Belle and Sebastian (TV series)

This article is about the 1981 anime series. For the 1960s live action series, see Belle et Sébastien. For other uses, see Belle and Sebastian (disambiguation).

Belle and Sebastian
名犬ジョリィ (Meiken Jorī)
Genre	Historical
TV anime
Directed by	Keiji Hayakawa
Studio	MK Company, Visual 80, Toho Company, Ltd.
Network	NHK
English network	Nickelodeon TVOntario Radio-Canada CBBC
Original run	April 7, 1981 (1981-04-07) – June 22, 1982 (1982-06-22)
Episodes	52

Belle and Sebastian (名犬ジョリィ, Meiken Jorī, Jolly the famous dog) is an anime adaption of a series of French novels called Belle et Sébastien by Cécile Aubry. The series ran on the Japanese network NHK from April 7, 1981 – June 22, 1982. It consists of 52 episodes and was a co-production of MK Company, Visual 80 Productions and Toho Company, Ltd.. Toshiyuki Kashiwakura was the animation director and character designs were by Shuichi Seki. The show was broadcast on French and Japanese television in 1981, with American cable network Nickelodeon picking it up in 1984. In the United Kingdom, it aired on Children's BBC in 1989 and 1990.

This anime used many staffers from Nippon Animation's World Masterpiece Theater franchise, thus the look and feel is similar to that of a WMT production even though Nippon Animation itself was not involved with this series.

The series has been aired in many countries outside Japan and has been dubbed and subtitled in English and numerous other languages.

Plot

The series is about the mountain-based adventures of a young boy named Sebastian and his Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog Belle who live in a small village in the Pyrenees, a mountain range between France and Spain. Sebastian has no friends because he is teased by the other children for not having a mother. But one day, he meets a gentle white Pyrenees dog who has been falsely accused of terrible crimes. He names her Belle and they become the best of friends. To save her from an unjust fate, Sebastian leaves his adoptive family and begins traveling with Belle and his little dog Poochie. They have many adventures as they elude the police and search for Sebastian's long-lost mother.

Characters

Sebastian

Sebastian is a 7-year-old boy from the Pyrenees Mountains in France. Since he was born, he has been living with his adoptive grandfather, Cecil, and Anne-Marie. Sebastian is good-natured and energetic, but the children in town tease him because he doesn't have a real mother. Sebastian's deepest desires are to find his mother and to have a good friend.

Belle

Belle ("Jolly" in the Japanese version) is a large white Great Pyrenees dog who escaped into the French countryside. She is gentle and warmhearted, but her attempts to help those in need are misunderstood. She is labeled "The White Monster" and the police are constantly on her tail.

Poochie

Poochie is a little puppy who rides around in Sebastian's pocket. Although Poochie is always yapping and getting into mischief, he is a good friend to Sebastian and Belle.

Grandfather Cecil

Cecil took Sebastian in as a baby and acts as his adoptive grandfather. He is a loving mentor who teaches Sebastian all he knows about the mountains and the wilderness.

Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie is Cecil's biological granddaughter. She has helped care for Sebastian since he was born, and fancies herself as his mother despite being the age of an older sister at best. She loves Sebastian deeply, but is often overprotective and a little harsh.

Isabel

Isabel is Sebastian's real mother, a traveling Gypsy. She went against the gypsy code and married an outsider, but he died before she delivered their son. Isabel had her baby secretly in the Pyrenees Mountains, and promised to come back for him one day when her people were able to understand.

Sarah

Sarah is a sick, lonely little girl Sebastian meets on his journey. Both Sarah and Sebastian long for friends their own age to play with, so they quickly become close. Sarah reappears several times during Sebastian's journey to lend a helping hand.

Episodes

#	Episode Name	Original air date
1	"Belle Meets Sebastian"	April 1, 1981 (1981-04-01)
2	"The Hunt for Belle"
3	"A Night in the Mountains"
4	"The Journey Begins"
5	"Escaping Smugglers"
6	"A Visit to Jail"
7	"Meeting Sarah"
8	"A Promise to Sarah"
9	"Farewell to Sarah"
10	"The Case of the Missing Sheep"
11	"Puppy Love"
12	"Operation Substitute"
13	"The Runaway Car"
14	"An Act of Bravery"
15	"Billy the Kid Bank Robber"
16	"The Old Man By the Sea"
17	"Phantoms on a Ship"
18	"Smuggled on Board"
19	"The Secret of the Castle Ghost"
20	"The Ghost's Revenge"
21	"Kidnapped"
22	"Chased by the Desperados"
23	"Mistaken Identities"
24	"Double Crossed"
25	"Meeting at the Mountain"
26	"Isabel's Scarf"
27	"Three Sisters"
28	"Building a New Home"
29	"Belle and Sebastian Are Separated"
30	"It's a Boy!"
31	"Reunited at Last"
32	"When Johnny Comes Marching Home"
33	"Sebastian Loses His Best Friend"
34	"Come Back to Me!"
35	"One Mistake After Another"
36	"Poisoned!"
37	"The Big Sleep"
38	"Mom Didn't Forget Me"
39	"Don't Drink the Water"
40	"Belle is Captured"
41	"Help! Save Belle"
42	"Make New Friends and Keep the Old"
43	"On a Train Bound for Battle"
44	"The Underground Railroad"
45	"A Kind Inspector Garcia"
46	"Climbing a Wall of Stone"
47	"A Storm Brews"
48	"A Snowy Reunion"
49	"The Devil's Corridor"
50	"Belle Risks Her Life"
51	"Mom Makes Up Her Mind"
52	"A Happy Ending"	June 22, 1982 (1982-06-22)

External links

• Belle and Sebastian (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Belle and Sebastian at the Internet Movie Database
• Belle and Sebastian at TV.com
• Belle and Sebastian at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Belle and Sebastian at iOffer.com