The Bluffers
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| The Bluffers | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Cartoon series |
| Created by | Gene Deitch Frank Fehmers |
| Directed by | Frank Fehmers |
| Theme music composer | Eric Jan Harmsen |
| Country of origin | Netherlands |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Gene Deitch Frank Fehmers |
| Running time | 25 min. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original run | October 7, 1986 – 1991 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Bluffers was a children's cartoon series which originated in The Netherlands; it was first screened in 1984. The stories revolved around the inhabitants of the fictitious land of 'Bluffoonia' and their ongoing struggle against the evil tyrant 'Clandestino' and his plans to destroy the forest in which they live.
The series was based on an idea by Gene Deitch, who also provided the narration, voiced many of the characters and wrote the lyrics to the title song. Michael Jupp, who also created The Dreamstone, was head of art for the series
The show's opening strapline was:
Bluffoonia was once a beautiful land before the crazed maniac Clandestino took over; Clandestino turned that beautiful place into this. Why? Because Clandestino is afraid the Bluffers will get his secret — the secret of getting it all!
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Heroes
- Zock (short for Zocrates), a wise old owl wearing a toga and a laurel wreath. Zock is a fatherly figure and advisor to the Bluffers (i.e., the animal denizens of the last remaining forest in Bluffoonia), and the keeper of the encyclopedic Book of All Knowledge. His name is a take-off of Socrates (hence his Roman Emperor appearance).
- Zipper, a fast-running blue squirrel with a love of adventure; he's led a number of raids into Clandestino's castle. When Zipper is not leading a raid on the castle he is often found in some activity involving nuts.
- Blossom, a pink mouse with a head of orange hair. She has romantic feelings for Zipper but he is reluctant to return them.
- Honey Boy, a simple-minded brown bear with a strong passion for anything to do with honey, and whose pet bees are always flying around his head.
- Sharpy, a red, bipedal fox who likes to outwit others for his own gain. He feels that lying, cheating, and stealing are what "real foxes" do, although he tends not to do these very successfully.
- Regal Eagle, an eagle (although he looks more like a buzzard) who talks and thinks like a soldier. This character is the least featured of the Bluffers and is often only called upon to perform a small task in any plans the animals may have.
- Ginseng, a goose with an Oriental appearance about her who specializes in brewing herbal remedies. She is named after the plant ginseng.
- Prickly Pine, a hyperactive, red-quilled porcupine who is always ready for action and combat. He is able to project his quills with pinpoint accuracy, although this inexhaustible supply of quills often end up in the rump of Sharpy or some other unsuspecting Bluffer.
- Psycho, a shy, reclusive snake with limited psychic powers; e.g., he was once used as a metal detector. When speaking, he adds an audible "P" to words that contain an "S" sound; e.g., "p'sad" and "p'certainly."
[edit] Villains
- Clandestino, a bloated, self-adoring, hunchbacked human; he's the self appointed totalitarian ruler of Bluffoonia. He lives in a fortress-like castle, the dungeon of which contains his precious "Secret of Getting It All" which is the source of his power.
- Sillycone, Clandestino's robot butler; he is smarter than his master and seems to possess no malice, but he serves Clandestino faithfully. It's unclear whether his name is derived from "silicone" or "silicon."
[edit] Other characters
- Glum, Clandestino's watchdog; his sympathies lie with the Bluffers, but he doesn't dare to openly rebel against his master because he doesn't want to lose his home in the castle.
- Zang and Dens, two rabbits — one tall and thin, one short and fat — who are often wearing sunglasses. They are sometimes seen conducting the musical segments, but are not integral to the stories.
[edit] Format
Each episode is approximately 25 minutes long. Most of the stories are centered around Clandestino doing or plotting something that will either destroy Bluffoonia's last forest or otherwise disrupt the Bluffers' lives, and the Bluffers' attempts to thwart him. Some of the stories are centered around the Bluffers' plans to steal Clandestino's "Secret of Getting It All" so they can use it to remove him from power.
Each episode contains two musical numbers.
[edit] Availability
In the late 1980s, a number of VHS videocassettes were released in the United States, each containing one or more episodes; also, there was a videocassette of collected musical numbers from the series. As of this writing, all of these are out of print, and The Bluffers has not been released on DVD.
