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Fantadroms

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Fantadroms
Genrescience fiction
Directed byAnsis Bērziņš
Country of originLatvian SSR
Latvia
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Running time7 min
Production companyStudija Dauka
Original release
NetworkLatvijas Televīzija
Release1985 (1985) –
1995 (1995)

Fantadroms is a Latvian children's cartoon by the production company Studio Dauka. It first aired in the Soviet Union in 1985. The show has no dialogue and drama unfolds through pantomime and expressive noises such as grunts, groans, and laughter. This allows the show to cross language barriers.

The episode "Salt" won the Lielais Kristaps award for best animation in 1985,[1] and further episodes were made sporadically until 1995.

In the early 1990s, Streamline Pictures was planning to release Fantadroms in the United States, but it was scrapped because the company thought the series was too bizarre for American audiences and that the person representing it did not actually have the rights to it.[2]

Plot

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The main character of the show is a yellow shape-shifting robot called Indriķis XIII, who usually takes the form of a cat. He flies through the universe mediating various disputes between the other characters or saving them from disaster. One recurring dynamic in the show is the love triangle between Indriķis, Receklīte ("clot" in Latvian, a flying purple cat-octopus with whom Indriķis is in love), and The Rat (who is in love with Indriķis). Other recurring characters include a cow, two young humans, and an amorphous pink blob.

Episode list

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No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
0pilot"Takeoff Field of Fantasy"Ansis BērziņšAnsis Bērziņš1984 (1984)
11"The Laugh"Ansis BērziņšAnsis Bērziņš1985 (1985)
22"The Salt"Ansis BērziņšTBD1985 (1985)
33"The Fire"Ansis BērziņšTBD1985 (1985)
44"Flowers"Ansis BērziņšAnsis Bērziņš1992 (1992)
55"Milk"Ansis BērziņšAnsis Bērziņš1993 (1993)
66"Ice Cream"Aivars RušmanisAnsis Bērziņš, Uģis Segliņš1993 (1993)
77"The Contest"Dzintars KrūmiņšUģis Segliņš1993 (1993)
88"Earthquake"Jānis KārkliņšUģis Segliņš1993 (1993)
99"Feeding Bottle"Aivars RušmanisUģis Segliņš, Ansis Bērziņš1994 (1994)
1010"A Little House"Jānis KārkliņšAnsis Bērziņš, Aldis Linē1994 (1994)
1111"Rainbow"Dace LiepaIlze Skrastiņa, Ansis Bērziņš1994 (1994)
1212"Cocoa"Ilze RuskaAnsis Bērziņš, Aldis Linē1995 (1995)
1313"Daddy"Ilze RuskaAnsis Bērziņš, Aldis Linē1995 (1995)

Episodes "Takeoff Field of Fantasy", "The Salt" and "The Fire" got another cut a few years after release, being shortened as a result. "Takeoff Field of Fantasy" was renamed into "The Laugh" on that release.

References

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  1. ^ "Laureāti". LielaisKristaps.lv.
  2. ^ "Streamline Pictures-Part 2". Cartoon Research.
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