Maple Town, un nido di simpatia

There are few animation shows that stand the test of time and the test of, let's say, "maturity". Maple Town, known in Spain as "La aldea del arce" is one of them, not only for the gorgeous Emilio Aragon tune (a wonderful blend of African music and pop very similar to what Paul Simon did in Graceland) but for its vision of a small town and its specific characters and conflicts. No character is purely negative - even the bad guy, the wolf, is more a poor mean guy than a bad one -, and all of them have their flaws, and all the flaws are very similar to the ones that appear in the more realistic and real-life serials. And though the drawings are simpler than usual, the storytelling and direction take advantage of every resource in a very ingenious way, meaning that you can have a clear image of the town design after the very first episode. Most important, there's a lot of humor, not only in the directly goofy moments, but in its portrait of a burguese (and a bit selfish) community. Very recommended.

I used to watch this show when I was a little girl. When I think about it, I remember it pretty well. If you ask me, it was a good show. Two things I remember pretty well are the opening sequence and theme song. In addition to that, everyone was ideally cast. The writing was also very strong. The performances were top-grade, too. I hope some network brings it back so I can see every episode. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever, even though I don't think I've seen every episode. Now, in conclusion, if some network ever brings it back, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good.

Maple Town was a wonderful gentle show and she had the Maple Town characters, as well. Now, my daughter has a daughter of her own and I'm trying to locate the old Maple Town series for my little granddaughter.

In the ending 80's and starting 90's Spain co-produced Spanish cartoon shows with Japan (Willy Fog, Dogtagnian, The Bremen Musicians...) but it was the time to get it the other way, this time the original cartoon (story and drawing), was made in Japan and we only helped doing little things. However the result was impressive. The second season (Palm Town) was not done with Spanish help so we could never see it. This anime tells the story of a little town called Mapletown (La Aldea del Arce in the Spanish version), were anthropomorphic animals lived. The main character was Patty the little girl rabbit, that with all his friends like Bobby the bear (which was fond of her) and much more live adventures resolving mysteries and playing through the town. The most near thing you will find to this series now would be playing Animal Crossing on the DS or the GameCube and as good games they are, this cartoon was also great. The Spanish version opening song will be one that you will always remember, composed by Emilio Aragon (a very popular TV presenter and humorist here in Spain, that came of a family of very famous TV clowns (real clowns for children I mean)) and sing by Rita Irasema (that also came from that family). The Spanish and Japanese versions of the voices are as cute as the characters are drawn. Just amazingly lovely.

So back in the 1980s we had this anime called Maple Town that would air on Nick Jr. At it's time.. Now tonka had made a deal with these guys and apparently made a set of figurines similar to those on Calico Critters/Sylvanian Families. Now, As you can see.. They say that once you enter Maple Town, you can never leave.. And that's exactly what zick's microverse was. I never expected things to be this way, but it has been quite some time since I last saw an episode air on TV.. Maybe Sophie Otter would know about this and could maybe broadcast on orange otter.. If we find more evidence, I will let you know.