Moi Renart ("I, Renart" in French) is a French animated series first broadcast in 1986, made by Bruno-René Huchez, who was behind several popular French animated series in The '80s.
It is a very loose adaptation of Le Roman de Renart, an anthology of satirical tales written in the French Middle Ages. The original stories were about a fox called Renart outwitting other animals as they try to chase food. The animated series is set in Paris during The '80s, and has a much more comedic tone. The characters are practically humans with a Furry Lens.
The plot is about Renart, a cocky and joyful young fox, who goes to Paris and decides to set up an agency where he says he can do any job. He often badgers his greedy and grumpy uncle Ysengrin who is a car salesman, gets in trouble with the law, and tries to seduce beautiful vixen journalist Hermeline.
Provides examples of:
- The '80s: Moi Renart was set and broadcast in this period.
- Absent-Minded Professor: Professor Grimbert, big time.
- Adaptational Heroism: While Renart isn`t exactly perfect in terms of being heroic, he is still far better behaved in the series when compared to his original literature counterpart. It helps that those he often goes up against in the series are far worse villains than he is.
- Alien Abduction: There are no actual extraterrestrials in the show, but an episode is about Renart's aunt Hersent, who sees a movie about an alien invader who abducts a french fries salesgirl and they live Happily Ever After (because the alien's a cool guy and she was in an unpleasant engagement). So she sets up a french fries stand and waits for an alien to abduct her! Renart dresses up as the alien and "abducts" her in a disguised helicopter to please her.
- Animal Stereotypes:
- Renart is a fox, so of course he's a clever trickster.
- Hermeline is a vixen, so of course she's hot.
- Ysengrin is a wolf, so of course he's mean and authoritarian.
- Moufflard is a vulture, so of course he's a mean criminal.
- Pelé is a rat, so of course he's a dirty criminal.
- Animated Adaptation: Of Reynard the Fox, though with a lot of liberties taken.
- Ass in a Lion Skin: Renart and other characters would impersonate other humanoid-animal "species", but also non-anthropomorphic animals! (such as a gorilla or bear)
- Attractive Bent-Gender: Renart impersonates a woman several times, and they are more often attractive than not. Even his own uncle wants to touch Renart's leg when he is impersonating a cleaning lady. What is less attractive is his incapacity in making a convincing feminine voice.
- Big Bad: Moufflard the vulture.
- Brainy Baby: Professor Grimbert is turned into a baby/toddler in the penultimate episode, and being the only one who was smart enough to find a cure, all hope seems to be lost... Except Grimbert was already a uberkind genius as a baby, so he finds a cure even in mental baby form!
- Catgirl: Many of the hotties Renart meets are anthropomorphic cats, especially in the "Vieux Roublard" segment.
- Cats Are Mean: Tibert, the main cat character, always antagonizes Renart. Subverted with Superchou, who is very nice but a ditz. And the catgirls.
- Child Prodigy: Little Crack who has a super-intellect and is being cared by his rich grandfather so that he can run his criminal empire.
- Clear My Name: Renart gets framed for bank robberies in one episode and has to take matters in his own hands to prove himself innocent.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Renart's aunt Hersent, especially in the Alien Abduction episode.
- Cool Car: The "Renarde" (Vixen), Renart's car invented by Professor Grimbert that is full of gadgets.
- Cunning Like a Fox: The title character, as befits his literary template.
- Dangerous Orbital Debris: One episode centers around a spaceship sent to clean up "IFOs" (Identified flying objects, since they're known to be old satellites) that completely block space access save for a small gap over the Pyrenees mountain range.
- Dirty Cop: Inspector Tibert may usually be on the side of the law, but is secretly embezzling money and does work for Moufflard.
- Disguised in Drag: Renart, many times.
- Disney Acid Sequence: The "Vieux roublard" song sequences in the first and second episodes. Renart fantasizes about dancing with scantily-clad cat showgirls, there are robots serving champagne along a Robot Girl, fashion magazine silhouettes, Renart wooing a woman while wearing a mask of this woman on the back of his head, a Tarzan-like woman rescuing Renart from a gorilla and then they both go on the Statue of Liberty that departs on rockets.
- Dogs Are Dumb: Budvilin. So much.Moufflard: What are you writing again, you idiot?Budvilin:Well, I am writing that I can't write!
- Early-Bird Cameo: Although more of a Reused Character Design, we can mention:
- Mimi the gun trafficker in Ciné fric frac appears as an extra in the fourth episode where she is shoved by Renart disguised as a maid on skates.
- Paprika Magot from the The Kiosk Affair appears as a Tarzan-like-girl who rescues Renart from a gorilla in the "Vieux Roublard" segment in the first two episodes.
