The origins of Rupert Bear as a strip cartoon in the Daily Express meant that his adventures were necessarily convoluted. The little bear had to face menace at the end of each instalment in order to get his young readers hooked.
This new animated cartoon retained this flavour, with Rupert and his friend Bill Badger unable to turn a corner of idyllic, rural Nutwood without falling over strange men, skulking and up to no good. As the dramatic music swelled, Bill muttered; “Spies, I bet.”
The very first story, ‘Rupert and Little Yum’, was full of characters who were transparently evil – thugs with rippling muscles or sinister types with moustaches and jackboots. All foreigners were stereotypes of their race: two Chinese men were called Wing and Wong and were given to bowing a lot.
Despite his farcical role as a slap-stick PC who kept flying over the handlebars of his bike, Constable Growler managed to bring to justice a criminal who had eluded the combined forces of Scotland Yard and Interpol.
The animation captured the Boys’ Own style that is the essence of Rupert: rollicking adventures pursued in the belief that good and bad are immediately identifiable.
Part of Rupert’s charm is that he seems rooted in about 1930, with the Green Belt still firmly in place, and the terminal trendiness, which afflicts some children’s television, held at bay.
Rupert Bear (voice)
Julie Lemieux Mrs Bear (voice)
Valerie Boyle Mr Bear (voice)
Guy Bannerman Bill Badger (voice)
Torquil Campbell Professor (voice)
Colin Fox Podgy Pig (voice)
Hadley Kay Pong Ping (voice)
Oscar Hsu Algy Pug (voice)
Keith White Tiger Lily (voice)
Stephanie Morgenstern
