Around the World with Willy Fog
Encyclopedia
Around the World with Willy Fog is a cartoon adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
. The cartoon was produced by Spanish
studio BRB Internacional
with animation by Japanese studio Nippon Animation
. In the same vein as BRB's Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds
, the characters are anthropomorphism
s of various animals as the species depicted are of much greater variety than in that series. However, the core trio are all felines
being pursued by three canine
foes. Willy Fog (Phileas Fogg
in the original book) is depicted as a lion
, while Rigodon (Passepartout
) is a lynx
and Romy (Aouda
) a panther
.
An English dub
of the series was directed by Tom Wyner
, which featured artists such as Cam Clarke
, Greg Snegoff, Steve Kramer
and Mike Reynolds. While the series never achieved popularity in the United States
, the English version found fame when it was broadcast on Children's BBC in the United Kingdom
. The series was initially screened in 1984 in the UK and then on RTE
in the Republic of Ireland, while other dubs gained the series fanbases in several other countries. The series was also dubbed into Japanese and aired on Japan's TV Asahi
in 1987, where it was titled .
With all of the international versions, the height of popularity remains in Spain, where in 2008, the series spawned a live-action theatrical musical show in celebration of its 25th anniversary.
.
At the club, the main topic of conversation is the recent theft of £55,000 from the Bank of England which was discussed till the bank's governor Mr. Sullivan arrives and requests a change of topic. Sullivan's off-hand remark that the thief is still in London causes the elderly Lord Guinness to bring up an article in the Morning Chronicle, detailing how it is now possible to travel around the world in eighty days. The article states that one departs London by train for Dover
, where one crosses to Calais
, and on to Paris. From there, it is a train journey to Brindisi
, and the Suez Canal
, all within a week. Having rounded the Arabian peninsula, one would arrive in Bombay on day 20 and then a three day railway journey to Calcutta. Hong Kong
is reached on day 33, Yokohama
on day 39, and then a mammoth three week crossing of the Pacific to arrive in San Francisco on day 61, a week long train crossing to New York
and then finally a nine day crossing of the Atlantic back to London making it possible to circumnavigate the globe in eighty days. The other members of the club laugh at Lord Guinness's suggestion that he would take on the challenge if he were younger, prompting Fog to defend his honor by taking up the task himself. Sullivan bets Fog £5,000 that it is impossible, and additional wagers by three other club members increase this amount to £20,000. He then stuns the club by announcing that he will leave that very evening and promises to return to the club by 8:45 pm on 21 December, 1872.
Rigodon is less than thrilled to hear the news of their impending trip, having spent his life travelling with the circus. However, he dutifully accompanies his master as they set out, with Tico still in hiding. Little do they know, however, that they are pursued by three individuals determined to halt their progress. Inspector Dix and Constable Bully of Scotland Yard
are convinced that Fog is the thief who robbed the Bank of England, and the wicked and conniving Transfer, a saboteur was hired by Mr. Sullivan to impede Fog's journey in any way.
. The songs were synced with the movement of the animated characters. The eponymous theme song, "La Vuelta al Mundo de Willy Fog", was sung by Fog, Rigodon, Tico and Romy, while Rigodon and Tico also provided the ending theme, "Sílbame" ("Whistle to Me"). Extended versions of both the opening and closing theme tunes were regularly sung by the characters in-show in short musical numbers during the course of the series. As was the "Dix y Transfer" duet in addition two different melodies performed by the protagonists entitled "America America" and "Hay Que Viajar" ("It Is Necessary to Travel"). The sixth song, "Romy", was performed by the titular character, although it only featured in the series in an instrumental form. It would, however, later be used as the closing theme of the sequel series, "Willy Fog 2". The Spanish soundtrack was released in 1984 in LP album
, CD and cassette
formats.
In particular, the theme song was celebrated on "National Willy Fog Day" which took place on April 28, 1988, when Andy Crane
(the presenter of Children's BBC at the time) sent copies of the lyrics of the song to anyone who wanted them for a mass singalong of the theme tune (the previous year, something similar happened with The Mysterious Cities of Gold
).
. The opening theme was entitled "Sky Way", while the closing tune was named "Our Two Watches".
are used in the opening and ending.
in Taiwan
, released a sequel series simply titled "Willy Fog 2". The series ran to thirty episodes, and consisted of two separate serialized stories that were based on the original novels.
