The Littl' Bits
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 television series with 26 episodes, produced in 1980 by Tatsunoko Productions in
Japan. First shown on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...

 (then called Tokyo 12 Channel), its Saban
Saban
Saban Entertainment , was a worldwide-served independent American television production company formed in 1984 by music and television producers Haim Saban and Shuki Levy as "Saban Productions", a U.S...

-produced English translation was featured on the children's television station Nick Jr. from 1991 to 1995 alongside other children's anime series such as Adventures of the Little Koala
Adventures of the Little Koala
is an anime TV series produced by Tohokushinsha Film Corporation. It aired originally in Japan on TV Tokyo from October 4, 1984 through March 28, 1985, and then aired in the United States on Nickelodeon dubbed in English from 1987 to 1994...

, Maya the Bee, Noozles
Noozles
, also known as The Wonderous Koala Blinky, is a 26-episode anime by Nippon Animation Company that was originally released in Japan in 1984, under the title Fushigi na Koara Burinkī or Brinky and Printy. It depicts the adventures of a 12-year old girl named Sandy and her koala friends, Blinky and...

,
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...

and the show also was on Cartoon Network from 1993 to 1997.

Due to their similar size and naming scheme, an analogy is often drawn between the Littl' Bits and the Smurf
The Smurfs (1981 TV series)
The Smurfs is an American animated television series that aired on NBC from September 12, 1981 to August 25, 1990...

s.

Synopsis

The series describes the adventures of a race of tiny people (pixies) who live in a simple village in Foothill Forest. It focuses in particular on a group of children: Lillibit, Willibit, Snagglebit, Chip, and Browniebit. Snagglebit, the spoiled son of the mayor, is enamored of the beautiful Lillibit, but she's best friends with Willibit, the moral role model and main protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

. Thus, even though they generally get along well, Willibit and Snagglebit often butt heads, especially over Lillibit. Snagglebit usually pals around with the short-in-stature Browniebit, who is something of a coward (and is often teased by Snagglebit for this), and Chip, who idolizes Lillibit's uncle, Dr. Snoozabit, and wants to be a doctor like him.

Another frequently recurring child character is Teenybit (Willibit's younger sister), who befriends Scarybit, an ill-tempered, superstitious old woman assumed to be a witch and shunned by most of the other villagers. Teenybit can see that, under Scarybit's tough exterior, she's just a lonely old lady who needs a friend.

The children are watched over by, and often scolded by, the older Littl' Bits including the doctor Dr. Snoozabit, the wood-cutter Chopabit, the baker Bakeabit, Willibit's father Grumpabit, Helpabit, the elder Elderbit, Mayor Bossabit (Snagglebit's father), and others. Snoozabit has a tendency to drink too much, forcing his young niece, Lillibit, to watch out for him and do her best to keep him on the right track (In the American version, Snoozabit's drunkenness was rewritten as being constantly sleepy and needing a nap, hence his English name).

Dr. Snoozabit has raised Lillibit since her infancy, and has always told her that her birth parents died shortly after she was born. Not having a mother and father around occasionally depressed Lillibit, especially when she observed her friends having fun with their parents. However, in the second-to-last episode of the series, it was revealed that Lillibit's parents were in fact alive and were "Wanderbits" (descendants of the "Builderbit" race who were exiled from Foothill Forest for how they treated the animals who rose up and nearly drove them to extinction). In the end, the villagers decided to allow them to stay in Foothill Forest, and Lillibit and her parents were joyously reunited - just in time for a devastating earthquake to ravage Foothill Forest in the final episode, forcing the villagers to band together to rebuild.

When they're not involved in politics (for example, one episode in which they attempted to get their apathetic fellow villagers to vote on election day), the children spend much of their time exploring and interacting with the animals of the forest, both friendly and unfriendly, including 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...

s, bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...

s, bullfrog
Bullfrog
The American bullfrog , often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is an aquatic frog, a member of the family Ranidae, or “true frogs”, native to much of North America. This is a frog of larger, permanent water bodies, swamps, ponds, and lakes, where it is usually found...

s, 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...

s, fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

, and horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s. Lillibit can even speak directly with animals. They often take advantage of their animal friends for transportation, particularly Snuffly the flying squirrel
Flying squirrel
Flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of 44 species of squirrels .- Description :...

 and Blue the hedgehog.

