Cro and Bronto Return - Now With Intro Sequence and Credits!

Stop the presses, everybody! I've found a complete and uncut episode of that awesome, classic DiC series Crô et Bronto, including its ridiculously rare intro sequence and credits!

*Cough*

What? You're saying you never watched Cro et Bronto before? Cro et Bronto didn't play repeatedly on your cartoon channels as you were growing up? You don't actually know what Cro et Bronto is? Son of a gun! Have YOU ever missed out!

Okay, okay, I'll calm down a little. In truth, Cro et Bronto probably isn't one of the greatest cartoons ever made. But for us Gadget and/or early DiC fans, it's interesting from an historical perspective. This mini-series about the little stone age man Cro and his obsession with catching and eating the naïve, good-natured brontosaurus Bronto was one of the very first animated productions to come out of DiC Audiovisuel. It was produced for the French channel Antenne 2, where it reportedly premiered sometimes in 1980 (more on that "reportedly" later).

Screenshot from the intro sequence. Watch the full episode below.

I'm not sure how much Cro et Bronto was rerun after its initial airing, but it's safe to say it's been nearly impossible to watch in modern times. When I first posted about it in 2012 (right after I found out it existed), not a single clip was available on the web. My second post in 2013 was done because animation site Osibo News had finally shared one episode as part of an article about the DiC history book "Les séries de notre enfance". Annoyingly, though, Osibo's clip was missing the intro and end credits. And that's a big reason why the video I'm showcasing in this third post is by far the best to surface...



Shared by the channel VHS Cartoons back on February 25, this YouTube upload finally lets us see the intro and end credits, as well as hear the opening theme -- a very frenetic and somewhat obnoxious theme, I must add, but it does capture the series' tone. As for the episode itself... well, let's just say that the inspiration from Chuck Jones' Roadrunner cartoons is getting clearer and clearer (and so is the reuse of animation).

Watching the end credits leads me to revise some of the production details I wrote in earlier posts. My info at the time was based on Planete Jeunesse's Cro et Bronto article, which credits Bruno Bianchi and Edouard David as the series' co-directors. However, the only credit screen seen in the above episode tells us that the director is Bernard Deyriès, a long-time DiC employee who would go on to direct series like Ulysses 31, The Mysterious Cities of Gold and The Littles. (Planete Jeunesse does list Deyriès as the "Auteur", meaning the creator; but I can't remember his name being there when I used the site as a source three years ago. I certainly didn't mention him anywhere in my first post.)

Since Planete Jeunesse's info doesn't match up with what we see on screen, let's cross-check with a different source. "Les series de notre enfance", Maroin Eluasti and Nordine Zemrak's excellent DiC history book, has a small entry on Cro et Bronto on page 18 - and I recently took the time to type that entry into Google Translate. While Eluasti and Zemrak do not mention any directors, they state that the series was "conceived by Edouard David, Bruno Bianchi and Bernard Deyries". So I suppose all three should be credited as creators. As for the direction, the above framegrab proves that Bernard Deyries directed at least this episode, if not all of them.

About that, here's an interesting producton tidbit. I wrote earlier that the series consists of 45 episodes lasting for about 1 minute and 20 seconds each. Eluasti and Zemrak confirm the part about 45 short episodes in their book, but adds something I didn't know: "It was a production for Antenne 2 for a duration of 30 minutes in total, but dividable into 45 episodes of 1 minute and 10 seconds each." So it was originally produced as one half-hour of sketches. Now we know.

There's one bit of info in "Les series de notre enfance" that I can't quite make heads or tails of, though. The sentence "Cro et Bronto est la première série animée produite par la DIC quand son bureau s'est déplacé à Paris en 1980", meaning: "Cro and Bronto was the first animated series produced by DIC when the office moved to Paris in 1980." That's interesting... but the above screenshot clearly tells us that the series was produced in 1979. So if DiC got their new Paris offices in 1980, how could Cro et Bronto have been produced there? Maybe "1980" is a typo and DiC got those new offices in 1979...? Hmmm.

Even more confusion surrounds the original production and airing time. In my first post, I wrote that it premiered on Antenne 2 in March of 1980. I obviously got that from Planete Jeunesse, but their section on the premiere date has now been changed to "1er janvier 1980 (?)" At least they admit they're not certain. Planete Jeunesse also states 1978 as the year of production, but the credit screen says 1979. I'll trust 1979 to be the correct year here, especially since I really doubt this series was produced over several years.

