Wowser (TV series)

Not to be confused with Towser.

Wowser
Screenshot from Wowser
どんどんドメルとロン
(Don Don: Domeru to Ron)
GenreComedy
Anime television series
Directed byKeiichiro Mochizuki
Produced by
  • Kazuo Tabata
  • Sumio Takahashi
Written by
  • Matsue Jimbo
  • Kaoru Toshima
Music by
Studio
Original networkTV Tokyo
English network
Original run 5 April 1988 – 27 March 1989
Episodes52 (104 segments)

Wowser, known in Japan as Bigger and Better: Dommel & Ron (どんどんドメルとロン, Don Don: Domeru to Ron), is an anime based on the Belgian comic strip Cubitus. It is the first TV anime to be produced by anime studio J.C. Staff. Telescreen Japan co-animated the series alongside J.C. Staff. It consisted of 52 two-part episodes the running time of 25 minutes in total, and it originally aired from 5 April 1988 to 27 March 1989.[1] The show aired in the United States on The Family Channel in 1989.[2][3]

Plot

Statue of Cubitus in Limal.

Wowser is a large, white 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 an apron; Linda Lovely and her brother Bob; and Ratso Catso, a black-and-white cat who often ruins Wowser's day or sabotages Dinghy's inventions.

Characters

  • Wowser (ドメル, Domeru, Dommel) is the main character. A large, white dog, he has a good-natured personality but a lazy disposition and a humongous appetite which often get him into trouble. He 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.[4]
  • Professor Dinghy (ロン, Ron, Ron) 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.[4]
  • Ratso Catso (ブラッキー, Burakkī, Blackie) is an annoying black-and-white neighbourhood cat who appears to be Wowser's rival or his friend for some reason, and often pretends to be nice and sabotages the Professor's inventions. Japanese voice actress: Rika Matsumoto. English voice actor: Robert Axelrod.[4]
  • Linda Lovely (チェリー, Cherī, Cherry) 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.[4]
  • Bob Lovely (ボブ, Bobu, Bob) is Linda's young little brother. Japanese voice actress: Tarako. English voice actress: Barbara Goodson, Wendee Swan (episode 11).
  • Beatrice (ベアトリクス, Beatorikusu, Beatrix) is a rather plump, tall, bossy, middle-aged woman who is often very rude to Wowser. She also seems to have a secret crush on Dinghy. Japanese voice actress: Kazuko Sugiyama. English voice actress: Melanie MacQueen.
  • Officer Whistle (ポリス, Porisu, Police) 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.

