# Reksio

Reksio is a Polish cartoon character who is the protagonist of the children's animated adventure-comedy Polish TV series of the same name. Reksio was created by Polish director Lechosław Marszałek. Its 65 episodes were designed and produced from 1967 to 1990 in a Polish animated films studio, more specifically in Studio Filmów Rysunkowych (situated in the city of Bielsko-Biała) which also created Bolek and Lolek (there are even cameo appearances of Bolek and Lolek in Reksio).
All episodes describe the adventures of a friendly and courageous piebald terrier dog named Reksio along with his human owners (a middle class Polish family throughout most of the main series) and his animal friends, mostly living in the same courtyard as him, namely hens, cats, or other dogs (and their owners as well). Along with Lolek and Bolek, Reksio has achieved cult status in Poland. Additionally, there is even a crisps brand named after him in Poland. Furthermore, a series of educational, adventure, and puzzle video games for children were also created by Aidem Media from Gdańsk which are based on and star Reksio.
These educational video games were distributed even outside Poland, to other Central European and Eastern European countries (even to Russia) during the early to mid 2000s. In Romania, for example, they were distributed in educational gaming magazines for children by Erc Press. There was an additional second wave of video games developed by Aidem Media throughout the late 2000s and even early 2010s.
In the U.S., it was aired on Disney Channel in 1990 to 1997.

## History

The history of Reksio began when the idea of Reksio was first thought of by the creator of the series who was Polish animated film director and screen writer Lechosław Marszałek. The inspiration for the character Reksio came from a female rough-haired fox terrier dog named Trola. She belonged to the creator, main producer, and writer of the series. The first episode of the series, Reksio poliglota, which was produced by Lechosław Marszałek and Studio Filmów Rysunkowych aired in 1967 on the national Polish television. This episode had poorer graphics and set design compared to the episodes that would be later produced throughout the 1970s. In addition, Reksio also looked different, sporting a collar that he did not wear in later episodes. While a noticeable improvement in terms of graphics can be clearly seen throughout the late 1960s, it was later during the early 1970s (more specifically in 1972) that the animated TV series would significantly evolve, also with a better intro with its own music theme.
All episodes that were produced until 1971 were produced by Lechosław Marszałek. In total, Marszałek directed 19 episodes and co-directed 1 episode, the most of any other director involved in the production of the animated series. Almost all of the episodes of the animated series can be watched on YouTube on the official channel of Studio Filmów Rysunkowych. The years 1972 and 1974 were the most productive ones for the main series, throughout which 7 new episodes were produced and released during each year. Each episode ends with 'Koniec' (which is Polish for '(The) End').

## Media appearances

The character of Reksio has appeared not only in television, but also in various computer games, as statue or mascot, and other related media. These include the following:
* A "Reksio" television series consisting of 65 episodes.
* A series of educational video games that star the character of Reksio which was produced by Aidem Media in Poland. This series of educational video games had also been exported to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, such as in Romania, where they have been distributed by Erc Press.
* A series of adventure and puzzle games produced by Aidem Media that star Reksio. These games include the "City of Secrets" series.
* A bronze statue of Reksio situated in a square named "Plac Reksia" located in the Polish city of Bielsko-Biała. Reksio is pointing towards a fountain next to the statue.

### Video games

In the passing of time, there have been various video games developed and released by Aidem Media starring Reksio (for both PC and iOS). They are the following ones:
* Liczę z Reksiem/I Count with Reksio (educational puzzle game) - 2001
* Abc z Reksiem/ABC with Reksio (educational puzzle game) - 2001
* Reksio i Skarb Piratów/Reksio and the Pirates' Island (adventure game) - 2003
* Wesołe przedszkole Reksia/The Merry Kindergarten of Reksio (educational puzzle game) - 2003
* Reksio i UFO/Reksio and the UFO (adventure game) - 2003
* Reksio i ortografia/Reksio and spelling (educational puzzle game) - 2003
* Reksio i Czarodzieje/Reksio and the wizards (adventure game) - 2004
* Reksio i Wehikuł Czasu/Reksio and the Time Machine (adventure game) - 2004
* Reksio i kapitan Nemo/Reksio and Captain Nemo (adventure game) - 2006
* Reksio i Kretes w Akcji!/Reksio and Kretes in action! (arcade game) - 2007
* Reksio i Kretes: Tajemnica Trzeciego Wymiaru/Reksio and Kretes - The Mystery of the Third Dimension (arcade game) - 2007
* Łamigłówki Reksia: Wielki Odkrywca/Reksio's puzzles: great explorer (puzzle game) - 2008
* Reksio i Miasto Sekretów/Reksio and the City of Secrets (adventure game) - 2009 for PC and 2011/2012 for iOS

