Vicky the Viking
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| Vicky the Viking | |
|---|---|
| 小さなバイキング ビッケ (Vicky the Viking) |
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| Genre | Adventure |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Hiroshi Saito |
| Studio | Zuiyo Eizo |
| Network | Fuji Television |
| Original run | 3 April 1974 – 24 September 1975 |
| No. of episodes | 77 |
Vicky the Viking (Wickie und die starken Männer in Germany, Chīsa na Viking Bikke in Japan, Wikki de Viking in The Netherlands, Vickie, o Viking in Portugal and Vicky el Vikingo in Spain) is an Austrian-German-Japanese cartoon series which tells the adventures of Vicky, a young Viking boy who uses his wits to help his Viking fellows. It premiered in the German TV channel ZDF on January 31, 1974.
This series was praised by Oda Eiichirō, creator of the manga and anime series One Piece, saying that it inspired him in his works.
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[edit] Script and realization
The script was developed from children's book Vicke Viking (1963) written by the Swedish author Runer Jonsson, who won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Children’s Book Award) for it in 1965. The Japanese animation studio Zuiyo Enterprise Company (later renamed to Nippon Animation) adapted the original version (1972-1974) and developed from it an 85 minutes long movie (original title: Chiisana baikingu Uiki) as well as the series with 78 episodes, each 25 minutes long.
Responsible for the German dubbing was Eberhard Storeck, who spoke one of the characters (Snorre) himself. The music in German version was composed by Christian Bruhn and Karel Svoboda. The text of the title song (Hey, hey, Wickie! Hey, Wickie, hey! ...) was written by Andrea Wagner.
The series was produced for the German TV network ZDF and Austrian TV network ORF.
[edit] The main character Vicky
Vicky is a small boy with red or blond shoulder long hair. He wears a skirt, which is typical for Vikings though he may be confused as being a little girl, along with his unisex name. He lives with his parents Halvar and Ylva in the small medieval Viking village Flake. He is by no means a typical Vikingboy, but rather fearful. He is also not very strong. On the other hand, his forte is his original ideas, which help the adults and his friends out of desperate situations. Every time Vicky ponders about a difficult problem, he touches his nose with his index finger (first both sides, then the bottom. At the same time the particular background music plays). Suddenly he receives the idea that provides the solution from the situation (this is indicated by "raining stars"). He then always snaps his fingers and yells out his Heureka-shout "Ich hab's!" ("I got it"). Whenever his father, the Chief of the Viking village, is involved with the realization of the idea, he later claims that he had the same idea, but only wanted to see if his son would think of it too.
Vicky mostly spends time out to sea together with Halvar and the ship crew, which are more or less "strong men". In every episode they experience new, dangerous or funny adventures. In the beginning, Vicky had to overcome a degree of scepsis shown by the men. Later, he becomes more and more a mascot, without which the men would refuse to go on their trips since they fear that without Vicky's ideas, they would likely not arrive back home again.
Vicky's solutions are often not relevant to the time of the story. Sometimes they are based on historical events, i.e. the Trojan Horse. At other times, they could come from a mathematician or physicist of later centuries. This modern form of common knowledge makes Vicky a role model for the juvenile audience. He shows that a hero need not be strong in all cases, but an admirable amount of intelligence or smartness can replace muscles and courage.
[edit] Characters with German voice actors
- Halvar, with eyepatch, "Chief" of the Viking village Flake (voiced by Walter Reichelt)
- Ylva, his wife (voiced by Inge Schulz)
- Wickie (Vicky), their only son (voiced by Florian Halm)
- Ylvi, Wickie's friend (voiced by Alexandra Ludwig), the voice actress changes during the series
- Gilby, a rough boy from Flake of Wickie's age (voiced by Horst Abraham)
- Tjure, tall and slim, argues always with Snorre (voiced by Werner Abrolat)
- Monika, wife of Tjure
- Snorre, short and chumpy, argues always with Tjure (voiced by Eberhard Storeck)
- Urobe, the oldest Viking (voiced by Leo Bardischewski)
- Gorm, known for his trademark quote, "Ich bin entzückt!" ("I am delighted") (voiced by Manfred Lichtenfeld)
- Ulme, minstrel with a lyre (voiced by Kurt Zips)
- Faxe, chumpy, tall and laid-back (voiced by Gernot Duda)
- Sven, "Sven, the Horrible" is the feared enemy of the Vikings of Flake. His always mean adviser Pokka is always around him (voiced by Kurt Eugen Ludwig)
- Baltac, "Chief" of the neighboring village Schlack (voiced by Herbert Weicker)
The narratotion is done by Manfred Seipold.
[edit] Comic books (German)
A comic book series with 73 issues was published by Condor Verlag from 1974 to 1980. Additionally 6 paperback and 3 hardcover books were published.
[edit] Primary literature (German)
- Runer Jonsson: Wickie und die starken Männer. München: Herold 1964.
- Runer Jonsson: Wickie und die Blauschwerter. München: Herold. 1966.
- Runer Jonsson: Wickie und die großen Drachen. München: Herold. 1967.
- Runer Jonsson: Wickie und die Rothäute. Ravensburg: Ravensburger Buchvlg. 1984. ISBN 3-473-38776-2
- Runer Jonsson: Wickie und das hölzerne Pferd. Ravensburg: Ravensburger Buchvlg. 1984. ISBN 3-473-38791-6
- Runer Jonsson: Wickie und die Stadt der Tyrannen. Ravensburg: Ravensburger Buchvlg. 1984. ISBN 3-473-38822-X
[edit] Secondary literature (German)
- Ina Kurth/Joachim Schmaeck: Wickie und der dänische Zoll. Arbeiten mit Anteilen und Prozenten. Appelhülsen/Mülheim: Verlag "Die Schulpraxis". 1990. ISBN 3-927279-64-1
- Susanne Pauser/Wolfgang Ritschl: Wickie, Slime und Paiper. Wien: Böhlau. 1999. ISBN 3-205-98989-9
- Wickie und die starken Männer, Kinderkochbuch. Frechen: Schwager & Steinlein. 2001. ISBN 3-89600-450-6
- Wickie und die starken Männer - Pop-Up Masken Spielbuch. Frechen: Schwager & Steinlein. 2003. ISBN 3-89600-554-5
- Wickie und die starken Männer - Geschichtenbuch. Fränkisch-Crumbach: Verlag EDITION XXL. 2003. ISBN 3-89736-417-4
- Wickie - Stanzpappe Buch Fränkisch-Crumbach: Verlag EDITION XXL. 2004. ISBN 3-89736-652-5
[edit] External links
- (German)