Since we're on the topic of corrections... I need to correct myself, too, on a little something that I wrote at the very end of the 2012 post. It's a piece of artwork that seems to be the cover for a record edition of the series' theme song. In fact, that's what I thought it was back then. Looking at it now, though, I'm certain it's just an imaginary mock-up cover. I found it on Mange-disque.tv, a French web site which features listings and covers for many real soundtrack releases (including Inspector Gadget). That's what had me fooled. But I notice now that the title logo on the fake cover looks nothing like the series' real titles, and the artwork is simply taken from scans of the French comic book adaptation printed in Télé Récré A2. Plus, when you think about it, would a theme song like the one you just heard above really be likely to get its own soundtrack release? Mange-disque even has the cover posted under the headline "Les pochettes improbables", i. e. "the unlikely covers". Guess I should have taken the hint. Anyway, congratulations to "gosseboffe" (who is credited as the cover's "auteur" if you enlarge it) for fooling me way back when.

Enough fact revisions, though. Want some more videos? Believe it or not, the YouTube episode above is actually NOT the only Cro and Bronto clip to surface lately. Back in January, the French web community Les Pays du Manga uploaded two other episodes to RuTube and Dailymotion! These are very low quality and conspicuously missing any intro and credits, but still nice to see. (I'm guessing the titles for these episodes were invented by the uploaders.)



I think this one below may be my favorite of the three "new" episodes. A few gags took me by surprice.



And to make the roundup truly complete, here's the episode that Osibo News shared back in 2013 as well...



Cro and Bronto FTW! Who wants to start the petition for a Blu-ray release??

UPDATE (January 25, 2016): Since VHS Cartoons' channel is now gone from YouTube, I re-uploaded the "Cro et Bronto" episode myself and embedded it in the old upload's place.

The DiC Exposition (Paris, April 25 - May 4, 2015)

Okay, so I'm not a fan of EVERY DiC series from the 80s by a long shot, but damn, does this look cool nonetheless...

The above poster advertises for an art exposition of classic DiC series set to happen in Paris from April 25 to May 4, 2015. From what I understand, it's being arranged by Maroin Eluasti and Nordine Zemrak, the authors of the comprehensive, French-language DiC history book "Les séries de notre enfance". That book contained a ton of great-looking production art from DiC series of the 80s (DiC's golden age to many, including me) - and judging by this comment from the book's Facebook site, so will "DiC - l'exposition":

Elle aura lieu principalement à Paris du 25 avril 2015 au 4 mai 2015 . il y aura enormément de produits dérivés ainsi que Des cellulos, story board, dessins préparatoires, photos d' époques, journaux, magazines et de très belles surprises

And then Google Translate's English version:

It will take place mainly in Paris from 25 April 2015 to 4 May 2015. there will be a lot of merchandise as well as cels, storyboards, preparatory drawings, photos of the era, newspapers, magazines and beautiful surprises.

Sounds very cool. I wouldn't be surpriced if a lot of the drawings, storyboards, cels etc. which didn't make it into the book will be on magnificent display here. Plus, if the book's focus is anything to go by, I'd expect a LOT of artwork from the early shows such as Ulysses 31, Cities of Gold, Inspector Gadget, The Littles, Heathcliff (as well as selections from the shows of the second half of the 80s, up until the point when Jean Chalopin left the company).

Oh, and did you notice that "Entrée gratuite" near the bottom of the poster? Free entry! This really is sounding better and better.

The authors promise more news on Facebook soon, and are encouraging fans to make suggestions for what they want to see in the exposition. I doubt I'll be updating regularly here about the developments, so if you want day-to-day news, head over to Facebook and follow their site.

Ancient DiC: Watch a "Cro et Bronto" Episode Online!

Remember Cro and Bronto? The caveman and dinosaur starring in one of DiC's first series, which I wrote about back in February of 2012? Back then, I had just found out that DiC's mini-series Cro et Bronto (1980) was one of the very first series that Gadget co-creator Bruno Bianchi directed. Co-directed, that is, as Bianchi shared the director's credit with Edouard David, later one of the principal character designers (alongside Bianchi) on Inspector Gadget. My curiosity was instantly piqued when hearing about this pre-Gadget work by Bianchi and David, but there was one problem... it was simply impossible to see. I couldn't track down any episodes online, not even a clip. Nor could I find a trace of information about VHSes or any other commercial releases of the series (probably because there are none). "Cro et Bronto" became one of the most unfindable cartoons I've ever tried to find on the World Wide Web.

