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''Dinky-Di's'', also known as ''The Dinky-Di's: Friends on Freedom's Frontier'', is an Australian animated television series that aired on the Nine Network Australia from 6 December 1997 to 29 May 1998. It was created by Melvyn Edward Bradford, produced by Roo Films Brisbane and animated by Pacific Rim Animation. The show taught children about the dangers of having carelessness for the planet and also for animals and plants that live on the earth. A common phrase from the theme song used by fans and the creator of the show was "We show no fear, we show no pain!"


Premise

''The Dinky Di's: Friends on Freedom's Frontier'' follows a group of
anthropomorphic animals Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
who go around the world saving rare and endangered animals and plants, while educating the audience on the importance of environmental preservation. Led by Aussie Roo (a
Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...
) and Cass Koala (a
Koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the w ...
), this group consists of animals from all over the world who have many different specialties that serve to the Dinky-Di team, and are well organized with a command centre,
computer network A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...
, and high-tech
amphibious vehicles An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian), is a vehicle that is a means of transport viable on land as well as on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious bicycles, ATVs, cars, buses, trucks, railway vehicles, combat vehicles a ...
. The group of rescuers fight against Mephisto, a shadowy eco-terrorist with glowing red eyes who uses a gang of maligned beasts to do his dirty work: Rancid Rodent (a Rat), Hugo Hyena (a Hyena), Ganny Goanna (an
Iguana ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his ...
), Serpent Sam (a Dragon), and others. Mephisto's true identity, however, is a true mystery to the Dinky-Di's, and one which, when solved, will be a major step towards slowing damage to the planet.


Voice cast

*
Gennie Nevinson Gennie Nevinson is an Australian actress. She is notable for her appearances in ''Muriel's Wedding''. She also appeared as Eva, part of a kidnapping gang in the hard-hitting British police drama '' The Professionals''; episode ''The Acorn Syndrome ...
as Cass Koala, Equulus Emu, Cauda Kiwi, Orikawa Bear's Son, Beatrice, Pleiades Panda and additional voices * Ric Melbourne as Aussie Roo, Chopa Crocodile and additional voices * Lee Perry as Ernest Eagle, Goat, Sidney Seal, Whales, Iceburglar #2, Narrator and additional voices * Grahame Matters as Bill's Secretary and additional voices * Tony Bellette as Plato Pus, Zennie, Mephisto, Rancid Rodent, Hugo Hyena, Ganny Goanna, Serpent Sam, Lazur Lion, Orikawa Bear, Bill Buffalo, Lazur's Boss, Mephisto's Henchman, Baron of Babel, Iceburglar #1, Doctor Hope and additional voices


Episodes

Out of the 26-episode series, only one full episode in English has survived, "Baron of Babel", while the other only full episodes that are known, the first episode "Lost, One Dinky-Di", the second episode "The Compututor", the seventeenth episode "Tapir Caper" and the twenty-fifth episode "Mirage Master", are in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish and Russian, respectively. However, half of the first episode and about seven minutes of "The Bilby Tale" episode also exist in English. At some point on the Kooltube1 website (the website that Mel Bradford had), the episodes "The Bilby Tale", "Straits of Sorrow", "The Howling Crystal" and "Mirage Master" were available to watch. Though the Kooltube1 website is no longer around, there are a few archives still without any new content except images and copyright information. The following episode list has mostly been translated from Polish, however, so it is known that these following episodes are the names for the English version of the show. * "Lost, One Dinky-Di" * "The Compututor" * "The Bilby Tale" * "Good Wood" * "Baron of Babel" * "Tapir Caper" * "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" * "Straits of Sorrow" * "The Howling Crystal" * "Mirage Master" * "Small Hippo, Big Bust" There is uncertainty of where the episodes "Straits of Sorrow" and "The Howling Crystal" go on the list of episodes.


Other names for the show

When it aired in Poland, the series' title was ''Grupa specjalna Eko''. In Italy, the show was known as ''Parola d'ordine: arriviamo!'' The show is also known to have aired in the Arab world, Brazil, Korea, Portugal and Russia.


