Jungledyret Hugo
Jungledyret Hugo is a Danish media franchise created by Flemming Quist Møller based on a lullaby he wrote for his son, and was later turned into a full-length animated feature, produced at A. Film. The franchise currently consists of two traditionally animated features, an animated television series, books, music album, and a third film animated in CGI.
The first two films were translated, edited, and released in the United States on a single DVD in 1998 by Miramax Family. The first film was released as Go Hugo Go and the second film was released as Hugo the Movie Star. The third film was released on region 1 DVD on August 12, 2014 under the title "Amazon Jack". A CD-ROM side-scrolling platform game for the PC based on the first film was also made in 1995 and released in Scandinavia.Characters
In the Jungledyret series, many animals talk to each other, but humans cannot understand them.
Hugo is the only known surviving member of the koala-like species of '. He is bipedal, though he can run in an awkwardly quadrupedal manner for speed. He can use tools such as levers and skateboards, and can outwit the vast majority of the human beings and other animals, such as snakes, cats, pigs, squirrels and even foxes. He is noted for his sly personality, his childish selfishness, his gluttony and his smugness. He eats mostly fruits and loves bananas. His most feared predator of all is, of course, humanity.
Hugo was voiced by Jesper Klein in the original Danish release, his singing voice was provided by Mek Pek and Bronson Pinchot in the Miramax dub.
RitaRita is a young red fox who befriends Hugo on the streets of Copenhagen. She is kind, streetwise, spunky, and has a decent amount of common sense, unlike Hugo, who is rather impulsive. She lived with her mother and her two little brothers and one little sister in a den near some railroad tracks, until the second film, where she gets dragged along for the ride by Hugo, who was escaping from Cupmann and his henchmen. Her father is never mentioned. A romance between Hugo and Rita is hinted in the first film and later made sexually suggestive in the second one, but the animated series and third film later minimized this element to the point where it was only mentioned on a few occasions.
Rita was voiced by Kaya Brüel in Danish and Holly Gauthier-Frankel in the Miramax dub.
Meatball CharlieCharlie is the cook aboard the cargo ship that transports Hugo to Copenhagen. He finds Hugo, who has escaped the cargo hold, and at the end of the voyage, donates him to the city zoo. He appears toward the end of the first film, and is not present in the second. In the animated series, he appears once again, helping Hugo and Rita on numerous occasions, and in the third film, he makes several appearances, nearly coming off as part of the main character cast. Hugo mentions that Meatball Charlie is probably his and Rita's only "human" friend.
In the original Danish production, Meatball Charlie is named Dellekaj and was voiced by Jesper Klein who also voices Hugo, and Marcel Jeannin in the Miramax dub.
Conrad CupmannConrad owns a film studio in Copenhagen, and dreams of making much money. He is morally bankrupt, willing to slash and burn the jungle to capture Hugo. His first relationship started off with Izabella Dehavalot, but he rejected her wishes and left her when Hugo manages to escape Copenhagen in the first film. His second relationship is with Barbie Turner, but instead, he is rejected by her, since she did not want him hurting Hugo. He is voiced by Flemming Quist Møller in Danish and Mark Camacho in the Miramax dub.
Generalissimo Maximillion MaximusGeneralissimo Maximillion Maximus, better known as General Maximus, is one of the series' most recurrent major antagonists. He is the wicked ruler of the recently founded fictional nation Junglandia, the country from where Hugo originates. The symbol of Junglandia is General Maximus' coat of arms, which depicts the same species as Hugo and, since Hugo is the rarest animal in the world, General Maximus is always seeking Hugo, both to have him as a symbol of the nation and in order to gain a world-famous reputation. He has a low moral set, promising a great reward to the ones who gets Hugo, but he will not always keep his promises, either cheating them, or will later break his promises, and displays a ruthless determination in order to capture him.
