''John the Fearless'' ( nl, Jan zonder vrees) is a 1984 animated Belgian film. It is notable for being the first feature-length animated film produced in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

in its entirety. It is based on a novel by Constant de Kinder and features voice work by Belgian character actor

Jan Decleir Jan Decleir (born as ''Jan Amanda Gustaaf Decleir'' on 14 February 1946) is a prolific Belgian movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp. Career He had his first big role in Fons Rademakers's ''Mira'' (1971). Since then, he has appeared in ...

. An English dubbed version of the film was produced by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

animation studio Cinar Films and was released on video in 1989 by Just For Kids Video.

Plot

The story begins in

Antwerp, Belgium Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, in the year 1410 when John resigns his job as a sailor and goes back home to his grandmother. After seeing all of the burglars in town, he takes it upon himself to rid the town of all evildoers. After he has become the word around town, he lets everyone in the town know that he has no fear. His cousin, in jealousy of John's newfound fame decides to disprove this statement, by showing up at the local graveyard dressed as a ghost. John, annoyed with the ghost's presence, accidentally kills his cousin. Realizing his mistake, he reports it, only to be arrested and sentenced to prison. However, he easily escapes the prison guards and goes about his ways. He ends up soon after in the countryside, to find a servant being beaten by his master. After showing the boss the error of his ways, the boss recognizes his goodheartedness and sends him on a quest to destroy a shape shifting evil water demon called Kludde, with the servant as his sidekick. John, true to his claim of having "no fear" begins his quest with good spirits. After accomplishing numerous brave deeds, he is knighted by the historical John the Fearless.

English Cast

Michael Rudder Michael Rudder (born June 14, 1950) is a Canadian film, television, theatre and voice actor. Rudder was injured in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. Acting work Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Rudder was a Genie Award nominee in 1989 for Best ...

as John * Rob Roy as Dokus * Linda O'Dwyer *

Dean Hagopian Dean Hagopian is a Canadian actor, former radio personality and musician, voice actor and record producer. Starting in the 1960s, Hagopian worked at numerous radio stations including CKOY in Ottawa, CFOX, where he worked the morning shift in 196 ...

* Terrence Labrosse * Kelly Ricard * Mark Berman * Walter Massey * Bronwen Mantel *

Arthur Grosser Arthur Grosser is a Canadian actor who was a professor of physical chemistry at McGill University, Montreal. He has done a lot of voice acting work in several animated series as well as in video games such as ''Splinter Cell'' and ''Assassin's Cree ...

Kathleen Fee Kathleen Fee (born in Montreal, Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name i ...

* Dave Patrick * A. J. Henderson * Steve Michaels * Ian Finlay * Jane Woods * Liz MacRae * Harry Hill *

Richard M. Dumont Richard M. Dumont (born 1959 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian voice actor, writer and director who has worked in both Canada and the United States. Dumont is known for playing Sardo, who owned a magic shop called Sardo's Magic Mansion, in ma ...

* Gayle Garfinkle

External links

*
John the Fearless @ Yahoo Movie

Belgian animated films Belgian children's fantasy films Belgian historical films 1984 films 1984 animated films 1980s children's fantasy films Films based on folklore Animated films based on novels Films set in the Middle Ages Films set in the 1410s Films set in Antwerp 1984 fantasy films Films based on Belgian novels DHX Media films 1980s Dutch-language films Dutch-language Belgian films {{Belgium-film-stub