Episodes

# Title Original airdate
1"Mr. Mayor's Award"
 (奇々怪々の大気球)		5 April 1988 (1988-04-05)
2"Self-Cleaning Machine"
 (大爆笑パワーアップ)		5 April 1988 (1988-04-05)
3"A Giant Laser Monster Appears"
 (レーザー大怪物出現)		12 April 1988 (1988-04-12)
4"Horoscope"
 (ハッピー星占い)		12 April 1988 (1988-04-12)
5"Mouse Machine Operation"
 (ネズミマシーン作戦)		19 April 1988 (1988-04-19)
6"A Rare Invention"
 (珍珍発明二才イラー)		19 April 1988 (1988-04-19)
7"Ice Skating Machine"
 (氷りごりマシーン)		26 April 1988 (1988-04-26)
8"The Underwater Gourmet Ship Departs"
 (海底グルメ船出発だ)		26 April 1988 (1988-04-26)
9"Mt. Everest Wowser"
 (どんどん珍式登山法)		3 May 1988 (1988-05-03)
10"A Pair of Pitiful Pilots"
 (爆風サーカス大飛行)		3 May 1988 (1988-05-03)
11"Slap Happy Birthday"
 (わくわく混戦証生日)		10 May 1988 (1988-05-10)
12"Motor Maze to the Market"
 (メトロ迷路大道跡)		10 May 1988 (1988-05-10)
13"To Build a Better Bike"17 May 1988 (1988-05-17)
14"A Mischievous Cushion"17 May 1988 (1988-05-17)
15"Hippo Dance Party"
 (踊れカバ君カバ騒ぎ)		24 May 1988 (1988-05-24)
16"Time Trouble"
 (ドン発明タイムメカ)		24 May 1988 (1988-05-24)
17"Just an Old Cut-Up"
 (大恐怖キリカッター)		31 May 1988 (1988-05-31)
18"Sky High Housing"
 (おいらの夢夢飛行船)		31 May 1988 (1988-05-31)
19"Hi Yo Wowser"
 (木馬パッパカ大競争)		7 June 1988 (1988-06-07)
20"The Weight Loser"
 (ドメル無理スリム)		7 June 1988 (1988-06-07)
21"The Iceman Cometh"14 June 1988 (1988-06-14)
22"Automatic Eater"14 June 1988 (1988-06-14)
23"I'll See You in a Dream"21 June 1988 (1988-06-21)
24"I Want My Mummy"
 (ドメミイラ怪々事件)		21 June 1988 (1988-06-21)
25"The Babysitters"28 June 1988 (1988-06-28)
26"Crazy Locomotive"
 (リニア追跡SLボ示)		28 June 1988 (1988-06-28)
27"Explain That Stain"
 (透明スプレー大噴射)		5 July 1988 (1988-07-05)
28"Wild and Woolly Wowser"
 (メカ馬ガンマン対発)		5 July 1988 (1988-07-05)
29"Roller Skating"12 July 1988 (1988-07-12)
30"The Visitor from Space"12 July 1988 (1988-07-12)
31"Wowser Robot"19 July 1988 (1988-07-19)
32"In Search of Bones"19 July 1988 (1988-07-19)
33"Dinghy's 3-D TV"
 (飛び出すロンテレビ)		26 July 1988 (1988-07-26)
34"Insomnia"
 (ラッコだっこベビー)		26 July 1988 (1988-07-26)
35"The Salesman"2 August 1988 (1988-08-02)
36"The Kidnapper"2 August 1988 (1988-08-02)
37"The Terrible Camp Class"
 (とんだキャンプ教室)		9 August 1988 (1988-08-09)
38"Wowser's Big Wash"
 (ラッコだっこベビー)		9 August 1988 (1988-08-09)
39"A Garbage Giveaway"
 (ロンがらくた大安売)		16 August 1988 (1988-08-16)
40"The Haunted House"
 (ラッコだっこベビー)		16 August 1988 (1988-08-16)
41"Morning Alarm"23 August 1988 (1988-08-23)
42"The Shrunken Dog"23 August 1988 (1988-08-23)
43"The Abominable Snowman"40 August 1988 (1988-08-40)
44"Looking After the House"40 August 1988 (1988-08-40)
45"Little Red Riding Dog and the Wolf"6 September 1988 (1988-09-06)
46"Golfing"6 September 1988 (1988-09-06)
47"The Champion"13 September 1988 (1988-09-13)
48"Hunting for Hares"13 September 1988 (1988-09-13)
49"The Wonderful Lamp"20 September 1988 (1988-09-20)
