Maple Town

Maple Town, also known as Maple Town Stories (Japanese: メイプルタウン物語, Hepburn: Meipuru Taun Monogatari), is a 1986 anime series created by Chifude Asakura and directed by Junichi Sato. The series, animated by Toei Animation, consists of 52 half-hour episodes, which aired on TV Asahi in Japan from January 19, 1986 to January 11, 1987.[1]

Maple Town
Cover of the First DVD Box Set Maple Town Monogatari
GenreAdventure, Slice of life
Anime television series
Directed byJunichi Sato
Produced byShinji Nabeshima (Asahi Broadcasting)
Azuma Kasuga (Asatsu Inc.)
Yasuo Yamaguchi[1]
Written byShigeru Yanagawa
Music byAkiko Kosaka
StudioToei Animation
Asatsu Inc.
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation[1]
Licensed by
Original networkTV Asahi[1]
English network
Original run January 19, 1986 (1986-01-19) – January 11, 1987 (1987-01-11)
Episodes52
Anime film
Maple Town Monogatari
Directed byJunichi Sato
StudioToei Animation
ReleasedJuly 12, 1986 (1986-07-12)
Runtime30 minutes
Anime television series
New Maple Town Stories: Palm Town Chapter
Directed byHiroshi Shidara
StudioToei Animation
Original networkTV Asahi
Original run January 18 – December 27, 1987 (1987-12-27)
Episodes50
Anime film
New Maple Town Stories: Home Town Collection
Directed byHiroshi Shidara
StudioToei Animation
ReleasedMarch 14, 1987 (1987-03-14)
Runtime30 minutes

The show focuses on the adventures of Patty Rabbit, Bobby Bear and their families, in a small anthropomorphic city named Maple Town. The series was followed by a 50-episode sequel, New Maple Town Stories: Palm Town Chapter, which retained only Patty Rabbit (and her voice actor, Maya Okamoto) from both series, although Maple Town's citizens made cameos from time to time. To date, this has not had an official English release.

The show was dubbed into English and syndicated in the United States in 1987.[7] The program spawned collectable figurines with changeable clothing, as well as houses, furniture and vehicles. Tonka was the US licensee and manufacturer.[8]

VHS compilations of Maple Town appeared in North America, Europe and Japan during the late 1980s and early 1990s. As of 2013, official DVDs of the show had surfaced in Japan, Spain[9] and Hungary,[10] with no release plans announced for other territories.

Plot summary

Patty Hoperabbit, along with her family, arrives in Maple Town, a small town inhabited by friendly animals. However, in a train heist by the sly – if usually "endearingly unsuccessful" – thief, Wilde Wolf stole the mailbag from her father and escaped into the forest. Soon she followed after him to retrieve the mailbag. In the midst of getting the bag back from the thief, she befriends a boy of her age named Bobby Kumanoff who has the bag. After they escape from Wilde Wolf and outwit him, they deliver the mailbag safely to her father. Soon, the Rabbit Family settles in Maple Town as mail carriers and the bitter, yet sweet friendship of Patty and Bobby begins to blossom. At the same time they try to foil Wilde Wolf's plans.

The series's setting is Canada around the 1920s, while the setting of Palm Town Chapter is based on the West Coast of the United States around the 1980s.[11]

Characters

Maple Town
  • The Rabbit Family – Patty, Rachel, Mr. Rabbit, Mrs. Rabbit, Ann, Mick, Grandma and Grandpa Rabbit, Cousin Rabbit, Roger Rabbit
  • The Bear Family – Bobby, Mr. Bear, Mrs. Bear, Kin, Kon and Kan, Bonny
  • The Fox Family – Fanny, Mr. Fredrick Fox, Mrs. Florence Fox and Fred
  • The Cat Family – Mr. Kevin Cat and Mrs. Kathy Cat
  • The Dog Family – Danny, Dr. Dog, Mrs. Dog and Donny
  • The Squirrel Family – Suzie, Squire Squirrel, Mrs. Squirrel and Skippy
  • The Pig Family – Penny, Mr. Pig, Mrs. Pig and Polly
  • The Raccoon Family – Ruthie, Mr. Raccoon, Mrs. Raccoon and Roxie
  • The Mouse Family – Missie, Mr. Mouse, Mrs. Mouse and Marty
  • The Beaver Family – Bucky, Mr. Beaver, Mrs. Beaver and Bitsy
  • The Badger Family – Bert, Mr. Badger, Mrs. Badger and Betty
  • The Mole Family – Maggie, Mr. Mole, Mrs. Mole and Mikey
  • Kirby Cat
  • Mayor Dandy Lion
  • Miss Deer Andra Deer
  • Sheriff Barney Bulldog
  • Sheriff Barney Bulldog's Wife
  • Oscar Otter
  • Master Monkey
  • Dr. Goat
  • Wilde Wolf Gretel Wolf (aka Gretel)
  • Mr. Turtle
  • Kangaroos – Mr. Kangaroo, Mrs. Kangaroo, Coca Kangaroo
  • Mr. Walius

