Follow TV Tropes

Following

Trivia / Rupert Bear

Go To

  • Adored by the Network: For the longest time in the mid-90s, Nick Jr, in addition to its regular timeslot, would put Rupert on any time there was a hole in their schedule. This changed once Blue's Clues came around.
  • Channel Hop: After that, Nelvana arranged a swap of programs between Nick Jr. and CBS: Franklin would now air on CBS's Saturday morning lineup (which was programmed by Nelvana at that point; reruns of this show were part of it), while Rupert would move to Nick Jr. again. Franklin ended up being the only show held over for the succeeding Nick Jr. on CBS block starting in 2000.
    • For a brief time (specifically from late 2000 to early 2001) the show was actually aired on Playhouse Disney, Nick Jr.’s rival programming block. (This run was so short that for a time, virtually no information existed online about it). What’s more, it was given a timeslot that it had also had on Nick Jr. However, the intro user wasn’t the Nick Jr. one, but the Canadian instrumental one.
  • Beam Me Up, Scotty!: Despite what you may have heard, the character's official name is Rupert Bear, not Rupert the Bear. The latter came from the title song to the original 70s TV adaptation.
  • Cross-Dressing Voices: Julie Lemieux replaces child voice actor Ben Sanford as the title character in the second season.
  • Dawson Casting: A lot of the child characters in the Nelvana animated series were played by adults.
  • Fake Brit: Although most of the characters speak with British accents, all the show's actors are Canadians.
  • The Other Darrin: Rupert Bear was voiced by Ben Sanford in the first season of the Nelvana series, with Julie Lemieux voicing him for the rest of the series.
  • Screwed by the Lawyers: Luckily averted for the show. In 2003, Nelvana was sued by The Daily Express (the franchise's then owner) for neglecting the property (in spite of owning exclusive commercial rights to it since 1989) after the show was cancelled in 1997 (at the same year the companies extended the licensing deal to 2004). Some months later, The Daily Express won back all rights to Rupert; however, they allowed Nelvana to retain ownership and distribution rights to their cartoon series.
  • Title Sequence Replacement: Like Little Bear, the show had two seperate theme tunes: an instrumental one used in Canada, and one with vocals used on Nick Jr. airings in the U.S. However, during the brief period where Playhouse Disney syndicated the show in the U.S., the Canadian opening was used!
  • Uncredited Role: Only voices of the principal voice cast (Rupert and his parents, Bill, Podgy, and Professor) are listed in the end credits, with all supporting and guest voice performers uncredited.
  • What Could Have Been: In 2000, Nelvana had plans to make a feature-length movie with the character, but it ultimately never got off the ground.

Alternative Title(s): Rupert

Top