The show espoused harmony between human beings and the animal kingdom. The plot in every episode of the show had an important lesson for the young audience - amongst the important issues which were addressed in the series, were responsibility
Moral responsibility
Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...

, patience
Patience
Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the...

, prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...

, hard work and the value
Value (ethics)
In ethics, value is a property of objects, including physical objects as well as abstract objects , representing their degree of importance....

 of family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...

 and friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

.

Regional releases

A few episodes of the show were released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 in the early 1990s; one of these tapes, called Litt'l Friends (sic), is still available on Amazon. The show was never released in DVD
DVD
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....

, but homemade DVDs of the Italian and Arabic versions are available for purchase from some websites, as are some additional English episodes.

The children

  • Lillibit (alternate names: Berufi, Belfy, Tiptip, Belfi, Lutinette, Basma) - A sweet, beautiful orphan girl who lives with her uncle, Dr. Snoozabit, and watches over him due to his habit of drunkenness. While usually even-tempered and level-headed, Lillibit sometimes loses her temper with her uncle because of his laziness. Lillibit can speak directly to animals which includes Snuffly.
  • Willibit (alternate names: Rirubitto, Lillibit, Tiptipon, Lutinou, Abdo) - The moral role model and main protagonist
    Protagonist
    A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

    , and Lillibit's best friend. He is brave and has a strong sense of justice but also has a tendency to act impetuously.
  • Snagglebit (alternate names: Napoleon) - The spoiled son of the mayor. He has a crush on Lillibit and considers himself to be Willibit's rival for Lillibit's affections, but he and Willibit usually get along fairly well.
  • Chip - One of Snagglebit's cronies, the son of Chopabit the woodcutter. He idolizes Dr. Snoozabit and became the doctor's unofficial assistant in one early episode, until he realized how much work the medical profession really involves.
  • Browniebit - The third member of Snagglebit's gang, considerably shorter in stature than the other children. He tends to be somewhat of a coward and is often teased by Snagglebit and Chip for this.
  • Teenybit (alternate names: Chuchuna, Cuccuna) - Willibit's younger sister, a precocious girl and very observant for her age. Teenybit has a brave streak to rival her brother's, which sometimes gets her into trouble. She is the central character in several episodes which involve her befriending the village outcast, Scarybit.

The adults and animals

  • Dr. Snoozabit - Lillabit's uncle, the town doctor
    Physician
    A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

     who enjoys drinking dandelion wine ("dandelion juice" in the English version). Lillabit does her best to keep him sober but often gets frustrated with him. Despite his debauchery and laziness, he is a skilled doctor and is highly respected by the citizens of Foothill Forest.
  • Mayor
    Mayor
    In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

     Bossabit
    - Snagglebit's father. He is raising Snagglebit on his own as his wife (Snagglebit's mother) died when Snagglebit was still very young. His job often leaves him little time for his son, but he loves and is very protective of Snagglebit.
  • Scarybit - An antisocial, superstitious old woman assumed to be a witch
    Witchcraft
    Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...

    . Initially she seems to relish her outsider status, but she is eventually befriended by young Teenybit, and is soon more accepted by the society of Foothill Forest.
  • Chopabit - The wood-cutter
    Lumberjack
    A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...

    , Chip's father. He wants his son to become a woodcutter like him, but Chip has other ambitions, which causes some friction between father and son.
  • Bakeabit - The baker
    Baker
    A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...

    .
  • Grumpabit - Willibit and Teenybit's father. Despite his grumpy demeanor, he is a kind-hearted man who cares deeply for his family. His wife is known in the series simply as "Mrs. Grumpabit."
  • Helpabit - Mayor Bossabit's live-in gardener
    Gardening
    Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...

     and handyman
    Handyman
    A handyman is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, both interior and exterior, and are sometimes described as "odd jobs", "fix-up tasks", and include light plumbing jobs such as fixing a leaky toilet...

    . Helpabit is famous for his delicious honey
    Honey
    Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...

