Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat
Sagwa is the name of a cat in the children's book Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat by author Amy Tan. Sagwa's popularity with children prompted an educational animated series of the same name on PBS Kids, with production held by French animation studio CineGroupe and Sesame Street creator Sesame Workshop. In the series, which is set c. 1900 during the Qing Dynasty, Sagwa has fun in her day-to-day life while learning and teaching valuable life lessons. The show is notable for its setting and messages about familial obligations and loyalty. The series was developed and produced for television by executive producers George Daugherty and Michel Lemire, and producers David Ka Lik Wong and Leon G. Arcand.
Plot
Sagwa resides in the palace of a magistrate in China (possibly during the Qing, as shown by the characters' clothes), part of a royal family of cats who have the ability to write with their tail. She and her siblings, along with various other cats and Fu-Fu the bat partake in adventures that are usually accompanied by moral lessons, as is typical with most children's shows. However, one aspect that sets this show apart is its display of various aspects of Chinese culture, which helps promote awareness and understanding of other ethnicities.
Characters
Miao Family
- Sagwa Miao – Sagwa (傻瓜 shǎguā, "fool") is the middle child of Mama and Baba Miao. Kind, curious, quick thinking, creative and often bossy, Sagwa, according to a story told by Nai-Nai in one episode, was born in the Year of the Dog. She was originally pure white in color, but (again, according to a story told during an episode) gained her current Siamese cat markings after falling into an ink-pot. Sagwa is very talented in calligraphy, and is said by her parents to have the best artistic skills in the Miao family.
- Sheegwa Miao – Sheegwa (西瓜 xīguā, watermelon) is Sagwa's younger sister, born in the Year of the Rat. Curious, friendly, cheerful and full of energy, Sheegwa is also very optimistic and ascribes good intentions to almost every creature she meets. She is pure white in color, except for a pink tinge on her cheeks, and has a folded right ear.
- Dongwa Miao – Dongwa (冬瓜 dōngguā, winter melon) is Sagwa's older brother, born in the Year of the Monkey. Intelligent, competitive and sometimes stubborn, Dongwa is independent and often prefers the company of the Alley Cats or solitary martial-arts practice to playing with his sisters. He is the only male child of the family. Dongwa is cream-colored and has the traditional Siamese markings.
- Baba Miao – Baba Miao (爸爸貓 bàba māo, literally "daddy cat") is the father of Sagwa, Sheegwa and Dongwa, husband of Mama Miao and son of Nai-Nai and Yeh-Yeh. Baba Miao is strict with his children, and in matters of work and duty, but he has a softer, playful side as well. He and Mama Miao are the official calligraphers of the Foolish Magistrate. Baba Miao, like Dongwa, is cream-colored and has typical Siamese facial markings.
- Mama Miao – Mama Miao (媽媽貓 māma māo, literally "mommy cat") is the mother of Sagwa, Sheegwa and Dongwa, wife of Baba Miao and daughter-in-law of Nai-Nai and Yeh-Yeh. Like Baba Miao, she can also be a strict parent, but she is usually more lenient and gentle than Baba. She and Sagwa have similar coloring and markings.
- Nai-Nai – Nai-Nai (奶奶 nǎinai, paternal grandmother) is the grandmother of Sagwa, Sheegwa and Dongwa, wife of Yeh-Yeh, mother of Baba Miao and mother-in-law of Mama Miao. Grey in color, she is old-fashioned, patient and full of wisdom. She often tells the kittens stories, and the family treats her as a respected ancestor.
- Yeh-Yeh – Yeh-Yeh (爺爺 yéye, paternal grandfather) is the grandfather of Sagwa, Sheegwa and Dongwa, husband of Nai-Nai, father of Baba Miao and father-in-law of Mama Miao. Like Nai-Nai, he is wise and patient. He tends to enjoy food that tastes good but smells terrible (i.e. "stinky" fermented tofu). He is a good storyteller, and the kittens treat him with great love and respect.
Humans
- The Foolish Magistrate – The ruler of the province, the Foolish Magistrate is a large and rather absent-minded man. He occasionally makes rules without reason, or makes ill-conceived decisions under pressure from his wife, Tai-Tai, but for the most part he is portrayed as a just and reasonable ruler. He is very fond of his cats, both for their calligraphy skills and for their ability to keep away mice and rats, of which he is deathly afraid. In one of the episodes, when he says "No rules, no race", this phrase turns into a musical drumbeat as a result of the phrase repeated by him.
