Alfred J. Kwak (partially lost English dub of Dutch-German-Japanese animated series; 1989-1991)
The titular character.
Status: Partially Lost
Alfred J. Kwak is a Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series based on a Dutch theater show by Herman van Veen and was co-produced by VARA, Telecable Benelux B.V., ZDF, and TV Tokyo and first shown in 1989. It consists of 52 episodes and follows the adventures of a little yellow duck named Alfred who is raised by his "uncle", a mole named Henk after a tragedy strikes his parents and siblings.[1][2][3]
Unlike many other cartoons targeted for children, Alfred J. Kwak features exceptionally mature and often dark themes. Amongst others it deals with different social and political issues, such as abuse of power, but also raises important values such as friendship and solidarity.
The cartoon is also notable for the political themes on which it touches. In the cartoon, Alfred fights against a fascist dictator, takes in refugees fleeing from a country under Apartheid (with white geese and black ducks), saves whales against hunters, and oversees the changeover of his country from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy with a democratically elected president. Such themes are far from typical in a children's cartoon and form a big part of Alfred J. Kwak's appeal. Other episodes have satirized the Japanese love of golf and criticized countries which have sharp north/south economic divides.[4]
Availability
All of the episodes received an English dub and were aired in the UK, and most can currently be found online on sites such as YouTube and Dailymotion. However, two episodes, 17 - "Visitors From Outer Space" and 33 - "Gunfight At Tombstone", are currently missing in their English dubs. They can be found in other dubs, however, including the original Dutch versions, as well as German, Finnish, and Spanish.
External Links
- Episode 17 in Dutch.
- Episode 17 in German.
- Episode 17 in Finnish.
- Episode 17 in Spanish.
- Episode 33 in Dutch.
- Episode 33 in German.
- Episode 33 in Finnish.
- Episode 33 in Spanish.