Pecola
Pecola (Japanese: ペコラ) is a 3D Japanese-Canadian children's television series which stars cube-shaped anthropomorphic animals in a place called Cube Town. It is based on a series of children's picture books by Naomi Iwata.[1][2]
Pecola | |
---|---|
Genre | CGI series |
Created by | Naomi Iwata |
Directed by | Mike Fallows Dan Wakabayashi |
Voices of | (See article) |
Country of origin | Japan Canada |
Original languages | Japanese English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 26 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Michael Hirsh Naomi Iwata Patrick Loubert Clive A. Smith Makoto Toriyama |
Producer | Kim Cleary |
Running time | 30 min (two 15 minutes episodes per timeslot) |
Production companies | Yomiko Advertising Nelvana Milky Cartoon |
Distributor | Nelvana |
Release | |
Original network | Teletoon (Canada) TV Tokyo (Japan) |
Original release | September 3, 2001 – September 18, 2002 |
External links | |
Website |
Premise
The show stars Pecola, a curious and hyperactive penguin who tries to help the people of Cube Town but often wreaks havoc instead. Pecola is an orphaned penguin who lives with Pecolius, his grandfather. Cube Town is a small, isolated coastal village which contains an art museum, a beach, a lighthouse and a canal. It is located adjacent to Crescent Bay surrounded by the Rookery Mountains coastal range and serviced by regular ships (including a weekly freighter) which deliver mail, food and other supplies, as well as occasional tourists from a nearby metropolis named Cubic City. The heights above it lead into Glacier Valley which is snowbound even during summer.
Voice cast
English-language cast
- Austin Di Iulio as Pecola
- Stephaine Beard as Coco
- Richard Binsley as Jabbatt
- Donald Burda as Gazelle
- Keith Hampshire as Mayor Papazoni
- Len Carlson as Officer Kumada
- Michael Cera as Robbie Rabbit
- William Colgate as Dr. Hornbender
- Neil Crone as Dr. Chu
- Jill Frappier as Aunty Yorkshire
- Jake Goldsbie as Rudy
- George Buza as Postman Rory
- Tracey Hoyt as Hilary
- Howard Jerome as Mr Bernard
- Keith Knight as Al A. Gator
- Julie Lemieux as Miss Lucky
- Sharron Matthews - Steamer
- Marla Lukofsky as Mrs Bernard
- Miriam McDonald as Chewy
- Sunday Muse as Corey
- Scott McCord as Bashatt
- Peter Oldring as Bongo
- Stephen Ouimette as Mr. Saruyama
- Avery Saltzman as Mr Puggalski
- Adrian Truss as Mr. Lonely
- Chris Wiggins as Pecolius
- Austin Di Iulio - Robo Pecola
Spanish-language cast
- Anabella Silva as Pecola
- Gonzalo Fumero as Bongo
- Luis Carreño as Gazelle
- Luis Pérez Pons
- Rolman Bastidas
Japanese-language cast
- Mayumi Asano as Pecola
- Naoko Takano as Coco
- Umeji Sasaki as Pecolius
- Paku Romi as Rabi-san
- Mayumi Asano as Rob Pecola
- Mitsuaki Hoshino as Gao-san
- Ryusei Nakao as Saru-yama
- Kenyu Horiuchi as Gazelle
- Yu Shimaka as Mayor Papazōni
- Chika Sakamoto as Tsunekichi
- Miyu Matsuki as Cori
- Takeshi Kusao as Jabatto-san
- Dai Matsumoto - Banaado-san
Characters
- Pecola — A penguin who brings excitement to the otherwise dull and boring town. Unlike his fellow penguins, Pecola cannot swim. His catchphrases include "Flapping Flippers!" and "Let's Get Hopping!" Pecola has a special love of pudding and a reputation for pulling pranks.
- Little Chu/Chewy — A mouse who is the grandson of the great inventor Dr. Chu, and a budding inventor in his own right. He is Pecola's best friend and often reluctant ally in various escapades. He often complains of having a funny feeling in his stomach just before things get out of hand.
- Dr. Chu — A mouse who is Little Chu's grandfather. He is Cube Town's greatest inventor and he often invents gadgets that help others on the island. His inventions are often used by Pecola and Chewy in their adventures. He is also friends with Pecola's grandfather, Pecolias. He owns two vehicles one is a submarine and also an airplane called the Mad Mouse which sits on top his laboratory. He also likes to collect comics.
