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Hopla: One of the cartoons currently on evening rotation.
A long time ago, I posted a link about Cik Cak, the short cartoon program that preceded the evening news in Yugoslavia. This tradition is still alive in Slovenia, although the rabbits have been removed and the show is now (unimaginatively) called risanke. ("cartoons") A ship sails by at the beginning of the show, and it ends with a commercial. The cartoons are mostly from the UK, although there are some interesting exceptions. Here’s what’s currently playing:
| Cartoon | Country | Year |
| Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends | UK | 1983 |
| Pingu | Switzerland | 1986 |
| Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings | UK | 1976 |
| Charlie and Mimmo | France | 2000 |
| Binka | UK | 2001 |
| Percy the Park Keeper | UK | 1996 |
| Miś Uszatek | Poland | 1975 |
| Make Way for Noddy | UK | 2001 |
| Hopla | Holland | 1999 |
Like other parents here, I’m familiar with all of these. (At least I am now.) Until I had children, the only one I could recognize on the list was Simon. (I don’t think there’s a person from my generation who doesn’t know and love the opening song.)
Interestingly enough, though, the best one is the Soviet-era Miś Uszatek. (lit. teddy bear) There’s something immensely satisfying about watching that show; it clearly required ridiculous amounts of time and effort to produce — especially when compared to some of today’s computer-rendered stuff.
If you’re interested, this is a great local resource for cartoon-related things.
Have a great weekend.
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http://www.patmat.cz/
About "Cik Cak": I neglected to mention this the first time around — mostly because I really enjoyed the memories and didn’t want too bring up insignificant details – but I believe the segment "Cik Cak" did not refer to the 7PM cartoons themselves but to the block of commercials immediately after them. I know this is counterintuitive, because most people would naturally associate cartoon bunnies with a kids’ segment (much moreso than a glorified commercial break), but I think the storyline with the bunnies referred to the fact that children were getting ready for bed at that time, having already seen the evening’s cartoon. It is also worth remembering that commercials were rare in those days, so the post-cartoon segment of commercials was treated basically as a short program, rather than as a modern-day break.Anyway, that’s what I remember. What I’ve seen in old TV listings magazines and online, including a reference on the creator Miki Muster’s site, seems to confirm this, but I would really like others on here (at least other old people) to let us know what they remember. And sorry for making a case out of this, but this must be one of the most significant issues of 20th century Slovenian history.
Oh, and…Old cartoons on TV Ljubljana (including many Eastern European ones, some good American classics, etc.) = good (w/ plenty of heart)Most new cartoons on TV Slovenija = badNot only does the design of these (mostly British) cartoons tend to be so much worse, but the dubbing has also really gone downhill. In the 1980s, TV Ljubljana, as it was known then, had one of the finest cartoon dubbing studios anywhere. Jim Henson apparently remarked that the Slovenian version of Fraggle Rock, voiced by some well-known Slovenian TV actors, was the only one he had seen that was as good as the original. That has certainly changed – although, to be honest, it’s hard to dub bad cartoons well.
What happened to the good old Krtek ? It used to be my favorite and to my big surprise my kids are able to watch it daily here in the land of Manga & Anime!
Of course they also get their daily dose of all the other favorites
like Thomas or Pingu as well as very unhealthy dose of violent Japanese
cartoons that I try to filter out as much as possible. Even Cartoon network Japan seems to be much more violence prone than his American cousin!
Looking at the list above makes me think that kids in Slovenia don’t
get to see all that violence…..but then I remember the cable
stations! I guess kids today are pumped with the same thing everywhere!
Nevertheless, it is good to see there is some innocence preserved on TV
Slovenia!
Sorry, I posted the wrong link to Cartoon network Japan. This is now the correct one. (previous one was kind of holliday cute and totaly missed the point!)
G’ Morning!AZ2SI is right. The bunnies slipping under the sheet meant bed-time. And they had enormous educational effect. My parents use to make me brush my teeth "like the bunnies", and when they said that I didn’t mind doing it. Also I distinctly remember trying to slip into bed the way bunnies did it.As for cartoons, Ušatko was definitly among the more popular, but let us not forget the legendary Gustav (Hungarian) and "A je to" which is one of my favourites. Then there were Lolek i Bolek, as far as western cartoons go, my all time favourite is Stripy (remember the histerical laugh?) - if anyone is interested, I do have some episodes.