Palm Town
  • The Pike Family - Mrs. Jane, Mr. George, Alice
  • The Cocker Family - Rolley, Peter, Mr. Parabura, Mrs. Dahlia
  • The Terrier Family - Joey, Mr. Philip, Mrs. Florence
  • The White Family - Shiela, Mr. Roger
  • The Sheep Family - Mr. Charlie, Mrs. Mary, Sisi, Remi
  • Marina Dietrich
  • Gunter and Big Bro

US version:

  • VP of production: J. Edward Bergh
  • Supervising director: Robert V. Barron
  • Live action producer and director: Mary Jo Blue
  • Music: Haim Saban and Shuki Levy
  • Music coordination: Andrew Dimitroff
  • Video editing: Larry Porsche
  • Executive Producers: Haim Saban, Edd Gripes and Ray Volpe
  • Distribution: Saban/The Maltese Companies

Voice cast

English

Episodes
Main article: List of Maple Town episodes

Production

The series was produced by Toei Animation, Asatsu and Asahi Broadcasting, Maple Town was created by Chifude Asakura[13] and directed by Junichi Sato.[1] It served as one of the first projects for Kunihiko Ikuhara, who later joined the crew of Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena.[14] Ikuhara served as an assistant director[14] and production manager for some of the show's later episodes.[15]

United States

In October 1986, toy manufacturer Tonka acquired the rights for US$2.5–3 million[16] and became its US licensee, launching a toy line and ad campaign early the following year.[8] An English-dubbed version, airing in tandem with the toy promotion, starred actress Karen Hartman (credited as Janice Adams), known previously for her other children's TV role as Talkatoo Cockatoo on Zoobilee Zoo, as Mrs. Maple in its book-ending live-action segments.[3] Mrs. Maple was the only human inhabitant of the title town in this version, and she offered each episode's moral lesson. The voice cast included Reba West as Patty Rabbit and Steve Kramer as Wilde Wolf.

The English version of Maple Town was produced by Saban Entertainment and The Maltese Companies,[3][4] the latter of which also produced Spiral Zone, another syndicated series with Tonka, and the 1988 animated feature Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw.[4]

Broadcast history

The original Maple Town series aired on Sunday mornings in Japan on TV Asahi, from January 19, 1986 until January 11, 1987.[1] Following its 52nd episode, its follow-up, New Maple Town Story: Palm Town Chapter (新メイプルタウン物語-パームタウン編, Shin Maple Town Monogatari: Palm Town Hen), aired in the same time slot.

In late 1986, Saban Entertainment and toy maker Tonka picked it up for the North American market.[8] The latter invested US$7 million on television ads for the toy line.[17] The first ten episodes of an English dub premiered in barter syndication the following year[4][3] as a trial run,[18] then sixteen more episodes premiered on Nickelodeon,[4] where it aired until September 1, 1989. It then aired on The CBN Family Channel/The Family Channel from September 4, 1989[5] until September 13, 1990.[19] A 65-episode run was originally announced,[17][20] but only 39 ever reached US television.[2]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, European stations aired Maple Town in their various native languages. In Spain, TVE aired the program under the title La aldea del arce,[9] starting in 1987. In France, the series was distributed by IDDH and broadcast from May 3, 1987 on FR3 in the program Amuse 3 under the name Les Petits Malins. It also aired on RTL Veronique in the Netherlands (as Avonturen in Maple Town);[13] in Finland under the title Seikkailumetsä; in Sweden as Äventyrsskogen;[13] and on Hungary's RTL Klub channel as Juharfalvi történetek.

As with Japan, several other countries aired both series of the Maple Town franchise. In Italy, Mediaset's Italia 1 broadcast both iterations of Maple Town during the late 1980s (under the titles Maple Town: Un nido di simpatia and Evviva Palm Town).[21] The combined series aired as Les petits malins on FR3 in France at the time.[22] On Nasza TV's showings in Poland, the show was known as Opowiesci z Klonowego Miasteczka and Opowiesci z Palmowego Miasteczka.[23] In Hong Kong, Maple Town aired on the ATV network during 1991.[24] Both shows also aired in Arabic speaking nations with the first series broadcast under أرنوبة ودبدوب (Arnoba Wa Dabdoob, Arnoba and Dabdood) and second airing under مدينة النخيل (Madina Al Nakheel, Palms Town).