Doctor LoongkofferLoongkoffer is an animal psychologist hired by Conrad in Jungledyret 2 to tame Hugo, but he fails in his endeavor. In Jungledyret 3, he has turned over a new leaf and wishes to keep Hugo safe. He is disgusted by Professor Strix's idea of cloning Hugo, fearing that Hugo would die in the experiments. He was voiced by Arthur Grosser in the Miramax dub. In the original Danish TV series and third film, his name is Dr. Donald Sturmdrang.
Professor StrixProfessor Strix is a mad scientist who appears in the last two episodes of the animated series. He is one of two scientists who believe Hugo is an unknown arctic animal. He runs a professional research facility. In the third film, he makes a comeback and tries to eradicate Hugo, make multiple copies of Hugo and sell them all around the world. He is heartless, as he is willing to kill Hugo in an effort to make clones of him. In the TV series and third film, his name is Strict.
SharpclawA villainous black panther who appears in the TV series and third film.
Pedro'''He is the bodyguard of General Maximus from TV series and third film.Films
Izabella is a black-haired starlet with a sharp figure. She is also the ex-wife of Conrad Cupmann. Her goal is to gain notoriety through the exploitation of an animal co-star; she cites several fictional actors, and then her "good friend Michael" and his chimp. Upon the discovery of Hugo, Izabella brightens at the idea of using him as her co-star and stops at nothing to capture him. Conrad divorced her in the time span between the two films, after she becomes obsessed to the point of madness over capturing Hugo. In all European versions, she is called Izabella Scorpio. She was voiced by Jytte Abildstrøm in Danish and Susan Glover in the Miramax dub.
Rita's mother is a city fox living in Copenhagen. Rita first mentions her to Hugo during their encounter at the zoo, explaining that she hunts food for the family during the night, although it seems she rarely finds enough, as Rita says she is always hungry. Rita describes her as "real tough" and implies she has regularly fought and killed the city's stray cats. The hunt leaves her exhausted, and she spends most of the daytime in the den. She strongly disapproves of Rita's nighttime adventures, but can do little to dissuade her. Experienced but somewhat cold, she initially refuses to harbor Hugo when Rita brings him home, stating that the den is already crowded, but Rita's pleading leads her to relent, and she lets him stay for the day. She catches the two before they set off for the banana ship that evening, offering to take Hugo to the docks herself and ordering Rita to stay and look after her siblings. As they enter the industrial park they are pursued by one of the bounty hunters; fearing for her own safety, she abandons Hugo before they reach the harbor, giving him vague directions before fleeing the area. Rita's mother makes two brief appearances in Jungledyret 2. She doubts Hugo will ever return to Copenhagen and tells Rita to forget about him, while she goes out to hunt for food. She is not referenced in later media. She was voiced by Helle Ryslinge in Danish and Sonja Ball in Miramax dub.
Barbie is a stereotypical dumb blonde and, in the second film, is Cupmann Studio's new starlet. It is also implied that she is Conrad's lover. She often chews bubble gum, even on the sound stage. In the original version of the film, her name is Sensuella. She was voiced by Louise Fribo in the Danish dub and Jennifer Seguin in the Miramax dub.
The Jungle Dog is a small bush dog that Hugo and Rita encounter in the third film. Rita discovers the pup when she hides in a hollow log near the Jungle Dog's nest area. The pup mistakes Rita for its mother, and Rita takes it under her wing. Before the film's release, some fans mistook the pup to be Hugo and Rita's child.Television series
Carlton and Heath are the two reporters to catch Hugo and Rita.
A quartet of gangsters, whose names are Bonnie, Sonny, Tonny, and Johnny.
They are two hunters from the jungle who keep trying to catch Hugo.
A female otter who appears in the TV series.
She is a sister of Meatball Charlie from TV series.
He is a wealthy man, grandfather of Georgia Croesus.Books
He is the leader of the gangsters.
He is the gangster and the twin of Tonny.
He is a Mountain fox from I nordLysets Land.Different languages
The original films are known in various locals under different translated names: