The Smoggies

For the north east England regional name, see Smoggie.
The Smoggies
Developed by Cinar
Country of origin Canada
France
Production
Running time 22 minutes
Broadcast
Original run 3 October 1988 – 21 April 1991

The Smoggies was a French and Canadian animated children's television show by Cinar that began airing in 1988. In the United States, the show was aired under the name Stop the Smoggies in 1994 on HBO,[1] and in France, as SOS Polluards.[2] In French Canada it was aired under the name Touftoufs et Polluards. The show was broadcast in Ireland under its original Canadian title.

Scenario

The show took place on or around the fictional Coral Island, and revolved around a group of island-dwelling people called Suntots and a trio of polluting treasure hunters called the Smoggies. The Suntots spent much of their time defending their island paradise from the Smoggies, who polluted everything around them and lived on a coal fired steam ship, the SS Stinky Poo, which polluted the water and air around the island. The Smoggies constantly tried to destroy the Suntots' home for their own benefits.[3]

Almost every episode had the environmentalist Suntots outsmarting the Smoggies latest scheme, after which the Smoggies invariably hatched another scheme. Thus, the show also explains the importance of protecting the environment.

A recurring theme was their attempt to steal the island's "magic coral" (which the Smoggies believed granted eternal youth), or find some alternative way to maintain youth. The show often implied that the magic coral did not actually exist, however, and were just manifestations of the Smoggies' (mainly Emma's) greed and vanity.

Main characters

The Suntots

Supporting characters

Episodes

Season 1, Episode 52 – Aired: 11/19/1991

Deep Sleep

The fumes from Clarence's new vehicle put Suntots and animals to sleep.

Season 1, Episode 51 – Aired: 11/18/1991

Oil or Nothing

Smoggies drill for oil on Coral Island, causing a huge oil slick and putting nature out of balance.

Season 1, Episode 50 – Aired: 11/15/1991

Timber

The Smoggies cut down an entire forest of trees to build Emma a house. But without the trees, rain washes mud into the water causing a flood.

Season 1, Episode 49 – Aired: 11/14/1991

Wave Goodbye

The Smoggies' blasting for gold triggers a tidal wave that threatens to destroy Suntot Town.

Season 1, Episode 48 – Aired: 11/13/1991

Bouncy Briny

Another of Clarence's failed youth potions causes the sea to turn to rubber. Suntots must save the stranded animals before they dry out.

Season 1, Episode 47 – Aired: 11/12/1991

Cycles

The Smoggies plant an orchard of cocoa trees using a super fertiliser. But the fertiliser causes the algae in the water to grow out of control.

Season 1, Episode 46 – Aired: 11/11/1991

Target Practice

Polluto discovers some old waste chemicals turn things to stone. He shoots animals with a water pistol to turn them into statues.

Season 1, Episode 45 – Aired: 11/8/1991

Buried But Not Gone

Polluto buries the waste fuel from Clarence's new machine on Coral Island. But the fuel emits rays that cause reversal sickness.

Season 1, Episode 44 – Aired: 11/7/1991

Polluto's Nightmare

Speed and Leela sneak on board the Stinky Poo but are captured by Polluto. That evening, Polluto has nightmares about his past misdeeds...

Season 1, Episode 43 – Aired: 11/6/1991

Dirty Soap

The Smoggies fill the sea with soap so they can get the treasure Suntots were hunting.

Season 1, Episode 42 – Aired: 11/5/1991

Air Scare

Smoggies try to create fuel oil from the rocks on Coral Island, but in doing so pollute the air. Anything exposed to the pollution becomes aggressive.

Season 1, Episode 41 – Aired: 11/4/1991

Heat Wave

Smoggies trick the Suntots into running on a treadmill to power an ice-making machine. Meanwhile, Emma hypnotises Speed to try and get the Magic Coral.

Season 1, Episode 40 – Aired: 11/1/1991

Mushroom Menace

The Smoggies accidentally release a cloud of fungal spores from an iceberg, causing an infestation of mushrooms on Coral Island.

