Scamper the Penguin
Encyclopedia
The Adventures of Scamper the Penguin, known internationally as The Adventures of Lolo the Penguin, is a 1988 Japan
ese-Soviet co-produced animated feature film about the early life of an Adélie Penguin
. It was originally released as a three-part serial.
The film is targeted at a very young audience, although the movie is narrated like a documentary about the life of the penguins during the spring and summer seasons in the Antarctic.
. A flock of penguins, coming from the north, returns home. The females separate from their mates to go hunt as males build their nests from piles of pebbles. The females return to lay their eggs, only to eventually separate from the males again, whilst the males take care of the eggs. A flock of aggressive seabirds
constantly threatens to steal the penguin eggs and raids the nesting grounds while the females are away. A penguin couple named Gilbert and Gracie saves the egg of another family, meanwhile one of their two eggs is stolen from their nest. When Gracie returns Gilbert finally comes clean that one of the eggs he takes from a neighbor nest is not theirs. They return it to the rightful owner and have one egg for themselves.
When the eggs finally hatch, Gilbert (Toto) and Gracie (Lala) receive a new-born penguin baby whom they name Scamper (Lolo), after his tendency to scurry around. Scamper, like any other young penguin, is over-inquisitive and very curious. Together with his best friend Snowflake (Pépé), Scamper goes on many journeys through the wild, learning about the creatures that live in region. He eventually also makes friends with a tame husky
puppy
called Cowboy, who is on an Antarctican trek with his scientist master.
Eventually, however, Scamper and Snowflake get separated from their home, and faces many dangers such as attacks by seabirds, leopard seals and killer whales
. Eventually, they get captured by a large group of poachers, from whom they later escape with the help of a Macaroni Penguin
named Louie and an old guard dog on board named Jack.
The young penguins return home, only to find that the poachers have also come to catch all the baby penguins to sell to a zoo; Scamper leads a successful rescue.
The story ends as the winter comes, and the penguins go northward again, now led by Scamper.
and in the United States
. The UK version was an English dub of the film as originally released; the American version was heavily localised and cuts out most of the violent scenes from the original, including the death of Scamper's father (which is not even mentioned in this version). All of the characters' names are changed, and the score and songs were written by Mark Mercury
(credited as "Bullets").
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese-Soviet co-produced animated feature film about the early life of an Adélie Penguin
Adelie Penguin
The Adélie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, is a species of penguin common along the entire Antarctic coast. They are among the most southerly distributed of all seabirds, as are the Emperor Penguin, the South Polar Skua, the Wilson's Storm Petrel, the Snow Petrel, and the Antarctic Petrel...
. It was originally released as a three-part serial.
The film is targeted at a very young audience, although the movie is narrated like a documentary about the life of the penguins during the spring and summer seasons in the Antarctic.
Plot
The story begins with the end of winter, and the southern ocean showing the aurora australisAurora (astronomy)
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
. A flock of penguins, coming from the north, returns home. The females separate from their mates to go hunt as males build their nests from piles of pebbles. The females return to lay their eggs, only to eventually separate from the males again, whilst the males take care of the eggs. A flock of aggressive seabirds
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
constantly threatens to steal the penguin eggs and raids the nesting grounds while the females are away. A penguin couple named Gilbert and Gracie saves the egg of another family, meanwhile one of their two eggs is stolen from their nest. When Gracie returns Gilbert finally comes clean that one of the eggs he takes from a neighbor nest is not theirs. They return it to the rightful owner and have one egg for themselves.
When the eggs finally hatch, Gilbert (Toto) and Gracie (Lala) receive a new-born penguin baby whom they name Scamper (Lolo), after his tendency to scurry around. Scamper, like any other young penguin, is over-inquisitive and very curious. Together with his best friend Snowflake (Pépé), Scamper goes on many journeys through the wild, learning about the creatures that live in region. He eventually also makes friends with a tame husky
Sled dog
Sled dogs, known also as sleigh man dogs, sledge dogs, or sleddogs, are highly trained types of dogs that are used to pull a dog sled, a wheel-less vehicle on runners also called a sled or sleigh, over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines.Sled dogs have become a popular winter recreation...
puppy
Puppy
A puppy is a juvenile dog. Some puppies may weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier...
called Cowboy, who is on an Antarctican trek with his scientist master.
Eventually, however, Scamper and Snowflake get separated from their home, and faces many dangers such as attacks by seabirds, leopard seals and killer whales
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
. Eventually, they get captured by a large group of poachers, from whom they later escape with the help of a Macaroni Penguin
Macaroni Penguin
The Macaroni Penguin is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of six species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the Royal Penguin, and some authorities consider the two to be a single species...
named Louie and an old guard dog on board named Jack.
The young penguins return home, only to find that the poachers have also come to catch all the baby penguins to sell to a zoo; Scamper leads a successful rescue.
The story ends as the winter comes, and the penguins go northward again, now led by Scamper.
Titles
The Japanese title of the film is and Russian is "" (Priklyucheniya pingvinyonka Lolo), both literally translate as The Adventures of Small Penguin Lolo. Apart from language, the Russian and Japanese versions are identical.English versions
This film was dubbed into English both in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The UK version was an English dub of the film as originally released; the American version was heavily localised and cuts out most of the violent scenes from the original, including the death of Scamper's father (which is not even mentioned in this version). All of the characters' names are changed, and the score and songs were written by Mark Mercury
Mark Mercury
-Career:His music is self-described as "a blend of contemporary classical and futuristic music." Some is of the ambient and electronic style. He has several album releases under his own record label, Blue Chromium Records.-TV series:*Candy Candy...
(credited as "Bullets").
Russian voice cast
- Alexei Batalov as Narrator
- Svetlana Stepchenko as Lolo (Scamper)
- Lyudmila GnilovaLyudmila GnilovaLyudmila Vladimirovna Gnilova is a Russian and Soviet actress and voice actress. She was awarded as an Meritorious Artist .- Biography :...
as Pépé (Snowflake) - Vyacheslav NevinnyVyacheslav NevinnyVyacheslav Mikhailovich Nevinny was a popular Russian actor titled a People's Artist of the USSR in 1986. He worked in the Moscow Art Theatre from 1959 until his death.-Biography:...
as Grandfather Pigo - Rolan BykovRolan BykovRolan Antonovich Bykov was a Soviet and Russian actor, film director, script writer, poet, song writer. He was awarded People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1973 and the USSR State Prize in 1986.Rolan Bykov was born to a Jewish family in Kiev....
as Toto (Gilbert, Scamper's father) - Elena Sanaeva as Lala (Gracie, Scamper's mother)
- Yevgeny LeonovYevgeny LeonovYevgeny Pavlovich Leonov was a famous Russian/Soviet actor who played main parts in several of the most famous Soviet films. Called "one of Russia's best-loved actors", he also provided the voice for many Soviet cartoon characters, including Vinny Pukh .-Early life:While growing up in a typical...
as Jack (dog on the poaching vessel) - Natalya Chenchik as Mak (Louie)
- Yuri Volintsev as a polar explorer
- Vladimir Ferapontov as a poacher
- Vyacheslav Bogachev as a poacher
- Vladimir Soshalsky as a poacher
External links
- Priklyucheniya pingvinyonka Lolo at the Animator.ruAnimator.ruAnimator.ru is a Russian website chronicling the films, people and studios of the animation industry in Russia, the former Soviet Union and the CIS. It also includes a forum, a news block, a photo-gallery and an animators labour exchange...
(Russian)