- Tai-Tai – Tai-Tai (太太 tàitài, wife) is the Foolish Magistrate's wife. She is a very irritable, status-conscious woman who needs to prove her superiority to the "common" people of the village; however, she has flashes of kindness and reasonableness, in which she sees the consequences of her actions and apologizes to those she has wronged. She is very attached to the Sleeve Dogs who live in her robe, and values the cats only when they can bring praise on the family.
- The Daughters – Bai-Do (白豆 bái dòu, literally "white bean") is the Magistrate's oldest daughter, who wears pink. Of the three daughters, Ba-Do is the protagonist. Luk-Do (綠豆 lǜ dòu, literally "green bean" or "mung bean") is the Magistrate's middle daughter, and usually wears yellow. She is the more athletic of her sisters. Huang-Do (黃豆 huáng dòu, literally "yellow bean" or "soybean") is the Magistrate's youngest daughter, who is taller than her sisters and usually wears blue. She is the more sensitive of her sisters. The three girls argue a great deal, but they are generally loving sisters who support each other. In one of the episodes, when their father says "No rules, no race", this phrase turns into a musical drumbeat and these girls dance in a circle.
- The Cook – The Cook not only prepares meals, but also attends to medical and other emergencies around the palace. He is a good friend of the Reader.
- The Reader – The Reader is in charge of reading the Magistrate's rules to the villagers; informally, he and the Cook often serve as advisors to the Magistrate as well. He also serves as tutor to the three daughters, and in one episode is discovered to be a talented poet as well. The reader is often the victim of mishaps caused by others in the palace.
Friends
- Fu-Fu – Fu-Fu (福蝠 fú fú, "lucky bat") is Sagwa's best friend. A cave-dwelling bat who wears round glasses, he is an extremely clumsy flyer and often crashes into trees and other objects. He acts as the voice of Sagwa's conscience, warning her against taking unneeded risks, and then rescues Sagwa from the consequences of her adventures.
- The Mice – Shei-Hu, his cousin Shei-He, and a large group of other mice live unseen behind the Palace walls. They are close friends of the three kittens and do no harm to the Palace nor its inhabitants. However, the Foolish Magistrate and his family are very afraid of mice in general, so their presence must remain hidden.
Other Characters
- The Alley Cats – A group of cats who live in the streets and alleys outside the palace grounds. They include "bullies" such as Wing-Wing, Jet-Jet and Lik-Lik, who tease the Miao kittens because of their "goody-goody" ways and privileged lives. Others, however, are friends to Sagwa, Dongwa, and (to a lesser extent) Sheegwa such as a female alley cat named Han-Han.
- The Sleeve Dogs – Ping, Pong, and Pang are three small dogs who live in the sleeves of Tai-Tai's robe. They antagonize the cats and boast of their superior status, but invariably their taunting and plots cause them to appear ridiculous and get into trouble in the end. They are Pekingese dogs.
Many of the names of the characters derive from the Chinese language. Their spellings are romanizations (though not always Wade-Giles, but possibly dialects also), and differ from the standardized Pinyin system.
The name of the titular character, Sagwa, literally means "silly melon head". Although innocuous without context, this phrase is typically regarded by Chinese to be an insult, carrying connotations of incompetence, foolishness, and even mental retardation.
Voice cast
Note: Sonja Ball, Oliver Grainger, and Holly Gauthier-Frankel previously worked together on two other animated series: Arthur and Mona the Vampire.