- Hélène from The Vixen appears in the "Vieux Roublard" segment where she is being wooed by a male pig (who could be Nata).
- Evil Duo: Pelé and Budvilin, Moufflard's two henchmen. Pelé is the mean smarter one, Budvilin is the dumb nicer one.
- Evil Old Folks: Mister Crack.
- Fountain of Youth: The penultimate episode is about a chemical that turns people into children, both physically and mentally.
- Funny Animal: All of the characters (except Marmouset) are furries with almost photo-realistic human bodies.
- Furry Confusion: There are anthropomorphic animals treated like humans, and non-anthropomorphic animals treated like, well, animals.
- Gay Paree: The action mainly happens in Paris, although it is hardly the classic romantic vision and more contemporary.
- General Ripper: General Frimard shows some slight aspects of this.
- Guile Hero: Guess who.
- High-Class Glass: Worn by Mister Crack.
- Intrepid Reporter: Hermeline, Renart's would-be girlfriend.
- Just a Stupid Accent: Would often impersonate a "foreigner" like this.
- Kind Hearted Simpleton: Budvilin who is very hardly actively engaging into crime.
- Latex Perfection: Renart is able to impersonate a few characters with a good latex mask, including female ones. There's also an episode where villains frame him for a bank robbery by masquerading as Renart himself.
- Lighter and Softer: The original tales are
a bithell of a lot darker and more pessimistic, but the difference is a bit too big to make a comparison. - Mad Scientist: Professor Grimbert, but a benevolent one.
- Market-Based Title: Of the episodes released on VHS, almost all of them had their title changed to be more... generic.
- The Fox in the Stars was renamed to The Movie.
- The Kiosk Affair was renamed to Vote Renart.
- Tartala Bloune was renamed to The Cult.
- Master of Disguise: Renart, who only occasionally uses Latex Perfection.
- Messy Pig: The pig family, who is seen from time to time and act like slobs.
- Ms. Fanservice: Many of the female characters, such as Hermeline.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Several characters are inspired by celebrities of the time:
- Superchou is basically children singer Chantal Goya.
- General Frimard is basically General Marcel Bigeard.
- Princess Corolle de Saint-Zéphyr is basically Princess Stéphanie de Monaco.
- Moulio Moulino is basically singer Julio Iglesias.
- President Ducoi is basically President François Mitterrand.
- Non-Human Sidekick: Marmouset the monkey. Okay, okay, nobody is technically human in the show since the "human-like" are anthropomorphic animals... but hey, it still counts, right?
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Some of Renart's disguises amount to that: he easily impersonates General Frimard by simply tucking his ears in a cap and putting a big band-aid on his snout!
- Porky Pig Pronunciation: Professor Grimbert always talks like that.
- Rascally Rabbit: Little Crack in Jess Bomb.
- Rebellious Princess: Princess Corolle de Saint-Zéphyr refuses the Arranged Marriage that her father forces her into and she'd prefer to give up the royal life and be an artist at a circus. Which she does.
- Recycled IN SPACE!: It's Le Roman de Renart with Funny Animals in Paris in The '80s!
- Reused Character Design: Done several times. For instance, Zazou the effeminate dance instructor looks exactly like the pop-art artist shown in another episode.
- Setting Update: From The Middle Ages to The '80s.
- Shout-Out: In the first episode, Marmouset goes watch a TV series on a TV watch. On the screen is shown Clémentine, another classic French cartoon of the 80's that was also made by Bruno-René Huchez and had the same character designer (Pascale Mauraux). The music heard is Renart's theme, though.
- During the "Vieux roublard" sequences, there is a big shout-out to a famous 1986 Citroen commercial with Grace Jones spitting a car.
- In the James Bomb episode, Pelé and Budvilin disguise themselves as UFO Robo Grendizer and Candy♡Candy, respectively. Both were popular anime in France at the time (although this Candy is still depicted as human!).
- Sudden Name Change: In the Moulio's concert episode, Hersent is suddenly called "Ysengrine". This only time.
- Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Inspector Tibert. He is a villain, yes, but he gets into so many humiliating situations you cannot really hate the guy.
- Tsundere: Hermeline shows parts of this.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Mac the Football Player loves peanut butter hamburgers.
- Unexplained Recovery: The villains are all turned into babies and incarcerated in the penultimate episode. Last episode, and they're again adult, free and committing crime in space.
- Wrongful Accusation Insurance: Renart is framed for robbery in an episode and when he is put on trial, he escapes by taking the judge on hostage with a gun.
- You Dirty Rat!: Pelé, Moufflard's henchman, is a rat and very mean.