Season 1, Episode 39 – Aired: 10/31/1991

Anniversary Schmaltz

Clarence harvests pearl oysters to make a necklace for Emma's anniversary.

Season 1, Episode 38 – Aired: 10/30/1991

Seaweed Frenzy

The Smoggies create belts out of the scales from Radiant Rainbow fish, and sell them to the Suntots. But without the fish to eat it, the seaweed starts growing out of control.

Season 1, Episode 37 – Aired: 10/29/1991

Black Day In Suntot Town

Clarence creates acid rain so he can sell umbrellas to the Suntots.

Season 1, Episode 36 – Aired: 10/28/1991

A Feather In Her Cap

Emma captures the Plume Birds to use their tail feathers for making hats.

Season 1, Episode 35 – Aired: 10/25/1991

Cool It

The Smoggies dig up Star Sparkles, but in doing so also destroy the Cuddleups' home. They bribe Cool not to tell anyone by giving him a Star Sparkle.

Season 1, Episode 34 – Aired: 10/24/1991

A Trip To The Rain Forest

The Smoggies cut down trees to make matchsticks, and inadvertently cause a forest fire.

Season 1, Episode 33 – Aired: 10/23/1991

Magic Muddle

Suntots have magic seeds that instantly grow trees. Meanwhile, Smoggies dam up the river to try and get the mud at the bottom.

Season 1, Episode 32 – Aired: 10/22/1991

Off To the Races

Smoggies build a boat to enter the Suntot boat race. But the fumes from the boat poison the Suntots' fruit and Leela gets sick.

Season 1, Episode 31 – Aired: 10/21/1991

Wild Blue Yonder

The Smoggies' refrigerator explodes making a hole in the Big Ozo. Aircraft get caught in an updraft and dangerous rays come through the hole from space.

Season 1, Episode 30 – Aired: 10/18/1991

Tot Trap

The Smoggies trap all the Suntots at the beach, so they can look through Suntot Town for Magic Coral.

Season 1, Episode 29 – Aired: 10/17/1991

Bee's Business

Smoggies try to kidnap the bees on Coral Island so Emma can get the Queen Bee Jelly.

Season 1, Episode 28 – Aired: 10/16/1991

Salt Story

Clarence invents a machine to remove salt from sea water. But as the excess salt is dumped in Shark Bay, it endangers the wildlife.

Season 1, Episode 27 – Aired: 10/15/1991

President Boom

The Suntots have an election for President of Coral Island. Emma also gets in the running.

Season 1, Episode 26 – Aired: 10/14/1991

Bubble Mania

Polluto likes blowing bubbles, so Clarence makes him a giant bubble machine. But these bubbles never pop, and endanger life on Coral Island...

Season 1, Episode 25 – Aired: 10/11/1991

Never Cry Wolf

Smoggies trick the Suntots into thinking Mt. Coral is about to erupt, hoping Princess Leela will take the Magic Coral with her when evacuating the town.

Season 1, Episode 24 – Aired: 10/10/1991

Turtle Trauma

The turtles are due to lay their eggs on the Beach of the Whistling Sands. But Emma is feeling homesick, so Clarence builds her a replica city on the beach.

Season 1, Episode 23 – Aired: 10/9/1991

Under The Rainbow

The Suntots find a new kind of Rainbow Coral. Thinking it's the Magic Coral, Smoggies start harvesting it.

Season 1, Episode 22 – Aired: 10/8/1991

Ripe for the Picking

Little gets sick, and the Suntots have to take some Sun Apples all the way around the island to ripen them so he can be cured.

Season 1, Episode 21 – Aired: 10/7/1991

Zombies of Coral Island

Sweet Fruit Pies (made from contaminated fruit) cause the Suntots to turn into zombies and do whatever Emma says.

Season 1, Episode 20 – Aired: 10/4/1991

Dust To Dust

The Smoggies harvest the clumpy grass on Coral Island to make a youth potion. But without the clumpy grass, the wind causes erosion.