50"The Playground"20 September 1988 (1988-09-20)
51"Rejuvenation"27 September 1988 (1988-09-27)
52"King of the Jungle"27 September 1988 (1988-09-27)
53"The Movie Star"3 October 1988 (1988-10-03)
54"Wowser and the Beanstalk"3 October 1988 (1988-10-03)
55"The Christmas Gift"10 October 1988 (1988-10-10)
56"Skiing"10 October 1988 (1988-10-10)
57"Life on the Ranch"17 October 1988 (1988-10-17)
58"Reeducation"17 October 1988 (1988-10-17)
59"Snow Tunnel"24 October 1988 (1988-10-24)
60"Martians"24 October 1988 (1988-10-24)
61"The Art Thieves"31 October 1988 (1988-10-31)
62"The Magic Show"31 October 1988 (1988-10-31)
63"The Transferring Machine"7 November 1988 (1988-11-07)
64"Super Wowser"7 November 1988 (1988-11-07)
65"The Mini-Camera"14 November 1988 (1988-11-14)
66"Dracula Meets the Wowser"14 November 1988 (1988-11-14)
67"Postman Wowser"21 November 1988 (1988-11-21)
68"Snow Sculpture Contest"21 November 1988 (1988-11-21)
69"Super Fertilizer"28 November 1988 (1988-11-28)
70"The Soccer Trainer"28 November 1988 (1988-11-28)
71"Go For It, Gulliver!"
 (がんばれ！ガリバー)		5 December 1988 (1988-12-05)
72"The Failed Escape"
 (ペンキでパンダ)		5 December 1988 (1988-12-05)
73"The Holiday"12 December 1988 (1988-12-12)
74"Hello, Dolphin"
 (ハローイルカいるか)		12 December 1988 (1988-12-12)
75"A Romance"19 December 1988 (1988-12-19)
76"Bottle Opener"19 December 1988 (1988-12-19)
77"Baseball"26 December 1988 (1988-12-26)
78"Be Careful with Fire"26 December 1988 (1988-12-26)
79"The Beauty Salon Chair"2 January 1989 (1989-01-02)
80"Prehistoric Fish"2 January 1989 (1989-01-02)
81"The Bell"9 January 1989 (1989-01-09)
82"On the Beach"9 January 1989 (1989-01-09)
83"The Growth Potion"16 January 1989 (1989-01-16)
84"A Break from Inventing"16 January 1989 (1989-01-16)
85"The Sound Maker"23 January 1989 (1989-01-23)
86"Officer Wowser"23 January 1989 (1989-01-23)
87"The Scarecrow"30 January 1989 (1989-01-30)
88"Sleeping Beauty"30 January 1989 (1989-01-30)
89"Karate"6 February 1989 (1989-02-06)
90"The Super Card Machine"6 February 1989 (1989-02-06)
91"Pinocchio"13 February 1989 (1989-02-13)
92"Planet of the Mice"13 February 1989 (1989-02-13)
93"The Useful Robot"
 (ロボットべんり君)		20 February 1989 (1989-02-20)
94"Boom! Junk Paintings"
 (爆発！ガラクタ怪画)		20 February 1989 (1989-02-20)
95"Long Live the Campsite"27 February 1989 (1989-02-27)
96"Snow Survival"27 February 1989 (1989-02-27)
97"Ghost Hunters"6 March 1989 (1989-03-06)
98"The Butterfly Hunt"6 March 1989 (1989-03-06)
99"Energy Crisis"13 March 1989 (1989-03-13)
100"The 3D Copy Gun"13 March 1989 (1989-03-13)
101"Inventor Teacher for a Day"
 (発明教室一日先生)		20 March 1989 (1989-03-20)
102"Dinghy's Beauty Camera"
 (ロンロン美人カメラ)		20 March 1989 (1989-03-20)
103"Cinderella"27 March 1989 (1989-03-27)
104"Yarn Knitting Operation"
 (愛のアミアミ作戦)		27 March 1989 (1989-03-27)

