Tabaluga (TV series)
Tabaluga (1997-2004) is an animated television series produced by Flying Bark Productions (previously known as "Yoram Gross Films Studio" and "Yoram Gross-EM.TV"), based on the character of the same name created by Peter Maffay.[1] In this series, Tabaluga is the last of the dragons and the crown-prince of Greenland, a magical place inhabited by talking animals of many different species.[2] Tabaluga must defend his home from two rival kingdoms on either side of Greenland; a frigid arctic tundra, ruled by the evil snowman Arktos and a searing desert, ruled by an evil sand-spirit named Humsin. It was shown on Seven Network (From 1996 till 2003) in Australia and ZDF in Germany.
| Tabaluga | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Cartoon series |
| Created by | Peter Maffay Gregor Rottschalk Rolf Zuckowski |
| Directed by | Yoram Gross (Season 1–2) David Evans (Season 3) |
| Voices of | Sarah Aubrey Robyn Moore Jamie Oxenbould Troy Planet Keith Scott Shane Withington |
| Theme music composer | Chris Thompson |
| Opening theme | "Tabaluga's Song", performed by Peter Rudolph Heinen |
| Ending theme | "Nessaja's Song", composed by Peter Maffay |
| Composers | Peter Wagner (Season 1–2) Andy Sedlmaier (Season 1–2) Clive Harrison (Season 3) Guy Gross (Tabaluga and Leo) |
| Country of origin | Germany Australia |
| Original languages | German English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Sandra Gross (Season 1) Tim Brooke-Hunt (Season 1) Dr. Sylvia Rothblum (Season 2) Matthias Schulze (Season 3) Hans-Jürgen Steimer (Season 3) Geoff Watson (Season 3) |
| Producers | Yoram Gross (Season 1–2) Franziska Guderian (Season 3) Andre Kussmaul (Season 3) Anke Steinbacher (Season 3) Rodney Whitham (Season 3) |
| Editors | Antonietta Sisinni (Season 1) Andrew MacNeil (Season 1) Christopher Plowright (Season 1) Roger Grant (Season 2) Dee Liebenberg (Season 2) David Stiven (Season 2) |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | ZDF Yoram Gross Film Studio (Season 1) Yoram Gross-EM.TV (Season 2–3) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Seven Network ZDF |
| Original release | 1997 – 2004 |
Statue of Tabaluga in Erfurt
Plot
The series focusses on Tabaluga, the last dragon living in Greenland, a land occupied by intelligent, talking animals. As a dragon he is tasked with defending Greenland against the evil snowman Arktos and the desert spirit Humsin.
Characters
Residents of Greenland
- Tabaluga: A small green dragon who is the main protagonist of the series. He is the prince (and later the king) of Greenland. Son of the late Tyrion. Voiced by Jamie Oxenbould. In Germany he is voiced by Björn Schalla in Season 1 and Dietmar Wunder in Seasons 2 and 3.
- Happy: A Snow hare who lives in Greenland and is one of Tabaluga's best friends. Voiced by Robyn Moore, and by Sabine Manke in German.
- Digby: A mole from Greenland who wears glasses and one of Tabaluga's good friends. In Germany, he is voiced by Edeltraud Esner in Seasons 1 and 2 and by Santiago Ziesmer in Season 3.
- Nessaja: A giant turtle who acts as a mentor and advisor to Tabaluga. Voiced by Inken Sommer in German.
- Buzz: A bee and one of Tabaluga's good friends.
- Tyrion: The previous ruler of Greenland and father of Tabaluga. When he died, he turned into a star, like all dragons. He occasionally appears to Tabaluga in spirit form to offer him some advice.
- Ruby: A hummingbird and a best friend of Buzz and Digby.
Iceworld
- Arktos: The main antagonist and Tabaluga's arch-enemy. He is an evil snowman who aims to make Greenland a frozen wasteland. He is also the king of Iceworld. He has a hall containing animals who have been frozen by him and is fond of ice cream. Despite his hatred for Tabaluga, he has sometimes teamed up with him when the situation called for it. Voiced by Keith Scott in English and Frank Ciazynski in German.
