Ovide and the Gang
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Infobox television/Short description Script error: No such module "Infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Infobox television".Script error: No such module "Infobox television disambiguation check". La Bande à Ovide, a.k.a. Ovide and the Gang, is a 1980s animated comedy TV show produced by the Canadian animation studio CinéGroupe (who also produced Mega Babies, Sharky & George and The Little Flying Bears) in association with Belgium's Odec Kid Cartoons.[1] It ran on Télévision de Radio Canada starting on October 17, 1987,[2] to 1989 and also goes by the names "Ovide Video" and "Ovide's Video Show"; the series gained popularity in the United Kingdom when it was broadcast on the Children's BBC from August 1987[3] staying with the BBC until Spring 1992[4] before quickly switching to Channel 4.
The characters were created and designed by Bernard Godi in cooperation with Belgian comics artist and animator Nic Broca, who had previously designed the Snorks for SEPP.
Synopsis
The show stars a blue platypus named Ovide who lives on a non-descript South Seas island, where he has adventures with his friends and thwarts Cy and Bobo, the show's villains.
Main characters
- Ovide is the main character of the show. A duck-billed platypus, he is the unofficial leader of the group; he is also smart, responsible and kind. Ovide is voiced by Thor Bishopric.
- Saphron is Ovide's cousin, and also a platypus. He is a good cook and gardener. Saphron is voiced by Terrence Scammell.
- Polo is a feisty red lizard who always carries around a broom. The island's janitor and the "tough guy" of the group, he is always trying and failing to catch Woody, a destructive woodworm. Polo is voiced by Terrence Scammell.
- Groaner is a white toucan and one of Ovide's friends. His name comes from the fact that he is always telling weak jokes which make people groan. Groaner is voiced by Dean Hagopian.
- Doe, Rae & Mi are koalas, always on twigs or the couch. Their names come from the first three solfège syllables, and they visually represent the three wise monkeys: Doe wears headphones hearing music (Hear no Evil), Rae wears sunglasses (See no Evil), and Mi almost always covers his mouth, and sometimes hiccups (Speak no Evil).
- Matilda is a female kangaroo. Not originally from the island, she mistook the others for cannibals and hid from them, but then warmed up to them. She is skilled with herbal remedies and with the boomerang. She is first seen in episode 18.
- Cy Sly is the primary antagonist of the show. He is a vain, scheming, megalomaniacal python. He is jealous of Ovide and wishes to overthrow him and gain control of the island. Cy is voiced by A.J. Henderson.
- Bobo is Cy's bumbling, keel-billed toucan minion and only friend. He refers to Cy as "Boss". Despite his association with Cy, he has a good heart and wishes Ovide and his friends no ill-will. Bobo is also let off the hook a lot, unlike Cy who always suffers the consequences. Bobo is voiced by Terrence Scammell.
- Woody is a mischievous woodworm who tunnels around the island. He is known to alter the state of bowling games and gnaw holes into the base of Ovide's home. He is in constant conflict with Polo.
- Alvin is a blue three-toed sloth who lives in the forest of the island. His role in the cartoon is (more often than not) very minor and the only word he can pronounce is "Aye".
- Newscaster Lady is a pink-haired platypus whose name has not been revealed. She is the constantly-occurring face on television and the information she provides is beneficial to Ovide (and even Cy at times).
Role of television in Ovide
Television plays an important role in this series. In every episode, Ovide and his friends are watching a programme. Ovide carries a brown briefcase which contains a portable TV set and there is a wandering TV on the island that approaches the characters at crucial moments and provides information important to the plot. Every time Cy sees the TV, he apparently becomes entranced by it.
Episodes
A number of these episodes were released on VHS by Celebrity Home Entertainment for the "Just for Kids" series, hosted by Noel C. Bloom Jr. during the late 1980s and (assumingly) early 1990s.[5]
References
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- ↑ CinéGroupe Filmography
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1987-08-01#at-9.00
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External links
- Ovide at ClassicKidsTV.co.uk
- Ovide and the Gang international
- Script error: No such module "If empty". at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:WikidataCheck
- Pages with script errors
- Canadian children's animated comedy television series
- Ici Radio-Canada Télé original programming
- Television shows filmed in Montreal
- 1987 Canadian television series debuts
- 1989 Canadian television series endings
- 1980s Canadian animated television series
- Animated television series set on fictional islands
- Children's television series about talking animals
- Canadian English-language television shows