Ovide and the Gang (1987-1988) was a 1980s Canadian cartoon from CinéGroupe that ran for 65 episodes. Set on a fictional island in the South Pacific, the show features a platypus named Ovide and his cousin Saphron. Other characters included a kangaroo, three koalas, a lizard, two toucans, a sloth, and a python. The plots regularly centralized on Ovide getting an idea from television.
The series was wildly popular in the Netherlands, largely because of its thoroughly woolseyed Dutch theme song.
Tropes:
- Aerith and Bob: Most of the names are either somewhat traditional (Matilda, Cy) or reasonable for cartoons (Polo, Groaner, Bobo, Woody). Ovide and Saphron, on the other hand... God knows where those names came from.
- Ovide probably is a pun on the word "video," as the opening clip of every episode shows.
- Saphron is probably a reference to Saffron, a type of seasoning. Since he's the Team Chef, it fits.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Cy has finally succeeded and sent Ovide and the gang to exile... except by the end of the episode he realized it was All Just a Dream.
- Barefoot Cartoon Animal: Everyone is barefoot in this show.
- Berserk Button: Calling Cy a worm is inexcusable for him and even Bobo. It will inevitably lead to a brawl.
- The Ditz: Bobo
- Egomaniac Hunter: One two-time antagonist is a fox hunter who hunts partly for profit and partly for the sake of bagging any exotic animals in his way. He retires from this upon finding a golden egg.
- Expy: A vocal example, Polo sounds a lot like classic actor Jimmy Durante. He even says the "Ha-cha-cha" line once or twice.
- Fantastic Drug: There was a certain flower that, when sniffed, would make anybody extremely happy and relaxed. As in, very mellow, laid-back, and agreeable. The villain of the show hated the flowers, as he didn't like getting along with others, but many episodes ended with him being forced to take a sniff. So in a nutshell, all the good guys on the show would sniff a flower to get high, and the villain didn't want to but was usually coerced into doing it. On a kid's show.
- Finishing Each Other's Sentences: The koalas Do, Re, and Mi respectively speak the beginning, middle, and end of most of their lines. For example, when seeking ways to keep warm in "The Big Chill", they huddle together atop Alvin the sloth, and have this to say:Do: We find that togetherness...
Re: ... is a very warming...
Mi: ... expe-herience. (hiccups) - Furry Confusion: One episode has a hunter (who is a fox) coming to the island to catch Ovide and sell him to the zoo. This is despite Ovide being sapient like all the other animals.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: No one wear clothes, even Matilda. However, some of them wear hats.
- Kangaroos Represent Australia: Her name is Matilda (yes, as in "waltzing").
- Meaningful Name:
- Ovide's name is an anagram for "video," referencing the frequent use of television within the show. Also doubles as a Significant Anagram.
- Saphron is a yellow platypus who is the Team Chef
- Groaner is a toucan prone to making horrible jokes.
- The Medic: Matilda serves this role with her expansive knowledge of medicine, herbs, and cures. She also has proven to be an effective one-person rescue team and can use boomerangs to great effect if necessary.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Bobo. He is rather friendly towards the heroes, and often ruins Cy's schemes due to his naivety.
- Misplaced Wildlife: Toucans, sloths, and anacondas are found in South America, not Australia. However, this can be Hand Waved by taking place on a fictional island.
- Monkey Morality Pose: The koalas Do, Re, and Mi mimic this. Do is always wearing headphones and is usually pressing them against his ears, Re is always wearing sunglasses, and Mi, who seems to have a permanent case of hiccups, is usually covering his mouth.
- Once an Episode: The roaming TV will appear with the female platypus character adding commentary, relaying plot elements and giving information to Cy.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent:
- Cy, the main villain, is a snake (a python, to be precise).
- Zigzagged with an anaconda. He starts as a villain, but makes a Heel–Face Turn after Ovide reveals Cy's deception. He returns later as a villain again while inside a video game.
- Averted with Cy's cousin, an Egyptian cobra who isn't evil at all.
- And of course averted with Polo the giant red lizard, who is one of the show's heroes.
- Sluggish Sloths: Alvin is a sloth who is always shown sleeping.
- The Smurfette Principle: Matilda is the only female member of the main cast. In addition to her, there is also the female newscaster who also appears at least once per episode although she remains on the TV screen.
- Sssssnake Talk: Cy Sly.
- Terrifying Tyrannosaur: In one episode, Cy teams up with a T. rex awoken from hibernation in order to take over the island. However, the T. rex proves to be too much for him to handle.
- TV Genius: Ovide, quite literally.
- Unpleasant Animal Counterpart: Inverted with Cy's cobra cousin, who is not a villain unlike him. Usually, the cobra is the unpleasant counterpart to the python.
- Visual Pun: Woody is a woodworm that actually looks like a wooden peg.