Episodes
- 101 "How Sagwa Got Her Colors"
- 102 "New Year's Clean Up" / "Firefly Nights"
- 103 "Royal Cats" / "Acrobat Cats"
- 104 "Tung, the Singing Cricket" / "Sagwa's Lucky Bat"
- 105 "Cat Burglar" / "Sagwa's Good Deed"
- 106 "Harvest Festival Race" / "The Foolish Magistrate's New Robes"
- 107 "Magistrate Loses His Post" / "Fur Cut"
- 108 "Sagwa's Swan Song" / "Tribal Cats"
- 109 "Stinky Tofu" / "Cat and Mouse"
- 110 "The Foolish Magistrate's Aching Tooth" / "Sheegwa and the Blizzard"
- 111 "By the Light of the Moon" / "Treasure Hunters"
- 112 "Fraidy Cats" / "The Tortoise and the Cat"
- 113 "Cats of a Different Class" / "Alley Cat Opera"
- 114 "Fu-Fu and the Whistling Pigeon" / "Princess Sheegwa"
- 115 "Ciao, Meow" / "Sagwa Rules"
- 116 "Explorer's Club" / "Time for Everything"
- 117 "Not-So-Purrfect Patient" / "Comic Opera"
- 118 "Panda-monium" / "Festival of Lanterns"
- 119 "Snagged by a Thread" / "Master of Mistakes"
- 120 "Collar of Time" / "The Birds, the Bees, and the Silkworms"
- 121 "Invention By Mistake" / "Dongwa the Sailor"
- 122 "New Cook in the Kitchen" / "Cool Fu-Fu"
- 123 "Tough Guy Dongwa" / "The Competition"
- 124 "Lord of the Fleas" / "A Precious Gift"
- 125 "My Fair Kitty" / "The Favorite"
- 126 "Tea for Two Monkeys" / "Lucky to Be a Bat"
- 127 "Sagwa the Stray" / "...And Action"
- 128 "Ba-Do and the Lantern Festival" / "Fu-Fu's Full Moon Flight"
- 129 "A Catfish Tale" / "Wedding Day Mess"
- 130 "Spreading Rumors" / "Up, Up and Away"
- 131 "The Jade Rabbit" / "Dongwa's Best Friend"
- 132 "The Zodiac Zoo" / "The Four Dragons"
- 133 "Lost and Found" / "Three Graces"
- 134 "All Grown Up!" / "The Cat and the Wind!"
- 135 "Too Close for Comfort!" / Sister Act!*
- 136 "Sick Day" / "The Name Game"
- 137 "Shei-Hu's Secret" / "Homesick Jun"
- 138 "The Return of the Rat" / "Great Balls of Fire*
- 139 "Catsitter" / "On the Run"
- 140 "Cha-Siu Bow Wow" / "Mutt That Would Be King"
VHS & DVD Releases
In 2003, PBS Home Video brought each compilation of individual episodes to VHS and DVD. On VHS, there were eight volumes with each containing three episodes. On DVD, there were four volumes, six episodes each. Each DVD combined episodes from each pair of the VHS tapes. A pair of VHS titles (Best Friends and Family Fun) were renamed for the Feline and Friends and Family DVD. There was also a 6 volume DVD box set, with each disc consisting of 5-6 episodes. Every disc comprises episodes based on themes and were divided in half for those select sections of segments. In 2006, sixteen episodes from the show were released on one disc as part of the PBS Kids pack anthology set, with the two other discs containing episodes from Zoboomafoo and George Shrinks.
List of The Eight Sagwa VHS Titles and the Episodes Each Contains:
- Kitty Concerto – "Alley Night Opera", "Comic Opera", "Tung, The Singing Cricket"
- Sagwa's Petting Zoo – "The Birds, the bees and the Silkworms", "Panda-monium", "Sagwa, Fu-Fu, and the Whistling Pigeon"
- Cat Nights, Flights and Delights – "Firefly Nights", "Fu-Fu's Full Moon Flight", "Shei-Hu's Secret"
- Feline Frenzy – "Explorer's Club", "Treasure Hunters", "Sick Day"
- Best Friends – "Sagwa's Lucky Bat", "Cat and Mouse", "Dongwa's Best Friend"
- Family Fun – "Royal Cats", " The Cat and the Wind", "Ciao, Miao!"
- Cat Tales – "How Sagwa Got Her Colors", "Fur Coat", "Stinky Tofu"
- Feline Festivities – "New Year's Cleanup", "By The Light Of The Moon", "Ba-Do and The Lantern Festival"
List of The Four Sagwa DVD Titles:
- Great Purr-formances (combines Kitty Concerto and Sagwa's Petting Zoo)
- Sagwa's Storybook World (combines Cat Nights, Flights and Delights and Feline Frenzy)
- Feline and Friends and Family (combines Sagwa's Feline Friends (a.k.a. Best Friends) and Sagwa's Family Tree (a.k.a. Family Fun))
- Cat Tales and Celebrations (combines Cat Tales and Feline Festivities)
External links
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| PBS Kids GO! |
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| See also |
- PBS network shows
- Educational television
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| Novels |
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| Children's Books |
- The Moon Lady (1992)
- Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat (1994)
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