Around the World with Willy Fog is a Japanese–Spanish anime adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. The cartoon was produced by Spanish studio BRB Internacional with animation by Japanese studio Nippon Animation. In the same vein as BRBs Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, the characters are anthropomorphisms of various animals as the species depicted are of much greater variety than in that series. The core trio are all felines being pursued by three canine foes. Willy Fog (Phileas Fogg in the original book) is depicted as a lion, while Rigodon (Passepartout) is a cat, and Romy (Aouda) is a panther. An English dub of the series was directed by Tom Wyner, which featured artists such as Cam Clarke (as Rigadon), Gregory Snegoff (Inspector Dix), Steve Kramer (as Constable Bully) and Mike Reynolds. While the series never achieved popularity in the United States, the English version found fame when it was broadcast on Childrens BBC in the United Kingdom. The series was initially screened in 1984 in the UK (and later repeated in 1991) and then on RTE in Ireland, while other dubs gained the series fanbases in several other countries.The series was also dubbed into Japanese and aired on Japans TV Asahi in 1987, where it was titled Anime Around the World in 80 Days With all of the international versions, the height of popularity remains in Spain, where in 2008, the series spawned a live-action theatrical musical show in celebration of its 25th anniversary.As with every morning since he moved into Savile Row, Willy Fog awakens at 8:00 am and rings for his servant, only to remember that he fired him the previous day for his inability to follow Fogs precise schedule. He has already arranged an interview for a replacement – former circus performer Rigodon, who is even now rushing towards Fogs house to make his 11:00 am appointment. Rigodon is accompanied by his old circus colleague Tico, who hides within his travelling bag, and prompts him through the interview, which gets off to a bad start when Rigodon arrives four minutes late. Nonetheless, Rigodon is hired by Fog as his butler and soon departs for the Reform Club. At the club, the main topic of conversation is the recent theft of £55,000 from the Bank of England which was discussed till the banks governor Mr. Sullivan arrives and requests a change of topic. Sullivans off-hand remark that the thief is still in London causes the elderly Lord Guinness to bring up an article in the Morning Chronicle, detailing how it is now possible to travel around the world in eighty days. The article states that one departs London by train for Dover, where one crosses to Calais, and on to Paris. From there, it is a train journey to Brindisi, and the Suez Canal, all within a week. Having rounded the Arabian peninsula, one would arrive in Bombay on day 20 and then a three-day railway journey to Calcutta. Hong Kong is reached on day 33, Yokohama on day 39, and then a mammoth three-week crossing of the Pacific to arrive in San Francisco on day 61, a week long train crossing to New York City and then finally a nine-day crossing of the Atlantic back to London making it possible to circumnavigate the globe in eighty days. The other members of the club laugh at Lord Guinnesss suggestion that he would take on the challenge if he were younger, prompting Fog to defend his honor by taking up the task himself. Sullivan bets Fog £5,000 that it is impossible, and additional wagers by three other club members increase this amount to £20,000. He then stuns the club by announcing that he will leave that very evening and promises to return to the club by 8:45 pm on 21 December 1872. Rigodon is less than thrilled to hear the news of their impending trip, having spent his life travelling with the circus. However, he dutifully accompanies his master as they set out, with Tico still in hiding. Little do they know, however, that they are pursued by three individuals determined to halt their progress. Inspector Dix and Constable Bully of Scotland Yard are convinced that Fog is the thief who robbed the Bank of England, and the wicked and conniving Transfer, a saboteur, was hired by Mr. Sullivan to impede Fogs journey in any way. Differences from the novel Despite the addition of three prominent new characters into the story (Tico, Bully and Transfer) and changing the names of the established characters, Around the World with Willy Fog remains one of the most accurate adaptations of Vernes novel made for film or television. The cartoon covered essentially all of the major and minor plot points from the novel to an extent that no other adaptation has accomplished. Parts of the novel were slightly modified, usually to incorporate the conniving Transfers schemes, but the resolution remains the same. The series also expands on the original text, again usually the work of Transfer. Particularly, the villains causes several close shaves for Fog during the European stage of his trip, which passed without incident in the original novel, and is responsible for three incidents during the North American leg of the journey (the buffalo stampede, the collapsing bridge and the attack by American Indians) all of which happen purely by chance in the novel.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 16:18:43 +0000
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