    , with its secret ingredient of nectar from the flowers known as "Blue Lovelies."
  • Elderbit (Japanese name, Daggurin) - The village's elder
    Elder (administrative title)
    The term Elder is used in several different countries and organizations to indicate a position of authority...

     and sage
    Sage
    - People :*A "sage" is any wise teacher, someone who imparts wisdom or the perennial philosophy, including spiritual teachers and teachers of mysticism but not necessarily with such religious connotations, so may refer to a:...

    , and teacher
    Teacher
    A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

     to the children (albeit in a non-formal capacity since there is no school per se in the series) who enjoy hearing his stories of days gone by in Foothill Forest.
  • Snuffly (Japanese name, Manga) - A flying squirrel
    Flying squirrel
    Flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of 44 species of squirrels .- Description :...

     who is Lillabit's friend and constant companion and often joins in the children's games. He doubles as a mode of transportation for Willibit and Lillabit on their adventures.

Episodes

  1. The Children's Festival -
  2. Doctor Snoozabit -
  3. The Old Mill Stream -
  4. The Rainbow Firefly -
  5. Election Day -
  6. Scarybit the Witch -
  7. Winter Strawberries -
  8. The Snow Woman -
  9. Save the Raccoon! -
  10. Madame Bella the Weaver -
  11. The Baby Bears -
  12. Looking at the Stars -
  13. Poor Old Helpabit -
  14. Storm Baby -
  15. The Mystical Monument -
  16. Help the Squirrel -
  17. The Legend of Red Light -
  18. The Cowardly Colt -
  19. The Strange Egg -
  20. Let's Go to the Sea (1) -
  21. Let's Go to the Sea (2) -
  22. The Red Rainbow -
  23. Earthquake! -
  24. Forget-Me-Nots -
  25. The Wanderbits -
  26. Awful, Awful Days -

Japanese Cast

  • Belfy (Lillabit): Yōko Asagami
    Yoko Asagami
    ' is a veteran seiyū who is represented by Aksent. Her married name is '.She is most known for the roles of Yuki Mori and Saeko Nogami ....

  • Lillibit (Willibit): Mayumi Tanaka
    Mayumi Tanaka
    is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo currently affiliated with Aoni Production.She is best known for the roles of Ryuunosuke Fujinami in Urusei Yatsura, Pazu in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece, Krillin, Yajirobe and Uranai Baba in Dragon Ball...

  • Napoleon (Snagglebit): Sachiko Chijimatsu
    Sachiko Chijimatsu
    is a female Japanese voice actres represented by Arts Vision.She is most known for the roles of Pyonkichi , Nobita's Mama , Kabu , Shippona , and 001/Ivan Whiskey ....

  • Chuchuna (Teenybit): Tsuneko Shitomi
  • Daggurin-sensei (Elderbit): Kaneta Kimotsuki
    Kaneta Kimotsuki
    is a Japanese voice actor who was born in Kagoshima.He is most known for the roles of Suneo Honekawa , Dracula , Pāyan , Iyami , Tom , Benzou Karino , Horrorman , Conductor and Jiminy Cricket is a Japanese voice actor who was born in Kagoshima.He is most known for the roles of Suneo Honekawa...

  • Narrator: Toshiko Maeda


NOTE: It is often mistakenly believed by Westerners that the Japanese "Belfy" (Berufi) and the English "Willibit" are the same character, and that the Japanese "Lillibit" (Rirubitto) and the English "Lillabit" are the same character. In fact, "Belfy" is the name of the female, not the male, lead of the series in the original Japanese, and "Rirubitto" is the male, not the female, lead. This can be confirmed by consulting the English-language section of Tatsunoko Productions' Website.

English Cast

  • Sonja Ball
    Sonja Ball
    Sonja Ball is a Canadian voice actress.She is well known for her work as the voice of Arthur's Mother Jane Read in the PBS children's TV series Arthur, Huckle Cat on The Busy World of Richard Scarry, Polly Ester in the English version of Samurai Pizza Cats, Nicole in the Madeline TV specials, and...

     - Lillabit / Browniebit
  • Arthur Grosser
    Arthur Grosser
    Arthur Grosser is an actor who also works as a physical chemistry professor at McGill University, Montreal. He has done a lot of voice acting work in several animated series as well as in video games such as Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed.-Filmography:...