The first was Journey to the Centre of the Earth, which played out very similarly to the first series. Again a bet was made with Sullivan - and he sent Transfer to cause havoc. This time, however, more people believed in Willy Fog, although all of them (apart from Lord Guinness) turned against him at times - when reports came back that the volcano they journeyed into was about to erupt. Romy, Tico and Rigadon went with Willy on the voyage again and were joined by Professor Lidenbrock - an expert in archeology and Hans - an Icelandic who acted as a general dogsbody. The team again made it - just in time to win the bet.
The second story was adapted from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and was completely different from the other two. Willy was invited to help investigate strange events as several ships had been attacked by what seemed to be a sea monster. Willy, Romy, Rigadon and Tico went, although soon the ship they were on was invaded and they, alongside Ned the harpoonist and another Professor, were kidnapped by the mysterious Captain Nemo. After having adventures under the sea, they finally escaped.
As production occurred in Taiwan, the Japanese studio who made the first series, Nippon Animation, was not involved in Willy Fog 2, as is clearly evidenced in its much flatter, brighter, less-nuanced animation. The series re-used the De Angelis's opening theme, with new lyrics to reflect the change of premise, and employed the lyrical version of "Romy" as a closing theme. The series was dubbed into English by the London-based company Village Productions, Ltd, which had worked on dubs of several other contemporary BRB shows, such as Sandokan
. Although the voice cast was entirely new, the group clearly drew upon the Intersound dub of the original series as a source upon which to base the character voices.
. Notably, the Village Productions dub for the first movie was able to secure use of Intersound's English-language version of the theme tune.
In 2004, Revelation Films
released all twenty-six episodes of Around the World with Willy Fog on DVD in the UK, across five Region-0-encoded discs. Extras included character profiles, a Jules Verne biography, and bonus episodes of Arthur! and the Square Knights of the Round Table
and Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds. In 2005, all five discs were collected in a complete series box set.
Also in 2004, the first nine episodes of Willy Fog 2 were released on DVD by Direct Video Distribution Ltd. in the UK, across three volumes of three episodes. No further DVDs were released, and the series was left unfinished. This fate affected many other BRB series being released by the distributor at the time, such as Mort and Phil, The Untouchables of Elliot Mouse
and Sandokan
.
from October 2008; although originally intended only to run until the end of the year, the show's success saw its run extended first until early February 2009, after which it proved so successful that it went on tour around the country for at least the remainder of the year.
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
. The cartoon was produced by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
studio BRB Internacional
BRB Internacional
BRB Internacional is a Spanish animation studio which is best known for producing 1980s cartoon hits such as Around the World with Willy Fog, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds and The World of David the Gnome....
with animation by Japanese studio Nippon Animation
Nippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
. In the same vein as BRB's Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds
Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds
Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds is an animated cartoon adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas story of d'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers. Most of the characters are anthropomorphizations of dogs, hence the title of the cartoon...
, the characters are anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
s of various animals as the species depicted are of much greater variety than in that series. However, the core trio are all felines
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
being pursued by three canine
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
foes. Willy Fog (Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg is the main fictional character in the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the late Victorian world in eighty days, or less, for a wager of £20,000 with members of London's Reform Club. He takes the wager and leaves with Passepartout,...
in the original book) is depicted as a lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
, while Rigodon (Passepartout
Passepartout (character)
Jean Passepartout is a character in Jules Verne's novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. He is the French valet to the novel's English protagonist, Phileas Fogg...
) is a lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
and Romy (Aouda
Aouda
Aouda, a fictional character in Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, is an Indian princess rescued by Phileas Fogg and Passepartout when she is about to be sacrificed by Hindu monks as a suttee at the funeral of her former Hindu husband, who is the erstwhile ruler of an Indian princely...
) a panther
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
.
An English dub
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
of the series was directed by Tom Wyner
Tom Wyner
Thomas Halperin "Tom" Wyner is an English-born voice actor for anime series who usually gets tough guy or villain roles. He is also a producer, director, and writer...
, which featured artists such as Cam Clarke
Cam Clarke
Cameron Arthur "Cam" Clarke is a prolific American voice actor and singer, well known for his work in animation and video games. Clarke is well known for providing the voices of Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 original English-dub of Akira. He often voices...