Foreign versions

The English-language version was produced by Saban Entertainment. Retitled Wowser, the series aired in 1989 on The Family Channel.[2][3][5] The dub changed the names of the characters and replaced the original music. A promotional pilot trailer was made by Saban to sell the series, with Doug Lee as the narrator, Jeff Winkless as Wowser and Ratso Catso, Robert V. Barron as Professor Dinghy, and Iona Morris as Beatrice.[6] Some scenes were removed or edited due to their violent or sexual nature:

  • One scene in "Hippo Dance Party" was removed, where Dinghy beats Wowser on the head.
  • Another scene in "Slap Happy Birthday" was removed, where a chicken attacks Beatrice, causing her to crash and rip and ruin her dress.
  • In "Self-Cleaning Machine", an entire scene is censored where Dinghy's vacuum backfires, and Linda's clothes fly out the window and land in parts of town. A bra lands on a male statue's chest, to which he covers himself.

In the United Kingdom, Wowser aired on ITV and later on Channel 4 in the early and mid-1990s.[7][8][9] Two videos of the series were released in two volumes by Stylus Video.[10] In the USA, 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. In Malaysia, it aired on TV3 between 1991 and 1994.[11][12][13][14]

Elsewhere, the series was dubbed in Arabic in Jordan, and released throughout the Arab world; this version was named Ka'abool (Arabic: كعبول). In 1990, the series was dubbed in French as Cubitus; it was featured on the programme Avant l'école on TF1, and aired on Super Écran in Quebec.[15] In Spain, it was dubbed into Spanish, Basque and Catalan, re-titled Gordi, Dommel Artzain Txakurra ("Dommel the Shepherd Dog") and Dommel respectively.[16] It was also dubbed into Dutch as Dommel, airing on BRT, VARA and Kindernet from 1989 to 2003. The latter channel relaunched as Nickelodeon Kindernet on Comedy Central, and the series aired from May 2011 until 31 October 2013. Since 2015, it has aired on Pebble TV.[17] The Italian version of Wowser was titled Teodoro e L'Invenzione Che Non Va ("Theodore and the Wrong Invention").[18] In Hong Kong, the series was re-titled IQ 零蛋多毛狗 ("IQ Zero Egg Hairy Dog") and aired on TVB Jade in 1989.

Songs

Japanese version

Opening song
  • "Fly Away - Yume no Hikouki"
Lyricist: Arisu Satou / Composer: Takanori Arisawa / Arrangement: Seichi Kyouda / Singer: Mitsuko Horie / Production: Nippon Columbia[19]
Ending song
  • "GO! GO! My Friend"
Lyricist: Arisu Satou / Composer: Takanori Arisawa / Arrangement: Seichi Kyouda / Singer: Mitsuko Horie / Production: Nippon Columbia[19]

English version

Opening song
  • "Wow-Wow Wowser"
Composers: Haim Saban and Shuki Levy / Arrangement: Michael Tavera and Bob Mithoff / Production: Saban Entertainment
Ending song
  • "Wow-Wow Wowser (Instrumental)"
Composers: Haim Saban and Shuki Levy / Arrangement: Michael Tavera and Bob Mithoff / Production: Saban Entertainment

References

  1. ^ "Dupa (Luc Dupanloup)". Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 920–921. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. ^ a b Editorial Staff, Schenectady Gazette (8 September 1989). "Regulation, Blackout Rulings Loom Over Cable Industry". Schenectady Gazette. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Wowser (european)". CrystalAcid.com. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  5. ^ Jones, Stephen (29 October 1999). The Essential Monster Movie Guide: A Century of Creature Features on Film, TV, and Video. Billboard Books. ISBN 9780823079360. Retrieved 20 June 2024. WOWSER: "Dracula Meets the Wowser" (Belgium/Japan, 1988, Telecable Benelux/Saban Entertainment/The Family Channel, Colour): In this episode of the half-hour cartoon TV series, the eponymous white sheepdog and his eccentric owner Professor Dinghy meet the vampire Count.
  6. ^ ""Wowser" (Cubitus) trailer". YouTube. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Londonderry Sentinel: ENTERTAINMENT (24 January 1990)". British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Solihull News: Win a fun video with Wowser (21 September 1990)". British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Wigan Observer and District Advertiser: WOWSER: Another dose of canine fun (7 October 1993)". British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Wowser (1990) on Stylus (United Kingdom VHS videotape)". VideoCollector.co. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  11. ^ Editorial Staff, New Straits Times (7 August 1991). "TV Singapore". New Straits Times. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  12. ^ Editorial Staff, New Straits Times (21 August 1991). "TV Singapore". New Straits Times. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  13. ^ Editorial Staff, New Sunday Times (9 September 1991). "TV Singapore". New Sunday Times. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  14. ^ Editorial Staff, New Straits Times (6 August 1994). "TV/RADIO". New Straits Times. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Cubitus". Planet Jeunesse. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Series por años II (la década de 1990) - Página 5". MANGA CLASSICS - Foros. 12 October 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Dommel". Pebble TV. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Teodoro e l'invenzione che non va". AntonioGenna.net. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  19. ^ a b "堀江美都子 – Fly Away~夢の飛行機 (1988, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1988. Retrieved 21 June 2024.