Simsala Grimm
Simsala Grimm is a German animated children's television series, consisting of stories based on fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and other notable authors. The series was created by André Sikojev, Stefan Beiten and Claus Clausen, and co-producted by Greenlight Media AG, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Hahn Film AG, Millimages and Magma Films Ltd.
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| Also known as | The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (season 1) Simsala Grimm: The Adventures of Yoyo and Doc Croc (season 2) |
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| Based on | The Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen |
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| Country of origin | Germany France (Season 2) Ireland (Season 2) |
| Original languages | German (Season 1) English (Season 2) |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
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| Running time | 25 minutes |
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| Original network | KiKA/NDR/ARD (Germany) ORF eins (Austria) RTÉ2 (Ireland) ABC Kids (Australia) |
| Original release | 1 November 1999 – 31 December 2010 |
Synopsis
In each episode of the series, one of the famous classical fairy tales is told in the magical land of Simsala. The local characters Yoyo and Doc Croc move between the storyteller and the episode cast, which they tend to help or at least inspire. Each episode begins with Yoyo and Doc Croc as toys on a shelf brought to life by a magical book.
Characters
Main
- Yoyo (German: Hubertus von Lerchenfeld, English: Nigel Greaves) – An adventurous, joyful, brave and mischievous blue coyote. He wears a red hood shoulder piece with two dangling bells.
- Doc Croc (nicknamed Crocy; German: Jörg Stuttmann, English: Nigel Pegram) – A bookworm, a red-pink lizard. He wears glasses and a yellow hat, and carries a yellow bag with him. He is kind, timid and smart. It also appears as if Doc Croc has a slight stutter in his voice.
- Storybook (Märchenbuch; German: Bert Franzke, English: Erik Hansen) – the book that brings Yoyo and Doc Croc to life and takes them to the land of Simsala. In the first season, it has portraits of the brothers Grimm in the hardcover.
Both Yoyo and Doc Croc often argue as Yoyo is brave and willing, but unwise and Doc Croc is sometimes overcautious, yet intelligent. Both of them also seem to disrespect the storybook, as it usually takes them to a bad place when they are landing.
Recurring
- Birds - Three clothed birds appear in numerous episodes of the first season, often providing/singing advice or insight to Yoyo and Doc Croc.
- Mice - Three clothed mice appear in numerous episodes of the first season, often providing advice or insight, sometimes even help, to Yoyo and Doc Croc.
Episodes
Season 1 (1999-2000)
| No. [1] | Title | German air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The valiant little Tailor" "Das tapfere Schneiderlein" | November 1, 1999 |
| 2 | "King Thrushbeard" "König Drosselbart" | November 11, 1999 |
| 3 | "Puss in Boots" "Der gestiefelte Kater" | November 16, 1999 |
| 4 | "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids" "Der Wolf und die sieben Geißlein" | November 4, 1999 |
| 5 | "The Six Servants" "Die sechs Diener" | November 8, 1999 |
| 6 | "The Crystal Ball" "Die Kristallkugel" | July 11, 2000 |
| 7 | "Tom Thumb"[note 1] "Der Däumling" | November 2, 1999 |
| 8 | "The Devil's Three Golden Hairs" "Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren" | November 5, 1999 |
| 9 | "Little Red Riding Hood" "Rotkäppchen" | July 6, 2000 |
| 10 | "Snow White" "Schneewittchen" | July 14, 2000 |
| 11 | "Cinderella" "Aschenputtel" | July 13, 2000 |
| 12 | "Brother and Sister" "Brüderchen und Schwesterchen" | November 17, 1999 |
| 13 | "The Bremen Town Musicians" "Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten" | July 5, 2000 |
| 14 | "Masterthief" "Der Meisterdieb" | November 9, 1999 |
| 15 | "The Goosemaiden" "Die Gänsemagd" | July 21, 2000 |
| 16 | "The Two Princesses" "Die Gänsehirtin am Brunnen"[note 2] | July 19, 2000 |
| 17 | "The Blue Light" "Das blaue Licht" | July 12, 2000 |
| 18 | "Rumpelstiltskin" "Rumpelstilzchen" | November 15, 1999 |
| 19 | "The Six Swans" "Die sechs Schwäne" | July 18, 2000 |
| 20 | "Sleeping Beauty" "Dornröschen" | July 18, 2000 |
| 21 | "The meaning of Fear" "Von einem, der auszog, das Fürchten zu lernen" | November 12, 1999 |
| 22 | "Hansel and Gretel" "Hänsel und Gretel" | November 3, 1999 |
| 23 | "Faithful John" "Der treue Johannes" | July 10, 2000 |
| 24 | "The Frog King" "Der Froschkönig" | July 20, 2000 |
| 25 | "Rapunzel" | November 10, 1999 |
| 26 | "Table Set Yourself" "Tischlein deck dich" | July 7, 2000 |
Season 2 (2010)
| No. overall [1] | No. in season | Title | Written by | German air date |
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| 27 | 1 | "Jack And The Beanstalk" "Hans und die Bohnenranke" | Armin Prediger | December 6, 2010 |
| 28 | 2 | "The Furry Critter" "Allerleirauh" | Sally Ann O'Reilly | December 7, 2010 |
| 29 | 3 | "The Hare And The Hedgehog" "Der Hase und der Igel" | Armin Prediger | December 8, 2010 |
