''Bibifoc'' (''Seabert'') is a 1985 French

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 ...

. It was created by BZZ Films in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and originally aired in French on

Antenne 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 Ap ...

, before being translated into different languages around the world. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the show aired on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

starting in 1987. There were 26 episodes. The authors are: Marc Tortarolo for the theme, Philippe Marin for the design, and Jacques Morel with Éric Turlot for the stories.

Development

The production for the series was handled by Mill Valley Animation on a contract from SEPP International S.A., the noted

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

's production house which also featured animation series and properties including ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

'', ''

Snorks ''Snorks'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and ran for a total of four seasons (consisting of 65 episodes) on NBC from September 15, 1984, to May 13, 1989. The program continued to be available in syndication from 1987 ...

'' and ''

Foofur ''Foofur'' is an American traditionally animated children's television series from '' Kissyfur'' creator Phil Mendez that was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions with SEPP International S.A. Airing on NBC from 1986 to 1988, the show was about ...

''. Jerry Smith, owner of Mill Valley Animation, was also responsible for many of the below the line fulfillment needs of many

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

Ruby-Spears Ruby-Spears Productions (also known as Ruby-Spears Enterprises) was a Burbank, California–based American entertainment production company that specialized in animation with another branch in Rome, Italy. This company was founded in 1977 by vete ...

, and some DIC animation series. Director for ''Seabert'' was Dirk Braat of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and series Casting Director was Ron Knight, principal of Knight Mediacom (formerly Image One Productions, San Francisco). See Knight Mediacom International.

Plot

''Seabert'' is about a boy named Tommy, an

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

girl named Aura, and their "pet"

whitecoat A whitecoat is a newborn harp or grey seal with soft, white fur. From newborn to whitecoat Newborn seals have yellow fur because of amniotic fluid, and are still wet. When the pup dries, it is called a yellowcoat. The amniotic stain fades and t ...

seal Seabert. After Seabert's parents are killed by

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

s, the three band together. They go on adventures in which they encounter more hunters and

poacher Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

s (including Tommy's Uncle Smokey, his bumbling henchmen Carbonne and Sulfuric, and a villain named Graphite) and save various animals from harm.

Episode list

Music

* Theme of the Smokey's Gang - Ol' Soft Shoe by Network Music Ensemble * Smokey's Gang Hijinks - That's All Folks! by Network Music Ensemble

References

External links