| Native Name: |
| ||
| Alt Name: | David, the Gnome | ||
| Genre: | Fantasy | ||
| Creator: | Claudio Biern Boyd | ||
| Director: | Luis Ballester | ||
| Narrated: | Teófilo Martínez | ||
| Opentheme: | "Soy un Gnomo" | ||
| Endtheme: | "David" | ||
| Composer: | Javier Losada | ||
| Country: | Spain | ||
| Language: | Spanish | ||
| Num Episodes: | 26 | ||
| Executive Producer: | Claudio Biern Boyd | ||
| Producer: | María Aragón | ||
| Editor: | Soledad López | ||
| Runtime: | 24 minutes | ||
| Network: | TVE1 |
The World of David the Gnome, originally titled David, el Gnomo and also known as David, the Gnome, is a Spanish animated television series based on The Secret Book of Gnomes, a series of children's books by Dutch author Wil Huygen and illustrator Rien Poortvliet.[1] The series was originally created by Spanish studio BRB Internacional in collaboration with Spanish; Castilian: [[Televisión Española]]|i=no. Twenty-six episodes were produced.[2] The series spawned two spin-off series: Wisdom of the Gnomes (1987) and The New World of the Gnomes (1996); and three films edited from the series: The Gnomes' Great Adventure (1987), The Gnomes in the Snow (1999), and The Fantastic Adventures of the Gnomes (2000).
The English-language dub, The World of David the Gnome, was produced by Canadian studio CINAR in association with Miramax Films. Christopher Plummer was narrator, with Tom Bosley voicing David. David the Gnome aired weekdays on Nickelodeon's[3] Nick Jr. block from 1988 until 1995 in the United States.
The series follows the gnomes, a kind species who are tall and weigh . There are several types of gnomes: those of the forest, garden, farm, house, dunes, and Siberia, as well as nomadic "gypsy" gnomes, who are generally looked down upon by other gnomes. With few exceptions, a gnome's lifespan is exactly 400 years, though one couple in the Balkans lived for 550 years. When they reach the end of their lifespan, they transform into large trees; though they seem to have some control over when and where this happens, they cannot avoid it.
Unable to prevent their transformation into trees, the gnomes are dedicated to protecting forests and the environment, as trees are their ancestors. Gnomes such as the main characters live in pairs in caves or holes under trees, and have a mainly vegetarian diet. They are often aided by forest animals when traveling long distances or need to reach a specific location quickly. They also have the powers of telepathy and mind control. Their main enemies are the trolls, malevolent and clumsy creatures who cause trouble, as well as gnome poachers.
David, the Gnome ran for twenty-six episodes, each approximately 24 minutes in length. It was originally aired in Spain on TVE1 between 26 October 1985 and 19 April 1986. In the United States, the series first aired between 4 January and 9 February 1988 on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr.. The English-language episode titles are listed below, along with brief episode synopses:
In the Unites States, the series aired on weekdays on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block for seven years from 1988 until 1995. Starting on 30 September 1996, it aired on TLC (as part of the channel's Ready Set Learn! block).[4] The series aired on The Family Channel in Canada from its launch in 1988 until 1990. It was later aired on British Columbia's statewide Knowledge Network.
In the United Kingdom, the series ran on various channels. It was first picked up on ITV's Children's ITV block, then The Children's Channel, and finally Nickelodeon. In Australia, the show was first picked up on ABC, and later aired on Nickelodeon. In Ireland, this show was picked up on RTÉ's The Den block in the early 90s.
In 1989, Family Home Entertainment released four VHS tapes of the series in the U.S., each containing two episodes. In the United Kingdom, Video Collection International Ltd released one VHS tape of The World of David the Gnome (Cat. No. VC1178) with the first two episodes, Good Medicine and Witch Way Out, on 14 May 1990.
A complete series DVD set was released in the United Kingdom in 2006 by Revelation Films. The complete series was also released on DVD in 2011 in Spain and Italy. Most episodes are available on DVD in Germany and the Netherlands. The complete series was released on DVD in the U.S. in 2012 by Oasis DVDs.
See main article: The Gnomes' Great Adventure. BRB Internacional released in 1987 a film titled The Gnomes' Great Adventure by re-editing together four episodes of The World of David the Gnome.
Wisdom of the Gnomes (es|La llamada de los gnomos, literally "Call of the Gnomes") is the first spin-off of The World of David the Gnome. It was produced by BRB Internacional and Spanish; Castilian: Televisión Española|i=no. It follows Klaus, a judge who travels with his assistant Danny on Henry the Swan and aims to solve disputes and lawsuits between animals peacefully and wisely. Like in The World of David the Gnome, trolls also appear. David and Lisa also appear in the final episode, though in the English dub, Tom Bosley and Jane Woods did not reprise their roles. The penultimate episode features Wil Huygen and his wife, the only pair of humans in direct communication with Gnomes. Klaus and Danny complain to Huygen of "inaccuracies" in his book, though what these errors are is not made specific.
U.S. airings of this installment began on 5 November 1996 on Ready Set Learn!.[4]
| Character | Spanish | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Klaus | Félix Acaso | Mathew Stone | |
| Dany | Manuel Peiró | R. Dwight | |
| Bruna | Cristina Victoria | Wendee Swann | |
| Holler | Paco Hernández | Drew Thomas | |
| Pit | José Moratalia | Colin Phillips | |
| Pat | Manuel Peiró | Mickey Godzilla | |
| Pot | Ángel Egido | Ryan O'Flannigan | |
| Narrator | Teófilo Martínez | Jeffrey Platt |
See main article: The New World of the Gnomes. In 1997, there was a series called The New World of the Gnomes which was a retelling of the original series as David and his nephew Tomte 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, also appears in the show. Other than the humans who cause either unintentional 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 Stinky, Brute, and Drool. It was produced by BRB Internacional, Spanish; Castilian: [[Antena 3 (Spanish TV channel)|Antena 3 TV]]|i=no, CLT UFA, and Panini, in collaboration with the World Wildlife Foundation.
This series spawned two films: The Gnomes in the Snow (1999) and The Fantastic Adventures of the Gnomes (2000).