, Greg Snegoff, Steve Kramer
Steve Kramer (actor)
Steven M. Kramer is an American voice actor for many anime titles. He has also done voice acting for various Power Rangers series in the past, with the best-known of those roles being the voice of Darkonda in Power Rangers in Space. His wife, Melora Harte, is a voice actress...
and Mike Reynolds. While the series never achieved popularity in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the English version found fame when it was broadcast on Children's BBC in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The series was initially screened in 1984 in the UK and then on RTE
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
in the Republic of Ireland, while other dubs gained the series fanbases in several other countries. The series was also dubbed into Japanese and aired on Japan's TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
in 1987, where it was titled .
With all of the international versions, the height of popularity remains in Spain, where in 2008, the series spawned a live-action theatrical musical show in celebration of its 25th anniversary.
Plot
As with every morning since he moved into Savile Row, Willy Fog awakens at 8:00 am and rings for his servant, only to remember that he fired him the previous day for his inability to follow Fog's precise schedule. He has already arranged an interview for a replacement - former circus performer Rigodon, who is even now rushing towards Fog's house to make his 11:00 am appointment. Rigodon is accompanied by his old circus colleague Tico, who hides within his travelling bag, and prompts him through the interview, which gets off to a bad start when Rigodon arrives four minutes late. Nonetheless, Rigodon is hired by Fog as his butler and soon departs for the Reform ClubReform Club
The Reform Club is a gentlemen's club on the south side of Pall Mall, in central London. Originally for men only, it changed to include the admission of women in 1981. In 2011 the subscription for membership of the Reform Club as a full UK member is £1,344.00, with a one-off entrance fee of £875.00...
.
At the club, the main topic of conversation is the recent theft of £55,000 from the Bank of England which was discussed till the bank's governor Mr. Sullivan arrives and requests a change of topic. Sullivan's off-hand remark that the thief is still in London causes the elderly Lord Guinness to bring up an article in the Morning Chronicle, detailing how it is now possible to travel around the world in eighty days. The article states that one departs London by train for Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, where one crosses to Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, and on to Paris. From there, it is a train journey to Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
, and the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, all within a week. Having rounded the Arabian peninsula, one would arrive in Bombay on day 20 and then a three day railway journey to Calcutta. Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
is reached on day 33, Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
on day 39, and then a mammoth three week crossing of the Pacific to arrive in San Francisco on day 61, a week long train crossing to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and then finally a nine day crossing of the Atlantic back to London making it possible to circumnavigate the globe in eighty days. The other members of the club laugh at Lord Guinness's suggestion that he would take on the challenge if he were younger, prompting Fog to defend his honor by taking up the task himself. Sullivan bets Fog £5,000 that it is impossible, and additional wagers by three other club members increase this amount to £20,000. He then stuns the club by announcing that he will leave that very evening and promises to return to the club by 8:45 pm on 21 December, 1872.
Rigodon is less than thrilled to hear the news of their impending trip, having spent his life travelling with the circus. However, he dutifully accompanies his master as they set out, with Tico still in hiding. Little do they know, however, that they are pursued by three individuals determined to halt their progress. Inspector Dix and Constable Bully of Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
are convinced that Fog is the thief who robbed the Bank of England, and the wicked and conniving Transfer, a saboteur was hired by Mr. Sullivan to impede Fog's journey in any way.
