Shadoks is a Televised series of French Animation in 208 episodes from 2 to 3 minutes, created by Jacques Rouxel, produced by the company aaa (Animation Art-graph Audiovisuel) and diffused between on April 29th, 1968 on television and 1973 (the first three seasons) and starting from January 2000 (fourth season) on Canal+ and repeated on Cartoon Network.

Synopsis

This series tells the stories of Shadoks, kinds of birds fatties with long legs and the small ones wings ridiculous, (moreover, some shadoks lives with back) thus baptized for the Anglo-Saxon consonance of the name and in wink with the Capitaine Haddock, according to their draftsman.

They have as enemies Gibis, capped with a Bowler hat enabling them to think all together of the problems while making fun of the inventions of the shadoks - and which owe their name with “the English pronunciation of initial of the Great Britain”.

Shadoks have for any vocabulary four monosyllabic words: “ga, drunk, zo, meu”. Shadoks are excessively malicious, and idiotic by definition. They produce improbable machines which do not function; the inventor being, almost systematically, Professor Shadoko: the list is long! The cosmopompe, intended to pump the cosmogol 999 in Gibis (series DRUNK); the machine with pills, which failed to cost the life to the last survivors shadoks (series ZO); etc

History

Shadoks at the beginning were created with the famous Animographe, with which all the series was carried out DRUNK; the single prototype returned the heart at the end of this first series. Before their creation, these famous birds existed already for a certain time in the drawers of Rouxel, but not yet under the name of Shadoks. The episodes were commented on - as of the beginning - by a voice, that of the actor Claude Piéplu to which one will compare all his life and until his death in May 2006 " the voice of Shadoks".

Very little time after the launching of the series was launched in parallel " The French speak in Shadoks".

Divided France

Shadoks will constitute one of the first great polemical subjects of French television. France was then divided into two parts: shadokophiles and shadokophobes - just like the Minute necessary of Mr Cyclopède of Pierre Desproges will divide in the years 1980 France between “the imbeciles who like” and “the imbeciles who do not like”, according to the expression of Desproges itself. The percentage of shadokophiles was of 50%, just like that of the shadokophobes.

The phenomenal quantity of mail of televiewers was the subject of an emission presented by Jean Yanne (and of time to others Daniel Prévost) in which this one read the authentic letters: the French write in Shadoks .

Voice

• Claude Piéplu: the narrator
• Jean Cohen-Sohal: voice shadoks

Episodes

First season: DRUNK “prehistory” (1968)

It includes/understands 52 episodes; it is here that one finds most of the bases of logic shadok.

Second season: ZO “the great removal of the ground” (1969)

This series includes/understands 52 episodes. It is important to specify that this series was made following many complaints of televiewers; it thus is varied much than 1st (n°BU). In the foreword testifies to the first episode where the narrator (Claude Piéplu) starts with: " Before beginning our serial, a development is essential! etc "

Third season: MEU “Shadoks always pump” (1972-1973)

It comprises 52 episodes. From a point of view of the scenario, the history starts with the oddment ZO. Thereafter, this series has a scenario which is clean for him; with many innovations.

Fourth season: BU-GA “Shadoks and the big blank” (2000)

It comprises 52 episodes and it is about the last series of Shadoks realized. One can note that it includes/understands more coloured graphics - and, why not, a little less simple - that preceding series.

The Shadok universe

Principal characters shadoks

• the chief Shadok
• the Professor Shadoko
• the Soothsayer Plumber
• the Marine Shadok
• the irremediable one or Shadok Population

The world of Shadoks

One of the characteristics of the world of Shadoks is its representation in two dimensions. If relief is introduced, if the third dimension is introduced, it is not any more the universe of Shadoks. " I remember that when one made small Shadok headstocks, that split me the cœur" , Jacques Rouxel during an emission acknowledged. At the end of the first series, the prototype of the Animographe returns the heart. Shadoks will raise thereafter another shape of drawing but which remains always simple, with the same methods of graphic expression.

The Shadok planet

" On the left sky, there was the Shadok planet… It did not have a special form, or rather it changed forme."

