / disaster prone. He and Apilone (Bumblelion) are best friends.

Farforsa (Butterbear)

Half bear and half butterfly, Farforsa (Butterbear) is mostly bear in appearance. It has yellow fur with a white belly, wings larger than the other Wuzzle, and short antennae with flowers on the ends. She is a passionate gardener, gentle and patient despite her friends' crazy adventures.

Focalc (Moosel)

Half moose and half seal, Focalce (Moosel) has an elk-like head with horns, although it also sports fins like a pinniped. Focalce (Moosel), the smallest Wuzzle, is blue and purple. He has a vivid imagination, which makes him believe in monsters. He is the youngest of the Wuzzle. He and Rinobert (Rhinokey) are best friends.

Conippa (Hoppopotamus)

Half rabbit and half hippo. She is called Hoppo by her friends. Hoppo is the largest Wuzzle. It is a hippo with bunny ears, bunny teeth, and a fluffy tail. He has blue fur with a purple belly and loves to sing and act. Hoppo is an intrusive and demanding diva, but she knows how to be sweet. However, when toughness is required (particularly in dealing with the normal villain he's the toughest Wuzzle of all. Hoppo has a crush on Apilone (Bumblelion), but Apilone (Bumblelion) has his heart set on Farforsa (Butterbear).

Rinobert (Rhinokey)

half rhino and half monkey, Rinobert (Rhinokey) is mostly ape in appearance. Rinobert (Rhinokey) is a Wuzzle that has a rhino-like snout with a horizontally striped horn, pink fur, and rhino-like legs. He is in a posture very similar to that of a monkey. Rinobert (Rhinokey) is a fun-loving and carefree prankster. Likes to make practical jokes. He can be hateful, especially with Conippa (Hoppopotamus), but he loves his friends. He and Focalce (Moosel) are best friends.

antagonists

Dinodile (Crocosaurus)

half crocodile and half dinosaur, and the main antagonist of the series. Dinodile (Crocosaurus) (normally referred to as Crock in the series) is short-tempered, lazy, cowardly, ignorant, bossy, and goes out of his way to get what he wants. He always wants the best of what other Wuzzle's have, but he doesn't want to make the effort to acquire it himself.

Brat : half boar, half dragon and the main helper of Dinodile (Crocosaurus). Brat spits, blinks, cries, laughs, screams, growls and grunts in his speech, but Dinodile (Crocosaurus) always understands what he's saying. Like Dinodile (Crocosaurus), he is very lazy and has a strong dislike of other Wuzzle along with a desire to have the best of what they have without making any effort to get it. As his name suggests, Brat is very short-tempered and is often shown throwing tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants. He is also very lacking in intelligence, and his incompetence often sees himself and Dinodile (Crocosaurus) fall victim to their own devices, which in turn occasionally sees them arguing.

Ranalucy (Flizard) : Half frog, half lizard and Dinodile's other helper (Crocosaurus). Ranalucy (Flizard) is not particularly intelligent, but has good intentions, is more lovable in his ways than Dinodile (Crocosaurus) or Brat, and relatively more tolerant than Wuzzle, yet very loyal to Dinodile (Crocosaurus); on occasions when Dinodile (Crocosaurus) and Brat fall, it is often up to Ranalucy (Flizard) to try to make things right between them. Her character essentially emphasizes tolerance towards others that one is not particularly close to, staying true to one's friends regardless of whether their plans are morally right or not. Ranalucy (Flizard) does not appear in all episodes, but only makes sporadic appearances throughout the series.

Technical data

Original title The Wuzzles
Original language English
Country United States
Regia Carole Beers (ep. 1-4), Fred Wolf (ep. 5-13)
Producer Fred wolf
Artistic direction Brad Landreth
Music Thomas Chase, Steve Rucker
Studio Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group
Network CBS
1st TV 14 September - 7 December 1985
Episodes 13 (complete)
Relationship 4:3
Episode duration 22 min
Italian network Rai 1
1st Italian TV 23 April - 21 May 1986
Italian episodes 13 (complete)
Dialogues it. Mario Paolinelli
Double studio it. Group Thirty
Gender comedy, great