''Robinson Sucroe'' (also known as ''Robinson Sucroë'' in French) is an animated series created by

France Animation The MoonScoop Group was a French animation and production company that created and published animated television series. Its corporate headquarters were located in Paris, France, along with offices in the United Kingdom and the United States. I ...

in France and

Cinar Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. (also known as Cookie Jar Group and originally known as CINAR; renamed as DHX Cookie Jar Inc. from 2012 until 2014, or simply just Cookie Jar) was a Canadian media production and distribution company owned by DHX M ...

(now known as

WildBrain WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children' ...

) in Canada. In 2009, it was found to have infringed Claude Robinson's work ''Les aventures de Robinson Curiosité''. The series first aired on 17 January 1994 on Canal+, and ended on 21 January 1995 on

Canal Famille Vrak (stylized as VRΔK) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel primarily broadcasts live-action programming aimed at youth audiences. History Background The youth channel TVJQ () went on the air in ...

and later on YTV, with reruns until 1998. The series originally aired in French, with the English version also being produced by Cinar. In the United States, the English version aired on the

Cookie Jar Toons Cookie Jar Toons (also known as This Is for Kids) was a daily children's programming block on the This TV digital broadcast network when that network was partially owned by the former Weigel Broadcasting (7 years later, the network was acquired ...

block on

This TV This TV (also known as This TV Network and alternately stylized as thisTV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by Allen Media Broadcast Networks, LLC, part of the Allen Media Group division of Entertainment Studios. Originally fo ...

from 2008 to 2009.

Plot

Robinson Sucroe is a

janitor A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simil ...

at the famous

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

, the

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

. He is sent by the head editor Mr. Floydd to a dangerous deserted

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

to write stories for the paper every week, much to the annoyance of famous reporter Julian Uglyston. Robinson reaches an island called Crab Island, but it is not dangerous and deserted as it seems. It is actually the home to a shipwrecked group of people called the Everydays and two rival legions of

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. Robinson, with his right-hand man Mr. Wednesday, write embellished reports about the island's dangers, to keep visitors away. But Uglyston knows the truth and tries many unsuccessful attempts to prove to Mr. Floydd that Robinson is lying.

Characters

*Robinson Sucroe: The main protagonist, a young man from colonial

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

who travels to the supposedly deserted Crab Island. His name is a play on the literary character

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

and the French word "sucre", meaning "sugar", which describes Sucroe's kindness. *Mr. Floydd: The manager of The New York Herald. He's known to be stubborn, arrogant, and a hot-head, which is part of the reason he won't believe Uglyston's stories about Robinson. *Julian Uglyston: (Known as Grumbleston in the English dub) Robinson Sucroe's former coworker. Uglyston was the most successful author at The New York Herald until Robinson left for Crab Island and wrote his stories. Because of Uglyston's jealousy, he attempts to prove to Mr. Floydd that Robinson is telling lies in the stories.

The Everydays

*Wednesday: Sucroe's ever so loyal friend and partner, he is the one who truly writes the stories for The New York Herald. He's also the leader of Crab Island alongside his parents. *Dure Soiree: (Known as Morning Glory in the English dub) Wednesday's mother and the “leader” of Crab Island. She's easily upset and very hot tempered, although having a soft spot for her son. When first meeting Robinson, she had a strong affection for him, which quickly wore out. She's also tone deaf, which makes her think she can sing very well, although her singing causes

rainstorm Rain is liquid water in the form of droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then become heavy enough to fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fr ...

s. *Dimanche Midi: (Known as Saturday Night in the English dub) Wednesday's father and Dure Soiree's husband, he's the real leader of the Everydays. A complete opposite of his wife, Dimanche is very calm and patient, with an affinity for playing

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

. *Petite Vacance: (Known as Tuesday in the English dub) A preteen girl on Crab Island, she's close friends with Wednesday and Robinson. She's coy and a bit of a prankster, but is generally kind. She also likes to sing, but because she is tone deaf (like Dure Soiree), she thinks she's an amazing singer when in reality she's not. *Monday: (Known as Thursday in the English dub) Wednesday's sister and Petite Vacance's mother (the two are sisters in English). She captures the attraction of everyone, both Everyday and Pirate.

The English Pirates

*Captain Briske: (Known as Captain Percy in the English dub) The captain of English pirates, he and his crew members (except for Little Jim) speak in an overdramatic heavy English accent and are usually seen drinking

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

. He is always in a childish feud with Captain Courticuisse of the French pirates. *Little Jim: (Known as Little Jimmy in the English dub) An English child pirate, he's Petite Vacance's "boyfriend". He doesn't talk as much as the others and rarely takes charge of a situation.