     - Mayor Bossabit
  • Dean Hagopian -
  • A.J. Henderson
    A.J. Henderson
    A.J. Henderson is a Canadian voice actor, born in Montreal, Quebec.- Biography :He is very prolific, having done voices for numerous anime, cartoons, and video games...

     - Grumpabit
  • Arthur Holden
    Arthur Holden
    Arthur Holden is a Canadian voice actor, born in Montreal, Quebec. He voices Baba-Miao in Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat, Mr. Ratburn in Arthur, and Mr...

     - Snagglebit
  • Rick Jones
    Rick Jones (voice actor)
    Rick Jones is an animation writer, director, content developer, and voice actor. Since 1983, he’s worked with Fox, Disney, Universal, Hanna-Barbera, Alphanim, Cinar and Nelvana...

     - Elderbit
  • Liz MacRae -
  • Walter Massey - Narrator
  • Anik Matern
    Anik Matern
    Anik Matern is an actress and founder of the Dynamic Theater Factory. She graduated from John Abbott College Professional Theatre Program.Television series and voice work includes:* The Littl' Bits...

     -
  • Terrence Scammell
    Terrence Scammell
    Terrence Scammell is a Canadian actor and voice actor who commonly playes multiple characters in cartoon series. He is a member of the ACTRA and Canadian Actors' Equity Association unions.-TV series:* 3 Gold Coins...

     -
  • Jane Woods -

Staff

Japanese Version (Mori no Yoki na Kobito-tachi Berufi to Rirubitto)
  • Director: Masayuki Hayashi, Hiroshi Iwata, Mizuho Nishikubo
  • Screenplay/Storyboards: Akiyoshi Sakai, Naoko Miyake, Takao Koyama
    Takao Koyama
    Takao Koyama is a Japanese screenwriter and novelist focusing on anime productions. He was active as 小山 高男 until 1987.-Career:...

    , Yoshiko Takaki, Yu Yamamoto, Leo Nishimura, Isao Okishima
  • Music: Takeo Watanabe
    Takeo Watanabe
    was a Japanese musician and composer. In addition to composing the well known theme song for Cutie Honey he has also composed music for multiple television anime and films including Lone Wolf & Cub, Candy Candy, and Mobile Suit Gundam....

  • Original Story: Shigeru Yanagawa, Tomoyuki Miyata
  • Character Design: Akiko Shimomoto, Hiromitsu Morita
  • Producer: Ippei Kuri, Akira Inoue
  • Theme Song Performance: Kumiko Oosugi (OP- Mori he Oide Yo; ED- Oyasumi Chuchuna)
  • 'Broadcaster: Tokyo 12 Channel (7 January to 7 July 1980)
  • Production: Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd.


English Version (The Littl' Bits)
  • Script: Michael McConnohie
    Michael McConnohie
    Michael D. McConnohie is a voice actor and is the President of the Nevada-based Voxworks voice-acting corporation. He is known for his recognizable deep booming voice and is generally known for playing more charismatic characters...

     (episode 2)
  • Music: Haim Saban
    Haim Saban
    Haim Saban is an Egyptian born Israeli-American television and media proprietor. With an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 104th richest person in America.-Biography:...

    , Shuki Levy
    Shuki Levy
    Shuki Levy is a music composer and television writer, director, and executive producer. Levy's best known work is soundtrack compositions for children's television programs of the 1980s, such as Inspector Gadget, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, M.A.S.K., Dinosaucers, Dragon Quest, He-Man and the...

  • Associate Producer: Eric S. Rollman
  • Executive Producer: Jerald E. Bergh
  • Producer: Winston Richard
  • Supervising Producer: Winston Richard
  • Supervising Writer: Robert V. Barron
    Robert V. Barron
    Robert V. Barron was an American actor best known as the supervising director and the voice of Admiral Donald Hayes in Robotech...

  • Voice Director: Tim Reid
    Tim Reid
    Timothy L. "Tim" Reid is an American actor, comedian and film director best known for his roles in prime time American television programs, such as Venus Flytrap on WKRP in Cincinnati , Marcel "Downtown" Brown on Simon & Simon , Ray Campbell on Sister, Sister and William Barnett on That 70's Show...

  • Opening and Closing Theme Vocalist: Rachelle Cano

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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