1986 Japanese anime series
Maple Town
, also known as
Maple Town Stories
(
Japanese
:
メイプルタウン物語
,
Hepburn
:
Meipuru Taun Monogatari
)
, is a 1986 Japanese
anime
series created by Chifude Asakura and directed by
Junichi Sato
. The series, animated by
Toei Animation
, consists of 52 half-hour episodes, which aired on
TV Asahi
in Japan from January 19, 1986, to January 11, 1987.
[1]
The show focuses on the adventures of Patty Rabbit, Bobby Bear and their families, in a small
anthropomorphic
city named Maple Town. The series was followed by a 50-episode sequel,
New Maple Town Stories: Palm Town Chapter
, which retained only Patty Rabbit (and her voice actor,
Maya Okamoto
) from both series, although Maple Town's citizens made
cameos
from time to time. To date, this has not had an official English release.
The show was
dubbed
into English and syndicated in the United States in 1987.
[7]
The program spawned
collectable
figurines
with changeable clothing, as well as houses, furniture and vehicles.
Tonka
was the US licensee and manufacturer.
[8]
VHS
compilations of
Maple Town
appeared in North America, Europe and Japan during the late 1980s and early 1990s. As of 2013, official DVDs of the show had surfaced in Japan, Spain
[9]
and Hungary,
[10]
with no release plans announced for other territories.
Plot summary
[
edit
]
Patty Hoperabbit, along with her family, arrives in Maple Town, a small town inhabited by friendly animals. However, in a train heist by the sly ? if usually "endearingly unsuccessful" ? thief, Wilde Wolf stole the mailbag from her father and escaped into the forest. Soon she followed after him to retrieve the mailbag. In the midst of getting the bag back from the thief, she befriends a boy of her age named Bobby Kumanoff who has the bag. After they escape from Wilde Wolf and outwit him, they deliver the mailbag safely to her father. Soon, the Rabbit Family settles in Maple Town as mail carriers and the bitter, yet sweet friendship of Patty and Bobby begins to blossom. At the same time they try to foil Wilde Wolf's plans.
The series' setting is
Canada
around the 1920s, while the setting of Palm Town Chapter is based on the
West Coast of the United States
around the 1980s.
[11]
Characters
[
edit
]
Maple Town
[
edit
]
- The Rabbit Family ? Patty, Rachel, Mr. Rabbit, Mrs. Rabbit, Ann, Mick, Grandma and Grandpa Rabbit, Cousin Rabbit, Roger Rabbit
- The Bear Family ? Bobby, Mr. Bear, Mrs. Bear, Kin, Kon and Kan, Bonny
- The Fox Family ? Fanny, Mr. Fredrick Fox, Mrs. Florence Fox and Fred
- The Cat Family ? Mr. Kevin Cat and Mrs. Kathy Cat
- The Dog Family ? Danny, Dr. Dog, Mrs. Dog and Donny
- The Squirrel Family ? Suzie, Squire Squirrel, Mrs. Squirrel and Skippy
- The Pig Family ? Penny, Mr. Pig, Mrs. Pig and Polly
- The Raccoon Family ? Ruthie, Mr. Raccoon, Mrs. Raccoon and Roxie
- The Mouse Family ? Missie, Mr. Mouse, Mrs. Mouse and Marty
- The Beaver Family ? Bucky, Mr. Beaver, Mrs. Beaver and Bitsy
- The Badger Family ? Bert, Mr. Badger, Mrs. Badger and Betty
- The Mole Family ? Maggie, Mr. Mole, Mrs. Mole and Mikey
- Kirby Cat
- Mayor Dandy Lion
- Miss Deer Andra Deer
- Sheriff Barney Bulldog
- Sheriff Barney Bulldog's Wife
- Oscar Otter
- Master Monkey
- Dr. Goat
- Wilde Wolf Gretel Wolf (aka Gretel)
- Mr. Turtle
- Kangaroos ? Mr. Kangaroo, Mrs. Kangaroo, Coca Kangaroo
- Mr. Walius
Palm Town
[
edit
]
- The Pike Family - Mrs. Jane, Mr. George, Alice
- The Cocker Family - Rolley, Peter, Mr. Parabura, Mrs. Dahlia
- The Terrier Family - Joey, Mr. Philip, Mrs. Florence
- The White Family - Shiela, Mr. Roger
- The Sheep Family - Mr. Charlie, Mrs. Mary, Sisi, Remi
- Marina Dietrich
- Gunter and Big Bro
US version:
Voice cast
[
edit
]
English
[
edit
]
Episodes
[
edit
]
Production
[
edit
]
The series was produced by
Toei Animation
, Asatsu and Asahi Broadcasting,
Maple Town
was created by Chifude Asakura
[13]
and directed by
Junichi Sato
.
[1]
It served as one of the first projects for
Kunihiko Ikuhara
, who later joined the crew of
Sailor Moon
and
Revolutionary Girl Utena
.
[14]
Ikuhara served as an assistant director
[14]
and production manager for some of the show's later episodes.
