Chicken Minute (partially lost Canadian puppet TV series; 1990-1993): Difference between revisions

From The Lost Media Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
No edit summary
No edit summary
(22 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown)
Line 3: Line 3:
|image=Chicken_minute.jpg
|image=Chicken_minute.jpg
|imagecaption=A very rare LaserDisc, showing Minute, Mama Chicken and Anatole.
|imagecaption=A very rare LaserDisc, showing Minute, Mama Chicken and Anatole.
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
}}
}}
'''''Chicken Minute''''' (''Cocotte Minute'' in the alternative French) was a puppet TV series made in Canada that originally ran from 1990 to 1993, created by Henri Desclez. It was set in the Canadian bayou, with anthropomorphic animal characters.
'''''Chicken Minute''''' (''Cocotte Minute'' in the alternative French) was a puppet TV series made in Canada that originally ran from 1990 to 1993, created by Henri Desclez. It was set in the Canadian bayou, with anthropomorphic animal characters.


==Plot==
==Plot==
The puppet characters are anthropomorphic animals (almost always shown waist up, of course). The main one is a simple-minded alligator Anatole, who likes fishing and hanging with his friends: the others are a fox called Minute who plays guitar and who is in a relationship with a hen, Mama Chicken, who cooks delicious popcorn (Minute became vegetarian for her). The narrator is Ulysses, a chick still living in his egg and who is extremely smart despite his age.<br/>
The puppet characters are anthropomorphic animals (almost always shown waist up, of course). The main one is a simple-minded alligator Anatole, who likes fishing and hanging with his friends: the others are a fox called Minute who plays guitar and who is in a relationship with a hen, Mama Chicken (Cocotte in French), who cooks delicious popcorn (Minute became vegetarian for her). The narrator is Ulysses, a chick still living in his egg and who is extremely smart despite his age.<br/>
The main villain is Mudbelly, a swamp monster who lives among mud and likes to play nasty tricks on the other characters, but can be in friendly terms with them too at times. <br/>Almost every episode contains one or more musical numbers performed by one or more characters.
The main villain is Mudbelly, a swamp monster who lives among the mud and likes to play nasty tricks on the other characters but can be in friendly terms with them too at times. <br/>Almost every episode contains one or more musical numbers performed by one or more characters.


==Loss of the episodes==
==Loss of the Episodes==
Only a few episodes are known to have been released in the English dub on VHS and at least one LaserDisc. Of these, only three have been uploaded on YouTube ("Coop de Ville", "The Singing Contest", and "The Bayou Treasure").
Only a few episodes are known to have been released in the English dub on VHS and at least one LaserDisc. Of these, only three have been uploaded on YouTube ("Coop de Ville", "The Singing Contest", and "The Bayou Treasure").


Henri Desclez also created two other puppet show series, ''Little Star'' and ''Iris The Happy Professor'' (aka ''Professor Iris'') that have most of their episodes lost as well. They had only a few VHS releases and other episodes survive mostly through individual recordings/reuploads.
Henri Desclez also created two other puppet show series, ''Little Star'' and ''Iris The Happy Professor'' (aka ''Professor Iris'') that have most of their episodes lost as well. They had only a few VHS releases and other episodes survive mostly through individual recordings/reuploads.


==Contributions by a show's creator==
==Contributions by a Show's Creator==
Lately, one of the original staff that worked on the show, Jean Gagnon (art director, background and puppet designer) uploaded several episodes on YouTube in the French dub (however, some of these have their audio off-sync, so be warned). Many more episodes are still missing, though.
[[File:Jean_gagnon.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Creator Jean Gagnon]]
In the early 2010s, one of the original staff that worked on the show, Jean Gagnon (art director, background and puppet designer) uploaded several episodes on YouTube in the French dub (however, some of these have their audio off-sync, so be warned). Many more episodes are still missing, though.


According to Gagnon, there were legal disputes between the authors of the show, part of the reason why this series has never gotten a full proper release. He also adds: <br/>''"Henri Desclez sold his productions to other producers, and returned to live in France. Someone produced a last season for ''Chicken Minute'', and nothing more came out of it. During those times, people didn't bother to release shows on VHS. There have been a few VHS for ''Professor Iris'' and ''Little Star'', and that's about it. It was due to the puppeteers becoming too greedy; they destroyed these series by asking a 'double salary', because they claimed they were doing two jobs: comedian and puppet operator. The wages got too high and this put an end to a beautiful adventure that, until then, looked promising. We were starting to reach a serious level of expertise."''
According to Gagnon, there were legal disputes between the authors of the show, part of the reason why this series has never gotten a full proper release. He also adds: <br/>''"Henri Desclez sold his productions to other producers, and returned to live in France. Someone produced the last season for ''Chicken Minute'', and nothing more came out of it. During those times, people didn't bother to release shows on VHS. There have been a few VHS for ''Professor Iris'' and ''Little Star'', and that's about it. It was due to the puppeteers becoming too greedy; they destroyed these series by asking a 'double salary' because they claimed they were doing two jobs: comedian and puppet operator. The wages got too high and this put an end to a beautiful adventure that, until then, looked promising. We were starting to reach a serious level of expertise."''
 
