''Clémentine'' (pronounced ) is a 1985 French

animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

(in co-production with Japan). The series consists of 39 episodes which feature the fantastic adventures of a 10-year-old girl (Clémentine Dumat) who uses a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

. The show was produced by "IDDH", a company that originally started out producing French-dubbed versions of Japanese anime. It originally aired on Antenne 2 (now

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

). The series was released on VHS in 1990 and on DVD in 2006.

Overview

Clémentine is the daughter of a famous French pilot and war hero Alex Dumat, who raised her alone with her brother Petit Boy. After she loses the use of her legs in an airplane accident, she travels the world with her family to find a cure that will allow her to walk again. Meanwhile, in her nightly dreams, she can walk and her cat Hélice (French for "propeller") can talk and fly with the help of a helicopter-like apparatus on its head. Clementine leads a battle against the demon Malmoth, with the guidance of her guardian angel Héméra, travelling in a magical blue sphere. Occasionally, in these travels through fantasy and time, she meets famous fictional characters such as

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

and

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

. She also frequently meets historic characters, especially aviation pioneers such as

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

, and

Kateri Tekakwitha Kateri Tekakwitha ( in Mohawk), given the name Tekakwitha, baptized as Catherine ("Kateri" in Mohawk), and informally known as Lily of the Mohawks (1656 – April 17, 1680), is a Mohawk/ Algonquin Catholic saint and virgin. Born in the Mohawk v ...

. The series creator, Bruno-René Huchez, based the main plot on his own personal childhood memories. When he was young, he fell very sick and was confined to a bed, and his mother used to tell him all sort of fairy tales to cheer him up. Those events, decades later, would become the basis of the show's main plot.

Popularity

The series is considered as a

cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...

in Europe (especially in Turkey, where it seems to be much more popular than it is in its home country France). Between 1990 and 1995, it was translated to Arabic in Lebanon, as well as English, Chinese, Turkish and Latin-American Spanish. It is also a classic worldwide, as it is quite well known in China and Latin America. The series also has its fans in the Czech Republic, where it was broadcast in 1995 on the television station Premiéra TV. ''Clementine'' is barely remembered in the U.S., where the series was never broadcast as it is, but was converted into 2 compilation films by

Celebrity Home Entertainment Celebrity Home Entertainment (also known as simply Celebrity Video), founded by Noel C. Bloom in 1987, was a home video distributor specializing in mostly obscure material from around the world, as well as B-grade action films and softcore adul ...

(under their "Just For Kids" imprint), entitled (without the accent mark): * "Clementine's Enchanted Journey" * "Clementine: A Young Girl and Her Dreams" The majority of the characters' names were changed in the English dub.

Controversy

While being very popular among devoted fans, some question whether the featured tragic flow of events and the scary look of the main villain Malmoth, a demon made of flames, were appropriate for young children. Also, although Malmoth's envoys look like regular humans during their missions on Earth, often trying to kill Clementine, they are cursed men that regularly inhabit a hellish realm where they return after being killed in action. Their true form combines their human heads and faces with the bodies of creatures conventionally regarded as repulsive such as worms, insects and scorpions. In the U.S. compilation films, some scenes were deleted. In her adventure in Egypt, Clementine ends up marrying

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

and later has to kill herself in order to travel to the land of the dead. She drinks some poison and is judged by

Anubis Anubis (; ), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian (), is the god of funerary rites, protector of graves, and guide to the underworld in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine hea ...

but goes on without further trouble as she is pure of heart. At the end of the Egyptian saga back at her present time, her father's mechanic friend comes around, saying that

Tutankhamun's tomb The tomb of Tutankhamun (reigned ), a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, is located in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb, also known by its tomb number KV62, consists of four chambers and an entrance staircase and corridor. It ...

has been found. Clementine mentions jokingly that someone has finally found her husband's tomb. Everyone laughs upon hearing this when it turns out to be actually true. The date is wrong, however, as Tutankhamun's tomb was found in 1922, not 1925.

Episode list (in French)

Season 1

*01. Le sinistre Mollache *02. La fuite en ballon *03. L'accident *04. La vengeance de Malmoth *05. L'opération du diable *06. Clémentine en Italie: La fête à Venise *07. Clémentine en Italie: La fosse aux murènes *08. Clémentine en Allemagne: La maison de gâteau *09. Clémentine en Allemagne: Le secret du miroir *10. Clémentine en Angleterre: Le bébé sauvé des eaux *11. Clémentine en Angleterre: La chasse à l'homme *12. Clémentine en Suède: À la recherche de Nils Holgersson *13. Clémentine en Suède: Les veuves rouges *14. Clémentine en Afrique: Le petit roi de la jungle ou Mohann, l'enfant de la jungle *15. Clémentine en Afrique: L'herbe de vie *16. Clémentine au pays des Mille et une Nuits: Pour les beaux yeux d'une princesse *17. Clémentine au pays des Mille et une Nuits: Clémentine, général de l'armée des sables *18. Clémentine au Canada: La cabane des Batifole *19. Clémentine au Canada: Les Gorges des Mille-Échos *20. Clémentine en Espagne: L'or et la peste *21. Clémentine en Espagne: L'armada des Toros *22. Clémentine en Égypte: La cité de l'Horizon *23. Clémentine en Égypte: Le voyage au pays des morts *24. Clémentine au Japon: La voie du Sabre *25. Clémentine au Japon: La peur vaincue ou La guérison de Clémentine

Season 2

*26. La guerre des Grouillants *27. La drôle de guerre *28. La mort au bout du monde *29. La ligne *30. Le courrier des Amériques *31. Ginette as de pique *32. Les aviontures du père Tompier *33. La fiancée de Malmoth *34. Le dragon dans les nuages *35. Le fou des steppes *36. Le chant d'amour *37. Clémentine superstar *38. Malmorea *39. Le dernier voyage

Crew

Directed by: René Borg and Jean Cubaud.
Story by: Bruno-René Huchez.
Written by: Olivier Massart and Gilles Taurand.

Live action film

In 2006, Turkish screenwriter and producer/director Stare Yıldırım optioned the story rights for a live action film adaption of Clementine. So far names like

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

and

Gary Oldman Sir Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Gary Oldman, various accolades, including an Academ ...

have been mentioned to be part of the film, but there has not been any official word from them. The screenplay was to be written in English and was planned to target a worldwide audience. Turkish company called Medyavision was reported to finance the film with a targeted budget of $80-$100 million (U.S. dollars). No further updates were provided about the project and its status is unknown.

References

External links

*
Information page in Turkish

Fan Club French

Original Clementine Site in French

Shefilms, the official site for the Clementine film

Variety on the Clementine film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clementine 1985 French television series debuts 1985 animated television series debuts 1985 controversies 1980s French animated television series French children's animated fantasy television series Animated television series about children Fictional aviators Fictional French people Télé-Québec original programming Television series set in the 1920s Period television series Cultural depictions of Charles Lindbergh Television series about demons Cultural depictions of Tutankhamun