## Full list of episodes

| № | Year of production | Original title in Polish | English title | Director |
| Main series (1967–1986) |||||
| 1 | 1967 | Reksio poliglota | Reksio Polyglot | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 2 | 1969 | Reksio marzyciel | Reksio is a dreamer | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 3 | 1969 | Reksio wychowawca | Reksio the Educator | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 4 | 1970 | Reksio obrońca | Reksio the Defender | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 5 | 1970 | Reksio dobroczyńca | Reksio the Benefactor | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 6 | 1971 | Reksio domator | Reksio as a Homebody | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 7 | 1972 | Reksio strażak | Reksio the Fireman | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 8 | 1972 | Reksio sportowiec | Reksio, an Athlete | Edward Wątor |
| 9 | 1972 | Reksio taternik | Reksio, a Mountaineer | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 10 | 1972 | Reksio wędrowiec | Reksio the Wanderer | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 11 | 1972 | Reksio aktor | Reksio the Actor | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 12 | 1972 | Reksio telewidz | Reksio watches TV | Edward Wątor |
| 13 | 1972 | Reksio kosmonauta | Reksio the Astronaut | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 14 | 1973 | Reksio magik | Reksio the Magician | Edward Wątor |
| 15 | 1973 | Reksio pielęgniarz | Reksio the Nurse | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 16 | 1973 | Reksio racjonalizator | Reksio's Busy Day | Edward Wątor |
| 17 | 1973 | Reksio rozbitek | Reksio, a survivor | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 18 | 1973 | Reksio malarz | Reksio the Painter | Marian Cholerek |
| 19 | 1973 | Reksio poszukiwacz | Reksio the Seeker | Edward Wątor |
| 20 | 1974 | Reksio ratownik | Reksio the Rescuer | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 21 | 1974 | Reksio detektyw | Reksio the Detective | Marian Cholerek |
| 22 | 1974 | Reksio czyścioch | Reksio gets Fleas | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 23 | 1974 | Reksio pogromca | Reksio the Tamer | Marian Cholerek |
| 24 | 1974 | Reksio żeglarz | Reksio the Sailor | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 25 | 1974 | Reksio medalista | Reksio and the Dog Show | Marian Cholerek |
| 26 | 1974 | Reksio rozjemca | Reksio the Peacemaker | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 27 | 1975 | Reksio Robinson | Reksio the Robinson | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 28 | 1975 | Reksio pocieszyciel | Reksio, the Comforter | Romuald Kłys, Edward Wątor |
| 29 | 1975 | Reksio śpiewak | Reksio the Singer | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 30 | 1975 | Reksio swat | Reksio the Matchmaker | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 31 | 1976 | Reksio dentysta | Reksio the Dentist | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 32 | 1976 | Reksio sadownik | Reksio the Orchardist | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 33 | 1976 | Reksio kompan | Reksio, companion | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 34 | 1977 | Reksio nauczyciel | Reksio the Teacher | Edward Wątor |
| 35 | 1977 | Reksio wybawca | Reksio the Savior | Romuald Kłys |
| 36 | 1977 | Reksio przewodnik | Reksio the Guide | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 37 | 1978 | Reksio gospodarz | Reksio the Host | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 38 | 1978 | Reksio i jamnik | Reksio and the Dachshund | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 39 | 1979 | Reksiowa jesień | Reksio's Autumn | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 40 | 1979 | Reksio i UFO | Reksio and the U.F.O. | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 41 | 1979 | Reksio terapeuta | Reksio the Therapist | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 42 | 1979 | Reksio kompozytor | Reksio, composer | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 43 | 1980 | Reksio remontuje | Reksio Renovates | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 44 | 1980 | Reksiowa wiosna | Reksio's Spring | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 45 | 1981 | Reksio i nośna kura | Reksio and the Carrying Hen | Halina Filek-Marszałek |
| 46 | 1981 | Reksio łyżwiarz | Reksio, the Skater | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 47 | 1981 | Reksiowa zima | Reksio's Winter | Romuald Kłys |
| 48 | 1981 | Reksio i wrona | Reksio and the Crow | Halina Filek-Marszałek |
| 49 | 1981 | Reksio i koguty | Reksio and the Rooster | Józef Ćwiertnia |
| 50 | 1982 | Reksio i świerszcz | Reksio and the Cricket | Halina Filek-Marszałek |
| 51 | 1985 | Reksio i sroka | Reksio and the Magpie | Romuald Kłys |
| 52 | 1986 | Reksio i mrówki | Reksio and the Ants | Romuald Kłys |
| Reksio and the Birds series (1987–1990) |||||
| 53 | 1987 | Reksio i bocian | Reksio and the Stork | Romuald Kłys |
| 54 | 1987 | Reksio i papuga | Reksio and the Parrot | Ryszard Lepióra |
| 55 | 1987 | Reksio i gołąb | Reksio and the Pigeon | Ryszard Lepióra |
| 56 | 1987 | Reksio i szpaki | Reksio and the Starlings | Ryszard Lepióra |
| 57 | 1987 | Reksio i gąsior | Reksio and the Gander | Ryszard Lepióra |
| 58 | 1988 | Reksio i drozd | Reksio and the Thrush | Ryszard Lepióra |
| 59 | 1988 | Reksio i dzięcioł | Reksio and the Woodpecker | Ryszard Lepióra, Lechosław Marszałek |
| 60 | 1988 | Reksio i kruk | Reksio and the Raven | Lechosław Marszałek |
| 61 | 1989 | Reksio i kawki | Reksio and the Jackdaws | Ryszard Lepióra |
| 62 | 1990 | Reksio i kukułka | Reksio and the Cuckoo | Ryszard Lepióra |
| 63 | 1990 | Reksio i paw | Reksio and the Peacock | Ryszard Lepióra |
| 64 | 1990 | Reksio i pelikan | Reksio and the Pelican | Andrzej Flettner |
| 65 | 1990 | Reksio i sowa | Reksio and the Owl | Andrzej Flettner |

