Treasure is a British-Canadian animated series, co-produced by BBC Bristol and CINAR. Based on a newspaper column written by Michele Hanson - which was later compiled into a novel called Treasure: The Trials of a Teenage Terror - the show follows the life of a troublesome British teenager named Treasure, who lives with her mother and grandmother. Other characters include her two best friends, Rosie and Delilah, and her mother's boyfriend Brian.
The series originally aired from September 2000 to December 2001, on BBC Two in the UK and YTV in Canada. Unfortunately, it never saw a home release, and thus it is mostly considered lost media. However, recordings of a handful of different episodes have been uploaded to Youtube and other parts of the internet.
This series provides examples of:
- Animated Adaptation: Of Michele Hanson's newspaper column and the book it spawned, Treasure: The Trials of a Teenage Terror.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: For all the hell Treasure and her family put each other through, it'd be a mistake to say that they outright hate one another.
- Babysitting Episode: The short segment "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" sees Treasure and Rosie trying (and failing) to look after a neighbor's two hyperactive children. Eventually, at the end of her rope, Treasure tries calling her mother for help, only for her to instead go on a rant about how Treasure put her through the exact same hell when she was that age.
- Bathroom Breakout: In "Big Day Out", Treasure and Rosie decide to bail on the class trip by going to the bathroom and sneaking out through the window.
- Big "NO!": In "Eco Treasure, when Treasure's mother is looking for a shirt to wear to the protest, this exchange takes place:Mum: Now, what shall I wear? This one? "Cruise Missiles Out", 1980? "Save the Whale", unspecified year? "Just Say Yes", or "Just Say No"...
Treasure: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! - Bilingual Bonus: In "Big Day Out", Treasure and Rosie have a run-in with some French boys who try to assault them. They're saved by Treasure's mother, who just happens to speak French and screams at the boys: "Cassez-vous, sinon je vous le coup!" This is subtitled as "Please go away!", but actually translates to the far less polite "Get away from her or I'll beat you!"
- Bouncer: In "Night Club", the bouncers at the The Strobe are described by one the parents Treasure's mother talks to as being very strict when it comes to drugs and the like, and by another as being "ex-riot police, used to handling rebellious youths". Mrs. Perez, on the other hand, imagines them as stereotypical drug dealers. In reality, they just appear to be ordinary men in suits and sunglasses, who refuse to let Brian into the club because he's "too old".
- Brick Joke:
- In "Big Day Out", Treasure's classmate Leon suggests that they leave the class behind and join the French Foreign Legion. Fast forward to the end of the trip, and Leon's the only student missing. Turns out he tried to get on a ship to Algeria, where the Foreign Legion is stationed.
- In "A Nightmare on Oxford Street", Delilah calls Treasure a communist for wanting to help the homeless, with Treasure insisting that she's not. Fast forward to a few minutes later, at the end of the episode, and Treasure asks her mother: "Mum, what exactly is a communist?"
- Cane Fu: Grandma's walking stick, with its pointed end, can be a lethal weapon in her hands. Just ask Dominic, who narrowly avoided getting stabbed in retaliation for killing Treasure's goldfish. Another notable instance of this comes in "Night Club", when she scares Treasure and her friends by accidentally flinging it at the wall and is left holding the knob in disbelief.
- Character Title: In case you couldn't tell, the show is named after its lead character.
- Christmas Special: "A Nightmare on Oxford Street".
- Class Trip: "Big Day Out" sees Treasure and her class going on a trip to France.
- Darker and Edgier: In stark contrast to much of CINAR's other work, which is aimed at younger children, Treasure is aimed at teenagers, and thus is able to discuss darker and more mature themes - for example, sex and drugs - as well as make heavier use of profanity than normal.
- Dead Pet Sketch: In "The Goldfish Murderer", Treasure's goldfish are sick and in danger of dying from neglect. She manages to save them, but then comes her friend Dominic, who kills them while trying to feed them. The dead fish are buried in the backyard, only for the dog to dig them up and eat them.
- Deadpan Snarker: Grandma is extremely prone to making sarcastic remarks. For example, in "The Goldfish Murderer":Mum: The goldfish are dying!
Grandma: You have to be almost dead in this house to get a bit of attention. And I should know! - Delinquent Hair: Delilah is nearly shaved bald, save for a single hair bun dyed pink.
- Former Teen Rebel: Treasure's mother, as much as she wants Treasure to tone down her rebellious behavior, turns out to have been no different than her daughter at her age. For instance, Eco Treasure and Big Day Out reveals that she attended multiple protests in her youth, and was even arrested at one of them.Mum: Cruise missiles, Rock Against Racism, poll tax riots, direct action, passive resistance. You name it, I was there!
- Green Aesop: The episode "Eco Treasure" is about Treasure and her friends, as well as her mother, protesting the cutting down of trees in the park to make way for a new multiplex.