What was the original name of the Czech (or was it Slovak?) cartoon known as "Palcek Smuk" in Slovenia? It was about a little elf/gnome with big ears and nose who lived in a pond, and I just loved it as a kid. The Czech cartoons of that time were masterful blend of wonderful graphic design and lots and lots of heart.For some reason, a Google search of "Palcek Smuk" comes up with porn sites. Oh, well…
Rákosní?ek = Pal?ek smuk
Found him! His Czech name was Rakosnicek. I can’t get my links to work in the preview, but the Czech Wikipedia has a picture of him — just do a Google search.
Oh, sorry, Johnny7: I was trying to get the link to work, so I didn’t notice your reply.
There were some good cartoons tht I saw on TV in BiH and in Croatia,
and good kids shows generally, one kids show had claymation charaters
it was called ‘Koki’ and there was this very cute family of chickens
who had neighbors who were ducks. The ducks came over and brought a
gift, of a little box of worms who waved and smiled when the box was
opened! This was just an overload of cuteness, but not a disagreeable
one.The foreign cartoon I liked best was ‘Fly Tales’ which was
from Canada, and had a fly that had wierd adventures, it was on HRT,
There was no speech in this the fly buzzed, and you gzthered what his
emotions were from the general tone of his buzzing. He was in a dog and
gained control of the computer which was the dog’s brain, another time,
he had a beach vacation that was really a sink full of dirty disthes,
all the various bugs were haveing a great time until the lady of the
house decided to do the dishes! Then the fly had to save a pretty
female bug, and rescue the other bugs who were useing pieces of
macaroni as inner tubes!There was also Edgar the Vampire, an American cartoon which was pretty charming. I
got to where I thought I’d go nuts if I had to see Bananas in Pajamas
again! They had a lot of Tom and Jerry cartoons which I remembered
fondly from childhood here in the States.
Oh, just rememberd two hillarious cartoons: Liliputput (the one about insects doing funny stuff) and perhaps the most legendary of all - La Linea.
What about Toffsy in pojo?a travica :))).Italian and Swiss cartoons are great too,
Oh, I loved La Linea. I called him "Iscepanajde" ("Hewhoseeksfinds" or just "Seeksandfinds"), because he was always finding things.
This Bruno Bozetto guy has made many of the nice ones.
AZ2SI & pengovsky are right. it was announce for a block of commercials. I would like to point out one persone who was IMO pretty much responsible for popularity of cartoons amongst children and their parents as well. he is JURIJ SOUČEK. it was him, who made those cartoons so funny and amuzing with his voice. I remember that my younger brother loved pipi & melkijart and I think this cartton was popular among others too (I enjoyed ass well). however, few years ago (on faculty), we were discussing about cartoons with my collegues. there was a bosnian guy who didn´t know that cartton. when we explained him that there were two pigs, younger and older, and they were explaining certain things in life, his reply was something like that:"of course we didn´t have that cartton on national TV, they are pigs, we´re muslims…" - sv3
In Croatia pipi & melkijart was Pedore i Todore
I loved the DJ Cat show on Sky back in the days..Some of my favourites are: Fantastic max, Heathcliff, Pipi in Kuku, Strippy, Gustav, Bojan (slovene cartoon, btw), Nick Knatterton (co-made by Miki Muster), Cool McCool, Original Looney Tunes (especially roadrunner and coyote), Lilliput put, Biscuits, Bluffers (clandestino is brilliant), and of course the classic A je to.I still enjoy watching those a great deal.
Ušatko rules! So much! And, and, Krtek rules, too! And Stripy! They all rule… They’re like… like… Kings of Cartoonia… Yeah.
Do I sense some sarcasm there, Matej?
HI-MEN!
I don’t know if that one was shown in Slovenia at all, but I liked the Czech/German co-production "Lucie, postrach ulice/Luzie, der Schrecken der Straße" best. It’s part cartoon (plasticine figures!), part "real" film with real actors.http://www.csfd.cz/film.php?kom=1&id=7394&top=1 (CZ)http://www.serienoldies.de/main/serie_detail.php?id=165&PHPSESSID=f8ad753f7fa1df2d4fa6d4969d41971a (GER)
Oooh, Liliputput was great! And Edgar the Vampire, he’s a legend!Btw, there’s a festival of animation going on in Ljubljana this week: AnimatekaThey have a special program for children every day at 10am.
