''Dr. Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop'' (known as ''Dr. Globule'' in France) is a 1994-1997
animated television series
An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
created by Tony Barnes and produced by Philippe Mounier
PMMP
PMMP was a Finnish pop rock band fronted by singers Paula Vesala and Mira Luoti and backed by musicians Mikko Virta, Juho Vehmanen and Heikki Kytölä. The name of the band is often said to be an abbreviation of the sentence "Paulan ja Mira ...
and
Fairwater Films
Fairwater Films is a British animation studio based in Cardiff.
Notable staff
* Tony Barnes (producer, director, screenwriter)
* James Driscoll (executive producer, screenwriter)
Selected filmography
* '' Hanner Dwsin'' (1985)
* ''The Shoe Pe ...
and distributed in the UK by
The Sleepy Kids Company Ltd (who also produced ''
Potsworth & Co.'' and ''
Budgie the Little Helicopter
''Budgie the Little Helicopter'' is a British animated television series, relating to a fictional helicopter and his friends, based on a series of children's books. The characters were based on the books by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. The s ...
'') which was later changed to SKD Media and
Entertainment Rights
Entertainment Rights PLC (formally known as Sleepy Kids) was a British multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that specialized in TV-shows and cartoons, children’s media, films, and distribution. In May 2009, the company was ...
and then dissolved into
Classic Media
Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...
(now
DreamWorks Classics
Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Medi ...
) and by
PMMP
PMMP was a Finnish pop rock band fronted by singers Paula Vesala and Mira Luoti and backed by musicians Mikko Virta, Juho Vehmanen and Heikki Kytölä. The name of the band is often said to be an abbreviation of the sentence "Paulan ja Mira ...
and TF1 Intl in the rest of the world. 65 episodes were produced.
The show originally aired on
TF1 and it was later dubbed for English audiences as well; even the show's title got a name change. It aired in the United Kingdom on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
; starting 13 June 1994 and finishing 21 August 1997, the show ran for four series. Music for the series was composed by Danny Chang and Tony Barnes.
A comic strip version of the show was included in ''
Buster'' magazine from September 1994 to November 1996.
[ The series was later repeated on ]Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
in the early 2000s until 2004, and had sporadic reruns on ordinary TV from 1999 until 2001 (it was put on hiatus in 2002).
It was also aired on cable television in Australia first airing on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
and later on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
.
Plot summary
Dr. Zitbag was a Pet Shop worker who wasn't very good at selling any pets at all and because of this he was fired from the local Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
n Pet Shop. So he decides to set up his own Pet Shop at an old Haunted Castle and finds out that he will have to share the place with a skeleton dog, Horrifido. With Horrifido now helping him out, the doctor begins use with his inventions to create Horrific Pets to gain his profit.
Characters
*Dr. Sidney Zitbag (voiced by Christian Rodska) - The main character of the show, he is a mad scientist
The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...
type of character who wants to become the world's best pet shop owner. After being fired from the only town pet shop he goes on to buy an old castle from the Exorsisters and sets up his own pet shop creating new and weird pets in his laboratory, but his plans don't always work and certain mishaps do tend to happen.
*Horrifido (voiced by Kerry Shale)[Kerry Shale - 25 Voices in 5 Minutes](_blank)
(Horrifido appears at 0:32, Vermin at 3:08) - Horrifido, or Fido as he was known in life, was the pet dog of the former owner of the old castle (Capt. Charles de Ghoul) where Dr. Zitbag sets up his pet shop. Initially haunting the castle as a ghost, the doctor inadvertently uncovers the dog's old bones and the ghoul reanimates them, giving him a physical form. Horrifido is thus a skeleton dog with green bat winged like ears, who becomes Dr. Zitbag's assistant. Sometimes Horrifido is seen wearing a pink bow collar around his neck.
*The Exorsisters (voiced by Nicolette McKenzie) - The Exorsisters are Dr. Zitbag's neighbours. Both ladies are twins resembling the bride of Frankenstein
''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring Boris Karlo ...
. Every so often, Dr. Zitbag always tries to impress them both, but the two often argue with each other. Sinista, the sister with purple streaks in her hair, often dismisses Dr. Zitbag, whereas Bimbella, the sister with white streaks in her hair, is more willing to give him a chance.
*Zombunny - Zombunny appears to be a zombified
"Zombified" is a song by American rock band Falling in Reverse. It was released on January 5, 2022, through Epitaph Records. The song was released as the first single from the band's upcoming EP titled ''Neon Zombie''. The song was again produc ...
rabbit who never seems to move. Most of the time, he is seen with Dr. Zitbag and Horrifido, as Dr. Zitbag would use Zombunny as part of his experiments. Zitbag would often throw him aside while saying a cursory "''Excuse'' me, Zombunny".
*Officer Deadbeat (voiced by Kerry Shale) - Officer Deadbeat is the local police officer of Transylvania and Zitbag's antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist.
Etymology
The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...
. He appears to have no neck and so his head is floating at where his would be neck should be. He has a personal grudge against Dr. Zitbag, believing that the doctor is a con-artist. If he ever arrests the doctor for good, his ultimate goal is to claim the old Haunted House as a new police station, as the one he has got is very small and he often bumps his head off.