- James: The polite and gentle penguin who serves Arktos and pilots his master's transport, The Arktoplane. When the penguins of Iceworld temporarily left the evil snowman, James was the only one who remained at his side. In Germany, he is voiced by Eberhard Prüter.
- Attila the Walrus: Arktos' cook.
- Vultur: A reconnaissance spy and messenger for Arktos, but then changed allegiance to Humsin. Afterward, he turns back to Arktos.
- Fritz: Arktos' pet shark, who often tries to eat his carrot nose.
- Lilly (or Lilli): A sculpture created by Arktos. When Tabaluga saw Lilly for the first time, he immediately had a strange but wonderful emotion he couldn't explain to himself - all he could think or dream about was Lilly.
- Queen Isadora: An Ice Fairy who has been waiting for a snowman for years. She was later defeated by the Good Queen in the episode, "Arktos' Last Grasp".
- Polar Bears
Desert Realm
- Humsin: Tabaluga's second arch-enemy. He is the ruler of the desert realm, willing to make Greenland into a desert. At times, he and Arktos find themselves at odds. Much like Arktos is fond of ice cream, Humsin is fond of salty potato chips. He appears as a whirlwind of sand. He only appeared in season 2.
- Kayo: An accident prone Chameleon who worked for Humsin, but later works for Arktos. Voiced by Troy Planet.
- Hyena: A Spotted Hyena who has a tendency to laugh at Kayo's misfortunes and other things that aren't funny.
- Ostrich: An accountant and a female ostrich. Worker for Humsin.
- Sally: A female salamander and the leader of the Tribe of Salamanders. She only appeared in the episode, "The Lost Dragon."
Episodes
Season 1 (1997)
| # | Title | Summary | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Last of His Kind | As Arktos spoils Greenland's tranquility, Digby stumbles on an egg, out of which hatches the last dragon Tabaluga. Tabaluga escapes Arktos, then learns of his destiny. | 1997 |
| 2 | Happy Without Ending | Tabaluga tumbles into the Iceworld and releases his newfound friend Happy, and they escape and rescue a defecting Fox Dandy, who leads them to Greenland. | 1997 |
| 3 | A Very Hot Thing | Vultur starts a fire in the Greenland forest, forcing the inhabitants to evacuate to safe haven. All the birds and bees fan the fire and then Arktos extinguishes it. | 1997 |
| 4 | Servant of Two Masters | Vultur takes Digby to Iceworld. The Greenlanders create a diversion, while Tabaluga and Happy rescue Digby along with some others, learning Shouhu's purpose in addition. | 1997 |
| 5 | Dubious Dealings | A worry arouses in Greenland when night is longer than normal. Arktos takes advantage of this, but Tabaluga catches wind of Arktos' deception and reveals the darkness was an eclipse. | 1997 |
| 6 | One Dragon Too Many | Arktos sends a flying dragon lizard to impersonate Tabaluga and stir things up in Greenland. Tabaluga outdoes the imposter when he rescues Happy and helps him to fit in. | 1997 |
| 7 | The Wiser Head Does Not Give Up | Arktos has developed a new weapon to spread his ice. Tabaluga has a dilemma to prepare for the worst, but decides to give himself up in order to infiltrate Ice Town and put the new weapon out of action. | 1997 |
| 8 | Two Birds With One Stone | Tabaluga volunteers to rescue Queen Elisabeth XXI's ant army from the clutches of Arktos. Tabaluga infiltrates Ice Town with unexpected help from Happy and forces Arktos to release the ants. | 1997 |
| 9 | Moonstruck | Tabaluga is intrigued to go to the moon. Arktos' offer to bring him there proves to be an attempt to dispose of him. In an unconscious dream, Tabaluga learns plenty about the moon. | 1997 |
| 10 | Dragons Do not Cry | Tabaluga and Happy and Arktos are enjoying themselves. But a new kind of fruit Happy and Arktos ate has poisoned them. With effort Tabaluga provides a cure for Happy then passes it on to Arktos. | 1997 |
| 11 | The Big Cloud | Arktos unleashes a volley of ice clouds to blot out the sun. With help from Prince Ighor, Tabaluga persuades the volcano ant queen to erupt the volcano. It works, but only too well. | 1997 |