[15]
United States
[
edit
]
In October 1986, toy manufacturer
Tonka
acquired the rights for US$2.5?3 million
[16]
and became its US licensee, launching a toy line and ad campaign early the following year.
[8]
Tonka invested US$7 million on television ads for the toy line.
[17]
An English-dubbed version, airing in tandem with the toy promotion, starred actress Karen Hartman (credited as Janice Adams), known previously for her other children's TV role as Talkatoo Cockatoo on
Zoobilee Zoo
, as Mrs. Maple in its book-ending live-action segments.
[3]
Mrs. Maple was the only human inhabitant of the title town in this version, and she offered each episode's moral lesson. The voice cast included
Reba West
as Patty Rabbit and
Steve Kramer
as Wilde Wolf.
The English version of
Maple Town
was produced by
Saban Entertainment
and The Maltese Companies,
[3]
[4]
the latter of which also produced
Spiral Zone
,
another syndicated series with Tonka, and the 1988 animated feature
Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw
.
[4]
Broadcast history
[
edit
]
The original
Maple Town
series aired on Sunday mornings in Japan on TV Asahi, from January 19, 1986, until January 11, 1987.
[1]
Following its 52nd episode, its follow-up,
New Maple Town Story: Palm Town Chapter
(
新メイプルタウン物語-パ?ムタウン編
,
Shin Maple Town Monogatari: Palm Town Hen
)
, aired in the same time slot.
[
citation needed
]
The first ten episodes of the English dub by Saban Entertainment and The Maltese Companies premiered in
barter syndication
in 1987
[4]
[3]
as a trial run on US television,
[18]
then sixteen more episodes premiered on
Nickelodeon
,
[4]
where it aired until September 1, 1989. It then aired on
The CBN Family Channel/The Family Channel
from September 4, 1989
[5]
until September 13, 1990.
[19]
A 65-episode run was originally announced,
[17]
[20]
but only 39 ever reached US television.
[2]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, European stations aired
Maple Town
in their various native languages. In Spain,
TVE
aired the program under the title
La aldea del arce
,
[9]
starting in 1987. In France, the series was distributed by IDDH and broadcast from May 3, 1987, on FR3 in the program Amuse 3 under the name
Les Petits Malins
. It also aired on
RTL Veronique
in the Netherlands (as
Avonturen in Maple Town
);
[13]
in Finland under the title
Seikkailumetsa
; in Sweden as
Aventyrsskogen
;
[13]
and on Hungary's
RTL Klub
channel as
Juharfalvi tortenetek
.
As with Japan, several other countries aired both series of the
Maple Town
franchise. In Italy,
Mediaset
's
Italia 1
broadcast both iterations of
Maple Town
during the late 1980s (under the titles
Maple Town: Un nido di simpatia
and
Evviva Palm Town
).
[21]
The combined series aired as
Les petits malins
on
FR3
in France at the time.
[22]
On
Nasza TV
's showings in Poland, the show was known as
Opowiesci z Klonowego Miasteczka
and
Opowiesci z Palmowego Miasteczka
.
[23]
In
Hong Kong
,
Maple Town
aired on the
ATV
network during 1991.
[24]
Both shows also aired in
Arabic speaking nations
with the first series broadcast under ?????? ?????? (Arnoba Wa Dabdoob, Arnoba and Dabdood) and second airing under ????? ?????? (Madina Al Nakheel, Palms Town).
[
citation needed
]
Home video
[
edit
]
During the 1990s, Toei Video released a ten-tape collection of
Maple Town
, each consisting of three episodes in their original airing order. In 2013, TC Entertainment released the original series in
DVD
box sets
as part of Toei's
Recollection Anime Library
lineup. The first box set released on September 27, 2013, and the second set on October 30, 2013. Palm Town Chapter series was also released in the same label on November 27, 2013, for the first box set and on December 25, 2013, for the second box set.
Select episodes of Saban's US dub were released on VHS from late 1987 until 1990 by
Family Home Entertainment
and Tonka Home Video. Each tape consisted of two stories each, except for the first release, "Welcome to Maple Town". No less than eight English episodes were distributed in the UK by the now-defunct M.S.D. (Multiple Sound Distributors) label.
[25]
Multicom Entertainment Group, who owns the US dub (by the way of their acquisition of The Kushner-Locke library in 2013), currently has no plans to release the entire series on home media or onto any streaming service, likely due to them having a hard time licensing the rights to use the cartoons from Toei.
[
citation needed
]
In the Netherlands, CNR Video released a Dutch dub of the first two episodes in 1992. The stories were entitled "De Overval op de Trein" and "Voor het eerst naar de nieuwe school" in the Dutch language.
[26]
The entire original series was released on DVD in Spain by Divisa Home Video,
[9]
in Japan by TC Entertainment, and Hungary's Fumoto released some episodes onto that format.
