From France 5 and Piwi: Le pingouin Pablo, le kangourou Austin, l’orignal Théo, la petite hippopotame Tasha et Victoria, unique et de race inconnue, sont cinq amis qui se réunissent tous les jours dans une jardin.
Ensemble, ils imaginent une foule d’aventures extraordinaires qu’ils décrivent en chantant. Et pas n’importe quoi! De belles chansons de circonstance, sur des rythmes enlevants tels que la bossa nova, le reggae, le rockabilly, la salsa, le disco ou même des rythmes issus du hip-hop!
Entraînés par l’enthousiasme communicatif de ces cinq virtuoses de l’amusement, nos aspirants Mélodilous chanteront et danseront avec eux, et se laisseront, eux aussi, porter par leur imagination.
Translation: Pablo the penguin, Austin the kangaroo, Théo the moose, Tasha the little hippo, and the unique Victoria of an unknown race are five friends who meet every day in their yard.
Together, they imagine a variety of extraordinary adventures that they describe by singing beautiful songs on any occasion to the thrilling rhythms of bossa nova, reggae, rockabilly, salsa, disco, or even the rhythms of hip-hop.
Energized by the enthusiasm of these five virtuosi of fun, our aspiring playful melody kids are singing and dancing with children, and, also, carried by their imaginations.
Episodes had been broadcast in France on ZousZous from 2005 to 2012. Nickelodeon Junior France (the French version of Nick Jr.) aired the series from 2011 until 2015. The series was also broadcast Télé-Québec in Canada, from 2007 to 2017.
France 5's ZousZous only aired the first three seasons, in SECAM. Episodes on ZousZous were cropped and presented in widescreen format. The series was removed from the channel lineup in 2012, a year after the series premiered on Nickelodeon Junior.
Nickelodeon Junior France aired all four seasons. The episodes were aired in widescreen format. Episodes from the first three seasons were presented with a pillarbox effect. The series was cut from the channel's lineup in 2015.
The French episodes aired in Canada on Télé-Québec from 2007. With few hiatus breaks, reruns continue to broadcast regularly, until December 19, 2017.
Distribution
Les Mélodilous has been released on home video by Paramount Home Entertainment in Canada, the UK, Sweden, and Germany. Videos were first released in 2005, in Canada, and in 2006, in Europe.
In Canada, video releases include their menus and content identical to their American counterparts, with an added menu for the audio selection.
The European Region 2 DVDs include an option to customize the menus into French, as well as to set the text to other included languages.
The first season has been available on Netflix in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland since 2015.
Gallery
Title card for seasons 1
Title card for seasons 2-3
Original voice credits
Trivia
Mélodilou is a portmanteau consisting of melodie (melody) and the colloquial term filou (playful kid).
After Attack of the 50 Foot Worman, a change of vocal direction was put into effect; as a result:
A new recording of the theme song from Dragon Express onward was produced.
Maia Baran and Nathalie Stas's vocal characteristic for their respective characters has been modified, with Tasha's being more mature-like and less falsetto, and Austin's having a heftier and gruffer distinction.
However, prior to Dragon Express, Nathalie Stas sampled Austin's current characteristic in Caveman's Best Friend and Robin Hood the Clean.
The title card for The Tale of the Not-So-Nice Dragon reads "Le vilain pas beau"; this titling error has been carried over to various listings for the episode elsewhere.
For some reason, the episode "Movers of Arabia" has extra voices within the theme song. The reasoning for this is unknown. maybe due to editing errors?
References
↑The term "gouter" refers to a time when a snack is eaten. In this context, it also refers to a time equivalent to a British "tea-time".
↑Austin pretends to be the Big Bad Wolf, rather than the Boogeyman.
↑The terms "Santa Claus" and "Father Christmas" are used in various countries to refer to the same identity.