Retailtherapist (BTW, the first time I saw your name, I read it as "Retail The Rapist"): This one doesn’t ring a bell, but I do remember another Czech series that was part animation (traditional animation in this case) and part live-action. It was about different kinds of dogs, but most of the details escape me. I do remember that, in one episode, one of the (animated) dogs got her tail cut off. The message was a positive one – tackle adversity and accept disabled people and animals — but it was still mildly disconcerting to a kid.
@johnny7: I said bosnian not croatian
AZ2SI, I am indeed an evil rapist ;o)
Ah, cartoons… niceI enjoyed those old cartoons, they were
much better than modern. We called La Linea after the song: "Bajum
Badum". Gustav, Stripy, Danger Mouse (with Polentojedožerka, etc…),
Maksi pes Fix (was also shown not long ago), Liliputput, Palcek Smuk (I
was drawing the constelations and went next nights outside trying to
find that conselations), actually all Czech/Slovak and Polish cartoons
were magnificent. From American I liked Pink Panter, Pon?o and Toro and
Modri dirka?…
Few pictures of Stripy:
img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bscap1512lu.jpg
img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bscap1581bw.jpg
img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bscap1415ly.jpg
img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bscap1457xe.jpgOnce the
TV showed one Danish cartoon (I think), I never remembered its name. It
was about some being, who looked more like a cloud. I remember in one
episode all he wanted to do was to eat his sendwich. But the problem
was that he was also driving a locomotive engine, and always when he
wanted to start eating, some shit happened on the rail track. For
instance, once one the two rail-tracks suddenly switched to the other
side, so he had to lead the engine on one side… etc. I would really
like to know the name of that cartoon.Some good modern Croatian
(I think) cartoow I saw: one about some pre-histroy, stone age tribe,
and another about some blue guys and girls, they have such a big nose,
exactly like their feet. Don’t know the names, though.
I almost forgot about Maksipes Fik, narrated in Slovene by the aforementioned Jurij Soucek (I think). Another Czech classic.
Excellent! Hrabri Misek (Danger Mouse) :))) I always liked Poldi - the comical sidekick (Poldi, ti is genij!). BTW: Do you know what’s Poldi’s original name? Mortimer :))
this was the ultimate classic, u gotta remember it. The french cartoon set inside the human body. classy, entertaining, and above all…. educational. what a cartoon. don’t remember what i’m talking about? see for yourselves; http://www.procidis.com/gb/series/series_fois/d_series_vie.html
Oh, I remember… I also remember that seeing a certian episode I actually for the first ime understood the technical requiremetns and procedures for having sex, hehehe
>BTW: Do you know what’s Poldi’s
original name? >Mortimer :))Yeah, they were cool. Once they were flying ouside of the Universe or in som sort of anti-Universe… :)I
watched later some original (English) versions, but didn’t remember the
names. It would be so nice if the syncronized versions of cartoons
(with Sou?ek of course) would be available somewhere…
Wasn’t the real name of two pigs (at least in slovene) Pip in Melhijad?
Plus nobody mentioned fantastic croatin cartoon called Baltazar. I loved his invenitons.
Hey people what was that cartoon with characters living as big family
and they could change their form in order to make things….they could
become all sort of machines or instruments.
Hey people what was that cartoon with characters living as big family
and they could change their form in order to make things….they could
become all sort of machines or instruments.Barbapapa. Cool cartoon, yeah.
And I remember the fly as well. Seen it only few times on HTV, though. I thought it is French…
What a nice thread, a journey through my chilhood. Since the
cartoons
theme has ben covered deeply I’d like to add the traditional ‘Lahko Noc, Otroci!’ on the radio. They still keep it
running and it still has a nice
touch, in adition to the enormous nostalgic momentum.
I’d have to go with Crni on Pat and Mat, it was brill! But I must have
been a snob even as a kid, because I remember always being prejudiced
towards Eastern-European cartoons, desperately hoping I’d get lucky and
see Pink Panther instead.
how could you forget bojan?!?! i remember when i was little, i loved
it. and i tried to make things alive by drawing/painting them.i miss
those days. :)and
cebelica maja. die biene maja in original. i
think it was my favourite cartoon. or maybe snorfs. i don`t know. does
anyone know if there are somewhere these cartoons in old
synchronization? the new one sucks. it would be perfect gift for my
nephew.