## Reksio's profile as main character

As the main character of his own animated TV series, Reksio is clearly the protagonist. Throughout the main series, he is depicted as a responsible, dutiful, loving, caring, and respectful dog to both his owner, a blonde Polish kid, as well as to his family and the other animals with which he lives in the same courtyard. Sometimes though, he is a little bit mischievous (but only in rare contexts) with his older owners or other humans with whom he interacts. In addition, Reksio also has a special bond with a female dog with red-haired ears. His owner is almost always good or very good to him.
Most of the time, however, he is portrayed as a saviour, helper, rescuer, and peacemaker (and occasionally as a wanderer across the neighbourhood or his home town). In these regards, he is seen protecting the hens in his courtyard against foxes who want to steal their eggs as well as managing or peacefully settling conflicts between other animals who live in the same courtyard with him. He is courageous enough to even save or aid some humans in some dangerous situations as well, most notably his young owner, a blonde Polish kid, from gas intoxication in his kitchen in one episode.
Yet his help is not only limited to his young owner or the animals in his courtyard, as in the second series, more specifically in Reksio and the birds series, Reksio can be seen as an empathetic saviour for a stork and a cuckoo (originally 'pigeon' in the title of that episode), outside animals/birds. While he is mostly friendly towards all animals living in the same courtyard as him, Reksio has occasional skirmishes or quarrels with the rooster (more specifically throughout the main series). In addition, several times during the Reksio and birds series, Reksio has occasional problems or scuffles with the gander living in his courtyard as well. Last but not least, he is a great friend to the owl who shares with him music that relaxes him. Furthermore, the owl eventually convinces him not to leave the courtyard at the end of the second series.

## Gallery

* Reksio's statue in Bielsko-Biała (November 2018)
* An illuminated, bigger Christmas statue for Reksio in his native Bielsko-Biała (December 2018)
* Reksio's statue in Bielsko-Biała (November 2009)
* Reksio's statue in Bielsko-Biała (August 2009)
* Reksio's statue in Bielsko-Biała (January 2018)
* Reksio as the official mascot of BKS Stal Bielsko-Biała