The World of David the Gnome

Lennon Oliver Universe
Title screen of original David el Gnomo opening
Also known as	The World of David the Gnome David the Gnome
Genre	animation, children's
Created by	Claudio Biern Boyd, BRB Internacional
Directed by	Luis Ballester
Starring	Tom Bosley as David the Gnome
Voices of	Matilde Conesa José María Cordero Ángel Egido Paco Hernández Jane Woods Vlasta Vrana Richard Dumont Barbara Pogemiller A.J. Henderson Adrain Knight Rob Roy Marc Denis
Narrated by	Teófilo Martínez (Spanish version) Christopher Plummer (English version)
Country of origin	Spain
Language(s)	Spanish English German Dutch French Danish Hebrew Italian Catalan Hungarian Arabic Afrikaans
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer(s)	Claudio Biern Boyd
Producer(s)	Micheline Charest Ronald A. Weinberg
Running time	23 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	TVE
Original airing	1985
Chronology
Followed by	Wisdom of the Gnomes The Great Adventure of the Gnomes The Gnomes in the Snow The Fantastic Adventures of the Gnomes The New World of the Gnomes

The World of David the Gnome, originally titled David el Gnomo (also known as David, the Gnome), is a Spanish animated television series based on the children's book The Secret Book of Gnomes, by the Dutch author Wil Huygen and illustrator Rien Poortvliet.^[1] The program was originally created in Spain by BRB Internacional (who were also responsible for the Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds franchise and other cartoons like Bobobobs and Around the World with Willy Fog) with animation by Canadian studio Cinar (now Cookie Jar Entertainment), titled David el Gnomo, and retains a sense of the lush illustrations of the original books. Twenty-six episodes were produced. There was also a spin-off series entitled Wisdom of the Gnomes.

In the English language dub, The World of David the Gnome was narrated by Christopher Plummer, with the voice of David the Gnome being provided by Tom Bosley.

David the Gnome came to US television in 1987, airing weekdays on the Nickelodeon cable channel,^[2] and was part of the fledgling Nick Jr. lineup when that was created shortly thereafter until 1995. It also aired on The Learning Channel from September 30, 1996 until late 1998. The series is still frequently airing weekday mornings on Irish channel RTÉ Two as of 2006. In Australia, it has aired on ABC, as well as the Australian branch of Nickelodeon, again as part of the Nick Jr. lineup.

Synopsis

The series presents the gnomes as a kind species, of 15 centimeters (6 inches) of height, and between 250 and 300 grams (8 and 10 ounces) of weight depending on gnome body mass. According to their habitat, different types of gnomes are distinguished: the ones of the forest, the ones of the garden, the ones of the farm, the ones of the house, the ones of the dunes, those of Siberia, and nomadic "gypsy" gnomes (commonly looked down upon by other gnomes.) A gnome's lifespan is exactly 400 years. However, there are a few cases of gnomes living past 400 years. One example is a couple in the Balkans living 550 years.

They live in pairs in comfortable caves or holes under trees, in the company of a pair of mice and a cricket. Their diet is vegetarian. They are helped by the animals of the forest when traveling long distances or when they need to arrive quickly at a specific location. Gnomes work in various ways to repair the damage inevitably caused by humans. They also have the power of telepathy and mind control.

Their main enemies are the trolls, malevolent and clumsy creatures who always make trouble for the other inhabitants of the forest, as well as gnome poachers.