In the world of Shadoks, space is represented like a plan, and as such it is flat. It thus does not have depth (like all the Shadokéen universe), only the top and bottom, the left and the right-hand side. The Shadok planet changes form. It is a great danger to Shadoks since that makes them stumble, and they are likely to fall into the great interstellar vacuum. It is this unpractical aspect which will push them during the series to emigrate towards other places - with difficulty however!

The Gibi planet

" On the right sky, there was the Gibi planet which leant, either on a side, or of the autre."

Gibis thus live on the right sky. Their planet is punt and unbalanced. Consequently, if Gibis are not well distributed, the planet start to lean on a side or other and they are likely to fall. It is that which will also push them to emigrate towards other places.

Gibis, contrary to Shadoks, are very nice and intelligent. They are the inventors of number of machines using last technologies, when Shadoks are satisfied with " to gather tricks and machins" .

The secrecy of their intelligence lies in their hat, which enables them to think all together of a problem. When a gibi loses its hat, it loses its intelligence and becomes insane.

Gibis evoke English (GB) with their bowler hats. Shadoks would then represent French people and his famous " D" system; about which one speaks much in the media about the time.

Earth

In the center of the sky there was the Earth. At that time, it counted one and single living, a frightening insect named Gégène (there were well also some dinosaurs with the retirement, but as they said it them same, they were dedicated to disappear) which was not called really Gégène since there was nobody to call it. However, it was called this way for more simplicity. Let us pass. Shadoks and Gibis, which had enough of it to live on " planets which did not go bien" , decided all and sundry to go towards the Earth which seemed to better go, thus upsetting the life of Gégène, which was not going to be let some tell.

The Shadok culture

The language shadok

The language shadok, that some shadokophiles called the Gabuzomeuse language thereafter, is composed of 4 words:

• GA
• DRUNK
• ZO
• MEU

Indeed, their brain, made up of 4 boxes cannot contain some more! What poses problems because they cannot know more than 4 things: for example, Shadok having learned how to go the day before: if one learns how to him to make bicycle, the shadok cannot go any more! Without counting that to make them learn from the words was very long and very painful…

For example, ZoGa means to pump , ZoBuGa means to pump with a small pump and ZoBuBuGa means to pump with a large pump .

Currencies

Currencies shadoks

• “To sleep tires me. ”
• “At the beginning, it had nothing there. Lastly, neither more nor less only elsewhere. ”
• “It is only while continuously testing that one ends up succeeding. In other words: the more that misses, the more one has chances that it goes. ”
• “So that there is less the dissatisfied possible one, it is always necessary to type on the same ones. ”
• “It is better to steadily pump even if it does not only occur to risk that it does without something worse while not pumping. ”
• “Why make simple when one can make complicated?! ”
• “If there is no solution, it is that there is no problem. ”
• “I say so intelligent things that, generally, I do not include/understand what I say. ”
• “I thus pump I am. ”
• “It is better to mobilize its intelligence on conneries that to mobilize its connery on intelligent things. ”
• “If that hurt, it that is done of the good. ”
• “It is while forging that one becomes musician. ”
• “It is only while pumping that you will arrive at something and even if you do not arrive there… He well that will not have made you of evil! ”
• “It is necessary to pump to live and thus live to pump. ”
• “One as well is never beaten as by oneself even. ”
• “Any advantage has its disadvantages and reciprocally. ”
• “When one does not know where one goes, it is necessary to go there… and as quickly as possible! ”
• “With a staircase planned for the rise, one often succeeds in going up low than one would be descended with a staircase planned for the descent. ”
• “more the long way of a point to another is the straight line. ”

Currencies on the navy

• “In the navy one does not make large thing, but it early is done! ”
• “It is still in the navy that there are the most sailors. ”
• “In the navy, it is necessary to greet all that moves and to paint the remainder. ”

Arithmetic - to count in Shadok

In spite of his average limited intellectuals, professor Shadoko will end nevertheless up inventing a way of counting in bases 4 with like Chiffre S GA, DRUNK, ZO and MEU. The soothsayer plumber issued that the schoolboys shadoks had one day to learn how to count and that if, at the end of this time they would be some unable, one would burn professor Shadoko. The schoolboys shadoks, of course, to learn how to count, that interested them much but to burn the professor, that interested them too! Finally, the following day, all the schoolboys shadoks could count, beyond 4. Here thus this famous method:

• “when there is more than MEU one puts it at the dustbin (GA); and one counts: DRUNK dustbin = DRUNK GA” (4 into decimal).