Production

The series was created by Melvyn Edward Bradford, produced by Roo Films Brisbane from December 1989 to 1993, and distributed by Motion Picture Management Studios Australia. Originally scheduled to be completed by 1992, it experienced a series of lawsuits and legal battles during production and was delayed, before eventually airing in Italy in 1995, and Australia in 1997. The series was animated by Pacific Rim Animation. The theme song, "Friends On Freedom's Frontier", and the episodes' songs, such as "Cross The Line (Start, Don't Stop)" and "Don't Look Back", were composed and produced by Matthew Sloggett, with lyrics by Bradford and Bob LaCastra, while the soundtrack was composed by Garry McDonald and Laurie Stone and mixed at Grevillea Studios. The voices were recorded at Sunshine Studios, provided by
Gennie Nevinson Gennie Nevinson is an Australian actress. She is notable for her appearances in ''Muriel's Wedding''. She also appeared as Eva, part of a kidnapping gang in the hard-hitting British police drama '' The Professionals''; episode ''The Acorn Syndrome ...
, Ric Melbourne, Lee Perry, Grahame Matters, and Tony Bellette. A 93-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 ...
compilation film titled ''Mephisto's Web'' was commissioned in the first half of 1993 and completed in February-March 1994, but was never released, with the accounting firm, Krampel Newman & Partners Pty Ltd, cheating Bradford out of his money.


Revival attempts

In the late 2000s, four revivals of the series were attempted; a series of
Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
-animated shorts named ''The Dinky-Di's 2'', a
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
, a
stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
pilot and an animated sequel. ''The Dinky-Di's 2'' was a continuation of the original series, where the Dinky-Di's were to face a new villain, Maraudo, and his holographic alien henchmen. The series would have also had a robot named DDRobo, who would do some very amazing things in the Dinky-Dis' High-Tech Control Room. Bradford was planning on giving the series a
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 ...
release, but died of a
cerebral aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circula ...
at his computer desk in the town of
Coolangatta Coolangatta is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is the Gold Coast's southernmost suburb and it borders New South Wales. In the , Coolangatta had a population of 5,948 people. Geography Coolangatta and its ...
near the border of
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
and
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
on 4 November 2010. His service took place in
Parkwood, Queensland Parkwood is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Parkwood had a population of 8,702 people. Geography Parkwood is about by road north-west of Southport. The suburb is bounded by Napper Road to the north, Olsen Av ...
on 23 November 2010.


Credits list

* Associate Producer - Mike Heffernan * Production Manager - Rhonda Fortescue * Production Supervisor (China) - Mark Lovick * Production Co-Ordinator - Kerry Mulgrew * Production Accountants - Debra Cole and Lyn Paeiz * Production Secretary - Patricia Mcinally * Production Receptionist - Tammy Sovenyhazi * Script Editor - Mel Bradford * Animation - Pacific Rim Studios * Studio Representative - Richard Hindley * Character Designers - Kelvin Hawley, Brian Doyle, Andrew Trimmer, Glenn Ford, Fräntz Kantor, Ray Van Steenwyk, Sue Schmidt, Paul Fitzgerald, and Ted Blackall * Backgrounds - Dean Taylor - Mr. Big, Peter Sheehan, Kelvin Hawley, Paul Fitzgerald, Andrew Trimmer, Glenn Ford, Ray Van Steenwyk, Sue Schmidt, Fräntz Kantor, Ted Blackall * Props - Kelvin Hawley, Glenn Ford, Paul Fitzgerald, Andrew Trimmer, Sue Schmidt, Fräntz Kantor, Brian Doyle, Ray Van Steenwyk, and Ted Blackall * Story Boarders - Bob Smith, Kelvin Hawley, Bill Moselen, Ray Van Steenwyk, Glenn Ford, Fräntz Kantor, Steve Lumley * Script Clerk - Fiona Matters * Voice Recordings - Sunshine Studios * Character Voices -
Gennie Nevinson Gennie Nevinson is an Australian actress. She is notable for her appearances in ''Muriel's Wedding''. She also appeared as Eva, part of a kidnapping gang in the hard-hitting British police drama '' The Professionals''; episode ''The Acorn Syndrome ...
, Ric Melbourne, Lee Perry, Grahame Matters, Tony Bellette * Mag Tracks - Hoyts Jumbuck * Theme Song/Cross The Line (Start, Don't Stop)/Don't Run With The Pack/Love Comes To The Rescue/Don't Look Back/Don't Call Me A Hero/What About The Animals/Reach Out - Lyrics: Mel Bradford and Bob Lacastra, Composer: Matthew Sloggett * Score - Garry McDonald, Laurie Stone * Post Supervisor - Rod Herbert * Film Editor - Bob Bladsall Thi
link
has the list of credits on the episode at the end.


References

{{reflist Nine Network original programming 1990s Australian animated television series Australian children's animated television series Environmental television Lost television shows