The French Pirates

*Captain Courtecuisse: (Known as Captain Beaujolais in the English dub) The captain of the French pirates, he and his crew mates are brash yet spineless. He constantly fights with Captain Briske.

Reoccurring Characters

*Coco: (Known as Polly in the English dub) Uglyston's pet

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...

. She usually accompanies him during his schemes. Uglyston considers her very intelligent and treats her better than people. *Captain Boumier: (Known as Captain Boomerang in the English dub) The captain of the New York Herald's ship. He's very naive, believing everything that's told to him. *Gladys Floydd: Mr Floydd's beautiful but ditsy daughter who also works at the New York Herald. She knows about the Everydays on Crab Island and keeps it a secret. *The Spanish Pirates: A group of Spanish

conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

. Unlike the English and French pirates, they are always pillaging other ships. Both pirate groups try to get their hands on the Spanish's

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

without success.

Episode List

Voices

English Cast * A.J. Henderson: Robinson Sucroe *Gary Jewell: Wednesday * Rick Jones: Mr. Floydd, Captain Briske * Terrence Scammell: Uglyston *

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 ...

: Dure Soiree *

Arthur Holden Arthur Holden (born August 28, 1959) is a Canadian actor and writer. Known for his roles such as Mr. Ratburn in ''Arthur'', Baba-Miao in ''Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat'', Mayor Mallard in ''The Little Twins'', and Mr. Larkin in later episode ...

: Dimanche Midi *

Pauline Little Pauline Little (born c. 1958) is a Scottish-born Canadian voice, film, and television actress who currently resides in Montreal, Quebec. She voices the twins Lotus and Jasmine in ''The Little Flying Bears'', Maya in ''Maya the Bee'', Francine i ...

: Petite Vacance *

Bronwen Mantel Bronwen Mantel (born 29 October 1948) is a Canadian actress. Mantel has appeared in numerous movies and has done extensive voice acting in animated films and television series. Early life and career Mantel was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ...

: Monday *

Susan Glover Susan Irene Glover (born January 14, 1957) is a Canadian actress, best known for playing Sarah in ''Naked Josh''. She is also known for voicing Mrs. Wood in ''Arthur (TV series), Arthur'', Izabella Dehavalot in ''Amazon Jack'', Mrs. Schuman in '' ...

: Little Jim *

Richard 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 ...

: Captain Courticuisse, Additional Voices French Cast *Franck de Lapersonne: Robinson Sucroe *

Gérard Rinaldi Gérard Rinaldi (February 17, 1943 – March 2, 2012) was a French actor, musician, lyricist, artistic director and singer with Les Charlots. Career Death Rinaldi died of lymphoma on March 2, 2012. He was 69. A few days later, holding back ...

: Wednesday *Michel Modo: Mr. Floydd *Gérard Suruge: Uglyston *Jane Val: Dure Soiree, Monday *Jean-Claude Montalban: Dimanche Midi, Captain Briske, Little Jim *Annabelle Roux: Petite Vacance *Jean-François Kopf: Captain Courticuisse

Copyright infringement

In 2009, Quebec Superior Court Justice Claude Auclair, in a 240-page decision, awarded Claude Robinson $5.2 million in damages. In the 1990s,

, later renamed Cookie Jar Entertainment, copied the work Robinson had previously unsuccessfully presented to them in the 1980s. The company appealed the decision. As of December 23, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada, in a unanimous decision, affirmed the judgment in favor of Robinson. In the final judgement, Cinar Corp. will have to reimburse part of the fees incurred by Robinson and this also includes 4 million Canadian dollars in damages. This judgement ended an 18-year battle between Claude Robinson and the Cinar Corp.Joël-Denis Bellavance (December 13, 2013). La Cour suprême donne raison à Claude Robinson. La Presse (http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justice-et-affaires-criminelles/actualites-judiciaires/201312/23/01-4723507-la-cour-supreme-donne-raison-a-claude-robinson.php)

References

External links

* {{Robinson Crusoe 1990s French animated television series 1995 French television series debuts 1995 French television series endings 1990s Canadian animated television series 1995 Canadian television series debuts 1995 Canadian television series endings Television series by Cookie Jar Entertainment French children's animated comedy television series Canadian children's animated comedy television series BBC children's television shows Television shows involved in plagiarism controversies