- Coco — Another penguin. She is more down to earth than Pecola, and is sometimes frustrated by his antics. She loves to sing; unfortunately, she is terrible at it.
- Mr. Saruyama — A monkey who runs a fruit stand in town. He is often the target of Pecola's pranks, often leading to his melons falling over, which is a running gag in the show. He also runs the town's newspaper, the "Town Crier". He also cries a lot.
- Gao/Rory — A lion who is Cube Town's postman. He is determined and dedicated to his job, he has never missed a day of work which won him the postman of the year award in , though he did get sick in during this episode it was revealed when he was younger he wasn't as good at delivering the mail, but learned from his mistakes and created rules to help him with his job.
- Pug/Mr. Puggalski — A pug who owns a grocery store. He is a descendant of the personal chef of the former king of Cube Town. He is also said to be the world's greatest hide and seek player ( hide and go sleep) though when nobody could find him he was sick at home and still won.
- Dr. Hornbender — An old goat astrologist who lives and works at the observatory. His greatest dream is the discovery of new planets, constellations, and aliens. Along with getting a shooting star named after him.
- Rabi/Robbie — A nervous Rabbit who likes video games.
- Mayor Papazoni — An elephant. The mayor who makes long and boring speeches. Papazoni travels in a helicopter that he pilots himself. He hides in secret tunnels under the city and at a Mayoral Retreat to work on his speeches, undisturbed by residents and their questions. Constantly refers to the citizens of Cube Town as "voters". His voice is an imitation of veteran newsman Walter Cronkite.
- Steam / Stim / Steamer — A cat train mechanic and engineer. Chewy, Pecola, and Rudy are smitten with her, which is the cause of tensions and arguments among the three. Her train, The Cactus, is intended eventually to provide a direct link with Cubic City via a tunnel being constructed under the Rookery Mountains . She often stops her work on the engine to play soccer with Pecola and his friends.
- Aunty Yorkshire — A pig who does the laundry for the town and is often one of the few adults tolerant of Pecola's shenanigans. Whenever Pecolius is away she's the one to often babysit Pecola. She also has a son who lives in Cubic City and often says Pecola reminds her of him.
- Mr. and Mrs. Banard/Bernard — Two beagles. They run the town's bakery, though Mr. Bernard often falls asleep on the job and is credited by others for his wife's work.
- Jabatt and Bashatt — Two tortoises. They are Cube Town's firemen, although there are never fires in Cube Town. Despite this, they often help out around town, and they often provide comic relief when they bump into each other.
- Officer Kumada — A bear. He helps keep the Cube Town safe with his various rules and observations.
- Mr. Lonely - A wolf. He is a poet who is usually found writing and reciting sad poetry. He also once rapped. In Coco's concert but is unable to write poetry when in a happy mood.
- Gazelle — A vain gazelle who is Hillary's boyfriend. He dreams of being a modern artist. He owns a convertible that he lovingly maintains and often drives about in Cube Town. He also owns a jet ski. In addition to art he loves to collect belt buckles.
- Srally/Hillary - A giraffe who is Gazelle's girlfriend. She owns Cube Town Art Museum and is very fashionable. She is also picky about her weight, which is a running gag in the show.
- Miss Lucky — A blue cat who reports for Cube Town News. She also helped Pecola make a movie.
- Golagola/Gola Gola — A friendly sea creature who saved Pecola from drowning. At first, the town feared him, but they came to accept him. He has helped with various beach activities and is often seen playing with Pecola and his friends at the beach.
- Tsunekichi/Rudy — Pecola's fox friend whose catchphrases are "I knew that" and "I was going to say/ask that". He is prone to bragging and showing off his latest toys, not sharing and declaring he is the best at whatever activity he is engaged in.
- Cori — A squirrel that runs Cori's Cafe as chef and waitperson.
- Bongo — A very strong and athletic gorilla who is kind, but is often clumsy as either bumps into something or breaks something though apologizes for it with a trademark "Sorry". In it was revealed he collects model cars.
- Pecolius — A penguin. Pecola's grandfather who bears a resemblance to Indiana Jones because of his adventures in the name of science and archeology. He appreciates Pecola's unique personality, but at times reminds him to stay out of trouble.
