Madeline

> We love our bread, we love our butter. But most of all, we love each other.
>
> The girls' dinner prayer

***Madeline*** is a television series, part of the Madeline media franchise. It began as a series of television specials and then was continued as various seasons of the TV show.

## History

In 1988, DIC Animation City adapted the first book into an animated television special for HBO. The screenplay was written by Judy Rothman, who was writer, lyricist, and story editor for nearly all subsequent *Madeline* animated projects. The special was narrated by Christopher Plummer and featured original music and songs by veteran *Sesame Street* songwriter and composer Joe Raposo with lyrics by Judy Rothman. The special was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (One Hour or Less). In 1990, the special was released onto VHS by Hi-Tops Video.

Between 1990 and 1991, Cinar and France Animation produced animated adaptations of the other five original books for The Family Channel, with Christopher Plummer returning as narrator and Marsha Moreau returning to voice Madeline. Each special featured new songs, with lyrics by Rothman and music by Jeffrey Zahn, who replaced Raposo after his death in 1989. "I'm Madeline", Madeline's theme song from the original special, was reprised. The specials were released on video by Golden Book Video.

In 1993, DIC produced a *Madeline* television series, which also aired on the Family Channel. Twenty episodes were produced for the first series. Christopher Plummer reprised his role as narrator again and "I'm Madeline" was the series' theme song, but most of the voice actors were replaced. The series reran on Disney Channel and Toon Disney in the US. It features new songs with music by Andy Street (who replaced Jeffrey Zahn) and lyrics by Rothman, but compared to the previous TV specials, the first series onwards would only feature one song per episode in addition to the aforementioned theme songs.

In 1995, an additional 13 episodes were produced by DIC for ABC under the title *The New Adventures of Madeline*. A new theme song, called "Hats Off to Madeline", was used as the new opening theme, with the music by Andy Street with lyrics by Judy Rothman. The new voice cast included Andrea Libman as the title character, S. Louise Vallance as both Miss Clavel and Genevieve, and David Morse from Maple Ridge, Canada as Pepito.

## Premise

Never before has such a clever, adventurous and mischievous little girl withstood the challenge to entertain generation after generation in such grand style. Continually faithful to the spirit of the classic children's literature series by Ludwig Bemelmans, these richly-textured period pieces capture the exotic spirit of Paris in the early forties.

Pack your bag and tag along as Madeline leads you on an animated adventure through Paris! This instant family classic based on Ludwig Bemelman’s classic children’s book series has captured the hearts and imaginations of young and old for over seventy years. Now you and your family can experience the beauty of Paris with Madeline, Genevieve, and the other beloved characters as they laugh and sing their way through the most magical city in the world!

## Trivia

* This is so far the only WildBrain show in Qubo's catalog to be produced by both Cinar and DiC. The former acquired the latter as Cookie Jar in 2008.