*Professor Sherman Vermin (voiced by Kerry Shale) - Zitbag's rival. Sinistra and Bimbella sometimes call him to help them, eventually making Dr. Zitbag jealous.
List of episodes
Twelve of a total of 65 episodes were released on video.
Series One (Mondays)
# Welcome To The Transylvania Pet Shop - first aired: 20/06/1994 (the pilot episode
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
of the show)
# Grime Does Not Pay - first aired: 27/06/1994
There was no episode broadcast on 04/07/1994 due to a showing of ''Dragonslayer
A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
'' as a result of schedule changes regarding the 1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
.
# Horrybaby - first aired: 11/07/1994
# Food Glorious Pet Food - first aired: 18/07/1994
# Ants In Your Pants - first aired: 25/07/1994
# Every Dog Has Its Show - first aired: 01/08/1994
# Gorilla Thriller - first aired: 08/08/1994
# Where Mouse - first aired: 15/08/1994
# Pirate Parrots - first aired: 22/08/1994
There was no episode shown on 29/08/1994 due to it being public holiday.
# Bungle in the Jungle - first aired: 05/09/1994
# Halloween Horse Race - first aired: 12/09/1994
# Double Trouble - first aired: 19/09/1994
# Triassic Lark - first aired: 26/09/1994 - The children were demanding dinosaurs for pets, which caused Dr. Zitbag and Horrifido to construct a time machine in order to travel to prehistoric times so to capture some baby dinosaurs. After minor setbacks such as travelling to before creation and the future, they have arrived, unbeknownst that Officer Deadbeat had snuck on board and had his hijinks with a cavewoman. This is the first episode (also applies to every episode beyond) that was only broadcast and never commercially released.
Series Two (Fridays)
# Inspectre Spector - first aired: 09/06/1995
# Pyramid Pandemonium - first aired: 16/06/1995
# Computer Bugged - first aired: 23/06/1995
# Kangaroo Caught - first aired: 30/06/1995
# Orang-Utans and Lemmings - first aired: 07/07/1995
# Medieval Dread - first aired: 14/07/1995
# Easter Funny - first aired: 21/07/1995
# Happy Horridays - first aired: 28/07/1995
# Transylvania Excess - first aired: 04/08/1995
# Do You Believe in Humans? - first aired: 11/08/1995
# Loch Mess Monster - first aired: 18/08/1995
# Hooray for Horrywood - first aired: 25/08/1995
# The Show Mustn't Go On - first aired: 01/09/1995
Series Three (Tuesdays)
# Don't Hoot, I'm Only the Piano Slayer - first aired: 11/06/1996
# Pinball Wizard - first aired: 18/06/1996
# From Transylvania with Love - first aired: 25/06/1996
# Tele Nightmare - first aired: 02/07/1996
# A Close Shave - first aired: 09/07/1996
# Lost Wages - first aired: 16/07/1996
# Son of Zitbag - first aired: 23/07/1996
# Cranksgiving Chaos - first aired: 30/07/1996
# Bride of Horrifido - first aired: 06/08/1996
# Horrorgrammes Horrolympics - first aired: 13/08/1996
# Slime Suspect - first aired: 20/08/1996
# Moby Duck Billed Platypus - first aired: 27/08/1996
# I Was a Teenage Zitbag - first aired: 03/09/1996
Series Four (Thursdays)
# A True Fairy Tale - first aired: 29/05/1997
# For Better or For Curse - first aired: 05/06/1997
# Horrorlection Fever - first aired: 12/06/1997
# Time is Big Money - first aired: 19/06/1997
# Happy Mishmash - first aired: 26/06/1997
# Tele-Zitportation - first aired: 03/07/1997
# A Giant Problem - first aired: 10/07/1997
# My Zister - first aired: 17/07/1997
# The Seventh Art - first aired: 24/07/1997
# Nothing There - first aired: 31/07/1997
# Doc, What's Up - first aired: 07/08/1997
# Terror in Transylvania - first aired: 14/08/1997
# Dances the Hula - first aired: 21/08/1997
Unaired episodes
The following episodes never aired on CITV.
# End of Season
# Rose Button
# Scare Tactics
# Hydrious Monster
# Zlotys Galore
# Bluebald
# Dr. Zitbag Against Silly Holmes
# Mad Scientific Shenanigans
# The Ridiculous Journey
# Horrible Horrorscopes
# Anarchic Arctic Antics
# Word of Horror
# Forever Fiends
Transylvania Pet Shop is currently one of the most requested unreleased DVDs at TVShowsOnDVD.com.
Season 1 is currently available for download (In English) from Amazon UK.
In other languages
* it, Pazze risate per mostri e vampiri
References
External links
Retro Junk
*
* PMMP Philppe Mounier Marketing Production
PMMP (Philippe Mounier Marketing Production) is a French production company that was created in 1987 specializing in animation, and educational contents Productions
Series
* Costa (100 x 5'), TF1
* Dr. Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop (65 x 2 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop
British children's animated comedy television series
British children's animated horror television series
1994 British television series debuts
1997 British television series endings
1990s British children's television series
Carlton Television
DreamWorks Classics
Television series by Universal Television
ITV children's television shows
Nickelodeon original programming
Television series by ITV Studios
English-language television shows
1990s British animated television series