Gagnon also contributed to ''Little Star'' and ''Professor Iris'', other puppet TV series. He has added some episodes or fragments of these shows on his channel as well.


==List of Found Episodes==
==List of Found Episodes==
[[File:Chicken Minute Singing Contest.jpg|right|thumb|200px|VHS Boxart for ''Chicken Minute the Singing Contest''.]]
Each episode's number is taken from the opening narration. This should take priority over MSN Entertainment's own numbering. The number of episodes is uncertain, and some episodes are not described in the MSN list.


*1: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32PSLxLVxGs (English title unknown) / Le Mystère du Bayou] ''(video in French) ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afa7m5STRWI (alternate link)]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 
|-
*3: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmU90Y7yckY Ulysses' Revenge / La Revanche d'Ulysse] ''(video in French)''
! style="background-color:lightblue" | #
 
! style="background-color:lightblue" | English Title
*4: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmeCzIS05sI Landlord / Le Propriétaire''(video in French)''
! style="background-color:lightblue" | French Title
 
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Status
*6: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVL4_SCy-_c Coop de Ville / Cousin Alexandre(?) ''(video in English)''
|-
 
|1||Unknown||Le Mystère du Bayou||[http://youtu.be/32PSLxLVxGs<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French) [http://youtu.be/afa7m5STRWI (Alt).]
*7:'' ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtP7KcGe3Is The Fortune Teller / La Gitane''(video in French)''
|-
 
|3||Ulysses' Revenge||La Revanche d'Ulysse||[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac3I9XeUy8A<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in English).
*8: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwUNEY6B7zI The Film/ Le Film''(video in French)''
|-
 
|4||Landlord||Le Propriétaire||[http://youtu.be/AmeCzIS05sI<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French).
*9: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhiA5dd5e6I Chicken Fu''(video in French)''
|-
 
|6||Coop de Ville||Cousin Alexandre(?)||[http://youtu.be/zVL4_SCy-_c<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in English).
*13: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZMnxzJgI5o The Reluctant Hero / La Coquille Sauvage''(video in French)''
|-
 
|7||The Fortune Teller||La Gitane||[http://youtu.be/KtP7KcGe3Is<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French).
*15: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n50anNtmpBU The Watch Thief / Le Voleur de Montres]'' (video in French)''
|-
 
|8||The Film||Le Film||[http://youtu.be/SwUNEY6B7zI<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French).
*19: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJHqKBa1Zfk The Singing Contest / Mega Star(?) ''(video in English)''
|-
 
|9||Unknown||Chicken Fu||[http://youtu.be/lhiA5dd5e6I<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French).
*21: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW3MtVMa8Pk (English title unknown) / Le Reportage''(video in French)''
|-
 
|13||The Reluctant Hero||La Coquille Sauvage||[http://youtu.be/nZMnxzJgI5o<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French).
*23: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo5Jn4BtJc4 Mudbelly's Wedding / Le Mariage de Draduli''(video in French)''
|-
 
|15||The Watch Thief||Le Voleur de Montres||[http://youtu.be/n50anNtmpBU<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French).
*24: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A82nzWCH9S4 Once Upon A Time in the Bayou / Il Etait Une Fois dans le Bayou] ''(video in French)''
|-
 
|19||The Singing Contest||Mega Star(?)||[http://youtu.be/tJHqKBa1Zfk<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in English).
*25: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFvVeCYZ210 The Bayou Treasure / (French title unknown)''(video in English)''
|-
 
|21||Unknown||Le Reportage||[http://youtu.be/gW3MtVMa8Pk<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French).
*Number unknown:  [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOsPgp9Owh8 The Magician's Apprentice / L'Apprenti Magicien''(video in French)''
|-
 
|23||Mudbelly's Wedding||Le Mariage de Draduli||[http://youtu.be/watch?v=Jo5Jn4BtJc4<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French).
Each episode's number is taken from the opening narration. This should take priority over MSN Entertainment's own numbering.
|-
 
|24||Once Upon A Time in the Bayou||Il Etait Une Fois Dans le Bayou||[http://youtu.be/A82nzWCH9S4<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French).
The number of episodes is uncertain, and some episodes are not described in the MSN list.
|-
 
|25||The Bayou Treasure||Unknown||[http://youtu.be/NFvVeCYZ210<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in English).
==External links==
|-
 
|?||The Magician's Apprentice||L'Apprenti Magicien||[http://youtu.be/gOsPgp9Owh8<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (video in French).
[http://tv.msn.com/tv/series-episodes/chicken-minute/ MSN Entertainment list of episodes with plot descriptions]
|}
 
==Gallery==
[http://www.planete-jeunesse.com/fiche-717-cocotte-minute.html Entry on the Planète Jeunesse website (incomplete)]
{{Video|perrow  =1
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =YXLGNCKvMA0
  |description1 =The outro song, in Hebrew.
}}
==External Links==
*[http://tv.msn.com/tv/series-episodes/chicken-minute/ MSN Entertainment list of episodes with plot descriptions.] Retrieved 08 Apr '15
*[http://www.planete-jeunesse.com/fiche-717-cocotte-minute.html Entry on the Planète Jeunesse website (incomplete).] Retrieved 08 Apr '15


[[Category:Lost puppetry]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Lost puppet shows]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]

Revision as of 10:48, 1 December 2019

Chicken minute.jpg

A very rare LaserDisc, showing Minute, Mama Chicken and Anatole.

Status: Partially Found

Chicken Minute (Cocotte Minute in the alternative French) was a puppet TV series made in Canada that originally ran from 1990 to 1993, created by Henri Desclez. It was set in the Canadian bayou, with anthropomorphic animal characters.

Plot

The puppet characters are anthropomorphic animals (almost always shown waist up, of course). The main one is a simple-minded alligator Anatole, who likes fishing and hanging with his friends: the others are a fox called Minute who plays guitar and who is in a relationship with a hen, Mama Chicken (Cocotte in French), who cooks delicious popcorn (Minute became vegetarian for her). The narrator is Ulysses, a chick still living in his egg and who is extremely smart despite his age.
The main villain is Mudbelly, a swamp monster who lives among the mud and likes to play nasty tricks on the other characters but can be in friendly terms with them too at times.
Almost every episode contains one or more musical numbers performed by one or more characters.

Loss of the Episodes

Only a few episodes are known to have been released in the English dub on VHS and at least one LaserDisc. Of these, only three have been uploaded on YouTube ("Coop de Ville", "The Singing Contest", and "The Bayou Treasure").

Henri Desclez also created two other puppet show series, Little Star and Iris The Happy Professor (aka Professor Iris) that have most of their episodes lost as well. They had only a few VHS releases and other episodes survive mostly through individual recordings/reuploads.

Contributions by a Show's Creator

Creator Jean Gagnon

In the early 2010s, one of the original staff that worked on the show, Jean Gagnon (art director, background and puppet designer) uploaded several episodes on YouTube in the French dub (however, some of these have their audio off-sync, so be warned). Many more episodes are still missing, though.

According to Gagnon, there were legal disputes between the authors of the show, part of the reason why this series has never gotten a full proper release. He also adds:
"Henri Desclez sold his productions to other producers, and returned to live in France. Someone produced the last season for Chicken Minute, and nothing more came out of it. During those times, people didn't bother to release shows on VHS. There have been a few VHS for Professor Iris and Little Star, and that's about it. It was due to the puppeteers becoming too greedy; they destroyed these series by asking a 'double salary' because they claimed they were doing two jobs: comedian and puppet operator. The wages got too high and this put an end to a beautiful adventure that, until then, looked promising. We were starting to reach a serious level of expertise."

Gagnon also contributed to Little Star and Professor Iris, other puppet TV series. He has added some episodes or fragments of these shows on his channel as well.

List of Found Episodes

VHS Boxart for Chicken Minute the Singing Contest.

Each episode's number is taken from the opening narration. This should take priority over MSN Entertainment's own numbering. The number of episodes is uncertain, and some episodes are not described in the MSN list.

# English Title French Title Status
1 Unknown Le Mystère du Bayou Found (video in French) (Alt).
3 Ulysses' Revenge La Revanche d'Ulysse Found (video in English).
4 Landlord Le Propriétaire Found (video in French).
6 Coop de Ville Cousin Alexandre(?) Found (video in English).
7 The Fortune Teller La Gitane Found (video in French).
8 The Film Le Film Found (video in French).
9 Unknown Chicken Fu Found (video in French).
13 The Reluctant Hero La Coquille Sauvage Found (video in French).
15 The Watch Thief Le Voleur de Montres Found (video in French).
19 The Singing Contest Mega Star(?) Found (video in English).
21 Unknown Le Reportage Found (video in French).
23 Mudbelly's Wedding Le Mariage de Draduli Found (video in French).
24 Once Upon A Time in the Bayou Il Etait Une Fois Dans le Bayou Found (video in French).
25 The Bayou Treasure Unknown Found (video in English).
? The Magician's Apprentice L'Apprenti Magicien Found (video in French).

Gallery

The outro song, in Hebrew.

External Links