| 30 | 4 | "Old Sultan" "Der alte Sultan" | Marteinn Thorisson | December 9, 2010 |
| 31 | 5 | "Mother Holle" "Frau Holle" | Armin Prediger | December 10, 2010 |
| 32 | 6 | "Three Little Pigs" "Die drei kleinen Schweinchen" | Richie Conroy | December 11, 2010 |
| 33 | 7 | "The Four Skillful Brothers" "Die vier kunstreichen Brǜder" | Aidan Hickey | December 12, 2010 |
| 34 | 8 | "The Magician's Feud" "Der Zauberer-Wettkampf" | Marteinn Thorisson | December 13, 2010 |
| 35 | 9 | "The Emperor's Nightingale" "Die Nachtigall" | Marcus Flaming | December 14, 2010 |
| 36 | 10 | "Beauty And The Beast" "Die Schöne und die Biest" | Linda O'Sullivan | December 15, 2010 |
| 37 | 11 | "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" "Der zertanzten Schuhe" | Armin Prediger | December 16, 2010 |
| 38 | 12 | "Hans in Luck" "Hans im Glück" | Marcus Fleming | December 17, 2010 |
| 39 | 13 | "Little Mook" "Der kleine Muck" | Armin Prediger | December 18, 2010 |
| 40 | 14 | "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" "Goldlöckchen und die drei Bären" | Richie Conroy | December 19, 2010 |
| 41 | 15 | "Aladdin" "Aladin und die Wunderlampe" | Marcus Fleming | December 20, 2010 |
| 42 | 16 | "The Caliph Stork" "Kalif Storch" | Marteinn Thorisson | December 21, 2010 |
| 43 | 17 | "The Drummer" "Der Trommler" | Aidan Hickey | December 22, 2010 |
| 44 | 18 | "Snow-white and Rose Red" "Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot" | Linda O'Sullivan | December 23, 2010 |
| 45 | 19 | "Bearskin" "Der Bärenhäuter" | Armin Prediger | December 24, 2010 |
| 46 | 20 | "The Little Mermaid" "Die kleine Meerjungfrau" | Armin Prediger | December 25, 2010 |
| 47 | 21 | "Pinocchio" | Marteinn Thorisson | December 26, 2010 |
| 48 | 22 | "Iron John" "Der Eisenhans" | Armin Prediger | December 27, 2010 |
| 49 | 23 | "The Emperor's New Clothes" "Das Kaisers neue Kleider" | Marcus Fleming | December 28, 2010 |
| 50 | 24 | "Yorinde And Yoringel" "Jorinde und Joringel" | Armin Prediger | December 29, 2010 |
| 51 | 25 | "The Singing Lark" "Das singende springende Lӧweneckerchen" | Sally Ann O'Reilly | December 30, 2010 |
| 52 | 26 | "The Three Feathers" "Die drei Federn" | Aidan Hickey | December 31, 2010 |
Broadcast
Simsala Grimm premiered on KiKA in Germany on 1 November 1999, and ended on 21 July 2000. It was later renewed for a second season, which premiered on 6 December 2010, and ended on 31 December of the same year.
The English version of the series premiered in Australia in 2001 on ABC Kids, and later on RTÉ2 in Ireland. In addition, the first season of the series was distributed on DVDs in the United States in 2004, under the name "The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm".
A third season was announced in 2019.[2] Remastered versions of the previous seasons were produced as well, and were released on Amazon Prime Video in March 2021 in Germany and the United Kingdom,[3] with the German version in particular releasing in theaters starting 28 October 2021.[4] On 7 November 2021, a series of radio plays was announced for an early 2022 release, with the first episode, based on The Seven Ravens, releasing on 11 February on Spotify, Deezer, and Napster,[5] while a second episode, based on The Juniper Tree, releasing on 28 April 2023.[6]
Proposed film adaptation
In 2002, Greenlight Media partnered with Berlin Animation Film and John H. Williams of Vanguard Animation to produce a film adaptation that would have been known domestically as Happily N'Ever After, which would have revolved around Cinderella's stepmother taking over the land of Simsala. The film would have starred Andy Dick as Yoyo, and Wallace Shawn as Doc Croc, with the additional voices of Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, George Carlin and Sigourney Weaver. By 2003, Grenlight Media would sell its interest in the film, and while the film did get released in 2007, all connections to the series were removed from the final project.[7]
In March 2019, with the celebration of 20th anniversary of the series, Greenlight Media announced that it signed a deal with Fabula Media Group to produce an animated feature film based on the show, as well as the third season is in development.[8]
See also
Notes
- Sometimes titled "Thumbling" in home media releases.
- Titled "Die zwei Prinzesinnen" in home media releases.
References
- https://zdf-enterprises.de/sites/default/files/catalogue/downloads/simsalagrimmbible_finale_version_web_einzelseiten_0.pdf
- admin_greenlight (4 March 2019). "Kid's classic SimsalaGrimm finds a new home". Greenlight Media. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- "Watch SimsalaGrimm (Re-Version), Season 1 | Prime Video". www.amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- "SimsalaGrimm - Kinotrailer". YouTube (in German). 23 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- "SimsalaGrimm • Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- "Der Baum des Lebens (Die neuen Abenteuer von Yoyo und Doc Croc)". www.universal-music.de (in German). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- Stewart (2 May 2003). "Greenlight greenlights second Grimm toon". C21 Media. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- "KID'S CLASSIC SIMSALAGRIMM FINDS A NEW HOME". Greenlight Media. 4 March 2019.