Grizzy & the Lemmings (French: Grizzy et les Lemmings) is a French animated television series produced by Studio Hari with the participation of France Télévisions and Boomerang. It is a silent comedy focusing on a grizzly bear, named Grizzy, having to deal with the group of the eponymous lemmings irritating him.[1] The show has no real dialogue, as characters will speak gibberish. The three-dimensional designs are by Bertrand Gatignol [fr] for the characters and Édouard Cellura for the sets.
The series was announced on 22 June 2015, and debuted internationally in the fall of 2016. It was renewed for a second season on 5 July 2017, which is stated to air on a number of channels around the globe in 2018.[2][3] Season 1 was released for Netflix on 15 July 2019. In the same year, Hari Productions (Studio Hari) announced the development of the third season, titled Grizzy & the Lemmings World Tour.[4] Season 3 came out in 2021 and ended on 15 March 2022.[5] Season 4 came out on May 15, 2024.
Synopsis
Grizzy and the Lemmings is set in Nutty Hill National Forest, a fictional Canadian park, at the hillside cabin of the park's mostly unseenforest ranger. When the ranger leaves for work each day, Grizzy, a grizzly bear, slips into the cabin and takes advantage of its numerous amenities, usually seeking to relax, watch television and snack. He always finds his peace disturbed by a pack of rambunctious and mischief-making blue-gray lemmings who all have similar personalities.[6]
As Grizzy and the lemmings are drawn into conflict, various pieces of high-tech equipment and sometimes magic objects in and around the cabin come into play, as the lemmings seek to make more mischief and Grizzy tries to stop them. The battle almost invariably spills onto the passing highway and beyond, leading to high-speed chases. Every episode ends in a bad ending with Grizzy and the lemmings trapped in some sort of undesirable and apparently inescapable situation. As with similar cartoons, in spite of the terrible things that happen, no one is ever permanently injured. They are hit by log trucks, shot by rockets, crushed by boulders, electrocuted, blown up by explosives and so on but always come back to try again.[6]
Characters
Main
Grizzy (voiced by Pierre-Alain de Garrigues [fr])[7] is an anthropomorphicGrizzly bear who lives in the forest ranger's cabin. He has a brown body, a light brown fat stomach, and a height of approximately two meters (6 feet 7 inches) tall. He wears a green-colored locket and a pair of sandals, which belonged to the Forest Ranger. In the cabin, he does not do anything except sleeping on the sofa, watch TV and eat salmon covered with a spread of Yummy XL (chocolate spread, moreover an off brand recreation of Nutella). He likes watching a TV program entitled "The Secret of the Salmon". He dislikes opera music, which sometimes starts when he is switching channels. The only thing that stands in his way of luxury is the Lemmings, who cause him a lot of trouble and mischief. Grizzy does not like them and doesn't like to share anything with them. In the episode "Intensive Care", it is shown that when the Lemmings get sick, he develops some sympathy for them. He does not say anything meaningful but he was seen reading English from a mobile phone screen. Grizzy is actually very smart, able to find a solution to any situation.
The Lemmings (voiced by Josselin Charier, the founder of Hari Productions)[7] are a group of anthropomorphic lemmings with blue bodies and light bluish gray stomachs, also inhabiting the Forest Ranger's cabin. All of them have the same appearance, behaviors, mannerisms, and interests. They speak in a language which only consists of the word "Tabodi". Said to be a tribe of forty, the Lemmings' single motivation of fun gets them into trouble with Grizzy. Despite their intelligence, their personality is that of dim-witted teenage pranksters, but they appear to work very well as a team, which can make the bear's life in the cabin quite difficult. They love having rave parties and they also eat Yummy XL like Grizzy, stealing his jars at every opportunity. They love watching a TV program about a cat and a mouse (a parody of Tom and Jerry). They can sing lullabies that make Grizzy fall asleep. They also love dancing to music, which he dislikes. They also don't like to share anything with him. They cause a lot of chaos, with most of their mischief being targeted at Grizzy. Like Grizzy, they love technology, such as 3D printers, mobile phones, radio speakers, and, in case of avoiding being chased by Grizzy, use blow-dryers or fans to make their skateboard go faster.
