Tupu (TV series)
Tupu is a 2D animated television series, developed by the French animation studio Xilam, directed by Xavier Giacometti, featuring the adventures of the fictional New York mayor's son, Norton, with a redheaded girl named Tupu in New York, focusing in Central Park. One series was produced, consisting of twenty-six episodes. The series had great success in numerous countries, being dubbed into languages such as Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Russian, German, Dutch, and many others.
| Tupu | |
|---|---|
 Advertising logo: Tupu appears different from her normal appearance in the show | |
| Also known as | Toupou |
| Created by |
|
| Directed by | Xavier Giacometti |
| Starring | Lynda Harchoui Gérard Surugue Pierre Casanova Véronique Augereau Cathy Cerda Maël Davan-Soulas Pierre-François Pistorio Brigitte Lecordier Christophe Lemoine |
| Music by | Hervé Lavandier |
| Opening theme | "Tupu! Tupu! Always on the run" |
| Country of origin | France Canada |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Marc du Pontavice |
| Editor | Patrick Ducruet |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies | Xilam Tooncan |
| Release | |
| Original network | France 3, Gulli (France) Rai 3 (Italy) |
| Original release | 16 April – 29 July 2005 |
The show now is quite rare, and many countries no longer hold rights to the show. ABC in Australia currently has no plans to re-purchase the rights to the series, and only ran the show four times, not in order. In France, Gulli cancelled it only last year, ending on episode 14.
On the 29/03/13, the children's TV channel, KiKa (from ZDF), finished airing the series. They also concluded on episode 14.
No country other than the Netherlands has had DVDs released. No further plans have been made for DVD releases in other countries. There is an online petition to get Tupu released on DVD. ABC no longer holds rights to release DVDs.
An official Facebook website was created for Tupu on 28 May 2013. No information has been posted related to broadcast or DVDs.
Overview
The series revolves around a semi-wild girl named Tupu. Tupu is similar and reminiscent of Mowgli from The Jungle Book, although she retains manners and a basic understanding of English. Tupu lives with her friend, Whatzup, a squirrel, and also spends a lot of time with Norton. Tupu also had befriended all of the animals in the Central Park zoo. Norton lives with his father and has a privileged life, being chauffeured around town, especially to Central Park in a stretch limousine. Tupu is incessantly chased by the Central Park guard, Shoobert Shoobz, who makes every endeavor to prove her existence. Yet he keeps failing in catching her. His unconfirmed claim that a wild girl hides in the park has led people to perceive him as deranged.[1]
Characters
Tupu
A barefoot wild girl who has been raised in Central Park and lives in the big oak tree. She gets along well with Norton and can speak to animals as well as understand them. She is often hunted by Shoobz, but always manages to elude capture. Tupu dislikes anyone who mistreats animals and nature. She is often accompanied by her squirrel friend, Whatzup. She is not known by anyone other than Shoobz or Norton. To everyone else she is just a normal girl from New York, only Norton really knows where she lives. Tupu's parents are never seen or mentioned and no explanation is given for their absence.
Norton
A happy-go-lucky young boy whose father is the mayor of New York City, and is best friends with Tupu. He is one of the few who know Tupu's secret. Norton wants to become an adventurer like his father and mother. Norton has an affaire with Tupu and in some chapters they are a couple.
Whatzup
Whatzup is Tupu's closest animal friend, is always seen with her, and comes to her aid when she is in trouble. Sometimes Tupu also has to help rescue Whatzup, but what are friends for? Whatzup sometimes is not with Tupu, when she is usually looking for food. Tupu and Whatzup share the same tree. Although he lives in Central Park, Whatzup is a ruddy European squirrel. His name is a pun on "What's Up?".
Schubert
Shoobz is the caretaker of Central Park, and has made it his life goal to capture and prove the existence of Tupu. He lives with his overbearing mother.