Until a few months ago. This May, one episode of the series finally made it online. The French animation site Osibo News did a lenghty report on the history-of-DiC book "Les séries de notre enfance", and in the process posted several bonus videos featuring early DiC shows. Among these videos: the below "Cro et Bronto" installment! The video is terribly interlaced and the audio slightly out of sync, but no matter. Press the play button below to see this (literally) ancient DiC cartoon for yourself:



As great as it feels to finally get to see the series, though, I have to admit I'm not very impressed with it. It's so clearly inspired by Hollywood's classic chase cartoons of the 40s and 50s, and it so clearly pales in comparison to those great cartoons. The most obvious link is of course to Chuck Jones' Roadrunner cartoons: Like Wile E. Coyote, the small cro-magnon Cro lives to catch an animal; like the Roadrunner, Bronto the brontosaurus is the animal that never gets caught. And of course, this 1-minute-and-20-seconds-long cartoon manages to be more predictable than any entry in the Roadrunner series. Still, there were touches and details that I liked. The design is my favorite element, as it feels so distinctly French - very much in the vein of classic, French-Belgian comic strips. Cro in particular feels like he could have stepped right out of a series like Asterix or Iznogoud. And the absent-minded, naive personality of Bronto has a certain charm. Bronto's slow-paced, bumbling walk cycle is perhaps the best piece of animation seen in the episode.

One note about Bronto's personality: In my previous post about this series, I actually wrote that Bronto "...has a crush on Cro... and never realizes that Cro is out to hurt him". I've come to realize later on that the part about "crush" is not correct. I originally came to that conclusion because of French-written information from Planète Jeunesse - information that I translated through Google Translate and then interpreted on my own where the grammar and wording made things confusing. Couple that confusion with the below screenshot that I also found on Planète Jeunesse...

...and, well, you can hopefully see where I got things mixed up. The thing is, Bronto does love Cro - but he loves him like a dog loves his master, like an ever-loyal friend. I realized this when re-reading a post about the series on the blog Le Grenier de la télé, where it's mentioned specifically that "...Bronto, naïf à faire peur, adore Cro comme un chien aime son maître...". Or in English:"...Bronto, too naive to be afraid [of Cro], adores Cro like a dog loves his master..." So there you go. Makes about 100% more sense than my "crush", right? I'm still not sure why I found it logical in any way that the dinosaur Bronto would have a romantic crush on the caveman Cro... but as I recall, that February 2012 post was written very late at night...

"Les séries de notre enfance": It's Out!

I meant to tell you about this yesterday, but didn't get the time: The lavish, 208-page French book that goes behind the scenes of the DiC studios - loaded with rare art, in-depth articles and never-before-seen interviews - was finally released in France yesterday and can be ordered directly from the site of the publishing company. (I'll let you know if I come across other web stores to order it from - so far, Amazon doesn't seem to have it in stock. The book's writers have been talking about hopefully getting it released to a wide range of web stores, but perhaps this will take off more during the next few weeks.) UPDATE (November 16): It's now also available from the French Amazon.

As you might have noticed in the news column to the right, I've already linked to the publishers' pre-order site for the last few weeks; but now that the book is officially out, I thought a last plug would be appropriate (at least it will be the last until I receive it myself). One thing I haven't mentioned properly before - aside from the delayed release date - is the change to the final cover (above) just a few weeks ago. I personally think it's a vast improvement over the first draft... it really tells you much more clearly what the book is about. (The only small weakness I can think of, perhaps, is that the drawing of Penny has been flipped from the first cover version... so that now, her communicator watch is actually on the wrong wrist. But that's so nit-picky I'm not even gonna mention it. ;)

To quickly recap what this book is all about: "Les séries de notre enfance: Ulysse 31, les cités d'or, Inspecteur Gadget..." (directly translated: "The series of our childhood: Ulysses 31, The Cities of Gold, Inspector Gadget ...") is a fan project written and compiled by two extremely dedicated DiC fans named Maroin Eluasti and Nordine Zemrak. They've spent the last 5 years researching the history of the DiC cartoon studios: gathering background information, interviewing as many as possible of the folks working there, collecting rare artwork like model sheets, cels, development sketches and publicity art... all with the goal of eventually publishing a book dedicated to DiC, and particularly dedicated to its golden age in the 1980s. (Note the focus of the title: It's probably no coincidence that the three cartoons mentioned by name are arguably DiC's all-time most memorable ones.) A few months ago, Zemrak and Eluasti started a Ulule project to raise money for the publication of their love letter to DiC, and succeeded with flying colors in the beginning of September. Their fan-funded book has since been moving rapidly through production (accompanied by a number of great Facebook teasers both before and after the fundraising was completed) until the release on November 14.