Minor
She-Bear - She is the female anthropomorphic grizzly bear who is Grizzy's love interest. Unfortunately for Grizzy, she shares no interest in him and his attempts to impress her end in failure, either caused by him or by the Lemmings. The She-Bear has an interest in the natural wildlife, but on some occasions in the episodes she takes part in the crazy antics between Grizzy and the Lemmings. Her color and height are the same as Grizzy but she is slimmer and has a heart-shaped spot on her belly. In season 2, she received a redesign, giving her a huge pink spot (like Grizzy's) on her belly, instead of the former heart-shaped spot. She always has a flower accessorized in her hair. She lives in the forest and loves sniffing flowers, watching butterflies and kites. She sleeps at night on a log of wood in the forest. She also likes popcorn. It's revealed in the episode "Babysitting", where she has a bear cub daughter "She-Bear Kid". She-Bear has featured a larger role with main characters in the episode "Mind in a Whirl".
Other creatures – There are also some other animals, birds and insects in the forest but they are not anthropomorphic like Grizzy, the Lemmings and She-bear. They don't do anything like the three of them and live in the forest like real and simple animals. Both Grizzy and the Lemmings tend to use these animals for their own schemes, but usually, by the end of every episode, both of them suffer from the hilarious consequences of their actions. Sometimes other living organisms also get caught up in these troubles.
Moose – Many moose appear in episodes of the show. The Lemmings (and sometimes Grizzy) use them for transportation. The moose are fond of eating carrots so sometimes lemmings hang a carrot in front of his eyes to make them run. But they can eat other things like glass bottles or a ring as shown in "Bear Luck" and "Clean Bear". They are incredibly passive and don't do anything apart from graze. The color of nearly all of the Mooses is mostly brown but a Black colored Moose is shown in the episodes "A Midsummer Bear's Dream" and in "Wandering Spirits". A Moose is featured in a larger role with Grizzy and Lemmings in the episode "Rainbow Moose".
Partridge/Ruffed grouse – These Mountain bamboo partridge birds are often used as a mode of transport by the Lemmings. Grizzy also uses them in many situations. They have big eyes and the color of their feathers are brown and black. Sometimes a partridge becomes bigger in size due to the actions and consequences of Grizzy and the lemmings. A giant partridge is shown in the episodes "A Midsummer's Bear dream", "Timeless Bear" and "The Bear Next Door" (not in the main background but in another place). In the show, the partridges fly in the sky. They are largely featured with Grizzy and the lemmings in the episodes "A Sizeable Problem" and "Call of the Bear".
Frog – Frogs are generally shown eating flies. In the show the tongues of the frogs are long. Frogs are featured mainly with the main characters in the episode "Bear Charm".
Fly – Flies are generally shown being eaten by Frogs. Sometimes, flies are a victim to various chemical potions brewed by Grizzy. A fly has mainly shown with the main characters in the episode "Yummy Fly".
Butterfly – Butterflies on the show are generally seen in blue, pink or yellow colors. The She-Bear loves them. Butterflies are usually small in size but a big butterfly is shown in episodes "Timeless Bear", "The Bear Next Door" and "The Bear and the Butterfly"(in this episode the butterfly has a larger role with main characters).
Raccoon – The raccoons on the show are dirty and often rummage in the trash and eat garbage. Their noses twitch very fast. The lullaby of lemmings also makes them go to sleep as shown in the episode "Inspector Grizzy". A raccoon has been featured in a large role with the main cast in the episodes "Bear's Best Friend", "Sniffer Raccoon" and "Masked Raccoon".
Spider – Spiders in the show are rarely seen. Their color is mainly black. Grizzy has a fear of spiders, shown in the episode "Spider Lemmings".
Dinosaur – A T. rex-like dinosaur(s) is unfrozen from a block of ice in "Jurassic Bear" (red and green in colour) and also appears in episodes "Timeless Bear", "The Bear Next Door" (in lime-green color), "Ancestral Bear" and "Surprise Deglaciation".
