The Bush Baby
Anime adaptation of William Stevenson's 1965 novel The Bushbabies.
Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
The Bush Baby (大草原の小さな天使 ブッシュベイビー, Daisougen no Chiisana Tenshi Busshubeibī), often shortened to *The Bush Baby*, is a 1992 anime series with forty episodes, each running 25 minutes. It adapts the 1965 novel *The Bushbabies* by Canadian author William Stevenson. The show belongs to the World Masterpiece Theater franchise, a collaboration between Fuji Television and Nippon Animation that turns classic children’s literature into anime. Internationally, it aired on networks including TVO and Access Alberta in Canada, France 3, Antena 3 in Spain, Italia 1, Tele 5 and tm3 in Germany, ORF1 in Austria, ABS-CBN, GMA 7, and Quality TeleVision in the Philippines, various Arab networks, and RTM2 in Malaysia. TVOntario produced the English dub between 1993 and 1995.
The story is set in the 1960s. Jackie Rhodes, a 13-year-old British girl living in Kenya, explores the savannah near Mount Kilimanjaro, where her father works as a wildlife protection officer. She discovers a sick bushbaby, adopts it, names it Murphy, and nurses it back to health. Together with her family and friends, Jackie has adventures involving wild animals and poachers. When her father loses his job, the family prepares to return to England. At Mombasa, just before departure, Jackie realizes she has lost Murphy’s papers. She leaves the ship, which sails without her. She meets Tenbo, her father’s loyal African assistant, who has been spying on poachers and is now being chased by them. A manhunt begins for Tenbo, as people believe he has kidnapped Jackie. The two must cross the dangerous savannah to escape poachers and police. Along the way, Jackie teaches the now-tame Murphy to survive in the wild, planning to release him in his natural habitat before she leaves.
Main characters include Jacqueline “Jackie” Rhodes (voiced by Maya Okamoto in Japanese, Pauline Little in English), a 13-year-old British girl fascinated by Africa. She is energetic, tomboyish, and has a strong sense of justice, influenced by her father’s wildlife protection work. She often goes on adventures with Murphy and is skilled at horseback riding. Murphy (voiced by Yuri Shiratori) is a young bushbaby Jackie raises as a pet. Found by Jackie’s brother Andrew after a charging rhinoceros spooked his troop, Murphy’s mother was killed when the rhino slammed her against Arthur’s vehicle. Jackie brings him home and nurses him to health.
- Type
- Anime television series
- Episodes
- 40
- Episode length
- 25 minutes
- Original network
- Fuji Television
- Production company
- Nippon Animation
- Based on
- The Bushbabies (1965) by William Stevenson
- Original release year
- 1992
Lore & Background
The series follows thirteen-year-old British girl Jackie Rhodes, who lives in Kenya with her family. Her father, Arthur Rhodes, works as a wildlife protection officer. Jackie finds an orphaned bushbaby, names him Murphy, and nurses him back to health. Together with her family and friends, she embarks on adventures involving wild animals and poachers. When her father loses his job, the family prepares to return to England. At Mombasa, Jackie realizes she has lost Murphy's papers and leaves the ship, which sails without her. She meets Tenbo, her father's loyal assistant, who is being pursued by poachers and is also the subject of a manhunt on suspicion of kidnapping Jackie. They must cross the savannah to escape the poachers and police, and Jackie teaches Murphy to survive in the wild so she can release him before leaving.
Reader's Guide
The Bush Baby is a notable entry in the World Masterpiece Theater franchise, which brought classic children's literature to anime audiences. The series was broadcast internationally on networks including TVO/Access Alberta (Canada), France 3 (France), Antena 3 (Spain), Italia 1 (Italy), Tele 5/tm3 (Germany), ORF1 (Austria), ABS-CBN/GMA 7/Quality TeleVision (Philippines), various Arab networks, and RTM2 (Malaysia). The English dub was produced by TVOntario from 1993 to 1995. The series explores themes of wildlife conservation, friendship, and the bond between humans and animals, set against the backdrop of the Kenyan savannah. Its significance lies in its adaptation of a Canadian novel into a Japanese anime that reached a global audience.
Did You Know?
- The English dub was handled by TVOntario from 1993 to 1995.
- The opening theme for episodes 1-22 is 'APOLLO' by Yasuhide Sawa, and for episodes 23-40 is 'A Smile as Prologue' by Satoko Yamano.
- The main character Jackie Rhodes is voiced by Maya Okamoto in Japanese and Pauline Little in English.