So here's what you get: For DiC fans of all languages and nationalities, the book will consist of 65% (or more) images - rare production art, vintage cels and promotional material related to all of DiC's most famous shows. For those who understand French, there's also 35% text, consisting of detailed background info and in-depth interviews also related to DiC's famous series. Either way, the book ought to make a very interesting experience for any fan of 80s cartoon shows. I still have a hope there might be an English-language edition someday... but as I said earlier, that will most likely be completely dependent on the success of this French edition. So if you're a fan, and if you like this initiative, it might be a good idea to buy a copy now rather than wait for a possible English edition far into the future. Buying the French-language version will probably increase the chances of getting an English-language version.

Anyway, I'm hoping for the best of luck and the best of sales for this book. And most of all, I'm hoping it lives up to expectations! It should reach my mailbox (or nearby post office) any day now...

The DiC Book Is A Go (To Say The Least)!

DiC fans rejoice! At the end of Friday, September 14, the Ulule fundraising for the French "Art Of" book on the DiC studios ended its run... and it was a resounding success. The original fundraising goal was actually achieved on September 7, but the book went right on collecting, finally totaling at 125%! This is a great thing, of course, as more funds means a product of higher quality. To quote the book's writers Maroin Eluasti and Nordine Zemrak (right after the 100% victory was achieved, in a moment of great happiness on September 8):

Like us, you believed and together we succeeded! In fact, yesterday we reached 100% and more.

Fans of the heart, we thank you for your trust and support that will allow this beautiful project to exist.

As the adventure continues, each additional euro will consider new options:

- Varnish on the cover of the book;

- A collector's version, an edition of 50 numbered and signed books;

And many other things ... ;-) 

You will be told quickly.

Maroin & Nordine

One such bonus-related news piece was actually announced even before the funding was completed, on August 20 on Facebook: Instead of the originally planned 192 pages, the book will be 208 pages long, allowing for more pictures and info! Other than that, it is not yet known which bonuses will end up in the final product... but with 25% more backing than the originally needed sum, the book should definitely benefit one way or another.

In fact, we'll be able to see for ourselves shortly, as the authors still intend to have their work released by the end of October. And then... well, let's just say that all of us "early birds" who donated more than a certain amount can lean back and wait for our copies of the book to arrive in the mail. :) For the rest of you interested DiC fans out there, the writers hope to be able to make the book available "everywhere" when it's officially released... in other words, probably both in book stores and web shops. More details about this will likely follow soon. For day-to-day news about the actual production of the book, I'd recommend following its Facebook page, which has already given us great teasers in the form of cels, merchandise and memorabilia over this past month.

Among all these wonderful news, only one big question seems to remain: What are the prospects for an English-language edition? Right now, there are certainly no news regarding this... understandably enough, I guess, since the project was of course conceived as a French publication first and foremost. And many of the DiC series from the 80s have bigger cult followings in France than they do in other countries. I still believe, though, that an English-language edition of the book could find success (we are talking about a book that celebrates DiC's greatest shows from the 80s, after all), but I'm pretty sure the authors will not consider anything like this until after the French edition is released - and then it will probably be a question of how successful the French edition is. Still, we can always hope. More than a month ago, I actually did ask on the book's official Facebook about the possibilities for an English-language version. Quoted from an August 6 post on the Facebook wall, here is Nordine Zemrak's (fairly enthusiastic) answer:

...if the project became succesful, english language could be possible ! ! (...)

So at least the writers are open to the idea. For my part, even though I'm looking forward to the visual side of the book, it would be fantastic to be able to actually read the interviews and the behind-the-scenes information properly, so I'm gonna keep on hoping for the English-language version to happen. In the meantime, I'll settle for the French book to pop into my mailbox in less than a month and a half...

