Hubert & Takako
Hubert & Takako is a French animated comedy series which was produced by Marc du Pontavice at Xilam, created and directed by Hugo Gittard, with the participation of Canal+, Gulli and Canal J, in association with A Plus Image 3 and Cofanim-Backup Media, and premiered in France on 3 November 2013 on Canal+. 78 episodes of 7 minutes were produced. The opening sequence was composed by Vincent Artaud.
Synopsis
Just about any pig would adapt pretty easily to the presence of a fly, but for Hubert, who aspires to becoming the archetype of the modern, clean-cut guy, Takako is messing up his plans! This deliciously out-of-control fly is that little glitch in Hubert's well-oiled cogs. Worst, she accepts him just the way he is. But isn't that what true friendship is all about?Characters
Hubert ; Joe Ochman is a sensitive, cultivated, hypochondriacal, nearly blusterous pig with a huge ego to maintain. To get over his many self-doubts, unrequited crush on Jennifer and low self-esteem, he acts arrogantly and often uses his persona as a "clean-cut, modern, sophisticated" individual to belittle Takako for not being on the same level as him, in spite of being far more immature and high-strung. Hubert is also something of a hypocrite at times, scolding Takako sharply for engaging in an activity he perceives as unruly, then secretly pursuing the same later on, or going behind her back for the sake of short-term gratification. In spite of his numerous vices, he does ultimately have a good heart and will usually do the right thing, sufficiently motivated or not.Takako ; Marieve Herington, in sharp contrast, is a peppy, enthusiastic, caring, yet sarcastic, rambunctious and occasionally flirtatious fly with something of a problem when it comes to reading the room. She's much goofier than Hubert at even his most overdramatic and exaggerated, often becoming in over her head or suggesting absurd courses of action to resolve minor inconveniences or merely because irritating Hubert garners her joy. In spite of her laziness and lack of adult maturity, she is often the more functional of the two, having to curb or eliminate Hubert's obsessive-compulsive tendencies in cases where they become too out of hand. Though she has a love for messing with Hubert even if he isn't doing something worthy of her biting wit, she is fond of him and generally means him no real harm. She is accompanied in a handful of episodes by her other close friends, Katie and Nat, and together the three form the rock band the Flyswatters.Episodes
The English dub of the series is currently considered to be lost media–of the 76 or 78 episodes that were produced, only 40 are currently available online.Production
The series' overseas animation was provided by Malaysian animation studio Inspidea, with additional animation from Caribara Animation's Montreal divisions and Toutenkartoon Canada. Xilam licensed the series out to MTV Oy and MTV Juniori in Finland, VRT and Ketnet in Belgium, Disney Channel in Japan, Disney XD in Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil, Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Sonic and Amazon Prime Video in India, Kanal 2 in Estonia, K2 and Frisbee in Italy, PLUSPLUS in Ukraine, EBC Yoyo in Taiwan and Biggs in Portugal.Two English dubs for the show were produced, one by ID Audio in London with the voices of Wayne Forester and Harriet Carmichael, and another by SDI Media in Los Angeles with the voices of Joe Ochman and Marieve Herington. The ID Audio dub currently only has one episode available online, while the SDI Media dub can be watched partially on several Xilam-branded YouTube channels and fully on Kidoodle.TV until its removal in late 2025.