A Place in the World Masterpiece Theater Lineage
The Bush Baby (1992) occupies a position within the World Masterpiece Theater, a Japanese prime-time programming block produced by Nippon Animation. Commonly abbreviated as Meigeki, the block aired Sundays from 19:30 to 20:00 on Fuji Television and its affiliates, dedicating each year to a different classical story drawn from European or North American children's literature. Nippon Animation, officially established in June 1975 during the run of A Dog of Flanders, took over production from its parent company Zuiyo Eizo. The Bush Baby is one of 26 official entries in the franchise, which spanned from A Dog of Flanders in 1975 to Remi, Nobody's Girl in 1997. During the Bush Baby's 1992 broadcast, the block was sponsored by House Foods, which held the sponsorship from 1986 through 1993. The franchise had evolved through several naming iterations — Calpis Comic Theater, Calpis Children's Theater, Calpis Family Theater — before settling on the World Masterpiece Theater title, which first appeared with Anne of Green Gables in 1979.
One of Seven: The English-Language Dub
Of the entire World Masterpiece Theater catalog, only seven series were ever dubbed into English for the North American market. The Bush Baby, released in 1992, holds a place among this select group, which also includes Fables of the Green Forest (1973), Tom Sawyer (1980), Swiss Family Robinson (1981), Little Women (1987), The Adventures of Peter Pan (1989), and Tico and Friends (1994). This limited English-language availability made the Bush Baby a rare point of contact between Western audiences and the franchise. Beyond North America, the anime satellite network Animax later translated and dubbed numerous installments for its English-language broadcasts across Southeast and South Asia, with named titles including Princess Sarah, Remi, Nobody's Girl, and Little Women. Meanwhile, other series found notable success in European markets, with Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, Girl of the Alps, and Princess Sarah gaining particular recognition there. The Bush Baby's status as one of just seven English-dubbed entries underscores how selectively the franchise was exported to the Western world.
The Block's Identity and Creative Ecosystem
The World Masterpiece Theater was conceived as a weekly window into the world's classic children's stories, airing in a fixed Sunday evening slot on Fuji Television. The Bush Baby, as a 1992 entry, was part of a production ecosystem involving multiple layers of creative and business collaboration. Nippon Animation handled production, while the block's sponsorship shifted over the decades — from Calpis alone (1969–1978) to House Foods alone (1986–1993, and again 2007–2008). The franchise's creative roster included directors such as Kōzō Kusuba and Yoshio Kuroda, sound director Etsuji Yamada, and a rotating ensemble of voice actors including Eiko Yamada, Mitsuko Horie, Keiko Han, Rihoko Yoshida, and others. Notably, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata both contributed to several series within the block. A companion volume also aired on TV Tokyo from 19:30 to 20:00 on Thursdays, sponsored by Sumitomo Electric Industries, offering a thematic focus distinct from the family-oriented Fuji TV block.
Long-Term Legacy and Modern Resonance
The World Masterpiece Theater's run of 23 seasons under Nippon Animation, from A Dog of Flanders in 1975 to Remi, Nobody's Girl in 1997, established a legacy that extended well beyond its original broadcast window. The Bush Baby, as a 1992 entry, sits within this two-decade arc. Nippon Animation revived the franchise in 2007 with Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette on BS Fuji, followed by Porufi no Nagai Tabi in 2008 and Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables as the 26th series. In 2017, Amazon Prime Video made various series available in HD for US and UK audiences, though it dropped the World Masterpiece Theater label and kept only each series' subtitle. Most recently, in 2023, Capcom partnered with Nippon Animation to produce Resident Evil Masterpiece Theater: Leon and the Mysterious Village to promote Resident Evil 4, with voice work provided by the game's own development team. Nippon Animation's official English name for the franchise is 'The Classic Family Theater Series,' a title that underscores the block's original family-oriented mission.
Gallery
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Bush Baby?
The Bush Baby is a 1992 Japanese anime series produced by Nippon Animation for Fuji Television as part of the World Masterpiece Theater franchise. It adapts William Stevenson's 1965 children's novel The Bushbabies and follows the lives of small primates in the African wilderness. The full series consists of forty episodes, each running about 25 minutes.
What book is The Bush Baby based on?
The anime is an adaptation of The Bushbabies, a 1965 novel written by Canadian author William Stevenson. Nippon Animation and Fuji Television selected it as one of the classic children's books to bring to life through their long-running World Masterpiece Theater program.
How many episodes does The Bush Baby have?
The series runs for a total of forty episodes, each approximately 25 minutes in length. It originally aired on Fuji Television in Japan in 1992.
Where did The Bush Baby air outside Japan?
The show was broadcast in several countries, including Canada on TVO and Access Alberta, France on France 3, Spain on Antena 3, Italy on Italia 1, Germany on Tele 5 and tm3, and Austria on ORF1. This broad international rollout was a hallmark of the World Masterpiece Theater franchise.
What is The Bush Baby about?
The story centers on a baby bushbaby, a small nocturnal primate, as it navigates daily life in the African savanna. The series follows its growth, friendships, and encounters with other animals across the grasslands, drawing on the warmth and naturalism of Stevenson's original novel.
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