| 12 | The Visitors Who Came In From The Cold | Arktos' penguins are going on strike except for James. While Tabaluga helps the penguins last in Greenland, Iceland falls into disarray. Eventually Arkto's persuades the penguins to return and makes it up to them. | 1997 |
| 13 | A Fatal Present | Arktos sends a plague of locusts to Greenland. With all options failing, Tabaluga beseeches the help of the giant Black Widow spider Tarantula. Her siren song works, with all Greenlanders evading it. | 1997 |
| 14 | A Ruined Premiere | To stifle his boredom, Arktos sends James to capture some dolphins for a circus. With the aid of Sawbones the swordfish, Tabaluga and his friends intercept and rescue the dolphins. | 1997 |
| 15 | A Matter Full of Seeds | There is a shortage of sunflower seeds for Tabaluga thanks to James' harvest. Tabaluga slips into Ice Town to get back some seeds to enjoy in future. | 1997 |
| 16 | Someone Is Cheating | Greenland is holding a sports tournament. Arktos plans to use this tournament to win the land as his own. The Greenlanders win the tournament, thanks to Maurice, a polar whom Arktos outcast. | 1997 |
| 17 | Mister Nice Guy | After increased attacks on Greenland, Arktos sends James as a clown to steal some fruit. His heist fails, but the Greenlanders lend him a hand, while Tabaluga spreads cheer and happiness in Iceworld. | 1997 |
| 18 | Too Much Salt Is Detrimental To The Health | James builds a dam to get water for ice-cream production. The dam causes a lot of flooding and is contaminated by a salt mine. The beavers manage to destroy the dam and restore the river. | 1997 |
| 19 | The Tree Of Life | Arktos is intent on destroying the Tree of Life, disregarding the consequences of Water cycle imbalance. Tabaluga manages to defrost the Tree of Life and save both Greenland and Iceworld. | 1997 |
| 20 | A Splendid Couple | Today is Happy's Birthday. Arktos sends a snow hare Leon, to befriend Happy, which makes Tabaluga feel lonesome. Both hares and Tabaluga make up, getting captured by Arktos, but the trio make their escape. | 1997 |
| 21 | A Fiery Encounter | Tabaluga meets the wild honey bees and learns about their ways of living. Arktos sends James to raid the hive for honey. Tabaluga helps the bees repel the next raid and sends James off. | 1997 |
| 22 | Tabaluga and Lilli | Tabaluga is captivated by Arktos' beautiful girl statue, he calls Lilli, which is haunting him with passion. Happy helps Tabaluga through his dangerous ordeal. Tabaluga manages to bring Lilli to life with his fire, and Tabaluga and Lilli fulfill their love for each other. | 1997 |
| 23 | The Abducted Scamp | James takes Happy's bullying cousin Bobby to Ice Town for Arktos' gallery. Bobby is as troublesome to Arktos as he was back in Greenland, so Vultur persuades the Greenlanders to take him back. | 1997 |
| 24 | The Flow of Time | Tabaluga sees a past vision in the River of Time, but has to take care of a river blockage would spell eternal time freeze for the Greenlanders. After that Shouhu finally has his freedom. | 1997 |
| 25 | Queen For One Day | 1997 | |
| 26 | Chocolate Ice for Everybody | Arktos gains the power to spread an early winter to Greenland. With the aid of the giant octopus Tentaculus, Tabaluga brings Arktos to his knees and brings Iceworld and Greenland together. | 1997 |
Season 2 (2002)
| # | Title | Summary | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prince Tabaluga | After Tabaluga's coronation, Arktos starts up an ice-cream factory in hopes of overshadowing the new prince. However his business is clearfelling the forests, forcing Tabaluga to rescue everyone from a landslide. | 2002 |
| 2 | Humsin | Humsin takes advantage of the homeless Greenlanders and spreads a desert in Greenland and Vultur defects to Humsin. Arktos attacks Humsin and the Iceworlders assist Greenland to put Humsin's sand pipeline out of action. | 2002 |
