is an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

based on the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

cartoon comic strip ''

Cubitus ''Cubitus'' is a Franco-Belgian comics series, and the basis for the ''Wowser'' cartoon series appearing in the United States. ''Cubitus'' was created by the Belgian cartoonist Dupa, and features Cubitus, a large anthropomorphic dog, who lives ...

''. It is the first TV anime to be produced by anime studio J.C. Staff. It consisted of 52 two-part episodes the running time of 20 minutes in total, and it originally aired from 5 April 1988 to 27 March 1989. The show aired in the USA on The Family Channel in 1989.

Plot

Belgique - Brabant wallon - Limal - Cubitus - 01

Wowser is a large white dog who has a big appetite and lives with his owner Professor Dinghy, a genius inventor. They live next door to Beatrice, an old lady with an apron; Linda Lovely and her brother Bob; and Ratso Catso, a black-and-white cat who often ruins Wowser's day or sabotages Professor Dinghy's inventions.

Characters

* Wowser is the main character. A large, white dog, he has a good-natured personality but a humongous appetite who often tries to have a good day, only to get annoyed by Ratso or Beatrice. He often tests out Dinghy's inventions. Japanese voice actor:

Naoki Tatsuta is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. He is most known for the roles of Buta Gorilla (Kiteretsu Daihyakka), Daima Jin (High School! Kimengumi), Oolong (Dragon Ball), Dr. Escargon ( Kirby: Right Back at Ya!), Ashibe's Fathe ...

. English voice actor:

Jeff Winkless Jeffrey Alan Winkless (June 2, 1941 – June 26, 2006) was an American actor. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts (U.S.). Two of his younger brothers, Terence H. Winkless and Daniel Owen Winkless, worked with him on ''The Banana Splits Ad ...

. * Professor Dinghy is Wowser's owner who has a big white moustache and wears a pink sweater. He is a genius inventor, although his eccentric creations usually backfire on him due to people using the wrong way or Ratso interfering with them. He mostly likes to use Wowser to check his inventions. Japanese voice actor:

Kaneta Kimotsuki was a Japanese actor and voice actor who was most known for the roles of Takeshi Goda before Suneo Honekawa in Fujiko F. Fujio's Doraemon. Career During his life he had been attached to TBS broadcast theater company and then Aoni Production ...

. English voice actor:

Simon Prescott Simon Prescott is an American voice actor who is best known for his work in the anime and film industries. Notable roles include Dr. Laughton in ''Metropolis'' and Aritomo Yamagata in ''Rurouni Kenshin''. Filmography Anime *'' Akira'' – Dr. ...

. * Ratso Catso is an annoying black-and-white neighbourhood cat who appears to be Wowser's rival or his friend for some reason, and often pretends to be nice and sabotages the Professor's inventions. Japanese voice actress:

Rika Matsumoto is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer who was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her name is also sometimes romanized as Rica Matsumoto. She was one of the founders of the anison band JAM Project. After early stage work, she began both voice a ...

. English voice actor:

Robert Axelrod Robert Marshall Axelrod (born May 27, 1943) is an American political scientist. He is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Michigan where he has been since 1974. He is best known for his interdisciplinary work o ...

. * Linda Lovely (Cherry (チェリー ''Cherī'') is a teenager who seems to take quite a fancy interest towards Wowser. Wowser and Dinghy also seem to have a crush on her. Japanese voice actress: Mīna Tominaga. English voice actress: Wendee Swan. * Bob Lovely is Linda's young little brother. Japanese voice actress:

Tarako , known under the professional name , is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer.Doi, Hitoshi.Tarako. ''Seiyuu Database''. July 5, 2010. Her debut role was as a preschooler on ''Urusei Yatsura''. She is currently employed by the talent mana ...

. English voice actress:

Barbara Goodson Barbara Goodson is an American voice actress who has done voice-over work in cartoons and shows. Her best-known role was providing the English dub voice of the main villain Empress Rita Repulsa in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, starting with ' ...

. * Beatrice is a rather plump, tall, bossy, middle-aged woman who is often very rude to Wowser. She also seems to have a secret crush on Dinghy. Japanese voice actress:

Kazuko Sugiyama , known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress and voice actress who was born in Nagoya and works for Aoni Production. In February 2010, she received a "Merit Award" from the 4th Seiyu Awards. Filmography Anime *Hanako Mori in ''Inakappe Ta ...

. English voice actress: Wendee Swan. * Officer Whistle is a policeman who keeps a whistle in his mouth which is used to tell people off when there is trouble about. Japanese voice actor:

Kōichi Yamadera is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with th ...

. English voice actor: Mike Reynolds.

Foreign versions

The English-language version was produced by

Saban Entertainment Saban Entertainment, Inc. (along with Saban International; currently operating under the legal name is BVS Entertainment, Inc.) was a worldwide-served independent American-Israeli television production company formed in 1980 by Haim Saban and S ...

. Retitled ''Wowser'', the series aired in 1989 on The Family Channel. The English dub changed the names of the characters and replaced the original music. Some scenes were removed or edited due to their violent or sexual manner: one scene in "The Hip Hippos" was removed, where Professor Dinghy beats Wowser on the head; another in "Slap Happy Birthday" was removed, where a chicken attacks Beatrice, causing her to crash and rip and ruin her dress; in "Self-Cleaning Machine", when Dinghy's vacuum backfires, Linda's clothes fly out the window and land in parts of town. A bra lands on a male statue's chest and he covers himself - this entire scene was censored. In the United Kingdom, ''Wowser'' aired 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 ...

and later on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

in the early and mid-1990s. Two videos of the series were released in two volumes by Stylus Video. In the USA, in 1990 and 1991, ''Wowser'' was released on video in four volumes in episodes with running times of 30 minutes and 60 minutes. In Canada, it aired on YTV between 1990 and 1993.

Songs

Japanese version

Opening song: "Fly away - Yume no Hikouki" Sung by

Mitsuko Horie is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer. She was born in Yamato, Kanagawa. She has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Sailor Galaxia in '' Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars'' and Remi in the Nippon Animation World Masterp ...

Lyrics by Arisu Satou Composed by

Takanori Arisawa was a Japanese composer and arranger best known for composing the '' Sailor Moon'' anime series and '' Digimon'' series (Seasons 1-4). He wrote music for the series, including its video games. Born in Tokyo, Arisawa began to learn piano at the ...

Arranged by Seichi Kyouda Ending song: "GO! GO! My Friend" Sung by

Lyrics by Arisu Satou Composed by

Arranged by Seichi Kyouda Theme Song Production by

Nippon Columbia , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...

References

External links

* * {{Hiroshi Sasagawa 1988 anime television series debuts Japanese children's animated comedy television series Children's television characters Comedy anime and manga Animated television series about cats Animated television series about dogs Television series based on Belgian comics Anime based on comics ITV children's television shows TV Tokyo original programming Television series by Saban Entertainment ja:どんどんドメルとロン