Clémentine
A wheelchair-bound girl battles demons in her dreams.
Clémentine is a 1985 French animated television series co-produced with Japan, consisting of 39 episodes. It follows the fantastic adventures of a young girl named Clémentine Dumat who uses a wheelchair. The show was produced by IDDH and originally aired on Antenne 2 in September 1985.
Quick Facts
- Original network
- Antenne 2
- First broadcast
- September 1985
- Number of episodes
- 39
- Production company
- IDDH
- Country of origin
- France (co-production with Japan)
- Vhs release
- 1990
- Dvd release
- 2006
Facts from the source article.
Overview
Clémentine is the daughter of famous French pilot and war hero Alex Dumat, who raised her with her brother Petit Boy. After losing the use of her legs in an airplane accident, she travels the world with her family seeking a cure. In her nightly dreams, she can walk, and her cat Hélice can talk and fly using a helicopter-like apparatus on its head. Guided by her guardian angel Héméra, Clementine leads a battle against the demon Malmoth, travelling in a magical blue sphere. She meets fictional characters such as Pinocchio, Aladdin and Oliver Twist, as well as historic figures like Charles Lindbergh and Kateri Tekakwitha. Series creator Bruno-René Huchez based the plot on his own childhood memories of being bedridden and hearing fairy tales from his mother.
Popularity
The series is considered a cult classic in Europe, especially in Turkey where it is more popular than in France. Between 1990 and 1995, it was translated into Arabic, English, Chinese, Turkish and Latin-American Spanish. It is well known in China and Latin America, and has fans in the Czech Republic, where it aired in 1995 on Premiéra TV. An English dub broadcast on The Children's Channel in 1992 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Controversy
Some viewers question whether the tragic flow of events and the scary appearance of the main villain Malmoth, a demon made of flames, were appropriate for young children. Malmoth's envoys appear human on Earth but are cursed men who inhabit a hellish realm; their true form combines human heads with bodies of worms, insects and scorpions. In the U.S. compilation films, some scenes were deleted. In an Egyptian adventure, Clementine marries Tutankhamun and later drinks poison to travel to the land of the dead, where she is judged by Anubis and passes because she is pure of heart. Back in the present, her father's mechanic friend mentions that Tutankhamun's tomb has been found; Clementine jokes about her husband's tomb, and everyone laughs when it turns out true, though the date is wrong—the tomb was found in 1922, not 1925.
Live action film
In 2006, Turkish screenwriter and producer/director Stare Yıldırım optioned the story rights for a live action film adaptation of Clementine. Names such as Johnny Depp and Gary Oldman have been mentioned as potential cast, but no official confirmation has been given. The screenplay was to be written in English for a worldwide audience, with Turkish company Medyavision reportedly financing the film at a budget of $80–$100 million. No further updates on the project have been provided, and its status is unknown.
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