Pretty Cure

***Pretty Cure*** is a magical-girl anime franchise by Toei Animation and Bandai which initially launched in 2004 with *Futari wa Pretty Cure.* The ongoing property has since inspired countless followup seasons, spinoffs, and theatrical adaptations.

The franchise has spawned two notable English versions: first in 2009, when Toei Animation's US division commissioned an English dub of the first series produced by the Vancouver based Ocean Productions, with voice recording outsourced to their Calgary studio. Then, in 2015, Saban Brands launched an adaptation of 2012/2013's *Smile Pretty Cure!* as *Glitter Force.*This moniker was later used for the followup series, *Dokidoki! Pretty Cure,*which Toei Animation USA launched internationally in 2017 as *Glitter Force: Doki Doki.* Both of these productions used voice actors from the Los Angeles area.

However, these are far from the only attempts to bring the franchise to the English speaking world. Toei Animation has attempted to sell *Pretty Cure*globally since shortly after the property's debut. Multiple pilots for multiple different series have been produced.

## Toei Animation

In September 2005, German broadcaster RTL2 aired an English pilot for the original series. This came as a result of the German dub not yet being finished despite the broadcaster's eagerness to run the show. Footage from this broadcast surfaced online, with commentators identifying it as a Los Angeles based production. Stephanie Sheh played Honoka/Cure White and Mepple, Lara Cody was Nagisa/Cure Black, with Doug Stone as the villains.

The next month, Toei Animation USA launched an English language online portal to sell *Pretty Cure* abroad. The website hosted three videos, which were allegedly the same production used in the German broadcast. Both the rips of the German broadcast and the videos hosted on Toei's site have gone offline.

At Anime Expo 2007, Toei Animation USA intended to screen a dubbed episode of the 2004/2005 entry *Pretty Cure: Max Heart*. However, the company ended up screening episodes 30 and 31 of the original series. While there was some speculation the dub used for the event was the Singaporean one, an attendee claimed to have heard Stephanie Sheh as Nagisa. The same person also stated that Toei was showcasing an English dubbed version of the 2006/2007 series *Pretty Cure: Splash Stars*, but did not specify whether it was an episode or a trailer.

In 2009, Toei Animation Europe began streaming an English trailer for the first series. It features an unknown cast separate to that of the Ocean Productions dub with non-localized names. It's not known if this trailer has any relation to the earlier pilots.

### Ocean Productions

Around the time the company worked on the first television series, Toei Animation USA commissioned Ocean Productions to create a promotional video for *Pretty Cure: Splash Stars*. The promo was recorded at Bluewater Studios, the company's Calgary office. An English dubbed trailer for this series is available on Toei Animation Europe's website, though it's not known if this is the one Ocean created. If it is, the company likely also did work on the 2007/2008 entry *Yes! Pretty Cure 5* as an English trailer for that series is available on Toei Europe's website, with the same unidentified narrator. It's not known if Ocean's involvement in later *Pretty Cure* series was limited solely to promotional trailers. Nor is it known if their work was showcased at Anime Expo 2007.