The World of David the Gnome

David, el Gnomo (alias The World Of David The Gnome & "David, the Gnome")

Title screen of original David el Gnomo opening
Also known as The World of David the Gnome
David, the Gnome
Genre animation, children's
Created by Claudio Biern Boyd, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein
Directed by Luis Ballester
Starring Tom Bosley as David the Gnome
Voices of Matilde Conesa
José María Cordero
Ángel Egido
Paco Hernández
Jane Woods
Vlasta Vrána
Richard Dumont
Barbara Pogemiller
A.J. Henderson
Adrain Knight
Rob Roy
Marc Denis
Narrated by Teófilo Martínez (Spanish version)
Christopher Plummer (English version)
Country of origin Spain
Original language(s) Spanish
Production
Executive producer(s) Claudio Biern Boyd
Producer(s) Micheline Charest
Ronald A. Weinberg
Running time 24 minutes
Distributor CINAR (1985–2004)
Cookie Jar Group (2004–2012)
DHX Media (2012–present)
Miramax Films
Disney–ABC Television Group
BRB Internacional
Bob/Harvey Weinstein (1985–1987)
The Weinstein Company (2005–present)
Release
Original network TVE
Original release 4 March (1985-03-04) – 23 September 1985 (1985-09-23)
Chronology
Followed by Wisdom of the Gnomes
The Great Adventure of the Gnomes
The Gnomes in the Snow
The Fantastic Adventures of the Gnomes
The New World of the Gnomes

The World of David the Gnome, originally titled David, el Gnomo (also known as David, the Gnome), is a Spanish animated television series based on the children's book The Secret Book of Gnomes, by the Dutch author Wil Huygen and illustrator Rien Poortvliet.[1] The program was originally created in Spain by BRB Internacional (who were also responsible for the Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds franchise and other cartoons such as Bobobobs and Around the World with Willy Fog) titled David el Gnomo, and retains a sense of the lush illustrations of the original books. Twenty-six episodes were produced. There was also a spin-off series entitled Wisdom of the Gnomes.

The English language dub The World of David the Gnome was produced by Canadian studio CINAR (now Cookie Jar Entertainment, and now part of DHX Media), in association with Miramax Films. Christopher Plummer narrated, with the voice of David the Gnome being provided by Tom Bosley.

David the Gnome came to US television in 1987, airing Sundays on the Nickelodeon cable channel,[2] and was part of the fledgling Nick Jr. lineup when that was created shortly thereafter until 1996. It also aired on TLC on its Ready Set Learn block from 7 October 1996 until 27 March 1998. It also aired on Discovery Kids on its Ready Set Learn block from 30 September 1998 until 9 October 2010. The series is still frequently airing weekday mornings on Irish channel RTÉ Two as of 2006. In Australia, it has aired on ABC, as well as the Australian branch of Nickelodeon, again as part of the Nick Jr. lineup. and on Channel 5's Milkshake! in the UK.

Synopsis

The series presents the gnomes as a kind species, of 15 centimeters (6 inches) of height, and between 250 and 300 grams (8 and 10 ounces) of weight depending on gnome body mass. According to their habitat, different types of gnomes are distinguished: the ones of the forest, the ones of the garden, the ones of the farm, the ones of the house, the ones of the dunes, those of Siberia, and nomadic "gypsy" gnomes (commonly looked down upon by other gnomes). A gnome's lifespan is usually 400 years, though there is one example of a couple in the Balkans living 550 years.

Gnomes such as the main characters live in pairs in comfortable caves or holes under trees (in their case in the company of a pair of mice and a cricket). Their diet is mostly vegetarian. They are helped by the animals of the forest when traveling long distances or when they need to arrive quickly at a specific location. Gnomes work in various ways to repair the damage inevitably caused by humans. They also have the power of telepathy and mind control.

Their main enemies are the trolls, malevolent and clumsy creatures who always make trouble for the other inhabitants of the forest, as well as gnome poachers.

Characters

Episodes

David the Gnome ran for twenty-six episodes, each approximately 24 minutes in length.

Sequels

After the success of the initial series, the same producers created a spin-off called Wisdom of the Gnomes (1987). In this series, the protagonist is a gnome called Klaus, a judge who travels with his assistant Dani to solve disputes.

Other sequels, both in serial and movie form, were The Gnomes' Great Adventure (1987), The Great Adventure of the Gnomes (1995), The Gnomes in the Snow (1999) and The Fantastic Adventures of the Gnomes (2000).

The series was also preceded by the popular television movie, Gnomes in 1980, which was based on the same series of books as The World of David the Gnome.

In 1997 there was a series called The New World of the Gnomes which was a retelling of the original series as David and his nephew Sprout now travel the world to save animals and preserve nature as it is endangered by problems of modern day pollution and environmental dangers. Lisa, David's wife from the original series, does appear in the show. Other than the humans who cause either unintentional or intentional destruction to nature and harm to animals, the show's other antagonists are three trolls who run into David and the gnomes now and then, their names are Stinky, Brute, and Drool. The show was also made in collaboration with the WWF (World Wildlife Foundation).

Merchandise

In the 1980s, Family Home Entertainment released four VHS tapes of the series in the U.S. each containing 2 episodes. In the U.K. on 14 May 1990, Video Collection International Ltd released one VHS tape of The World of David the Gnome (Cat. No. VC1178) with the first two episodes that are Good Medicine and Witch Way Out. A complete series DVD set was released in the U.K. in 2006 by Revelation Films. The complete series was also released on DVD in 2011 in Spain and Italy. Most episodes are available on DVD in Germany and the Netherlands. The Italian and Spanish versions can currently be found on the respective country's Amazon website. The complete series was released on DVD in the U.S. in 2012 by Oasis DVDs.

Reboot

In 2015, The Weinstein Company announced a reboot titled Gnomes.[3]

References

  1. "David the Gnome". Foundus.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  2. Lewin, Tamar (21 October 1990). "TELEVISION; Hey There, Dudes, the Kids Have Grabbed a Network". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  3. Fleming, Mike (2015-05-06). "‘Gnomes’, ‘Reboot’ & Animated ‘Spy Kids’ Series on Weinstein Company TV Slate". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.

External links

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