Home video

During the 1990s, Toei Video released a ten-tape collection of Maple Town, each consisting of three episodes in their original airing order. In 2013, TC Entertainment released the original series in DVD box sets as part of Toei's Recollection Anime Library lineup. The first box set released on September 27, 2013 and the second set on October 30, 2013. Palm Town Chapter series was also released in the same label on November 27, 2013 for the first box set and on December 25, 2013 for the second box set.

Select episodes of Saban's US dub were released on VHS from late 1987 until 1990 by Family Home Entertainment and Tonka Home Video. Each tape consisted of two stories each, except for the first release, "Welcome to Maple Town". No less than eight English episodes were distributed in the UK by the now-defunct M.S.D. (Multiple Sound Distributors) label.[25] Multicom Entertainment Group, who owns the US dub (by the way of their acquisition of The Kushner-Locke library in 2013), currently has no plans to release the entire series on home media or onto any streaming service, likely due to them having a hard time licensing the rights to use the cartoons from Toei.

In the Netherlands, CNR Video released a Dutch dub of the first two episodes in 1992. The stories were entitled "De Overval op de Trein" and "Voor het eerst naar de nieuwe school" in the Dutch language.[26]

The entire original series was released on DVD in Spain by Divisa Home Video,[9] in Japan by TC Entertainment, and Hungary's Fümoto released some episodes onto that format.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Maple Town (メイプルタウン物語) cast and crew information". marumegane.com (in Japanese). Takashi Murakami. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  2. "INTERNATIONAL SERIES & MINI SERIES". The Kushner-Locke Company. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
  3. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 542–545. ISBN 0786420995.
  4. Television/Radio Age. Vol. 36. Television Editorial Corp. 1988. p. 55. Retrieved December 31, 2009. Last season Maltese produced the barter-syndicated series Maple Town and Spiral Zone for Tonka Toys; the former is on Nickelodeon
  5. "Today's listings". Toledo Blade. September 4, 1989. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  6. "Daytime listings". The News-Messenger. September 22, 1989. p. 23. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  7. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 524–525. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  8. Weiss, Barbara (October 20, 1986). "No blockbusters in sight to boost holiday toy sales". Drug Topics. Copyright Medical Economics Company. 130: 46.
  9. "La Aldea del Arce – Serie Completa DVD" (in Spanish). ZONADVD.com. February 21, 2007. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
  10. "AnimeAddicts – Ismertetők – Anime: Maple Town Monogatari / メイプルタウン物語" (in Hungarian). Animeaddicts.hu. February 16, 2007. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
  11. "新メイプルタウン物語・パームタウン編 - TOEI ANIMATION". www.toei-anim.co.jp. Toei Animation. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  12. West, Max (September 9, 2018). "Maple Town Compendium: Q & A With Rebecca Forstadt". Maple Town Compendium. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  13. "Maple Town show information". kindertv.net (in Dutch). KinderTV. October 16, 2004. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  14. "Your Job List" おしごと一覧（東映時代）. ikuniweb (in Japanese). Shikoku Broadcasting Co., Ltd. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  15. "メイプルタウン物語スタッフ". Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  16. Wascoe Jr., Dan (February 16, 1987). "Toy makers tuning in to TV show connections". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. p. 03M. Retrieved September 25, 2010. In an era when the investment to launch an animated cartoon show ranges from $12 million to $15 million, shrinking viewership means 'the economics are becoming strained,' [Tonka Toys' president Pat Feely] said. 'We don't do it unless we feel we've got a strong product line.' In the case of Tonka's Maple Town series, the cost was much less—between $2.5 million and $3 million—because it's an edited and dubbed version of a popular Japanese show, Feely said.
  17. Stern, Sara E.; Forkan, James P. (February 2, 1987). "Fantasy dolls stay in action; High-tech toys finding big consumer interest". Advertising Age. Crain Communications, Inc.: 33.
  18. "Television Listings: Weekdays, April 22–24 and 27–28". New York. New York Media LLC. 20 (17): 181. April 27, 1987. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  19. "Tomorrow's daytime programs". Toledo Blade. September 12, 1990. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  20. Eitzen, D. Stanley (1989). Society's Problems: Sources and Consequences. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. p. 321. ISBN 0205119794.
  21. "Maple Town, un nido di simpatia / Evviva Palm Town". Il Mondo dei Doppiatori (in Italian). Antonio Genna. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
  22. "Les Petits Malins: Les aventures de Malinville show description" (in French). Planète Jeunesse. September 25, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
  23. Nowakowski, Witold and Mariusz Jarczewski (December 26, 2002). "OPOWIEŚCI Z KLONOWEGO MIASTECZKA". Anime in Poland: Complete Guide. anime.info.pl. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
  24. 香港播放動畫特攝中日名稱對照表 (in Chinese). RXBlack. p. 10. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
  25. "Search results from the BBFC classified database". Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  26. Timo. "Animatie verschenen op VHS | VHS Database Project |". Archived from the original on January 15, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
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