Differences from the novel
Despite the addition of three prominent new characters into the story (Tico, Bully and Transfer) and changing the names of the established characters, Around the World with Willy Fog remains one of the most accurate adaptations of Verne's novel made for film or television. The cartoon covered essentially all of the major and minor plot points from the novel to an extent that no other adaptation has accomplished. Parts of the novel were slightly modified, usually to incorporate the conniving Transfer's schemes, but the resolution remains the same. The series also expands on the original text, again usually the work of Transfer. Particularly, the villains causes several close shaves for Fog during the European stage of his trip, which passed without incident in the original novel, and is responsible for three incidents during the North American leg of the journey (the buffalo stampede, the collapsing bridge and the attack by American Indians) all of which happen purely by chance in the novel.Main characters
| Willy Fog | |
| Willy Fog (Phileas Fogg Phileas Fogg Phileas Fogg is the main fictional character in the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the late Victorian world in eighty days, or less, for a wager of £20,000 with members of London's Reform Club. He takes the wager and leaves with Passepartout,... in the original novel and French and Finnish translation of this series) is a well-mannered, well-read English gentleman Gentleman The term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a well-educated man of good family and distinction, analogous to the Latin generosus... who is loyal to his friends and always true to his word. He leads his life according to many strict, precise rules - something afforded him by his long-term bachelor lifestyle. He resides in London and although he is well-known for his wealth, the precise source of his money is unknown as his occupation is never elaborated on. Ever the gentleman, he eschews violence of any form whenever possible, but is never without his cane, which is all he needs to defend himself and others. Willy Fog is a member of the Reform Club Reform Club The Reform Club is a gentlemen's club on the south side of Pall Mall, in central London. Originally for men only, it changed to include the admission of women in 1981. In 2011 the subscription for membership of the Reform Club as a full UK member is £1,344.00, with a one-off entrance fee of £875.00... in London and is challenged to travel around the world in 80 days; prior to this, he had not travelled for several years. |
|
| Rigodon | |
| Prior to working for Willy Fog, multi-talented French French people The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups... feline Rigodon (occupying the role of Passepartout Passepartout (character) Jean Passepartout is a character in Jules Verne's novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. He is the French valet to the novel's English protagonist, Phileas Fogg... from the original novel; however, Brazilian, Finnish, French, Greek, Hebrew and Slovak dubbing named him Passepartout) was a circus performer, but wanted to escape the travelling life of the circus, Rigodon sought out employment as a manservant. His first attempt was a failure, as he worked for a gentleman who constantly travelled, and so he sought out employment with Willy Fog, knowing that Fog's strict routine meant he never travelled far. Rigodon's hopes of a quiet lifestyle, however, were quickly dashed when Fog accepted the wager to travel around the world in eighty days. Nevertheless, Rigodon dutifully accompanies his master on his trip, his circus-born agility and daring coming in handy on more than one occasion. |
|
| Tico | |
| Self-proclaimed "mascot" of the show, Tico is Rigodon's best friend and former partner in the circus. The pair are inseparable, but Rigodon was forced to hide Tico from Mr. Fog at first, concealing the small mouse within his travelling bag until their journey was underway. Tico is well-known for his epic appetite, and is rarely seen without his "sun-clock", an archaeological artifact gifted to him early on the trip that uses the sun to tell time. Tico is the only case in which the original version and English-language dub differ on a character's nationality: in the original version, he is Spanish, while in the dub, he is Italian. | |
| Princess Romy | |
| Orphaned following the deaths of her parents, Romy (Aouda Aouda Aouda, a fictional character in Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, is an Indian princess rescued by Phileas Fogg and Passepartout when she is about to be sacrificed by Hindu monks as a suttee at the funeral of her former Hindu husband, who is the erstwhile ruler of an Indian princely... in the original novel) became a princess when she was married to an Indian Rajah who worshipped the goddess Kali Kali ' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is... . When the Rajah died, she was destined to be suttee, burned alongside him on the funeral pyre, but was rescued by Rigodon, who risked his own life in the process. Accompanying Willy Fog on his journey with the intent of finding relatives of hers in Singapore, Romy's role in their party is as a tender medic to care for the wounded that they encounter. Tico has a crush on her and is always looking out for her safety, but as their journey together continues, it becomes clear she only has eyes for Mr. Fog. |
|
| Inspector Dix | |
