Cococinel
A ladybug defends her forest village with a magical clover.
Cococinel is a French-Belgian animated children's television series created by Nicole Gorgeon. The show follows a ladybug who gains magical powers from a four-leaf clover and uses them to protect her forest home. It is notable for its environmental themes and its 52 five-minute episodes produced in 1992.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 5 minutes
- Creator
- Nicole Gorgeon
- Country
- Belgium, France
- Network
- TF1
- First aired
- 1992
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 52
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Cococinel is a ladybug living in a forest village called Cocoland, populated by other ladybugs known as cocos, each distinguished by their coloring. The community includes Coco Orange, Coco Blue, Coco Grass, Madame Cigale the teacher, twins Ben-Yes and Ben-No, Oscarabus the beetle who transports the cocos to school, Gre-Gre the frog, Coco Meteo the arrogant meteorologist, and Coco Mauve who is perpetually in a bad mood. One day, Madame Cigale tells her students about a legendary magic clover that grows in the clover field, which will only obey someone with a pure heart. Cococinel discovers a four-leaf clover that stands out from the three-leaf ones; when she touches it, the clover shrinks and attaches itself over her heart, proving she is its true owner. From then on, Cococinel uses her magic clover and quick wits to help her friends whenever they are in trouble. Cocoland is frequently threatened by envious villains, but Cococinel remains watchful and maintains peace in the community. Oscarabus takes a lively group to school each morning, including the twins, Cocoblue the absent-minded poet, Cocomauve the perpetual complainer, and Cococinel herself. Episodes are five minutes long.
Characters
Cococinel is known as the luck bug, thanks to her magical four-leaf clover that grants her special powers. Ladybugs naturally combat harmful insects in real life, protecting gardens and crops, and this trait is reflected in Cococinel's character as she fights evil forces and protects her home. She embodies both a defensive and protective nature. Cococinel had a line of toys and plushies produced by the French toy brand Jemini, which are now extremely rare. The collection included plushies with rubber faces, figures, books, and other merchandise, with versions featuring different accessories, as well as piggy banks, pajama holders, and plushies in various sizes and colors. There is also a bee version and a variant called Babicinel.
Home media
In the UK, the English version was released on six VHS cassettes, each containing eleven episodes, matching the French VHS release which also had eleven episodes per tape separated by title cards. In Germany, a single VHS release combined many episodes dubbed in German into a film-like format; this dub was exclusive to VHS and not broadcast on television. In 2008, Europacorp released a DVD with the complete series, but very few units were manufactured, making it nearly impossible to find even second-hand.
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