Ox Tales
Ox Tales, also known as The Tales of Boes' Gang, is an animated television series produced by Telecable Benelux B.V. and Cosmos Studio in association with Saban Entertainment. It was a co-production between Japan and the Netherlands based on a Dutch comic strip Boes created by Wil Raymakers and Thijs Wilms. The series ran on the Japanese network TV Tokyo from April 7, 1987–March 29, 1988. It consists of 102 15-minute episodes, that were usually transmitted as 51 half-hour shows of two episodes each.
The series has been aired in many countries outside Japan and has been dubbed and subtitled in English and numerous other languages.
The series currently has two English dubs. The 1989 dub produced by Saban and the 2010 dub produced by m4e, the current owner of the Telescreen library.
In the late 1990s, the series was planned to air on Fox Family in the United States. However this was scrapped for unknown reasons.
The plot follows the adventures of Ollie the ox as he runs The Funny Farm, containing possibly every creature known, with his best friend Jack the turtle while narrated by a sarcastic toucan.
Ox Tales still continues to appear as a column strip in several Dutch daily and weekly newspapers.
Characters
Main characters
- Ollie, the ox - Ollie/Boes is the owner of the Funny Farm and isn't exactly the greenest grass on the farm. Although he means well, he sometimes makes situations worse than they usually are, but this is usually rare.
- Jack Turtleson, the tortoise- Jack/Tad is probably Ollie's best friend, as he's seen mostly hanging out with him in each episode. However, in every mess that he and Ollie/Boes get into, you can bet that his shell will break apart at least once. In the Dutch comics and animated version, along with the Italian version he is a female turtle.
- Sammy, the dog - Ollie's/Boes' most loyal pet on the farm who sometimes accompanies Ollie/Boes and Jack/Tad on their adventures.
Others
- Edward the Elephant - When an air hose or a water hose is needed, Edward comes through.
- Ellen the Elephant
- Igor the Octopus - Igor is literally inflatable.
- Crown the Eagle
- Gaylord the Gorilla - A prime primate who usually doesn't know his own strength at times.
- Bongo the Gorilla
- Audrey the Ostrich - She usually has her head stuck in the ground somewhere on the funny farm.
- Rodney the rhino - A hot-headed rhino who can't seem to keep his horn on or even in one piece.
- Holly the Kangaroo
- Bob the Kangaroo
- Weave the Kangaroo
- Jenny the Kangaroo
- Turbo Tail Teddy the Kangaroo
- Larry the Cheetah
- Lenny the Lion - Probably past his prime, as evidenced by his balding mane, Lenny fancies himself as a great hunter, although he can't seem to take the initiative when he finally catches his meal.
- Towilla the Toucan - A sarcastic toucan who is the narrator of the English, German and Japanese versions of the show and usaually would insult a character and comment on what happens in the episode and will interrupted by the events in the episode. He sometimes breaks the fourth wall.
- Bruce the Bear - A greedy bear who often tries to steal Ollie's honey.
- Buggy the Stork
- Horace the Horse - A hot-headed and stubborn horse that tends to have a knack for fighting.
- Moe the mole - Pops up from time to time as a segue between scenes, usually laughing at a comedic situation with a laugh similar to Woody Woodpecker's, although he knows when to keep his laughter under control, especially with situations involving crocodiles. Sometimes his laughter is interrupted by something related to the situation he's laughing at.
- Harry the Sloth
- Hannah the hen - Leader of a gang Chickens that don't take kindly to having their eggs stolen by predators.
- Mr. Croack Frog
- Bibbo the Owl
- Jojo the Baboon
- Samson the seal
- Shirley the Sheep
- Walter the Woodpecker
- Willy the Woodpecker
- Hilda the hippo
- Robby the Rooster
- Paul the Polar Bear
- Down Hill Donny the Stork
- Nessie the Cow
- Calvin the Calf - a juvenile cow who always has the need to suck on an udder.
- Topsy the Aardvark
- Tom the turkey
- Tim the orangutan
- Patrick the Porcupine
- The MacDuffs the storks
- Snuffles the Panda
- Zane the Zebra - a zebra who has about as much stubbornness as Horace.
- Peggy the Pig - Usually she'll be found feeding her piglets.
- Peter the Pig
- Jolly the Dolphin
- Tiger the Cat
- Cecil the Akunk- a mischievous skunk with both a copious flatulence problem and a rather sadistic habit of only wanting to relieve his massive amounts of gas, if he can do so in the presence of others.
