''The Wild Puffalumps'' is a 22-minute

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

animated cartoon, based on the Puffalump toy line of the same name. It was produced by Nelvana, and released on videocassette in the United States by

Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was founde ...

in 1988 and in Canada by Cineplex Odeon and MCA. This cartoon was intended to act as an advertisement for the “Wild Puffalumps” toy line, which consisted of vividly-colored Puffalumps wearing

Aloha shirt The aloha shirt (), also referred to as a Hawaiian shirt, is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. They are collared and buttoned dress shirts, usually short-sleeved and made from printed fabric. They are traditionally worn untucked, but ...

s and sunglasses whose lenses displayed the word “WILD” when seen at the proper angle. The glasses were large enough that the children who owned the toys could wear them, a fact which was pointed out in the television commercial for the toys. In the cartoon, the characters all live on an island separate from the rest of the world, much like many other 1980s toy-based cartoon characters (

Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televis ...

, My Little Pony, etc.). The two children who visit this place soon find themselves going on a journey, parts of which are like amusement park rides, and the word “wild” is repeatedly emphasized throughout the cartoon. All of this is intended to make the characters fit in with the current cartoon culture, as well as give the impression that the toys on which they're based are fun and exciting. The VHS

videocassette Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasset ...

has been currently out of print since the end of the 1980s, and the cartoon was never released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

. The Wild Puffalumps toys were sold in 1987 and discontinued the same year. In 2016, the cartoon was uploaded on

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Voice cast

As listed in closing credits: * Tara Charandoff as Holly * Marlow Vella as Kevin * Jennifer Gula as Elephant * Mairon Bennett as Toucan *

Noam Zylberman Noam Zylberman (born June 30, 1973) is an Israeli-born Canadian voice actor. Early life Zylberman was born in Haifa, Israel to Jewish parents. His family relocated to Canada when he was two years old. He attended Arlington Middle School and ...

as Tiger * Victor Erdos as Walrus *

Adam Simpson Adam Simpson (born 16 February 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who is the current premiership coach of the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). A left-footed midfielder, his playing career for spanned fro ...

as Rhino * Lisa Coristine as Monkey * Tara Meyer as Panda

References

External links

* * 1988 films 1988 animated films 1988 direct-to-video films 1980s animated short films Films based on toys 1980s toys Direct-to-video animated films Canadian animated short films Nelvana films Canadian direct-to-video films 1980s children's animated films 1980s Canadian films {{short-animation-film-stub