- Robo-Pecola — A robot version of Pecola who was built by Dr. Chu to teach Pecola better manners as revealed in his debut in. Though his various glitches lead him to cause more trouble than the real Pecola.
- Alligetao/Al Agator — A mysterious alligator. He is seen sneaking around Cube Town, taking pictures.
- Brock the Block — A badger who is a reporter in Cubic City who hosts and interviewed the show "Big City Life" where he interviews successful people in Cubic City.
- Power Pal — A gorilla superhero on TV that is Pecola's favorite. He looks like Bongo except wearing red superhero tights, cape, and mask. He can fly and has super strength. He inspired Pecola become Power Pecola.
Episodes
Season 1 (2001)
No. | Segment 1 | Segment 2 | Original airdate (Teletoon)[3] | Prod. code |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Double Troubles (Pilot) | Detective Pecola | September 3, 2001 | 101 |
2 | Constellation Pecola | Good Deeds | September 4, 2001 | 102 |
3 | Fire Drill Frenzy | Hurricane Pecola | September 5, 2001 | 103 |
4 | Robo-Rocket | Mayor Muddle | September 6, 2001 | 104 |
5 | Your Wish is my Command | Robbie to the Rescue | September 7, 2001 | 105 |
6 | One Lonely Night | Miss Lucky's Bloopers | September 10, 2001 | 106 |
7 | Spring Cleaning | Monster Moth | September 11, 2001 | 107 |
8 | The Cube Town Tri-Brag-a-Thon | The Wild Ride | September 12, 2001 | 108 |
9 | Half Baked | Hide 'N' Go Sleep | September 13, 2001 | 109 |
10 | Not Seeing is Disbelieving | Melancholy Pecola | September 14, 2001 | 110 |
11 | Pecola's Penguin Special | Bot and Switch | September 17, 2001 | 111 |
12 | Golagola | Operation Papazoni | September 18, 2001 | 112 |
13 | High and Dry | Two Brilliant Inventors | September 19, 2001 | 113 |
Season 2 (2002)
No. | Segment 1 | Segment 2 | Original airdate (Teletoon)[3] | Prod. code |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ode to Pecola | Laundry Quandary | September 2, 2002 | 114 |
2 | Cool It! | Yeti or Not | September 3, 2002 | 115 |
3 | The Curse of Cube Town | Postman Pecola | September 4, 2002 | 116 |
4 | Runway Pecola | Pecola's Island | September 5, 2002 | 117 |
5 | The Town Crier | Pecola Grows Horns | September 6, 2002 | 118 |
6 | Coco's Concert | Spaceman Pecola | September 9, 2002 | 119 |
7 | Robo-Rudy | Lights, Camera, Pecola! | September 11, 2002 | 120 |
8 | A Career Day | Power Pecola | September 10, 2002 | 121 |
9 | Prince Puggalski | Painting Pecola | September 12, 2002 | 122 |
10 | Pecola and the Pirates | Mysterious Pecola | September 13, 2002 | 123 |
11 | Gazelle's Goof | Pecola in a Yacht of Trouble | September 16, 2002 | 124 |
12 | Yorkshire's Puddin | Pecola's Tunnel Trouble | September 17, 2002 | 125 |
13 | Yo! Pecola | Great Cubes of Fire! | September 18, 2002 | 126 |
Broadcast
Pecola first aired on Teletoon in Canada from September 3, 2001 to September 18, 2002. In Japan, the show aired on TV Tokyo at 9:00am to 9:30am on Sundays from October 6, 2002 to March 30, 2003. Pecola premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States in 2003, and also aired on Qubo from 2007 to 2017, then started airing again on April 5, 2020. It has been not aired since July 26, 2020. The series was also aired on Spacetoon in Indonesia during 2007 and 2012.
Home video releases
The show was released to DVD in Japan, Australia, France, and Taiwan. A DVD release of the show in the US has yet to be announced; however, it is available on Amazon Video in the country.[4]
Video game
In Japan, an educational game based on the show was released for the Sega Pico entitled Pecola no Daibouken Maboroshi no Aisukurīmu wo Sagase! (ペコラのだいぼうけん まぼろしのアイスクリームをさがせ!)
References
- gottsuiiyan (October 30, 2008). "Back in time with Billy Bat". The Eastern Edge. Archived from the original on August 27, 2011.
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 606. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- "Television Program Logs". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. March 2, 2016. Alt URL
- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CZ5PAVM