- Bura the Crow
- Rott the Parrot
- Cal the Crocodile - a crocodile with a big mouth and a big appetite, and will try to eat any animal on the farm, but fails to do so in any way.
- Morris the Mouse - A strategic mouse who knows how to get away in a hurry, and ruin mouse-capturing plans of others in the process.
- Calvin the Cat - He's the resident mouse hunter on the farm, although Morris mostly gets the better of him.
Credits
Original credits
- Directors: Hiroshi Sasagawa, Maki Nakahara
- From an original idea by: Wil Raymakers, Thijs Wilms, Maki Nakahara
- Music: Shinsuke Kazato, Clous van Mechelen
- Special effects and sound design : Hisao Shirai
- Series Composition: Matsue Jinbo, Tony Dirne, Rob Dirne
- Writers: Nao Furukawa, Toshi Ohira, Mario de Vries
- Producers: Dennis Livson, Kazuo Tabata
Saban English version credits
- Executive producer: Haim Saban
- Supervising producer: Winston Richard
- Directors: Robert V. Barron, Tom Wyner
- Executive in charge of production: Jerald E. Bergh
- Associate producer: Eric S. Rollman
- Script supervisor: Tony Oliver
- Music by: Haim Saban & Shuki Levy
- Original idea and character designs: Wil Raymakers, Thijs Wilms
- Re-recording mixers: Clive Mizumoto, Gary Coppola, R.D. Floyd
- Music administration: Ron Kenan
- Music supervisor: Andrew Dimitroff
- Music orchestrations and arrangements by: Barry Trop, Richard Firth
- Music engineers: Barron Abramovitch, Xavier Garcia
- Music editors: Nick Carr Paul Ray, Patrick Von Wiegandt, Mark Ryan Martin
- Sound effects editors: Gary Jaye, John Valentino, Scott Page
- Additional direction: Scott Page, Jeff Winkless
- Script & talent coordinator: Kelly Griffin
- Engineers: Scott Page, Bruce Peters, David Walsh
- Assistant engineers: Ron Salaises, Kevin Newson, Bill Filipiak
- Film transfers by: Action Video
- On line editor: Susan Jenkins
- Title art by: Sam Johnson
- Post production assistant: Amber Santilli
- Assistant to Mr. Saban: Sherry Jeffreys
- Accounting executive: Carol Diesel
- Production accountants: Vicky Werby, Val Decrowl, Janice Auchterloine, Sharon Staine
- Copyright 1987/88 Meander Studio/Telecable Benelux/T.V. Tokyo
- Copyright 1989 Saban Productions, Saban International Services, Inc., Saban International N.V.
Saban English dubbed episode writers
- Tracy Alexander
- Robert Axelrod
- Robert V. Barron
- Robert Benedict
- Richard Epcar
- Melora Harte
- Dave Mallow
- Benjamin Lesko
- Tony Oliver
- Steve Kramer
- Robert Deutsch
- Doug Stone
- Michael McConnohie
- Mike Reynolds
- Barbara Riel
- Donald Roche
- Michael Sorich
- Jeff Winkless
- Tom Wyner
- Shannon Mahan
- Eric Elfman
- Lisa Paulette
- Dayna Barron
- Wendee Manhel
- Johnny Goff
- Heather Upjohn
- Tim Reid
- Michael Santiago
- Jon Page
- Byrd Ehlmann
- Ann Burgund
- Nora L. Goodman
- Joe Ellison
- Edie Mirman
- Ardwight Chamberlain
- Barbara Oliver
- Mark Ryan-Martin
- Eric Early
Saban English dubbed voice actors
- Jeff Winkless - Olly the Ox, additional characters
- Michael Sorich - Jack Turtleson, additional characters
- Steve Kramer - Towilla the Toucan, additional characters
- Barbara Goodson - Moe the Mole, additional characters
Hoek & Sonépouse English version credits
- Dubbing English version: Hoek & Sonépouse
- With the voices of: Michael Diederich, Amber Ruffin, Rob Andrist-Plourde and Brian Tijon Ajong
- Director English version: Michael Diederich
- Translation English version: Michael Diederich
- Worldwide distribution: Telescreen B.V
- © 2010 Re-mastered and revised version: Meander Studio, Telecable Benelux, TV Tokyo
Regional releases