Cast
| Character | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| Tupu | Lynda Harchaoui | Bailey Stocker |
| Schubert Schoops | Gérard Surugue | John Stocker |
| Norton | Pierre Casanova | Rick Jones |
| Norton's mother | Véronique Augereau | Sonja Ball |
| Miss Milleborne | Cathy Cerda | |
| Malcolm | Maël Davan-Soulas | |
| Mayor Bordon | Pierre-François Pistorio | |
| John | Brigitte Lecordier | |
| Benny | Christophe Lemoine | |
| Eddy | Christophe Lemoine |
Episodes
| Episode # | Title | Story by | Storyboard by | OriginalAirDate | U.S. air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Members Only" "Bienvenue au Club !" | Johanna Stein Adapted by : Pepper Sue and Elastik Jane | Charles Vacuelle | 16 April 2005 | TBA | |
| Norton wants to be one of the cool dudes at school so gets Tupu to help with the tough initiation rites. Norton gets angry with Tupu and decides to do the last test alone: to find the silver Yoyo lost in the derelict merry-go-round. | ||||||
| 2 | "Old Dogs, New Tricks" "La Dame aux Pigeons" | Johanna Stein | Luc Blanchard | TBA | TBA | |
| The pigeon lady has vanished! She is now staying in the rest home where Norton's uncle lives too! Tupu does not understand the notion of retirement and leads the residents on a wild expedition to make their dreams come true! | ||||||
| 3 | "It's a Hard Rock Life" "Un Concert d'enfer" | Françoise Charpiat | Dorothée Robert | TBA | TBA | |
| Tupu is woken up by incredible noise. Helicopters and laser beams fill the sky, and a huge crowd gathers in front of the building on the edge of the Park. A rock star called Zyzo Pozzy stands in spotlights and Tupu is horrified! | ||||||
| 4 | "V.I.P." "Une Star à la Maison" | Johanna Stein | Charles Vaucelle | TBA | TBA | |
| TBA | ||||||
| 5 | "First Steps on Stage" "Premiers pas sur scène" | Pierre Olivier | Luc Blanchard | TBA | TBA | |
| TBA | ||||||
| 6 | "One for All, All for One" "Un pour tous, tous pour un" | Paul Greenberg | Jean-Luc Abiven | TBA | TBA | |
| Sport counts at Norton's school, and his results are really poor! The headmaster makes him join the gymnastics team. Tupu is mildly jealous until she joins the team as well - then nothing goes to plan! | ||||||
| 7 | "The Kangaroo" "Le Kangourou" | Dennis Heaton | Jean-Pierre Barja and Charles Vaucelle | TBA | TBA | |
| Tupu accidentally wrecks the decorations Norton made for the school Open Day. Hoping to patch things up with Norton, she sends her friend's pet female kangaroo to perform, however the animal escapes. | ||||||
| 8 | "Straight Down the Metal" "La règle du jeu" | Rob Hoegee Base on an Idea by: Johanna Stein | Dorothée Robert and Luc Blanchard | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton gets a metal detector but gets into an argument with Tupu about how valuable the things they find are. Later Norton finds out that one of the things Tupu had was valuable, and he has to get it back. | ||||||
| 9 | "Monkey Business" "Singeries" | Pierre Olivier | Charles Vaucelle and Jean-Luc Abiven | TBA | TBA | |
| A circus monkey, Tycoon, becomes lost in Central Park. He soon befriends Tupu and Norton, when he uses his ability of mimicking people in Norton's limo, he is driven to City Hall where Norton was to give a speech. | ||||||
| 10 | "The Hunt for Tupu" "La Chasse à la Toupou" | Richard Elliot and Simon Racioppa | Yves Montagne and Luc Blanchard | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton gets to help out a famous hunter, but has second thoughts when he finds out what he's hunting for. | ||||||
| 11 | "Baby John" "Bébé John" | Pierre Olivier | Dorothée Robert and Charles Vaucelle | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton tries babysitting to earn extra pocket money, however with Baby John's continuous crying, Norton takes him to Tupu for help, however she suggests an assorted range of activities which Norton thinks of being too dangerous. | ||||||
| 12 | "Treetop Adventures" "Norton a le Vertige" | Claude Chauvat and Michel Picard | Yves Montagne and Oumar N'Diaye | TBA | TBA | |
| Shoobz tries to get the new treetop course built around the area where Tupu lives. Norton tries to stop it from happening, but then his dad wants him to participate in the course. | ||||||
| 13 | "The Right Number" "Le Compte est bon" | Françoise Charpiat | Luc Blanchard | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton volunteers to do a documentary about the number of animals in Central Park to impress his teacher. Shoobz thinks there are too many animals and tries to interfere. | ||||||
| 14 | "Tupu's New Friend" "Une Amie pour Toupou" | Paul Greenberg | Dorothée Robert and Charles Vaucelle | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton and Tupu realize that they are very different from each other, so Norton takes Tupu to the circus to help her find a new best friend who is just like her. | ||||||
| 15 | "Home Sweet Home" "Toupou déménage" | Jérôme Erbin | Yves Montagne and Philippe Riche | TBA | TBA | |
| Shoobz is going to spray the park overnight to get rid of the worms so Tupu has to stay at Norton's school overnight. | ||||||
