The Magical World of Gigi (partially found Harmony Gold English dub of anime series; 1984)

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Magical world gigi.jpg

The VHS cover of the film.

Status: Partially Found

The Magical World of Gigi was a 1984 English adaptation of the anime Magical Princess Minky Momo (魔法のプリンセス ミンキー モモ Mahō no Purinsesu Minkī Momo). It was produced by Harmony Gold, around the same time they had dubbed Robotech. Additionally, a copyright encyclopedia notes that the theme song for this adaptation had its copyright filed on September 7th, 1984.[1]

History

The first 52 episodes of Momo were utilized for the dub, and are said to have been very minimally edited by those who have claimed to have seen them.[2] The series failed to air in the United States, as buyers were not interested,[3] but this adaptation was used as the basis for several international versions that aired under the "Gigi" title (such as those aired in France, Italy, and the Netherlands). The Italian dub stuck to the 52-episode order used by Harmony Gold, though the remaining episodes would later be dubbed a few years later. The French dub managed to cover the entirety of the Minky Momo series.

The English version did eventually make its way onto the "Cartoon Connections" block of ATV10 in Melbourne, Australia, and aired from December 31, 1986 to early 1988.[4] There was also an unconfirmed allegation on an old Minky Momo fan site that the TV dub had been broadcast in Israel[5] Another account has the series as having aired there around 1985, in response to an Israeli fan's query about the series.[6]

In addition to Australia and Israel, an archived copy of Malaysia's New Straits Times indicates that the dub had been airing on the RTM2 channel around 1988.[7]

For several years, it was unknown what ultimately became of the dub masters for Momo/Gigi; it is alleged that both it and Dragon Ball were the only two titles that Carl Macek did not buy for Streamline Pictures.[8] While Dragon Ball's license eventually passed to FUNimation in 1995, it seems that the license to Minky Momo may have reverted to Ashi by then. Copyright catalog entries.[9] on Harmony Gold's licenses suggest that the Minky Momo rights were held until at least 1996, where they may have reverted afterward.

The only portion of Minky Momo that had ever managed to see a commercial release in the USA would be the 1985 OVA La Ronde in my Dream, localized in 1987 as Gigi and the Fountain of Youth. While Carl Macek did not appear to have been part of the production team behind the dub of the series, he was involved with the dub of the OVA. The dub of the OVA was alternatively released under the title The Magical Princess Gigi by Celebrity Home Entertainment, as well as using The Magical World of Gigi title when it was released as part of the UK's Channel 5 video line.

However, in March 2015, William Winckler Productions announced that due to a deal with Production REED (formerly Ashi), the unreleased Minky Momo dub would finally see a widespread release. The first four episodes of Gigi were merged into a compilation film titled Minky Momo, The Fairy Princess of Dreamland, and a second film titled The Brat Prince's Great Strategy was released shortly after. At one point, thirteen films were available on Amazon, consisting of the fifty-two known dubbed episodes; however, these compilation films are no longer available on Amazon Video and do not appear to have been backed up anywhere online.

Despite the Minky Momo branding, the dub is clearly the Harmony Gold version and Momo is named Gigi. Unfortunately, the opening and closing sequences were edited out from the episodes for the purpose of creating the film, so there are still some portions considered lost (and the dub cast currently unknown).

William Winckler Productions has stated that they intend to re-release all of the Harmony Gold dub in compilation film format, and have claimed that all 63 episodes will be utilized, presenting a possibility that all of the series had been dubbed (unless this statement was in error).

Character Name Changes

  • Momo -> Gigi
  • Sindbook -> Bonkers
  • Mocha -> Coco
  • Pipil -> Yum-Yum
  • The Kingdom of Fenarinarsa -> The Kingdom of Fairyland

The Gigi and the Fountain of Youth OVA dub had some alternative localization choices, with Pipil receiving the name "Tweet" and Mocha keeping his name. Gigi's parents also had different names between the adaptations, being named "Robin" and "Daisy" in the series but "Robert" and "Mildred" in the OVA.

However, Channel 5's description of the OVA utilizes the names for Gigi's pets that were used in the series dub:

"Gigi is a princess in the Kingdom of Fairyland and has been sent to earth by her father, the King. She carries a magic wand and can transform herself into a Supergirl who can perform marvelous deeds. With her mischievous partners, Bonkers the Dog, Yum-Yum the Bird and Coco the Monkey, she sets out to make ordinary people's dreams come true. There's plenty of action and laughter in the Magical World of Gigi."

While its basis has never been officially confirmed by anyone in production of the dub, it is interesting to note that Momo's dub name "Gigi" corresponds to the nickname of Jehan "Gigi" Agrama (daughter of Frank Agrama), an associate producer at Harmony Gold that worked on both the dub of the series and the OVA.

Production Crew

This information is taken from the opening credits of the French "Gigi" dub that used this version as their basis, as well as the Copyright Encyclopedia website.

  • Producers: Frank Agrama, Al Hill Jr., Ahmed Agrama
  • Associate Producer: Jehan "Gigi" Agrama
  • Screenwriter: Robert V. Barron
  • Theme song lyrics: Jehan Agrama, Arlon Ober
  • Opening theme score: Ulpio Minucci

Little is known about the voice cast of the TV series. The actor Jan Rabson has attested to having worked on it and claimed he had voiced at least three different characters.[10] Richard Epcar[11] and Ellyn Stern[12] have also listed a "Gigi" title in their voice acting resume, although it is not clarified if they are referring to the OVA (where they did not appear to be credited) or the TV series.

Found Material

The Magical Princess Gigi last episode part 1 (English dub).

The Magical Princess Gigi last episode part 2 (English dub).

The Magical Princess Gigi Xmas episode (English dub).

The Magical Princess Gigi the Cat has died scene (English dub).

The Magical Princess Gigi Love Story (English dub).

The Magical Princess Gigi God (English dub).

Gigi and the Fountain of Youth OVA (English dub).

External Link

References