Tabaluga is a German-Australian animated television series produced by Yoram Gross Film Studios and Yoram Gross-EM.TV, based on the character of the same name created by Peter Maffay.[1] In this series, Tabaluga is the last of the dragons and lives in Greenland, a magical place inhabited by talking animals of many different species.[2] Tabaluga must defend his home from Iceland, a frigid arctic tundra, ruled by the evil snowman Arktos. In Season 2, he must also deal with a searing desert, ruled by an evil sand-spirit named Humsin.
The series was shown on Seven Network in Australia and ZDF in Germany. It was also shown on the Fox Family Channel from 1998 to 2001 in the United States.[3] In the first season, there are many references to the albums. For example, the snake, Bilingua (Tabaluga und das leuchtende Schweigen) and the spider Tarantula (Tabaluga und Lilli) make one-off appearances in the series. Special mention goes to Lilli, who Tabaluga falls in love with in the third album, Tabaluga und Lilli. Season 1, Episode 23, Tabaluga and Lilli, is dedicated to their love story.
Plot
The series focuses on Tabaluga, the last dragon living in Greenland, a land occupied by intelligent, talking animals. As a dragon he is tasked with defending Greenland against the evil snowman Arktos. In the second season, he must also defend Greenland against the desert spirit Humsin.
Characters
Residents of Greenland
Tabaluga: A small green dragon who is the main protagonist of the series. He is the son of Tyrion and is thought to be the last one of his kind until a secret world of dragons was found in Season 3, Episode 25. In Season 2, he is revealed to be the prince of Greenland. He is voiced by Jamie Oxenbould in English and is voiced by Björn Schalla in Season 1 and Dietmar Wunder in Season 2 and 3 in German.
Happy: A snow hare who used to live in Iceland, but after she was freed by Tabaluga in Season 1, Episode 2, she went to live in Greenland and became one of Tabaluga's best friends. She is voiced by Robyn Moore in English and by Sabine Manke in German.
Digby: A mole from Greenland who wears glasses and is one of Tabaluga's good friends. He is voiced by Robyn Moore in English and by Edeltraud Esner in Season 1 and 2 and by Santiago Ziesmer in Season 3 in German.
Nessaja: A giant turtle who acts as a mentor and advisor to Tabaluga. She is voiced by Robyn Moore in English and Inken Sommer in German.
Buzz: A bee and one of Tabaluga's good friends. He lives in Greenland in a hive with the other bees. He is voiced by Robyn Moore in English and by Maja Dürr in German.
Shouhu: An owl who can see the events of Greenland through his crystal ball. He was Arktos' prisoner and advisor under Tyrion's orders in Season 1 to make sure Arktos does not become too great of a threat. In Season 1, Episode 25, James accidentally helps him escape. After that, Shouhu becomes another mentor and advisor to Tabaluga alongside Nessaja. He is voiced by Keith Scott in English and by Peter Schiff in Season 1 and by Andreas Mannkopff in Season 2 and 3 in German.
Tyrion: The previous ruler of Greenland and father of Tabaluga. When he died, he turned into a star, like all other dragons. He occasionally appears to Tabaluga in spirit form to offer him some advice. He is voiced by Keith Scott in English.
Ruby: A hummingbird and a best friend of Buzz and Digby. He is voiced by Keith Scott in English and by Helmut Gauß in German.
Iceworld
Arktos: The main antagonist and Tabaluga's arch-enemy. He is an evil snowman who aims to cover the world in a tomb of snow and ice. He is also the king of Iceworld. He has a hall of fame that contains animals who have been frozen by him. He is fond of ice cream. Despite his hatred for Tabaluga, he has sometimes teamed up with him when the situation called for it. He is voiced by Keith Scott in English and Frank Ciazynski in German.
James: The polite and gentle penguin who serves Arktos and pilots his master's transport, The Arktoplane. When the penguins of Iceworld temporarily left the evil snowman, James was the only one who remained at his side. He is voiced by Keith Scott in English and by Eberhard Prüter in German.
Vultur: A reconnaissance spy and messenger for Arktos, but then changed allegiance to Humsin. In Season 3, Episode 2, he joins Arktos again. He is voiced by Keith Scott in English and Bodo Wolf in German.
Rex: Arktos' pet shark, who often tries to eat his carrot nose, despite hating carrots. Arktos had James send Rex to obedience school, where Rex graduated at the top of the class. He escaped at the end of Season 1.
Desert Realm
Humsin: Humsin serves as a secondary antagonist and is Tabaluga's second archenemy in Season 2. He is the ruler of the desert realm and wants to make Greenland into a desert. Arktos and him are rivals and the two fight a lot. Like how Arktos is fond of ice cream, Humsin is fond of salty potato chips. He can turn into a whirlwind of sand. He dies at the end of Season 2 when he falls over a waterfall. He is voiced by Jörg Hengstler in German.
Kayo: An accident-prone Chameleon who worked for Humsin, but in Season 3, he tries to joins Arktos' side, but is rejected many times. At the end of Season 3, Episode 22, after being rejected by Arktos yet again, he decides to join Tabaluga and becomes a new resident of Greenland. He is voiced by Stefan Krause in German.
Ostrich: An accountant and a female ostrich. Worker for Humsin.
Episodes
Season 1 (1997–1998)
Season 2 (2001–2002)
Season 3 (2003–2004)
Animated movie
Following the conclusion of the third season in 2004, a Christmas cartoon film, "Tabaluga und Leo" (engl. "Tabaluga and Leo"), based on the TV cartoon series aired in 2005, serving as a sequel to the animated series.
It is a celebration of Greenland Day for Greenland and Christmas Eve for humans. An orphaned boy named Leo who is having no luck getting a foster family decides to run away and enters a portal into Iceworld. During a search for some mountain roses to complete the Greenland festival, Tabaluga rescues Leo from Arktos and takes him to join the festival. Arktos and James intensify Leo's clumsiness in order to swipe his toy to develop a new automated weapon. The damage Leo caused to a green crystal forces Tabaluga to go on an urgent quest for a new one, Leo by his side. When Tabaluga procures the new green crystal, Arktos kidnaps Leo to complete the essential part of his new weapon. Tabaluga slips into Glasstown, rescues Leo, and returns in time to save the Greenland festival. Arktos launches his new automated weapon on Greenland, but Tabaluga and Leo repel it. Finally, Tabaluga persuades Leo to go back to his world and join his new foster parents.
^Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 820. ISBN 978-1476665993.
^Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 306–307. ISBN 9781476672939.
^"FOX FAMILY CHANNEL UNVEILS KIDS SCHEDULE". Bloomberg. 13 January 1998. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