| 16 | "Tupu on Vacation" "Toupou en vacances !" | Pierre Olivier | Dorothée Robert and Thierry Martin | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton goes on vacation but everyone seems to leave him on his own. Tupu also tries to have a vacation, but she has a hard time dealing with the park by herself. | ||||||
| 17 | "Norton's Birthday" "L'anniversaire de Norton" | Johanna Stein | Luc Blanchard and Diego Zamora | TBA | TBA | |
| Everyone forgets about Norton's birthday, so he goes out to celebrate it with Tupu instead. When they realise he is missing, everyone goes to search for him. | ||||||
| 18 | "Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover" "Ne vous fiez pas aux apparences" | Johanna Stein | Charles Vaucelle and Frank Leguay | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton has to tutor a bully named John, however he finds John is not as bad as he seems. | ||||||
| 19 | "Trick or Treat" "L'épouvantail" | Johanna Stein | Yves Montagne | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton gets invited to a party for Halloween, but he has already agreed to go trick or treating with Tupu. He does not want to go to the party with Tupu since he thinks that she will embarrass him. | ||||||
| 20 | "Beware of Gorilla" "Gare au Gorille !" | Pepper Sue and Elastik Jane | Luc Blanchard | TBA | TBA | |
| A major ecology campaign has been launched by City Hall: Lastar the gorilla, is due to be sent home to an African reserve. Norton discovers that Tupu has let Lastar out of his cage so she can show him her world! | ||||||
| 21 | "The End" "Adieu ?" | Johanna Stein | Dorothée Robert and Charles Vaucelle | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton thinks he is getting taken away to a very selective boarding school. Since he does not want to be separated from Tupu, he starts acting badly in school. | ||||||
| 22 | "The Best Christmas Ever" "Le Plus beau Noël" | Johanna Stein | Frank Leguay | TBA | TBA | |
| TBA | ||||||
| 23 | "Paparazzi Alert!" "Toupou à la une !" | Pepper Sue and Elastik Jane | Dorothée Robert | TBA | TBA | |
| Tupu has a bad toothache, so Norton tries to get her to a dentist. A journalist who wants to get his press pass wants to write a story about him since he is the Mayor's son, and he tries to figure out who he is meeting with. | ||||||
| 24 | "Jungle Jam in Central Park" "Le Concert des animaux" | Johanna Stein | Jean-Luc Abiven | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton joins a battle of the bands, and he gets assigned to play a tuba, however he is not very good at it. | ||||||
| 25 | "The Hat Trick" "Le voleur de chapeau" | Johanna Stein | Jean-Charles Fink | TBA | TBA | |
| Tupu makes a hat and when it gets praised as a piece of art at school, Norton pretends that he made it and it gets entered into a fashion show. When Tupu needs it back, he pretends it was stolen by a hat thief. | ||||||
| 26 | "Let's Break the Ice" "Brisons la Glace !" | Johanna Stein and & Sylvie Barro-Borincome | Frank Leguay and Charles Vaucelle | TBA | TBA | |
| Norton signs up to participate in a charity hockey game, but he does not know how to ice skate. | ||||||
Note: The Australian Broadcasting Company did not broadcast the episodes in order; this order is descended from the original French list, however the 2012 re-run of Tupu was ordered accordingly to the original French list. ABC repeated some episodes more than others, the 3 missing episodes to Tupu were only on once.
DVD release and petition
Tupu has been released on DVD in the Netherlands on three volumes. The first two DVDs consisting of four episodes, and the third containing five (half of the series). The only available language track is Dutch. One of the episodes has the wrong episode audio track, belonging to that of the first episode again. The DVDs were released by Bright vision Entertainment and licensed by ZDF.
Online there is a petition to get Tupu released on DVD. There is a need of 10,000 signatures. it is unsure if the number is reached that Xilam will release the entire series or any DVDs at all.
International broadcasts
| Country | Channel | Year |
|---|---|---|
 France | France 3[2] | 2004–2005 |
| France | Gulli[2] | 2004–2012 |
| France | Disney Channel France[2] | 2005–2006 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada | Super Écran | 2005–2007 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | ABC Kids[3] | 2005–2008 (incl. repeats) The Australian Broadcasting Company has since lost rights to the show. |
 Great Britain | POP! | 2006–2007 |
 Germany | ZDF[2] | 2006–present (last seen the 19.3.13 but scheduling is being made) |
| Germany | KiKa[2] | 2006 – present |
 Israel | Logi | 2008 – present |
 Italy | Rai 3[2] | 2006 |
 Netherlands | Z@PP | 2006 - Tupu was released on DVD in this language and country in Region 2. Only the first 12 (Skipping episode 7 due to an error with dubbing wrong episode) |
References
- "Tupu Information (In French)". Jeunesse.com. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- "Tupu at Xilam". Xilam. Archived from the original on 28 August 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
- "Tupu-Tupu's New Friend". Australian Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 16 August 2010.