Of the non-Eastern European cartoons, I really liked Tom & Jerry (or "tomindzeri" as it was commonly known by kids). For some reason, however, it was rarely shown during the 7PM cartoon block. Instead, it was a regular feature of sports halftimes (remember, this was when commercials were rare). Even the fact that they constantly repeated the same three or four episodes didn’t bother me.I also remember watching cartoons during the morning school programs. School broadcasts were produced by Belgrade television, and had mostly American cartoons, including Popeye, sandwiched between, say, programs about chemistry. You could always hear the original English soundtrack underneath the Serbian dubbing.In those days of limited viewing choice (when having three networks to choose from was considered a luxury), I also watched "Am Dam Des" on Austrian televison – a live-action kids’ show featuring a clown – and an animated show with a mouse (which was really called "The Show with the Mouse" or "Die Sendung mit der Maus") and is apprently still around).
It was always like this: Cartoon (most of the time one, or maybe
two), Cik Cak bunnies getting ready to sleep and they hold the letters
to spell Cik Cka and then the last bunny corrects it by switching K and
A, commercial break, Cik Cak bunnies again this time they slip in their
beds.I don’t remember my fav cartoon, but I loved Fraggles and
Muppets. They were usually shown on sundays during the kids Ziv Zav
program.
Some good modern Croatian
(I think) cartoow I saw: one about some pre-histroy, stone age tribe,
and another about some blue guys and girls, they have such a big nose,
exactly like their feet. Don’t know the names, though,
I saw that one last time I was there, it was great!
the babies and everyone they lived sooo badly! It was called
‘Og’! loved it!
Og was the cave people one! sorry for the double post, just wanted to
be clear, I don’t remember the name of the blue people one.
BigWhale: "It was always like this: Cartoon (most of the time one, or maybe two), Cik Cak bunnies getting ready to sleep and they hold the letters to spell Cik Cka and then the last bunny corrects it by switching K and A, commercial break, Cik Cak bunnies again this time they slip in their beds."Yep, that’s how Pengovsky, sv3der, and I remember it as well. In other words, "Cik Cak" was not the cartoon block, which was always called just "Risanke," but the block of commercials immediately after it. BTW, I’m not sure if you noticed it, but Michael posted video clips of those animated segments here.Via the good folks at TV Ark, here are RealVideo clips of the original opening credits to a few classics shown in Slovenia back in the 1980s (just right-click and save if you are using a PC):Dangermouse (apparently, the assistant’s English-language name was Penfold, not Mortimer)Fraggle RockBananaman (I remember not liking it)Superted (I didn’t care much for this one either)Jamie and the Magic Torch* (Jakec in carobna lucka)* In British English, "torch" means "flashlight."BTW, does someone know how to get rid of these italics?
Thanks to everyone for clearing up the Cik-Cak thing.It was also great to take a trip down memory lane with some of these shows. I can’t believe I had forgotten about Bananaman, for example. Probably good that I did. And on an entirely unrelated note: Am I the only one who hears the opening notes of the Slovenian national anthem when clicking on the flute here?
First few notes yeah. LOL … Though that’s such a typical begning that many tunes probably share it. I got all nostalgic reading replies here. There was a show called Živ Žav every Sunday in the 80s which was basically an hour long run of western and eastern cartoons (always a nice ballanced mix). I used to LIVE for that show, really. All other things in life I did were just pass-time till I could watch Živ Žav again. Such was the fate of us pre-Cartoon Network kids. :PTwo classics no one mentioned: Lolek in Bolek (I think they were called Pat&Mat in english) + A Je To, which is similar in style to Miś Uszatek.
As I remember "risanka" started precisely at 19:15. By the time
bunnys were dashing up&down, I had to put the pyjamas on and was on
my way to the bathrom, which I didn’t like at all. Therefore I hated
the "zaj?ki" - it’s quite funny, now I don’t mind going to
bed,…. There is one more classic nobody mentioned-Baltazar (made in Yugoslavia (Croatia?))!
Bananaman was called Banananjam in Slovenia.freddie + somebody (last two posts) apparenty hadn’t read all the previous posts.What was the name of the cartoon with two dogs, not animated but actually two people dressed in dog costumes?Nowadays,
Gustav is sometimes shown in the Hungarian program on TV SLO -
Hidak/Mostovi, actually during the youth show Kanape (once a month).
Just wanted to say that Hopla is from Belgium, not from Holland
He,
“Hopla” is not from Holland BUT from BELGIUM, ever heared about our country?
just like “Tik Tak” is originaly Belgian. We also have “Bumba”. He’s so lovely aswell!
I know this was a long time ago. But Google helped me find this old post. Here is a video of all ads with Zaj?ki. Enjoy!