Characters

• David – A gnome of the forest. David is 399 years old, making him the oldest gnome around (since most gnomes live no more than 400 years), although he is in good health. David is a doctor, and he uses his knowledge of many fields, such as hypnosis and acupuncture, to heal his patients, usually animals, such as his faithful friend Swift the fox, or other gnomes. David also befriends a bird that, when he whistles, immediately arrives to quickly transport him to wherever necessary. For longer trips, he sometimes travels in a basket attached to the neck of the bird. Voiced by the late Tom Bosley.
• Lisa – David's wife and companion and is the same age as he. Together they have two children, Lily and Harold. David's wife is in charge of the household, although she occasionally accompanies him and helps him in his diverse adventures. Voiced by Jane Woods.
• Swift the Fox – David's best friend who lives in the forest and is always available to transport David to wherever he is required. He is characterized by his speed. Voiced by Vlasta Vrana.
• The Trolls – In the series, there are four trolls who constantly try to bother the gnomes. Their names are Pit, Pat and Pot,, in addition to Holler who is the only one of the four able to think. They have some supernatural powers, and are capable of utilize magical spells too powerful for Gnome magic to break. However, in addition to their extreme lack of wit, they also have another severe weakness: direct exposure to sunlight turns them into stone. Holler was voiced by A.J. Henderson, Pit was voiced by Marc Denis, Pat was voiced by Rob Roy, and Pot was voiced by Adrian Knight.
• Susan – David and Lisa's granddaughter. Voiced by Barbara Pogenmiller.
• King – Voiced by Richard Dumont
• Paul – David's twin brother. Not only does Paul have a normal moustache in contrast to David's Handlebar moustache but his jumper is a darker shade of blue, he has a bigger nose, his gnome hat is dark blue whereas that of David's is red and his trousers and boots are an inverse of those of David's: David's trousers are brown and his boots are beige, while Paul wears beige trousers and dark boots.

Episodes

Main article: List of The World of David the Gnome episodes

David the Gnome ran for twenty-six episodes, each approximately 23 minutes in length.

Reception

The series does much to encourage children to treat the environment with respect. The first episode begins with real images of contamination and destruction, contrasted later with the anti-materialism and pacifism of the gnomes.

During the series, different animals are shown and information is given on their behavior and customs, which is usually well documented. The same thing happens with the medical situations David is faced with.

A lesson in the initial credits of each episode reminds us that nobody is better by being bigger.

Sequels

After the success of the initial series, the same producers created a spin-off called Wisdom of the Gnomes (1987). In this series, the protagonist is a gnome called Klaus, a judge who travels with his assistant Dani to solve disputes.

Other sequels, both in serial and movie form, were The Great Adventure of the Gnomes (1995), The Gnomes in the Snow (1999) and The Fantastic Adventures of the Gnomes (2000).

The series was also preceded by the popular television movie, Gnomes in 1980, which was based on the same series of books as The World of David the Gnome.

In 1997 there was a series called "The New World of the Gnomes" and was retelling of the original series as David and his nephew Sprout now travel the world to save animals and preserve nature as it is endangered by problems of modern day pollution and environmental dangers. Lisa, David's wife from the original series, does appear in the show. Other than the humans who cause either unintential or intentional destruction to nature and harm to animals, the show's other antagonists are three trolls who run into David and the gnomes now and then, their names are Trolly, Brute, and Drool. The show was also made in collabration with the WWF (World Wildlife Foundation)

Merchandise

A complete series DVD set was released in the U.K. in 2006 by Revelation Films. It is unclear if or when it will see a DVD release in other regions.

Cast

• David the Gnome - Tom Bosley
• Lisa- Jane Woods
• Swift- Vlasta Vrana
• King- Richard Dumont
• Susan- Barbara Pogemiller
• Holler- A.J. Henderson
• Pit- Adrain Knight
• Pat- Rob Roy
• Pot- Marc Denis

References

1. ^ http://www.foundus.com/GnoQueen/secret.htm
2. ^ Lewin, Tamar (October 21, 1990). "TELEVISION; Hey There, Dudes, the Kids Have Grabbed a Network". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/21/arts/television-hey-there-dudes-the-kids-have-grabbed-a-network.html?scp=4&sq=david%20the%20gnome&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-14. 

External links

• David the Gnome at the Internet Movie Database
• The World of David the Gnome at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• David the Gnome at TV.com
• David the Gnome fansite