- Hypocritical Humor:
- In the short segment "Fast Food", Treasure is looking the for "special lunch" her mother made for her, and ignore her Grandma's suggestions of eggs and potatoes. It turns out that the "special lunch" is exactly that.
- In "Night Club", Grandma and her friends talk about how much more "civilized" nightclubs were when they were young. One of them notes that they used to think very poorly of girls who drank or smoked. Grandma responds by offering them champagne, to which they all readily agree.
- "The Two Faces of Treasure" is all about Treasure trying to prove to her mother how grown-up she is. However, when her friends come over for dinner late one night and one of them throws pasta at her, she eagerly joins in on the ensuing food fight, and right afterwards goes back to talking about wanting to be seen as a grown-up.
- In "A Nightmare on Oxford Street", Treasure and Rosie have a conversation about how much their friend Delilah hates the poor and homeless, while at the same time talking about buying clothes. It ends with Rosie buying a pair of shoes from Treasure.
Treasure: Delilah is so stupid. "My dad says those people should be dead!"
Rosie: (walks into frame carrying a purple dress) Yeah. What does her dad know anyway?
Treasure: Yeah. No, doesn't suit you. Try the pink.
Rosie: (now holding a pink dress) She's a fascist! I've got no shoes for this.
Treasure: (pulls a pair of silver shoes out of a box) Like? Perhaps I shouldn't have given him all my money. (Rosie walks into frame now wearing the silver shoes) Those are good!
Rosie: Yes you should have. That was well generous!
Treasure: I'm not stupid! Am I?
Rosie: Course not. Can I borrow these?
Treasure: You can buy them! They're nice, but they're too tight for me.
Rosie: Really?
Treasure: Course! They're new, and they look excellent!
Rosie: Yes, I'll take these, thank you! I've got 12 pounds, is that enough?
Treasure: That's brilliant! Then I can get Mum that new top! - Imagine Spot: A fairly common occurrence in the series, usually happening when a character finds themselves in a particularly troubling situation.
- Ironic Juxtaposition: In "The Goldfish Murderer", while Treasure and her friends are desperately trying to stop Dominic from putting her already sick goldfish into further danger, the mother and her boyfriend are happily enjoying themselves at a Japanese restaurant eating fish. Golden carp, specifically.
- Never Mess with Granny: Piss off Treasure's grandmother and you're liable to either get yelled at or face the business end of her cane.Grandma: (after Brian offers to help her move the couch) You think I'm not strong enough!? You think a woman shouldn't be seen lifting things, is that it?!? You think, because I'm a woman, I can't lift a pat of butter?!? I used to ride a motorbike, y'know! A Vincent Black Shadow! And I thought nothing of rebuilding the carbs and then going home and cooking a three-course meal! You wouldn't know a carburetor from a cauliflower! Well, don't just sit there! What kind of man watches a woman struggling?
- Noodle Incident: In "Eco Treasure", Treasure's mother is arrested for carrying a pocketknife. Upon hearing this, Grandma recalls another time she was arrested:Grandma: That's nothing. I remember when she was arrested for worrying sheep.
Treasure: What?
Grandma: They were sitting in a field playing guitars and tambourines!
Treasure: That is worrying. - Parent with New Paramour: In "When Mum Met Brian", Mum is looking for a man to date, and she eventually comes across Brian, who she'd met before. Treasure doesn't take too kindly to this at first.
- Pink Means Feminine: Treasure's usual outfit includes a pink shirt.
- Ridiculously Long Phone Hold: Discussed in "Eco Treasure":Mum: I am not letting them cut down those trees. Not without a fuss.
Mrs. Perez: We should write to the council. In the strongest possible terms. Imagine the impact of that.
Mum: Couldn't we start by shouting at them on the phone?
Mrs. Perez: Oh please. They always put you on hold. And by the time you get through, the person you wanted has gone on extended leave to Cuba. - Running Gag:
- Poppy, Treasure's dog, has a habit of drooling everywhere, prompting her grandmother to yell "WIPE HER MOUTH!!!"
- Whenever Treasure's friends come over, she'll sometimes run to the door yelling "IT'S FOR ME!!!"
- Shout-Out:
- In "Night Club", Mum and Brian come across a picture of Jack Nicholson in the window of a shop. Both of them wonder why so many women find him attractive.
- In "Eco Treasure", Treasure's mother proposes that she and the other women in the neighborhood sing a protest song. Treasure responds by rolling her eyes and saying: "Oh no, not Bob Dylan..."
- Status Quo Is God: The episode "Grandma's Room" is about Treasure and Grandma's rooms getting redecorated. By the end, the walls of Treasure's room are painted indigo. However, in every episode afterward, they're the same as they were before.
- Struggling Single Mother: Treasure's mother is single, and is having one hell of a time looking after her rowdy daughter and her own cranky elderly mother.
- Teens Love Shopping: Treasure, and to a degree her friends, are textbook examples of this.
- Their First Time: In "The Big Sleepover", Treasure's mother and grandmother become worried about her going through this when she asks if a male friend of hers can spend the night at their house.
