The Bluffers
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Bluffers is a Dutch children's cartoon series created by Frank Fehmers. The stories revolved around the inhabitants of the fictitious land of 'Bluffoonia' and their ongoing struggle against the evil tyrant 'Clandestino' and his plans to destroy the forest in which they live.
The series was based on an idea by Gene Deitch, who also wrote the lyrics. Michael Jupp, who also created The Dreamstone and Bimble's Bucket, was art director for the series and created the characters.
The show's opening strapline is:
Bluffoonia once was a beautiful country before the crazed maniac Clandestino took over. Clandestino turned that beautiful place into this. Why? Because Clandestino is afraid the Bluffers will get his secret — the secret of getting it all!
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Characters
Heroes
- Zok (short for Zocrates), a wise old owl wearing a toga and a laurel wreath. Zok is a fatherly figure and advisor to the Bluffers (i.e., the animal denizens of the last remaining forest in Bluffoonia), and the keeper of the encyclopedic Book of All Knowledge. His name is a take-off of Socrates (hence his Roman Emperor appearance).
- Zip, a fast-running blue squirrel with a love of adventure; he's led a number of raids into Clandestino's castle. When Zip is not leading a raid on the castle he is often found in some activity involving nuts.
- Blossom, a pink mouse with a head of red hair. She has romantic feelings for Zip but he is reluctant to return them.
- Honey Boy, a simple-minded brown bear with a strong passion for anything to do with honey, and whose pet bees are always flying around his head.
- Sharpy, a red, bipedal fox who likes to outwit others for his own gain. He feels that lying, cheating, and stealing are what "real foxes" do, although he tends not to do these very successfully.
- Regal Eagle, an eagle (although he looks more like a buzzard) who talks and thinks like a soldier. This character is the least featured of the Bluffers and is often only called upon to perform a small task in any plans the animals may have.
- Gin-Seng, a goose with an Oriental appearance about her who specializes in brewing herbal remedies. She is named after the plant ginseng.
- Prickly Pine, a hyperactive, red-quilled porcupine who is always ready for action and combat. He is able to project his quills with pinpoint accuracy, although this inexhaustible supply of quills often end up in the rump of Sharpy or some other unsuspecting Bluffer.
- Psycho, a shy, reclusive snake with limited psychic powers; e.g., he was once used as a metal detector. When speaking he adds an audible "P" to words that contain an "S" sound; "p'sad," "p'certainly," et cetera.
Villains
- Clandestino, a bloated, self-adoring, hunchbacked human; he's the self-appointed totalitarian ruler of Bluffoonia. He lives in a fortress-like castle, the dungeon of which contains his precious "Secret of Getting It All" which is the source of his power.
- Sillycone, Clandestino's robot butler; he is smarter than his master and seems to possess no malice, but he serves Clandestino faithfully. His name is based upon Silicon (the element most transistors and integrated circuits are made out of) and Silly.
Other characters
- Glum, Clandestino's watchdog; his sympathies lie with the Bluffers, but he doesn't dare to openly rebel against his master because he doesn't want to lose his home in the castle.
- Song and Dance, two rabbits — one tall and thin, one short and fat — who are often wearing sunglasses. They are sometimes seen conducting the musical segments, but are not integral to the stories.
Episode list
01. Things That Go Bluff in the Night
02. Memory Forever
03. The Present of Time
04. Down with Gravity
05. Where on Earth Are We?
06. Satellite State
07. Is Friendship Sinking?
08. Digging Archaeology
09. Follow the Bio-Brick Road
10. Colour Mix-up
11. Evolution Isn't What it Used to Be
12. Over Bluffoonia in My Balloonia
