Reksio

Reksio
Statue of Reksio in Bielsko-Biała, southern Poland (August 2018)
Genre	Children's animated TV series, comedy, and adventure
Created by	Lechosław Marszałek
Written by	Lechosław Marszałek
Narrated by	Not narrated
Theme music composer	Zenon Kowalowski
Country of origin	Poland
No. of episodes	65
Production
Producer	Studio Filmów Rysunkowych
Running time	8–10 minutes
Original release
Network	Telewizja Polska
Release	1967 (1967) – 1990 (1990)

Reksio is a Polish cartoon character who is the protagonist of the children's animated adventure-comedy Polish TV series of the same name. Reksio was created by Polish director Lechosław Marszałek. Its 65 episodes were designed and produced from 1967 to 1990 in a Polish animated films studio, more specifically in Studio Filmów Rysunkowych (situated in the city of Bielsko-Biała) which also made the more well-known Bolek and Lolek (there are even cameo appearances of Lolek and Bolek in Reksio).

All episodes describe the adventures of a friendly and courageous piebald terrier dog named Reksio along with his human owners (a middle class Polish family throughout most of the main series) and his animal friends, mostly living in the same courtyard as him, namely hens, cats, or other dogs (and their owners as well). Along with Lolek and Bolek, Reksio has achieved cult status in Poland. Additionally, there is even a crisps brand named after him in Poland. Furthermore, a series of educational, adventure, and puzzle video games for children were also created by Aidem Media from Gdańsk which are based on and star Reksio.

These educational video games were distributed even outside Poland, to other Central European and Eastern European countries (even to Russia) during the early to mid 2000s. In Romania, for example, they were distributed in educational gaming magazines for children by Erc Press. There was an additional second wave of video games developed by Aidem Media throughout the late 2000s and even early 2010s.

History

The history of Reksio began when the idea of Reksio was first thought of by the creator of the series, Lechosław Marszałek. The inspiration for the character Reksio came from a female rough-haired fox terrier dog named Trola. She belonged to the writer of the series, Lechosław Marszałek. The first episode of the series, Reksio poliglota, which was produced by Lechosław Marszałek and Studio Filmów Rysunkowych aired in 1967 on the national Polish television. This episode had poorer graphics and set design compared to the episodes that would be produced in the 1970s. Reksio also looked different, sporting a collar that he did not wear in later episodes.

All episodes that were produced until 1971 were produced by Lechosław Marszałek. In total, Marszałek directed 19 episodes and co-directed 1 episode, the most of any other director involved in the production of the animated series. Almost all of the episodes of the animated series can be watched on Youtube on the official channel of Studio Filmów Rysunkowych. The years 1972 and 1974 were the most productive ones for the main series, throughout which 7 new episodes were produced during each year.

Media appearances

Reksio's statue in the city of Bielsko-Biała, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland (November 2018)

The character of Reksio has appeared not only in television, but also in computer games, as statues, and other media. These include the following:

• A "Reksio" television series consisting of 65 episodes.
• Series of educational games that star the Reksio character produced by Aidem Media in Poland.
• A series of adventure and puzzle games produced by Aidem Media that star Reksio. These games include the "City of Secrets" series.
• A bronze statue of Reksio situated in a square named "Plac Reksia" located in the Polish city of Bielsko-Biała. Reksio is pointing towards a fountain next to the statue.

Video games

In the passing of time, there have been various video games developed and released by Aidem Media starring Reksio (for both PC and iOS). They are the following ones:

• Liczę z Reksiem/I Count with Reksio (educational puzzle game) - 2001
• Abc z Reksiem/ABC with Reksio (educational puzzle game) - 2001
• Reksio i Skarb Piratów/Reksio and the Pirates' Island (adventure game) - 2003
• Wesołe przedszkole Reksia/The Merry Kindergarten of Reksio (educational puzzle game) - 2003
• Reksio i UFO/Reksio and the UFO (adventure game) - 2003
• Reksio i ortografia/Reksio and spelling (educational puzzle game) - 2003
• Reksio i Czarodzieje/Reksio and the wizards (adventure game) - 2004
• Reksio i Wehikuł Czasu/Reksio and the Time Machine (adventure game) - 2004
• Reksio i kapitan Nemo/Reksio and Captain Nemo (adventure game) - 2006
• Reksio i Kretes w Akcji!/Reksio and Kretes in action! (arcade game) - 2007
• Reksio i Kretes: Tajemnica Trzeciego Wymiaru/Reksio and Kretes - The Mystery of the Third Dimension (arcade game) - 2007
• Łamigłówki Reksia: Wielki Odkrywca/Reksio's puzzles: great explorer (puzzle game) - 2008
• Reksio i Miasto Sekretów/Reksio and the City of Secrets (adventure game) - 2009 for PC and 2011/2012 for iOS