| 3 | Dangerous confidence | Humsin attacks Greenland with a sand blaster. Arktos nabs the spying Vultur, leaving Tabaluga in a difficult position to save Vultur's life. Arktos uses this opportunity to become Prince, but Vultur exposes his treachery. | 2002 |
| 4 | Big Freeze | Arktos makes an early winter in Greenland, but the Greenlanders prepare for it. Then Arktos collaborates with Humsin to attack Greenland, but Vultur warns Tabaluga, giving him a chance to repel the attack. | 2002 |
| 5 | Prophecy | Kayo steals Shouhu's crystal ball to give Humsin some advantage. Artkos leaves thinking he has no future, but James renews his hope. Tabaluga boosts Greenland's morale to thwart Humsin's attack. | 2002 |
| 6 | Digby, The Hero | Humsin tricks Tabaluga with mirages, giving him the moment to cast a sandstorm over Greenland. Digby feeling discontented with himself rescues Tabaluga then helps him to make rain to wash away Humsin's sand. | 2002 |
| 7 | Potato Festival | The Greenlanders are hard at harvesting potatoes. Humsin capitalises Greenland of its potato supply. Tabaluga tricks Arktos to start an early winter day to drive Humsin and his lot out of Greenland. | 2002 |
| 8 | A Spiny Danger | Digby becomes Shouhou's apprentice. A folly in the works, turns Digby into a weremole monster. Digby procures the vital ingredient to cure himself, while Arktos and Humsin fight for the power potion. | 2002 |
| 9 | Flood | During the Spring Festival, Arktos unleashes some rain showers to flood Greenland. As Happy and some baby animals take shelter, Tabaluga stops Arktos' flooding then tricks Humsin into removing the floodwaters. | 2002 |
| 10 | The Day of the Cactus | Humsim uses Happy's new growth formula with a cactus to spoil Greenland. Arktos tries to take advantage of the situation, but Tabaluga persuades him to freeze the plant. Tabaluga proceeds to prevent Humsin grow any more weeds. | 2002 |
| 11 | The Big Change | Humsin captures Nassaja and Shohou, while Tabaluga develops an itching problem mistaken as contagious. Tabaluga is helped by the Outcast colony to save Greenland from Humsin and Arktos. | 2002 |
| 12 | Sand Fleas | Humsin unleashes a plague of sand fleas to put the Greenlanders in disarray. Tabaluga eventually finds that volcanic water eliminates the fleas, but Buzz provides an alternative. | 2002 |
| 13 | The Lost Dragon | Humsin plans to capture more lizards for his secret weapon. Tabaluga gets helped by a tribe of Salamanders led by Sally to liberate them from Humsin and prevents Arktos from taking Greenland as its new prince. | 2002 |
| 14 | My baby | 2002 | |
| 15 | The Ice Beast | 2002 | |
| 16 | Double Trouble | 2002 | |
| 17 | Peace Play | 2002 | |
| 18 | Genie | 2002 | |
| 19 | Kidnapped | James' nephews and nieces come to visit, but they soon go missing. | 2002 |
| 20 | Sweet Dreams Hamsin | 2002 | |
| 21 | The Thundwerbird | 2002 | |
| 22 | Bully for You | 2002 | |
| 23 | The Scrying Game | 2002 | |
| 24 | Dragon Mountain | 2002 | |
| 25 | The Sands of Doom | 2002 | |
| 26 | Majority Rules | 2002 |
Season 3 (2004)
| # | Title | Summary | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Dragon Pendant | On a new spring season, Tabaluga starts his quest for the dragon pendant. Knowing about it from Kayo, Arktos plans to get the pendant first. Tabaluga narrowly manages to finish the first stage of his quest. | 2004 |
| 2 | The Quest | Vultur returns to Arktos' service. As Tabaluga starts his quest, Arktos freezes Greenland, but Happy and Digby bring Tabaluga back to send Arktos back before taking Happy and Digby on his quest. | 2004 |
| 3 | Scary Story | Arktos follows Tabaluga, Happy and Digby on their quest. During a campout strange noises scare Arktos, Tabaluga and their friends as they run into each other. They eventually find Kayo and a woodmouse are the unwitting monsters. | 2004 |
| 4 | Tabaluga's Challenge | During an invitation to Ling Yan's village, Tabaluga is prompted to race Ling Yan, but then they have to rescue panda twin boys from the river. With that Tabaluga and his friends continue the quest. | 2004 |
| 5 | Fire Stone | Tabaluga and his friends enter an underground land inhabited by fiery people, who do not approve of the Fire Sign being taken, until Tabaluga replaces it to save the land from destruction. | 2004 |
| 6 | Little Wonder | Happy accidentally shrinks Tabaluga with one of Shouhou's potions. Kayo gets that potion and shrinks James and Arktos, but the shrinking effects eventually wear off. | 2004 |
| 7 | Arktos The Good | Hoping to get information on Tabaluga's leave, Arktos tries to be nice for Nessaja's birthday party, managing unwittingly. Later though Kayo and a giant snake crash the party, but the party proceeds. | 2004 |
| 8 | The Gloomy Forest | Tagaluga, Happy and Digby enter the Gloomy Forest in order to reach the Valley of the Winds, Arktos and James following. Tabaluga helps the lonesome living trees find company and save them from Arktos. | 2004 |
| 9 | Mother Arktos | Digby stumbles across an egg, but later James steals it. The egg hatches a crocodile and Arktos plays with it, while Tabaluga is faced with its mother's wrath, but he is able to unite the baby and mother together. | 2004 |
| 10 | Eye in the Sky | During a visit to Warren Vale, Happy and James are taken by Tempest. Arktos helps Tabaluga to ascend the mountain. Tabaluga saves the prisoners and Warren Vale, acquires the wind sign and unmasks Tempest as the rabbit Robert. | 2004 |
| 11 | Do not Forget to Remember | Tabaluga suffers a case of amnesia and Arktos takes him for a servant called Norman. Eventually Tabaluga finds out about Arktos' deceit and gets the memory cure from Shouhou. | 2004 |
| 12 | Fool's Gold | An earthquake opens a fault. Down inside Tabaluga, Happy and Digby befriend Roly the Troll. Roly loses his treasure after Arktos fails to take it, but Roly becomes a friend to Greenland. | 2004 |
| 13 | Where is Winter? | Arktos is terminally ill, so Tabaluga travels via the river of time to the past to get a Pjorus Flower. He is hindered by a younger Arktos, but the younger Tyrion helps him. | 2004 |
| 14 | Whale of a Tale | Tabaluga travels with Happy and Digby by ship out to sea. They team up with an orca named Haratio to liberate his family from pirates in league with Arktos. | 2004 |
| 15 | Last Gasp | 2004 | |
| 16 | Troubled Waters | 2004 | |
| 17 | Hidden Treasures | 2004 | |
| 18 | Wish Upon a Star | 2004 | |
| 19 | Who's Who | 2004 | |
| 20 | The Hidden Chamber | 2004 | |
| 21 | Ready, Set, Go! | 2004 | |
| 22 | Digby's Promise | 2004 | |
| 23 | Kayo: Friend or Foe? | 2004 | |
| 24 | Menace in the Mountains | 2004 | |
| 25 | Dragon World | 2004 | |
| 26 | Lost Pendant | 2004 |
Animated movie
Following the conclusion of the third season in 2004, a Christmas cartoon film, "Tabaluga und Leo" (engl. "Tabaluga and Leo"), based on the TV cartoon series aired in 2005, serving a sequel to the animated series.
It is a celebration of Greenland Day for Greenland and Christmas Eve for humans. An orphaned boy named Leo who is having no luck getting a foster family decides to run away and enters a portal into Iceworld. During a search for some mountain roses to complete the Greenland festival, Tabaluga rescues Leo from Arktos and takes him to join the festival. Arktos and James intensify Leo's clumsiness in order to swipe his toy to develop a new automated weapon. The damage Leo caused to a green crystal forces Tabaluga to go on an urgent quest for a new one, Leo by his side. When Tabaluga procures the new green crystal, Arktos kidnaps Leo to complete the essential part of his new weapon. Tabaluga slips into Ice Town, rescues Leo and returns in time to save the Greenland festival. Arktos launches his new automated weapon on Greenland, but Tabaluga and Leo repel it. Finally Tabaluga persuades Leo to go back to his world and join his new foster parents.
References
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 820. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 306–307. ISBN 9781476672939.
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