[10]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"
Maple Town
(メイプルタウン物語) cast and crew information"
.
marumegane.com
(in Japanese). Takashi Murakami. Archived from
the original
on November 11, 2019
. Retrieved
October 20,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"INTERNATIONAL SERIES & MINI SERIES"
. The Kushner-Locke Company
. Retrieved
December 10,
2009
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Erickson, Hal (2005).
Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003
(2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina:
McFarland & Company
. pp. 542?545.
ISBN
0786420995
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Television/Radio Age
. Vol. 36. Television Editorial Corp. 1988. p. 55
. Retrieved
December 31,
2009
.
Last season Maltese produced the barter-syndicated series
Maple Town
and
Spiral Zone
for Tonka Toys; the former is on Nickelodeon
- ^
a
b
"Today's listings"
.
Toledo Blade
. September 4, 1989
. Retrieved
September 20,
2019
.
- ^
"Daytime listings"
.
The News-Messenger
. September 22, 1989. p. 23
. Retrieved
April 19,
2020
.
- ^
Erickson, Hal (2005).
Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003
(2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 524?525.
ISBN
978-1476665993
.
- ^
a
b
Weiss, Barbara (October 20, 1986). "No blockbusters in sight to boost holiday toy sales".
Drug Topics
.
130
. Copyright Medical Economics Company: 46.
- ^
a
b
c
"La Aldea del Arce ? Serie Completa DVD"
(in Spanish). ZONADVD.com. February 21, 2007
. Retrieved
December 10,
2009
.
- ^
a
b
"AnimeAddicts ? Ismertet?k ? Anime: Maple Town Monogatari / メイプルタウン物語"
(in Hungarian). Animeaddicts.hu. February 16, 2007
. Retrieved
December 10,
2009
.
- ^
"新メイプルタウン物語?パ?ムタウン編 - TOEI ANIMATION"
.
www.toei-anim.co.jp
.
Toei Animation
. Retrieved
October 20,
2016
.
- ^
West, Max (September 9, 2018).
"Maple Town Compendium: Q & A With Rebecca Forstadt"
.
Maple Town Compendium
. Retrieved
January 26,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
"
Maple Town
show information"
.
kindertv.net
(in Dutch). KinderTV. October 16, 2004. Archived from
the original
on October 2, 2011
. Retrieved
October 20,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"Your Job List"
おしごと一?(東映時代)
.
ikuniweb
(in Japanese). Shikoku Broadcasting Co., Ltd. Archived from
the original
on March 3, 2016
. Retrieved
October 20,
2016
.
- ^
"メイプルタウン物語スタッフ"
. Archived from
the original
on May 30, 2008
. Retrieved
July 28,
2017
.
- ^
Wascoe Jr., Dan (February 16, 1987).
"Toy makers tuning in to TV show connections"
.
Star Tribune
. p. 03M. Archived from
the original
on July 28, 2017
. Retrieved
December 10,
2023
.
In an era when the investment to launch an animated cartoon show ranges from $12 million to $15 million, shrinking viewership means 'the economics are becoming strained,' [Tonka Toys' president Pat Feely] said. 'We don't do it unless we feel we've got a strong product line.' In the case of Tonka's
Maple Town
series, the cost was much less?between $2.5 million and $3 million?because it's an edited and dubbed version of a popular Japanese show, Feely said.
- ^
a
b
Stern, Sara E.; Forkan, James P. (February 2, 1987). "Fantasy dolls stay in action; High-tech toys finding big consumer interest".
Advertising Age
.
Crain Communications
, Inc.: 33.
- ^
"Television Listings: Weekdays, April 22?24 and 27?28"
.
New York
.
20
(17). New York Media LLC: 181. April 27, 1987
. Retrieved
December 31,
2009
.
- ^
"Tomorrow's daytime programs"
.
Toledo Blade
. September 12, 1990
. Retrieved
September 20,
2019
.
- ^
Eitzen, D. Stanley (1989).
Society's Problems: Sources and Consequences
. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. p. 321.
ISBN
0205119794
.
- ^
"
Maple Town, un nido di simpatia
/
Evviva Palm Town
"
.
Il Mondo dei Doppiatori
(in Italian). Antonio Genna
. Retrieved
January 6,
2010
.
- ^
"
Les Petits Malins: Les aventures de Malinville
show description"
(in French). Planete Jeunesse. September 25, 2009
. Retrieved
January 6,
2010
.
- ^
Nowakowski, Witold and Mariusz Jarczewski (December 26, 2002).
"
OPOWIE?CI Z KLONOWEGO MIASTECZKA
"
.
Anime in Poland: Complete Guide
. anime.info.pl. Archived from
the original
on March 1, 2012
. Retrieved
January 6,
2010
.
- ^
香港播放動?特攝中日名稱對照表
(in Chinese). RXBlack. p. 10
. Retrieved
January 6,
2010
.
- ^
"Search results from the BBFC classified database"
. Archived from
the original
on March 6, 2012
. Retrieved
July 28,
2017
.
- ^
Timo.
"Animatie verschenen op VHS | VHS Database Project |"
. Archived from
the original
on January 15, 2010
. Retrieved
July 28,
2017
.
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