Full list of episodes

№	Year of production	Title	Director
Main series (1967–1986)
1	1967	Reksio poliglota	Lechosław Marszałek
2	1969	Reksio marzyciel
3	1969	Reksio wychowawca
4	1970	Reksio obrońca
5	1970	Reksio dobroczyńca
6	1971	Reksio domator
7	1972	Reksio strażak	Józef Ćwiertnia
8	1972	Reksio sportowiec	Edward Wątor
9	1972	Reksio taternik	Lechosław Marszałek
10	1972	Reksio wędrowiec	Józef Ćwiertnia
11	1972	Reksio aktor
12	1972	Reksio telewidz	Edward Wątor
13	1972	Reksio kosmonauta	Lechosław Marszałek
14	1973	Reksio magik	Edward Wątor
15	1973	Reksio pielęgniarz	Lechosław Marszałek
16	1973	Reksio racjonalizator	Edward Wątor
17	1973	Reksio rozbitek	Lechosław Marszałek
18	1973	Reksio malarz	Marian Cholerek
19	1973	Reksio poszukiwacz	Edward Wątor
20	1974	Reksio ratownik	Józef Ćwiertnia
21	1974	Reksio detektyw	Marian Cholerek
22	1974	Reksio czyścioch	Józef Ćwiertnia
23	1974	Reksio pogromca	Marian Cholerek
24	1974	Reksio żeglarz	Józef Ćwiertnia
25	1974	Reksio medalista	Marian Cholerek
26	1974	Reksio rozjemca	Józef Ćwiertnia
27	1975	Reksio Robinson
28	1975	Reksio pocieszyciel	Romuald Kłys, Edward Wątor
29	1975	Reksio śpiewak	Lechosław Marszałek
30	1975	Reksio swat	Józef Ćwiertnia
31	1976	Reksio dentysta
32	1976	Reksio sadownik	Lechosław Marszałek
33	1976	Reksio kompan
34	1977	Reksio nauczyciel	Edward Wątor
35	1977	Reksio wybawca	Romuald Kłys
36	1977	Reksio przewodnik	Lechosław Marszałek
37	1978	Reksio gospodarz	Józef Ćwiertnia
38	1978	Reksio i jamnik	Lechosław Marszałek
39	1979	Reksiowa jesień	Józef Ćwiertnia
40	1979	Reksio i UFO	Lechosław Marszałek
41	1979	Reksio terapeuta
42	1979	Reksio kompozytor	Józef Ćwiertnia
43	1980	Reksio remontuje	Lechosław Marszałek
44	1980	Reksiowa wiosna	Józef Ćwiertnia
45	1981	Reksio i nośna kura	Halina Filek-Marszałek
46	1981	Reksio łyżwiarz	Józef Ćwiertnia
47	1981	Reksiowa zima	Romuald Kłys
48	1981	Reksio i wrona	Halina Filek-Marszałek
49	1981	Reksio i koguty	Józef Ćwiertnia
50	1982	Reksio i świerszcz	Halina Filek-Marszałek
51	1985	Reksio i sroka	Romuald Kłys
52	1986	Reksio i mrówki
Reksio and birds series (1987–1990)
53	1987	Reksio i bocian	Romuald Kłys
54	1987	Reksio i papuga	Ryszard Lepióra
55	1987	Reksio i gołąb
56	1987	Reksio i szpaki
57	1987	Reksio i gąsior
58	1988	Reksio i drozd
59	1988	Reksio i dzięcioł	Ryszard Lepióra, Lechosław Marszałek
60	1988	Reksio i kruk	Lechosław Marszałek
61	1989	Reksio i kawki	Ryszard Lepióra
62	1990	Reksio i kukułka
63	1990	Reksio i paw
64	1990	Reksio i pelikan	Andrzej Flettner
65	1990	Reksio i sowa

Reksio's profile as main character

As the main character of his own series, Reksio is clearly the protagonist. Throughout the main series, he is depicted as a responsible, loving, caring, and respectful dog to both his owner, a blonde Polish kid, as well as to the other animals with which he lives in the same courtyard. Sometimes though, he is a little bit mischievous (but only in rare contexts) with his older owners or other humans with whom he interacts. In addition, Reksio also has a special bond with a female dog with red-haired ears.

Most of the time, however, he is portrayed as a saviour, helper, rescuer, and peacemaker (and occasionally as a wanderer). In these regards, he is seen protecting the hens in his courtyard against foxes who want to steal their eggs as well as managing or settling conflicts between other animals who live in the same courtyard with him. He is courageous enough to save or aid some humans in some dangerous situations as well, most notably his young owner, a blonde Polish kid, from gas intoxication in his kitchen in one episode.

Yet his help is not only limited to his young owner or the animals in his courtyard, as in the second series, more specifically in Reksio and the birds series, Reksio can be seen as an empathetic saviour for a stork and a cuckoo (originally 'pigeon' in the title of that episode), outside animals/birds. While he is mostly friendly towards all animals living in the same courtyard as him, Reksio has occasional skirmishes with the rooster (throughout the main series). In addition, several times during the Reksio and birds series, Reksio has occasional quarrels with the gander living in his courtyard as well. Last but not least, he is a great friend to the owl who shares with him music and convinces him not to live the courtyard at the end of the second series.

Gallery

• 
  Reksio's statue in Bielsko-Biała (November 2018)
• 
  Reksio's statue in Bielsko-Biała (November 2009)
• 
  Reksio's statue in Bielsko-Biała (August 2009)
• 
  Reksio as the official mascot of BKS Stal Bielsko-Biała

External links

• SFR - Studio Filmów Rysunkowych Bielsko Biała
• Reksio at IMDb