It isn't often that Dutch comics and tales make it into international syndicated cartoon series but there are examples of my country getting it right enough to succeed.
First up there's Alfred J Kwak.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MpRcvWKJ2Y
The brain child of Dutch cabaret master Herman Van Veen, who set out to write a typically Dutch fairy tale. Van Veen made it into a very successful children's theater play.
http://www.harlekijn-holland.com/harlekijn-holland/nl-NL/harlekijn+records/BetterImageProcessor.ashx?src=%2FHerman-van-Veen%2F_documents%2Fwebsite%2FAfbeeldingen%2FCovers%2FKwakboek_Annet_kossen.jpg&w=300&h=349&ha=8D29BCA4624F84BC09C3072C37C631E4323E585B
The Original story of Alfred Joducus Kwak was about a hard working duck who gained considerable wealth who was asked by the king of waterland if he could lend his money. Alfred agreed only to find that the king had no intention of paying him back and in his efforts to retrieve his cash goes through all kinds of adventures.
http://www.marktplaza.nl/images/1/90/HERMAN-VAN-VEEN-ALFRED-JODOCUS-KWAK-5218890.jpg
Of course, Alfred's design was suitably modified for cartoon use and the story itself also was adapted but Van Veen was there every step along the way, making sure that every episode had his seal of approval. It all worked out on a spectacular level, "Alfred J Kwak" the cartoon series became a hit world wide.
Then there's "Ox Tales"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsqTA1KvmBk
"Ox Tales" came for a comic strip that ran in European papers called "Boes" which is also the original Dutch name for Ollie the Ox
http://lambiek.net/aanvang/artefacts/1980_krantestrip/gesch_krant_1987.jpg
Boes is an anthropomorphic steer who has a solution to every problem he's presented with although many of the comic strips are without him. "Ox tales" differs from the original series in it not having the sometimes daring humor, as this comic strip shows.
http://static.skynetblogs.be/media/8823/dyn008_original_640_187_pjpeg_55070_1925e1960b6be038fe7c2192e64f6f29.jpg
http://www.steiny.dds.nl/kots.jpg
What also differs from the original comic strips is that Boes himself isn't as much of an idiot as Ollie The Ox turned out to be, it also shows if you put the Dutch and USA versions of the cartoons next to each other. In the Dutch version the narrator isn't there and much of Boes' dialog is much more intelligent.
The comic strip in the end lasted longer than the cartoon series running a respectable 25 years before in the final strip, Boes undressed and began eating grass like a normal steer.
First up there's Alfred J Kwak.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MpRcvWKJ2Y
The brain child of Dutch cabaret master Herman Van Veen, who set out to write a typically Dutch fairy tale. Van Veen made it into a very successful children's theater play.
http://www.harlekijn-holland.com/harlekijn-holland/nl-NL/harlekijn+records/BetterImageProcessor.ashx?src=%2FHerman-van-Veen%2F_documents%2Fwebsite%2FAfbeeldingen%2FCovers%2FKwakboek_Annet_kossen.jpg&w=300&h=349&ha=8D29BCA4624F84BC09C3072C37C631E4323E585B
The Original story of Alfred Joducus Kwak was about a hard working duck who gained considerable wealth who was asked by the king of waterland if he could lend his money. Alfred agreed only to find that the king had no intention of paying him back and in his efforts to retrieve his cash goes through all kinds of adventures.
http://www.marktplaza.nl/images/1/90/HERMAN-VAN-VEEN-ALFRED-JODOCUS-KWAK-5218890.jpg
Of course, Alfred's design was suitably modified for cartoon use and the story itself also was adapted but Van Veen was there every step along the way, making sure that every episode had his seal of approval. It all worked out on a spectacular level, "Alfred J Kwak" the cartoon series became a hit world wide.
Then there's "Ox Tales"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsqTA1KvmBk
"Ox Tales" came for a comic strip that ran in European papers called "Boes" which is also the original Dutch name for Ollie the Ox
http://lambiek.net/aanvang/artefacts/1980_krantestrip/gesch_krant_1987.jpg
Boes is an anthropomorphic steer who has a solution to every problem he's presented with although many of the comic strips are without him. "Ox tales" differs from the original series in it not having the sometimes daring humor, as this comic strip shows.
http://static.skynetblogs.be/media/8823/dyn008_original_640_187_pjpeg_55070_1925e1960b6be038fe7c2192e64f6f29.jpg
http://www.steiny.dds.nl/kots.jpg
What also differs from the original comic strips is that Boes himself isn't as much of an idiot as Ollie The Ox turned out to be, it also shows if you put the Dutch and USA versions of the cartoons next to each other. In the Dutch version the narrator isn't there and much of Boes' dialog is much more intelligent.
The comic strip in the end lasted longer than the cartoon series running a respectable 25 years before in the final strip, Boes undressed and began eating grass like a normal steer.
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