| Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds | |
|---|---|
Title screen |
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| Genre | Animation, Action, Comedy, Fantasy |
| Created by | BRB Internacional Claudio Biern Boyd |
| Voices of | Cam Clarke Steve Kramer Dan Woren Michael Reynolds Tom Wyner Dave Mallow Rebecca Forstadt Simon Prescott Michael Sorich Doug Stone Eddie Frierson Kerry Mahan Elizabeth Hanna Satomi Majima Akio Nojima Tesshō Genda Mugihito Eiko Masuyama Keiko Han Teiji Ōmiya Noriko Tsukase Akkio Tsuboi Minoru Yada |
| Narrated by | Tom Wyner (Series 1) Michael McConnohie (Series 2) |
| Country of origin | Japan (series 1) Spain Taiwan (series 2) |
| No. of episodes | 52 (Both series); only 24 episodes of Series 1 in Japan |
| Production | |
| Running time | 26 mins |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | MBS (Japan series 1 only) TVE (Spain) |
| Original run | October 9, 1981 (series 1) – March 26, 1982 (series 1) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds is an animated cartoon adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas story of d'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers. Most of the characters are anthropomorphizations of dogs, hence the title of the cartoon. Exceptions to this are the temptress Milady (a cat); Pip, Dogtanian's sidekick mouse; the avian jewel thief Blue Falcon; Planchet (a bear), Dogtanian's main servant; and some random townspeople and guards of the Cardinal.
Contents |
The 1st series of the show was created by the joint production of BRB Internacional of Spain and Japanese studio Nippon Animation.
It was first broadcast in Japan (ワンワン三銃士) (Wanwan Sanjushi) and Spain (D'Artacan y los tres mosqueperros) in 1981 (while the show aired in Japan first, the initial dub was Spanish). In Taiwan, it was known as 湯恩與三劍客. In Japan, only 24 out of the 26 produced episodes were aired. The series was dubbed into English by Intersound USA in 1985. As well as dubbing the TV series, BRB also produced a TV movie, which was again dubbed by Intersound USA.
The partnership between BRB and Nippon Animation worked so well, that they collaborated in another successful animated series two years after Dogtanian called Around the World with Willy Fog in 1983.
In 1989 BRB produced a second series/sequel ("The Return of Dogtanian") consisting of 26 episodes with the co-operation of Taiwanese studio Wang Film Productions and British television company, Thames Television.
There was an Afrikaans adaption broadcast on SABC during 1985 and the early 1990s. The title was changed to "Brakanjan", which has become a popular name for dogs in South Africa. The voice for Brakanjan in his earliest years, was done by Gerben Kamper during his time of working for SABC.
The story, set in the 17th century, follows a young Dogtanian (D'Artacan in the original Spanish version and voiced by Cam Clarke in the English version, and Darutaniyan in the Japanese version and voiced by Satomi Majima) who travels to Paris in order to become one of the King Louis XIII of France's musketeers. (Note; that they are referred to as musketeers throughout the cartoon and only the title calls them muskehounds). He quickly befriends three musketeers (Porthos, Athos and Aramis) and falls in love with Juliette, a maid-in-waiting for Queen Anne of Austria.
The series has now been released on DVD in the UK by Revelation Films in Region 0 format:
(Note: The Second Series was only released as a boxset and not as individual volumes. There are 4 disks in the set. Unlike the first series which is in Region 0 format, the second series was released in Region 2 format. The DVD of the TV movies was also released in Region 0).
In November 2010, a version was released that contains Series 1, 2 and the movie. This was put together exclusively for HMV.
The opening title was remade with a new anime segment of Dogtanian, Juliette and the Three Muskehounds as well as a new Japanese title theme sung by Maron Kusaka and the Suginami Children's Choir. The ending title was the same as the Spanish show set to the song "Sou Iu Onushi Wa" also by Maron Kusaka.
In 1990 The Return of Dogtanian was released by BRB Internacional, Thames Television and Wang Film Productions. It picks up ten years after the original story ends, with Dogtanian and Juliette now living together on the outskirts of Paris with their two children, Philippe and Fleur. The Muskehounds are reunited by the Queen when her husband starts acting suspiciously. Cardinal Richelieu is still featured, along with Milady, and Widimer still loyal to him.
The story is loosely based on the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne also by Alexandre Dumas, itself building on the myth of The Man in the Iron Mask.
Dave Mallow, who adapted the original to English, takes over as the voice of Dogtanian. As it was produced in Taiwan by Wang Film Productions, Nippon Animation, the Japanese studio which produced the first series, was not involved in the sequel.
Like the first series, 26 episodes were produced. Later in 1995, a TV movie was made of the second series entitled One For All and All For One, with completely different voice actors and a few name changes from the original series.