The analogy with the four nucleotides of DNA, has, T, C and G, only users of the quaternary Système, is remarkable.

Reproduction

The reproduction, at Shadoks, was always a major problem. Shadoks lay eggs, as soon as they can count up to 4. At the beginning, they laid ordinary eggs, but those broke each time because of the large legs of Shadoks. Then, they started to lay iron eggs. But there was still a disadvantage, because as the Shadok baby inside egg could not leave, it had to be waited until the egg rusts. The “baby” Shadok was then already very old when it left there… According to a lecture of professor Shadoko - on the moon; series ZO -, the egg was composed of three subsets: interior, outside, and holes.

Logical

Its more notable demonstration is the lecture of professor Shadoko on the strainers, within the framework of the great programme of education of Shadoks. The logic of Shadoks revêt, by them caricaturing, the characteristics suitable for the logic of realization of the computer programs and mathematics. This form of humor comes partly from the originators of the Animographe and a starter anti-bourbakisme. For example:

• There are two kinds of Passoire S: those which let pass water and not the Nouille S, and those which let pass noodles and not water;
• a strainer which lets pass neither water nor the noodles is a pan;
• a pan which lets anything pass, neither by in top, nor by in bottom, is a Autobus.
• the concept of hole is independent of the concept of strainer!

Punishment - Goulp

Goulp is a kind of hole in the Shadok planet. One piles up all Shadoks not giving there whole satisfaction. It is also called Enfer, since those which are thrown inside are hell my. Only the Shadok Chief has the capacity to send to Goulp. Professor Shadoko, because his Cosmopompe will produce poor results, will make the experiment besides of it.

Comments

Adaptations

In collaboration with Jean-Paul Couturier a daily Cartoon of Shadoks is published in 1970 in France-Evening, and in 1993 in the magazine Globe.

As from 1973 an english language version of the series is diffused on Thames Television, with Kenneth Robinson with the narration.

Derivative products

Books

As from 1994, Jacques Rouxel publishes illustrated books of Shadoks, with the Circonflexe editions:

• GA DRUNK ZO MEU (1994)
• the Revenge on the sailor (1996)
• the Race with the moon (2000)
• Shadoks and the desordinator (2000)

Vidéos

DVD

Jacques rouxel, Shadoks… differently

Triple DVD devoted to the work of Jacques Rouxel, proposing the whole of its educational films, approximately 10 hours of program accompanied by many no-claims bonus. http://www.aaaproduction.fr/aaa_dvd.php

• Shadoks: Integral edition 5 DVD (November 9th, 2006), Ina Files - Video TF1 ; to see site of the INA or on http://www.aaaproduction.fr
• Shadoks - N° BU-GA (volume 4) “Shadoks and Big Blank” (April 18th, 2000), Ina - Universal
• Shadoks - N° DRUNK (volume 1) “Prehistory” (July 1st, 2000), Ina - Universal

These two DVD, which goes back to 1999-2000 are not published currently more. One can still find some in the libraries, on the sites of bidding or by seeking in the heading “the good plans” of the forum of Shadoks. They, of course, are included/understood in the edition 5 DVD Ina, left very little time ago.

VHS

• Shadoks, N° ZO “the great removal of the ground”, Video Polygram - Ina
• Shadoks, N° MEU “Shadoks Always Pump! ”, Polygram Vidéo - Ina
• Shadoks, N° DRUNK “Prehistory”, Polygram Vidéo - Ina

These three Video-cassettes are not published any more but one can find them in the same way that two DVD above, and their integral contents are in the new edition 5 DVD Ina.

Video game

A video game, Shadoks, the Play, the Walk , was carried out and left in 1997. The goal was to take along Shadoks of a planet planet, by solving various problems. For example, so that Gégène ceases massacring Shadols, it was necessary to play its music preferred to persuade it.

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