| The blustering Inspector Dix (based on Inspector Fix from the original novel and named same for both the French and Finnish translation of the serie) is a scent hound Scent hound Scent hounds are a type of hound that primarily hunts by scent rather than sight. The Scenthound breeds are generally regarded as having some of the most sensitive noses among canines.... who works for Scotland Yard Scotland Yard Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became... . Convinced that Fog is the one responsible for robbing the Bank of England, he trails the travellers around the world looking for the proof he needs to arrest Fog, constantly trying to delay their travels to keep them on British soil so that he might arrest them, if the warrant he awaits is ever delivered. Despite his role of antagonist, he is an honorable character, driven by a strong sense of duty and is often outraged to see Fog spending what he believes to be stolen money, but is also an exceptionally excitable comic foil, who frequently muddles his words, at point point claiming to be a "pursuit officer in police of the criminal who robbed the Bank of England!" In addition, he has a tendency to forget Rigodon's name, regularly addressing and referring to him as "Brigadoon". In the original version, he calls Rigodon "Tontorron", which is a Spanish word for "fool" or "idiot". The English dub of the series provided him with the given name of "Clifford". |
|
| Constable Bully | |
| Constable Bully - a cockney Cockney The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End... bulldog Bulldog Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose... , as his name implies - is Inspector Dix's partner, although he would rather be playing darts at the pub or enjoying a Sunday roast at his mum's house than trekking across the globe. A good-hearted fellow at his core, Bully is subject to the whims of the demanding Inspector Dix, and his general clumsiness and tendency to get travel-sick often strain the inspector's patience to the breaking point. |
|
| Transfer | |
| Transfer is a cunning wolf hired to sabotage Fog's journey by his rival, Mr. Sullivan. Throughout the series, he employs a variety of tactics to delay Fog and his party, ranging from leading them in the wrong direction to deliberately causing accidents. He is a master of disguise and can imitate perfectly the voices and mannerisms of those he is impersonating - but the audience can always identify him by his strange, glowing left eye |
Supporting characters
| Mr. Sullivan | |
| Mr. Sullivan, the head of the Bank of England Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world... , is a wolf and rival of Willy Fog in the Reform Club. He accepts Fog's bet and, determined to ensure Fog's failure and expose him as a "worthless bragger", decides to send a saboteur, Transfer, after Fog's steps. Following Transfer's failure to stop Fog he is sacked as head of the Bank of England Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world... on charges of misappropriation of funds. |
|
| Farrel, Johnson and Wesson | |
| Farrel, Johnson and Wesson are the other Reform Club members who bet against Fog. Wesson (a stoat Stoat The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip... ) is the owner of the Morning Chronicle and Ralph's boss, while Farrel (a fox Fox Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to... ) and Johnson (a raccoon Raccoon Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are... ) own a shipping line and a railway respectively. |
|
| Lord Guinness | |
| Lord Guinness, the wheelchair-bound oldest member of the Reform Club, is a white goat Goat The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of... . He and Ralph continue to support Fog and his party, even when popular opinion has turned against them, and he sometimes expresses regret that his age has prevented him from joining the expedition. |
|
| Ralph | |
| Ralph, a squirrel Squirrel Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia... , is the idealistic young reporter who wrote the article which inspired Fog's journey. Even when the odds seemed stacked against Fog and his party, he rarely loses hope that they will succeed. |
|
| Commissioner Rowan | |
| Commissioner Rowan, a cat, is the head of Scotland Yard and was the one responsible for sending Dix and Bully after Fog, warning them they would be fired if they bungled the assignment. Throughout the series, he has to fend off the demands of Sullivan, who has learned of the suspicions against Fog. | |
| Brigadier Corn | |
| A deer, member of the British Army British Army The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England... stationed in India, Brigadier Corn is on his way to rejoin his regiment when he cross pathes with Fog and his friends. He chooses to accompany them on their journey through India "for the honour of Great Britain", and is instrumental in helping to mount the rescue of Princess Romy. Whether or not his being both a deer and a brigadier is a deliberate pun is unknown. |
|
| Andrew Speedy | |
| Andrew Speedy (a bear) is the short-tempered captain of the cargo ship Henrietta. He does not normally carry passengers, believing them to be a liability, but agrees to take Fog and his party after Fog offers to pay him $2000 for every member of his party. After falling victim to Transfer's attempt to poison Fog, he gives Fog command of the ship and orders him to head for Liverpool so he can receive medical attention; however, he recovers while still at sea. Shortly afterwards, the Henrietta runs out of coal, compelling Fog to buy the ship in order to burn the wood on board as fuel; Speedy, who will be allowed to keep whatever remains, is forced to look on helplessly as the ship is stripped of wood. Rather oddly, Speedy appears in the show's opening sequence (among a group consisting of Dix, Transfer and Ralph), despite only featuring in a small number of episodes towards the end of the series. | |
Arabic
The series were translated to Arabic with the name : حول العالم في 80 يوما مع سبع المدهشSpanish
Six songs were crafted for the series, composed by background score writers Guido and Maurizio De Angelis and performed by the group MocedadesMocedades
Mocedades is a Spanish singing group from the Basque Country, probably best known for representing Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 with the song "Eres Tú"...