Bat – Bats (appears in season 2) in the show, are also rarely seen. Bats have a larger role with Grizzy and Lemmings in the episode "BatGrizzy" (in this episode, it is shown that they do not like anyone controlling them for their own means).
Polar Bear – A polar bear appears in the episode "Ice and Bears". He quickly overheats without ice and behaves like a playful dog when cooled, becoming a pal to the Lemmings and a perplexing annoyance to Grizzy.
Forest Ranger – The Forest Ranger very rarely appears in person. His only appearance in the show is in the intro and in the episode "As Far As Bear Can Remember" in a flashback. He is shown as a man who left his cabin in the forest where the bear and the lemmings now live. In some episodes, his poster and photos are shown. He is the only human character in the show.
World Tour has the Chinese Partridge, which is a Chinese version of the original partridge. The following species which appear are:
Josselin Charier, Antoine Rodelet, Alexandre So, Victor Moulin, Fanny Marseau, Simon Lecocq, Valerie Chappellet, Clement Girard, Cedric Lachenaud, Alexandre Wahl and Sebastien Guerout
Josselin Charier, Antoine Rodelet, Simon Lecocq, Valerie Chappellet, Clement Girard, Victor Moulin, Corentin Lecourt, Idriss Benseghir, Celestine Jacquel-Plays, Cedric Lachenaud, Alexandre Wahl and Sebastien Guerout
The series initially aired on Boomerang in the UK and Ireland from October 10, 2016. Season 1 and 2 airs on Pop, Pop Max and Tiny Pop, while season 3 and the upcoming 4th season airs on CBBC.[8][9][10]
In France, the series aired from December 31, 2016, and it first broadcast on France 3 in the Ludo youth box.[16] The season 1 of the series is re-telecast on Boomerang since September 4, 2017[17] and on France 4 from February 19, 2018. The broadcast of season 2 begins on France 3 and in the Ludo youth box on April 6, 2019. "Grizzy and the Lemmings World Tour", the third season, was premiered on the Okoo platform on July 2, 2021, and from August 28, 2021, on France 4.[18]
It also aired in India from January 2, 2017, to 2020 on Pogo.[19][20] From December 2020, its sister channel Cartoon Network started re-telecasting the first two seasons of the series. Season 3 titled Grizzy and the Lemmings : World Tour released on August 9, 2021, on Cartoon Network. In February 2022, Pogo started broadcasting the series again. In February 2023 the series again shifted to Cartoon Network and aired till September 2023. The Indian version of the show is unique in that it has Hindi dialogue dubbed over, by Manoj Pandey (as the narrator of the show and as Grizzy) and Anshul Saxena (as the Lemmings). The characters' names were also localized.
In the United States, Grizzy & the Lemmings made its debut on April 3, 2017[21] on Boomerang. The second season of the show was premiered in the USA on September 2, 2018.
Alongside getting positive reviews,[citation needed], the show was popular in different nations:
On February 12, 2018, Grizzy & the Lemmings won the Laurier in the youth animation category, at the 23rd ceremony of the Lauriers de la Radio et de la Télévision.
On February 13, 2018, Grizzy and the Lemmings won the Kidscreen Awards for best-animated series, Kids category, at the 2018 Kidscreen Summit in Miami.
In April 2018, the show receives an EMIL Award for the best children's programs, awarded by the Germanmagazine TV Spielfilm.
In October 2018, Grizzy and the Lemmings won the award for best TV series at the TOFUZI International Animated Film Festival in Georgia.
On March 18, 2019, the show won the TV France International Animation export prize at the Trianon in Paris.
On September 7, 2019, Grizzy et les Lemmings (season 2) was awarded the Best Children's Television Program Award by the International Dytiatko Festival in Ukraine.
In other media
This section needs expansion with: Research on distribution too, like any home media releases. You can help by adding to it. (August 2022)
Adventure Grizzy Go, Grizzy Bubble, Grizzly Escape, Grizzy Jump, Flappy Lemmings and Lemmings Flight are some video games which are based on this television series.
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