enormously charming television series for young children

Aad van Toor and Bas van Toor in Bassie & Adriaan (1978)

Noelle North and Lorenzo Music in Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985)

In this long-running Dutch animation series, Mr. Owl reads from the Fabeltjeskrant (Dutch for &quot;Fables newspaper&quot;) it&apos;s named after the links between the scenes which show various animals (each has a first name and the species name...

De Fabeltjeskrant

There can&apos;t be many Dutchmen or Flemings of a certain age who didn&apos;t grow up while watching at least part of the series. Words like &quot;iconic&quot; are thrown around too easily, but still : this is an iconic, era-defining series. Cute, funny and sweet, it glued children to the screen. Even today there are many middle-aged adults who can recite whole lines, recap whole episodes or sing / hum / whistle the theme music. 

Much of its success was owed to the striking design of the various animal puppets. This design may look dated or old-fashioned to some eyes, but I happen to think it holds up rather well. And consider : it&apos;s hip to be square... Some of the series&apos; expressions and catchfrases have entered Dutch language, such as the famous &quot;oogjes dicht en snaveltjes toe&quot; (&quot;now close your little eyes and your little beaks&quot;). As another reviewer already remarked, quite a lot of loving parents have used this sentence while making a young tot comfortable in his cot. Unsurprisingly, the series gave birth to numerous parodies and spoofs, even of a political nature. 

Take it away, Mister Owl !

There can't be many Dutchmen or Flemings of a certain age who didn't grow up while watching at least part of the series. Words like "iconic" are thrown around too easily, but still : this is an iconic, era-defining series. Cute, funny and sweet, it glued children to the screen. Even today there are many middle-aged adults who can recite whole lines, recap whole episodes or sing / hum / whistle the theme music. 

Much of its success was owed to the striking design of the various animal puppets. This design may look dated or old-fashioned to some eyes, but I happen to think it holds up rather well. And consider : it's hip to be square... Some of the series' expressions and catchfrases have entered Dutch language, such as the famous "oogjes dicht en snaveltjes toe" ("now close your little eyes and your little beaks"). As another reviewer already remarked, quite a lot of loving parents have used this sentence while making a young tot comfortable in his cot. Unsurprisingly, the series gave birth to numerous parodies and spoofs, even of a political nature. 

Take it away, Mister Owl !

In this long-running Dutch animation series, Mr. Owl reads from the Fabeltjeskrant (Dutch for "Fables newspaper") it's named after the links between the scenes which show various animals (each has a first name and the species name) who live in a wood in partially stereotypical, partially human-like interaction. Major characters include Mrs. Stork, the self-proclaimed posh de facto-mayor, her sycophantic messenger Zoef the Hare, the brothers Beaver who construct about everything and the ever-scheming Lowieke the Fox; their are many minor ones.

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De Fabeltjeskrant

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