. The songs were synced with the movement of the animated characters. The eponymous theme song, "La Vuelta al Mundo de Willy Fog", was sung by Fog, Rigodon, Tico and Romy, while Rigodon and Tico also provided the ending theme, "Sílbame" ("Whistle to Me"). Extended versions of both the opening and closing theme tunes were regularly sung by the characters in-show in short musical numbers during the course of the series. As was the "Dix y Transfer" duet in addition two different melodies performed by the protagonists entitled "America America" and "Hay Que Viajar" ("It Is Necessary to Travel"). The sixth song, "Romy", was performed by the titular character, although it only featured in the series in an instrumental form. It would, however, later be used as the closing theme of the sequel series, "Willy Fog 2". The Spanish soundtrack was released in 1984 in LP album
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, CD and cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
formats.
English
The soundtrack was re-recorded for the English dub of the series by parties unknown, re-using the De Angelis's music but with new English lyrics that are similar to the original Spanish. Perhaps most prominently, "Hay Que Viajar" was retitled "Daisy", and became a song about a woman by that name. All six songs were re-recorded in their entirety - even "Romy", which did not appear in the series. The new English soundtrack was released in some countries, and while the extent of the release is unknown, several European websites still offer it for purchase. As with the original version of the show, the songs are not sung by the actors who provide the characters' voices; indeed, they notably mispronounce some character names (Dix as "Dick", and Romy ("Roe-mee") as "Roh-mee."In particular, the theme song was celebrated on "National Willy Fog Day" which took place on April 28, 1988, when Andy Crane
Andy Crane
Howard Andrew 'Andy' Crane is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting Children's BBC , amongst many others.-Career:...
(the presenter of Children's BBC at the time) sent copies of the lyrics of the song to anyone who wanted them for a mass singalong of the theme tune (the previous year, something similar happened with The Mysterious Cities of Gold
The Mysterious Cities of Gold
abbreviated MCoG, is a Japanese-French animated series co-produced by DiC Entertainment and Studio Pierrot. The series premiered in Japan on NHK on May 1, 1982 and ran weekly for 39 episodes until its conclusion on February 5, 1983...
).
Japanese
Two new theme tunes were composed for the Japanese dub of the series, both sung by Keiko HanKeiko Han
is a Japanese voice actress. She attended Tōyō Eiwa Jogakuin, going on to study theatre arts at Nihon University. She gained experience in theater while attending school by obtaining work through Aoni Production, singing the theme songs in productions such as Story of the Alps: My Annette and...
. The opening theme was entitled "Sky Way", while the closing tune was named "Our Two Watches".
Finnish
Songs in the Finnish dub were sung by the actors of YLE Import with very few notes. In the Finnish dub some scenes are cut, which includes musical numbers in some episodes.Czech
In Czech some scenes from Willy Fog episodes are cut (songs). But those "deleted scenes"are used in the opening and ending.
Spanish
- Produced by: BRB InternacionalBRB InternacionalBRB Internacional is a Spanish animation studio which is best known for producing 1980s cartoon hits such as Around the World with Willy Fog, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds and The World of David the Gnome....
- With the collaboration of: Televisión EspañolaTelevisión EspañolaTelevisión Española is the national state-owned public-service television broadcaster in Spain. TVE's activities were previously financed by a combination of advertising revenue and subsidies from the national government, but since it's been supported by subsidies only.TVE belongs to the RTVE...
- Music by: Guido & Maurizio De AngelisGuido & Maurizio De AngelisGuido and Maurizio de Angelis are Italian musicians.-Beginnings:The brothers were born in Rocca di Papa, near Rome; Guido de Angelis in 1944 , and Maurizio de Angelis in 1947 . Their musical career started in 1963, where, after successfully publishing an LP, they became arrangers for RCA Italiana...
- Music publisher: Cabum Magister
- Special thanks to: IberiaIberia AirlinesIberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A., commonly known as Iberia, is the flag carrier airline of Spain. Based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from its main bases of Madrid-Barajas Airport and Barcelona El Prat Airport....
, the airline of Spain - Songs performed by: MocedadesMocedadesMocedades is a Spanish singing group from the Basque Country, probably best known for representing Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 with the song "Eres Tú"...
- Directed by: Luis Ballester
- Executive Producer: Claudio Biern Boyd
- Original screenplay: Claudio Biern Boyd
- Script Co-ordinator: Rafael Soler
- Dialogue Adaptor and Voice Director: Manuel Peiro
- Associate Productors: José Luis RodríguezJosé Luis RodríguezJosé Luis Rodríguez may refer to:*José Luis Rodríguez , , former Argentine football striker*José Luis Rodríguez González , El Puma, , Venezuelan singer and actor...
& José Manuel Iglesias - Audio mixed by: Oscar GómezOscar GómezOscar Edegardo Gómez is a retired male light-middleweight boxer from Argentina, who represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia...
- Editor: Soledad López
- Assistant Editor: Carmen Ortega
- Special effects: Luis CastroLuis CastroLuis Manuel Castro was born in Medellín, Colombia.) He was the first latin american born player to play in Major League Baseball in the United States, and the first Latin American since Cuban player Esteban Bellán in 1873 as a professional baseball player...
- Production Assistant: Maria AragónMaria AragonMaria Lourdes Aragon is a singer from Manitoba, Canada, of Filipino descent. Aragon gained fame after a YouTube video of her performing Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" went viral.-As a YouTube sensation:...
- Production Co-ordinator: Marisa Mato
- Sound technicians: Eduardo Fernandez, Alfonso Pino, Jose Esquirol, José MariaJosé MariaMiguel Boaventura Lucena , known as José Maria or José Maria de Santo Agostinho, was a Brazilian mystic from the state of Santa Catarina, probably the western part of the state. Little is known about his early life. In 1911, he began preaching against the Brazilian state...
, San MateoSan MateoSan Mateo, Spanish for Saint Matthew, is the name of several places:*San Mateo , Spain- Canary Islands :* Vega de San Mateo, Las Palmas, a municipality on the island of Gran Canaria in the province of Las Palmas- Costa Rica :... - Recording studio: Exa, S.A.
- Laboratory: Fotofilm Madrid, S.A.
Japanese production
- Animation by: Nippon AnimationNippon Animationis a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
- Director: Fumio Kurokawa
- Producer: Koichi Motohashi
- Character Design: Isamu Kumata
- Storyboards: Eiji Okabe, Fumio Kurokawa, Hiromitsu Morita, Katsumi Endo, Ko Suzuki, Shigeo Koshi, Shigeru Omachi, Toru Hagiwara
- Episode directors: Fumio Kurokawa, Eiji Okabe, Hiromitsu Morita, Toru Hagiwara, Yukio Okazaki
- Animation directors: Hirokazu Ishino, Hisatoshi Motoki, Takao Kanishi, Yukio Abe
- Music by: Shunsuke Kikuchi
- Theme songs by: Izumi Kobayashi
- Theme songs performed by: Keiko HanKeiko Hanis a Japanese voice actress. She attended Tōyō Eiwa Jogakuin, going on to study theatre arts at Nihon University. She gained experience in theater while attending school by obtaining work through Aoni Production, singing the theme songs in productions such as Story of the Alps: My Annette and...
English dub
- Music Sub-publisher: Southern Pictures Music inc.
- Recorded and re-mixed at: Intersound Inc., Hollywood, USA
- English version directed and supervised by: Tom WynerTom WynerThomas Halperin "Tom" Wyner is an English-born voice actor for anime series who usually gets tough guy or villain roles. He is also a producer, director, and writer...
- English adaptations by: Tom Wyner, Byrd Ehlmann, Cynthia Lake, Ben MartinBen Martin-External links:...
Willy Fog 2
Due to the success of the first series, BRB revisited the franchise ten years later in conjunction with Wang Film ProductionsWang Film Productions
Wang Film Productions is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese animation studios...
in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, released a sequel series simply titled "Willy Fog 2". The series ran to thirty episodes, and consisted of two separate serialized stories that were based on the original novels.
The first was Journey to the Centre of the Earth, which played out very similarly to the first series. Again a bet was made with Sullivan - and he sent Transfer to cause havoc. This time, however, more people believed in Willy Fog, although all of them (apart from Lord Guinness) turned against him at times - when reports came back that the volcano they journeyed into was about to erupt. Romy, Tico and Rigadon went with Willy on the voyage again and were joined by Professor Lidenbrock - an expert in archeology and Hans - an Icelandic who acted as a general dogsbody. The team again made it - just in time to win the bet.
The second story was adapted from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and was completely different from the other two. Willy was invited to help investigate strange events as several ships had been attacked by what seemed to be a sea monster. Willy, Romy, Rigadon and Tico went, although soon the ship they were on was invaded and they, alongside Ned the harpoonist and another Professor, were kidnapped by the mysterious Captain Nemo. After having adventures under the sea, they finally escaped.
As production occurred in Taiwan, the Japanese studio who made the first series, Nippon Animation, was not involved in Willy Fog 2, as is clearly evidenced in its much flatter, brighter, less-nuanced animation. The series re-used the De Angelis's opening theme, with new lyrics to reflect the change of premise, and employed the lyrical version of "Romy" as a closing theme. The series was dubbed into English by the London-based company Village Productions, Ltd, which had worked on dubs of several other contemporary BRB shows, such as Sandokan
Sandokan
Sandokan is a fictional pirate of the late 19th century, who first appeared in publication in 1883, created by Italian author Emilio Salgari. He is the protagonist of eleven adventure novels and is known throughout the South China Sea as "The Tiger of Malaysia".-Sandokan novels:Emilio Salgari...
. Although the voice cast was entirely new, the group clearly drew upon the Intersound dub of the original series as a source upon which to base the character voices.
Home entertainment releases
In 1995, BRB Internacional released three Willy Fog TV movies - "Around the World in 80 Days", "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" - each one created by heavily editing the first series from roughly 650 minutes in total down to a truncated 75 minutes apiece. All three films were dubbed by Village Productions, who had previously dubbed the second series for the United Kingdom, and later reached the United States on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. Notably, the Village Productions dub for the first movie was able to secure use of Intersound's English-language version of the theme tune.
In 2004, Revelation Films
Revelation Films
Revelation Films is a British distributor of entertainment programmes on DVD.It was perhaps most well known as the company through which as of November 2006, the American anime company FUNimation Entertainment has launched its titles in the United Kingdom on region 2 DVD...
released all twenty-six episodes of Around the World with Willy Fog on DVD in the UK, across five Region-0-encoded discs. Extras included character profiles, a Jules Verne biography, and bonus episodes of Arthur! and the Square Knights of the Round Table
Arthur! and the Square Knights of the Round Table
Arthur! And the Square Knights of the Round Table was an Australian animated series based on the legend of King Arthur of Camelot.The series was produced from 1966 to 1968 and written by Melbourne playwright Alex Buzo and British-born entertainer Rod Hull, with Lyle Martin, M. Robinson, and John...
and Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds. In 2005, all five discs were collected in a complete series box set.
Also in 2004, the first nine episodes of Willy Fog 2 were released on DVD by Direct Video Distribution Ltd. in the UK, across three volumes of three episodes. No further DVDs were released, and the series was left unfinished. This fate affected many other BRB series being released by the distributor at the time, such as Mort and Phil, The Untouchables of Elliot Mouse
The Untouchables of Elliot Mouse
The Untouchables of Elliot Mouse is a 26 half-hour television animated series that parodies the violent atmosphere of Chicago during the Dry Law, as well as the old American films, their heroes and villains. The main characters in this series are four friendly mice, Elliot, Gordon, Mr...
and Sandokan
Sandokan
Sandokan is a fictional pirate of the late 19th century, who first appeared in publication in 1883, created by Italian author Emilio Salgari. He is the protagonist of eleven adventure novels and is known throughout the South China Sea as "The Tiger of Malaysia".-Sandokan novels:Emilio Salgari...
.
Willy Fog: The Musical
Willy Fog: El Musical was released in 2008 in celebration of the show's 25th anniversary in its home country of Spain. With the original cartoon soundtrack by the De Angelises, the theatrical performance featured live actors Jaume Ortonobas (Fog), Laura Toledo (Romy) and José Troncoso (Rigodon) in make-up and masks to replicate the anthropomorphic characters of the cartoon. Tico is represented as a puppet manipulated by Celia Vioque. Scripted by original series creator Claudio Biern Boyd and directed by Ricard Reguant, the musical ran twice a day in the Teatro Häagen-Dazs Calderón in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
from October 2008; although originally intended only to run until the end of the year, the show's success saw its run extended first until early February 2009, after which it proved so successful that it went on tour around the country for at least the remainder of the year.