Above: One of the many Facebook previews of the book's contents, a beutiful Inspector Gadget cel
from "Monster Lake". More previews related to other DiC productions below.

French Book About DiC's Early Cartoons In The Making

...and it needs your support. Read on to see if this is something you're interested in:

This should be exciting news for all DiC fans (especially those who speak French). I just found out that a lavish new book about the early history and TV cartoons of DiC is being prepared in France - as an internet-funded project! It will feature previously unpublished interviews and rare illustrations (ranging from cels and storyboards to vintage photos), as well as a thorough behind the scenes-look at all of the most famous cartoon series produced by the DiC studio.

The book, titled "Ces séries de notre enfance: Ulysse 31, Les cités d'or, Inspecteur Gadget..." (directly translated: These series of our childhoods), is being written by two huge DiC fans named Maroin Eluasti and Nordine Zemrak... and these writers are currently trying to raise money online in order to publish the book this October. So far, 10% of the needed funds have been collected, and they hope to have the entire amount before September 14, the day the fund-raising ends. (In case you wondered: Yes, all donations will be refunded if they don't get enough support and the book is not published.) Visit the book's official site if you want to make a donation and get cool collector's items in exchange for it, or if you just want to read more about the project. They also have a Facebook page where fans can ask questions. Below you can check out the video trailer:



The authors' presentation of the book (brough to you by Google Translate and me, as if you had to ask) sums up the whole project better than I can:

"Who has not dreamed of fighting with Ulysses 31, to help him find his way, of crossing the oceans in search of the Mysterious Cities of Gold in the company of Esteban, Zia and Tao, of fighting monster plants along with Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors? Who has not laughed at the blunders of Inspector Gadget or the jokes of Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats? These series of the 1980s have shaped our childhoods with their mysteries and humor.

Today, we offer to find them and rediscover them within a single book citing all productions of the same studio: D.I.C. 

Captivated by these legendary series, we want you to discover the secrets of their production. This book will be the culmination of five years of research, documentation, interviews of all parties related to the creation of their series. We performed thus the globetrotting to gather evidence in France, the United States as well as Japan, China and Luxembourg and attempted to reconstruct the puzzle of an adventure more than thirty years old."

The book will concentrate chiefly on the period 1978-1988 - the decade which saw DiC grow from a small, French animation studio making commercials and industrial films into a major, international player in TV cartoon production. More importantly, this was the decade in which (arguably) all of DiC's most memorable cartoon shows were made. Just looking at the characters featured on the cover (and the sneak peeks next to the cover) makes me immediately interested in this book. 

The descriptions of the book's contents makes it sound even better (translated by you-know-what and you-know-who):

"Specifically, what does it [the book] contain? 

The book format of 29.7 cm × 23.7 cm wide will include 192 pages in a beautiful glossy paper. The iconography represents 65% images and 35% text. 

In detail, there will be:
- Interviews with Jean Chalopin, Bernard Deyriès, Bruno Bianchi, Jean Barbaud or even Michi Himeno, Shingo Araki, Mitsuru Kaneko and many others;
- Photographs of productions in Japan, the United States and Canada from 1978 to 1986;
- Photos of generic recording of Ulysses 31 in Los Angeles in 1981 with the memorable Lionel Leroy along with Haim Saban and Shuki Levy;
- Research into the design, characters and model sheets of Ulysses 31, Inspector Gadget, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Lupin XIII, etc.;
- Numerous illustrations: cels, backgrounds, layouts, storyboards, caricatures, products..."

...and perhaps most intriguing of all, this note from co-author Maroin Eluasti about his and Zemrak's approach to writing the book:

"We can confirm that it will be very comprehensive, particularly during the period from 1978 to 1988. An attempt was made through interviews with various players to not merely make a summary of the series or to repeat what has already been seen elsewhere. We wanted to really be comprehensive (while trying not to bore you;-)) 

In addition, all documents of the cartoons in the book are beautiful and totally original! And finally, there will be about fifty pictures just to make a complete immersion into the years 1970/1980. In addition to other things, this is making it a book totally different to what have been done so far;-)"

This all sounds pretty fantastic. Such a History/Art Of book about the DiC studio has never existed before, and I can imagine it will uncover a wealth of interesting information and images related to not only Inspector Gadget, but also to Ulysses 31, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats.....  The only downside - a rather big downside - is of course that the book almost certainly won't be published in English. However, the contents will be divided between 65% images and 35% text, so if the image part is good enough, it might still be very interesting even to fans (like me) who don't speak French. Here are a few more sneak peeks of the book's illustrations:

Oh, that's right: Below is an example of some of the cool stuff you can get in exchange for your donation to this project. (No, you don't have to give 250 euros, by the way; this is just an example. You can go as low as 5 euros if you want to.) Exclusive cels, storyboards, film reels etc.... all making it even more tempting to support an already good cause. As I said earlier, go straight to the book's site (fr.ulule.com/dic/) if you'd like to donate. (The site very conveniently converts the donations to your country's currency, so you can know exactly how much you're giving.) The authors hope to get the book published by October, as I said, but that release date is dependent on whether they can raise enough money in time. Every donation counts; so if you feel like contributing, do it right away and make sure to spread the word at the same time. 

"Cro et Bronto" - Bruno Bianchi's Very First Cartoon Series?

Wow, I stand corrected! In my December 10 post, reminiscing about Gadget's late creator Bruno Bianchi, I wrote that the original Inspector Gadget series was Bianchi's first outing as a director. That's what I always thought... but it appears not to be the case. Bruno Bianchi actually had experience from directing at least one TV cartoon series before Inspector Gadget! Presenting... CRO et BRONTO from 1980!

This show is interesting to Inspector Gadget fans not only because of the involvement of Bruno Bianchi, but also as a piece of ancient DiC history! Yep, this cartoon was of course made by DiC, where Bianchi had already been working since 1977. First broadcast in March of 1980, Cro et Bronto was a co-production between DiC and Antenna 2, the French channel that aired all of the show's 45 episodes, running for 1 minute and 20 seconds each. Below is the series' title screen:

I've never seen this show and it appears extremely hard to see at all. In fact, I can't locate a single clip of it online, not even an intro - and that in itself is saying a lot. The only proper information available anywhere seems to be on the French cartoon site Planete Jeunesse, which at least provides an article containting a few detailed facts and some screenshots.

According to Planete Jeunesse, Cro et Bronto was clearly inspired by chase cartoons from the classic Hollywood era (think Chuck Jones' Roadrunner-Wile E. Coyote cartoons as well as Tex Avery and a plethora of others). It had no dialogue and focused entirely on slapstick comedy accompanied by music. The plots center around a hungry little stone age man named Cro and his obsessive attempts to catch and eat the dinosaur Bronto. Oh, but there is a twist to this predator-prey setup: Bronto, a peace-loving and plant-eating brontosaurus, actually has a crush on Cro... and never realizes that Cro is out to harm him (or her?)! Wow, Bronto's absent-minded personality almost reminds me of... Inspector Gadget!... 

And, needless to say, Cro's ambitious plans and traps for capturing Bronto has a tendency to backfire on him...

                               

The series was co-directed by Bruno Bianchi and Edouard David, with music by Claude Mann. Interestingly enough, Edouard David would go on to collaborate with Bruno Bianchi on the main character designs for Inspector Gadget. Knowing this, it wouldn't surprice me at all if Bianchi and David also did the character designs for Cro and Bronto. The designs in these screenshots certainly feel like Bianchi's style.

To finish off, here's an excerpt of a French comic book adaptation of the cartoon, originally published in the magazine Télé Récré A2 (and found online over at the blog Le Grenier de Récré A2). This comic book version is credited by Planete Jenuesse as part of the reason why Cro and Bronto is still remembered by some viewers today, since they apparently vanished from the television screens long ago. For the record, Télé Récré A2 was a magazine adapting the TV cartoons from Antenna 2's program block of the same name into comic book stories. Unlike the TV series, Cro and Bronto talk a lot... and they appear to have a semi-friendly relationship in some of these pages. What's the deal, is Cro out to catch Bronto or to mock him? Maybe the comic book artist (someone called Gen-Clo, according to the source blog) toyed a little with the characters' personalities...

Hope you enjoyed this slightly Gadget-related post about one of Bruno Bianchi's earlier projects. It may not be Inspector Gadget, but this show is certainly fascinating as a piece of DiC history I was never aware of before, as well as (possibly) Bruno Bianchi's first work as a cartoon director. (Don't quote me on that, though... I've been wrong before!)

The cover for a record edition featuring Cro et Bronto's theme song. I'd 

love to at least hear the song, but like the series itself, it seems pretty 

unfindable online...