Season 1, Episode 19 – Aired: 10/3/1991

The Purple Tide

Clarence's shark repellent pollutes the ocean and causes everyone to sing and dance non-stop.

Season 1, Episode 18 – Aired: 10/2/1991

The Sounds of Music

Cool makes a giant harp, but the vibrations from it cause damage. The Smoggies make an even bigger harp and threaten to destroy Suntot Town unless they get the Magic Coral.

Season 1, Episode 17 – Aired: 10/1/1991

Snow Show

The Smoggies find a baby dinosaur in the mountains, feed it a growing potion and make it rampage on Coral Island.

Season 1, Episode 16 – Aired: 9/30/1991

Dr. Jekyll and Mister Polluto (also known as Polluto the Suntot)

Clarence creates a smart potion to be used on Polluto, but instead it inverts his personality and causes him to care about nature.

Season 1, Episode 15 – Aired: 9/27/1991

The Not-So-Freshman

Polluto tries going to the Suntots' Nature School, but misinterprets his assignments.

Season 1, Episode 14 – Aired: 9/26/1991

No Small Problem

Chemicals in the rain cause the Smoggies to shrink to tiny size.

Season 1, Episode 13 – Aired: 9/25/1991

You Are What You Eat

Smoggies throw garbage into the sea, making Arnold the Shark sick and cranky.

Season 1, Episode 12 – Aired: 9/24/1991

Which Is Witch

Emma pretends to be a witch and sends the Belching Fire Beast (Polluto in disguise) to set fire to the island.

Season 1, Episode 11 – Aired: 9/23/1991

Emma's Green Thumb

Emma finds a rare flower that turns into a monster when planted in garbage.

Season 1, Episode 10 – Aired: 9/20/1991

The Big Heat

Polluto turns up the Stinky Poo's boilers to maximum, causing the temperature on Coral Island to skyrocket.

Season 1, Episode 9 – Aired: 9/19/1991

Goodbye Engine Number Nine

President Boom decides to retire Engine No. 9 for the new Zoom Train, but it runs away out of control. The train tunnel caves in trapping the Smoggies alive.

Season 1, Episode 8 – Aired: 9/18/1991

A Long Way From Home

The Suntots find a lost Kiwi, and the Smoggies kidnap it and Sport because there's a map home in its backpack.

Season 1, Episode 7 – Aired: 9/17/1991

A Smoggies' Birthday

Clarence tries to harvest the fur from Cuddleups to make a fur coat for Emma.

Season 1, Episode 6 – Aired: 9/16/1991

Coral Cup

The Smoggies enter the Coral Cup race, and attempt to sabotage the other boats so they can win.

Season 1, Episode 5 – Aired: 9/13/1991

Double Talk

Another of Clarence's failed experiments results in Emma switching voices with whoever she hears.

Season 1, Episode 4 – Aired: 9/12/1991

Size Isn't Everything

Clarence invents a growing potion to be used on Little, but Polluto uses it instead and turns into a giant.

Season 1, Episode 3 – Aired: 9/11/1991

Hair-Raising Tale

Clarence empties a hair-remover into the Suntots water supply, causing all the Suntots to go bald.

Season 1, Episode 2 – Aired: 9/10/1991

Don't Bug The Bugs

Emma's spraying of chemical pesticide backfires as the bugs grow to gigantic size.

Season 1, Episode 1 – Aired: 9/9/1991

Leader of The Pack

The Smoggies turn a pack of whales against the Suntots. When the whales beach themselves, the Suntots come to the rescue.

DVD release

On 26 September 2006, a DVD entitled Stop The Smoggies - Anti-Pollution Revolution DVD was released.

Opening credits

The main title theme was written by Joe Raposo, who also wrote themes for Sesame Street, Shining Time Station, Three's Company, and The Electric Company. This song was also composed by Judy Henderson, who also wrote themes for Arthur, Mona the Vampire, and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat.

Notes

  1. "Kids Shows that Aim to Raise Awareness as Well as Entertain". LA Times. 1995-04-09. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  2. "The Smoggies". Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  3. "Smoggies!". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-28.

External links