Western Animation / Around the World with Willy Fog

"Fog! I'm the one who made the bet, and I know I'll be exactly right on time. Fog is my name and I can play with my life in many ways, that's what they say."

— Willy Fog

If the phrase "Round, all around the world, round, all around the world" is now going round, all around your head, you probably grew up in Europe in the 1980s and early 1990s.

From the same stable as Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, this 1983 Spanish/Japanese cartoon (whose original title is La vuelta al mundo de Willy Fog) did for Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days what its predecessor did for The Three Musketeers, namely populated it with Funny Animals, gave it a fun Lighter and Softer makeover, and put it on at teatime. (The show eventually aired in Japan as well, but not until 1987.)

The basic plot of Jules Verne's novel remains intact: dull, wealthy gentlelion Willy Fog (Phileas Fogg in the book^note The French dub, of course, gives him back his original name.) gives up his orderly lifestyle when he accepts a wager that he can travel around the world in eighty days. On his journey he faces opponents who have followed him from London, as well as the constant struggle to catch boats and trains on time and all the perils foreign countries, climates and people can throw at him.

Other characters include Rigodon (Passepartout in the novel), Tico their mascot-a, and Romy (Aouda in the novel), the gentle touch (they all love her so much).

Rigodon, a cat, is a circus acrobat who hoped for a quiet retirement when he applied for a position as Fog's valet but now finds himself dragged into adventure. He is accompanied by Tico, a hamster-thing in red dungarees.

Romy, a cat, is an Indian princess rescued by the travellers from a suttee, who falls quickly into the role of group heart, medic, and Love Interest for Fog.

Dix (Fix in the novel) and Bully (original character), canine detectives from Scotland Yard, believe that Willy Fog is a bank robber using an unlikely cover to flee from justice. They pursue Fog and his party unrelentingly and do their best to obstruct them. Fortunately for Fog they're a pretty incompetent pair, especially bulldog Bully.

Transfer (original character) is a sinister Master of Disguise hired by the ringleader of the members of Fog's London club who have bet against him, to ensure Fog cannot win. His true form appears to be a wolf but he can disguise himself as any character, though viewers can spot him from the way one eye gleams red at suitably dramatic moments. Unlike Dix and Bully, who just want Fog under arrest, Transfer is actively out to kill or incapacitate him.

The show's theme song was so popular that when the presenter of Children's BBC offered viewers a Willy Fog Song Sheet printed with the lyrics, demand was overwhelming. The original Spanish version was similarly popular and was performed by the famous band Mocedades. Keiko Han provided the Japanese themes.

In the 1990s, the series was followed by Willy Fog 2 which has Willy, Romy (now his wife) and friends having new adventures directly adapted from Verne's most famous science fiction novels, Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. As with Dogtanian, BRB enlisted Taiwanese studio Wang Film Productions to animate the sequel, rather than Japan's Nippon Animation which had done the original series.

BRB Internacional has uploaded the full series and its sequel on their YouTube channels.

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Tropes:

Around the World with Willy Fog

• Adaptational Heroism: The Native Americans who attack the train in the novel are depicted as villains from whom Phileas Fogg rescues Passepartout with an armed force. Their cartoon counterparts are manipulated into attacking by Transfer, who tells them that they're about to be attacked by the passengers of the "iron horse". Once Rigodon and Tico clear up the misunderstanding, the chieftain Calm Buffalo returns them to Willy Fog and gifts him with two horses as a gesture of peace.
• Adaptation Expansion: The series includes new characters, a bigger development of Romy/Aouda and two extra stops in Hawaii and Mexico that weren't in the original novel.
• Adaptation Name Change: Aouda becomes Romy, Passepartout is Rigodon, Fix is changed to Dix, and Mr Fogg's first name is changed from Phileas to Willy, while his surname loses the second G.
• Alleged Lookalikes: Fog and the bank-robber. The resemblance between them is said to be so strong that "they're almost twins", which is what leads to Fog being misidentified as the robber. However, aside from both being lions, they look nothing like each other.
• Alliterative Title: Some episodes have alliterative titles, with words starting with the same sounds.
  • "The Mysterious Mademoiselle", episode 3.
  • Episode 9 is titled "The Remarkable Rescue of Romy".
  • Episode 10 is called "A Present for Parsi".
  • "Warpaint in the West", episode 20.
• Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The Japanese version has a different opening theme and ending theme.
• And This Is for...: Played with. After learning that he'd arrested the wrong man, Dix begs Fog to hit him (as he does, unprompted, in the original novel), but Fog declines, saying he has "wasted enough time". Dix then orders Bully, who he has dragged around the world on a wild goose chase, to do it instead. Bully hits him twice:
  Bully: That's for me!
• Animal Stereotypes:
  • Fog is a lion, appropriately for an English aristocrat. In the original novel, Fogg was actually compared to a lion in appearance.
  • Romy is a Sexy Cat Person. And she's such a cutie that she has lots of Cute Kitten in her.
  • Rigodon has lots of connotations of the Cute Kitten stereotype.
  • Dim detectives Dix and Bully are both dogs.
  • Evil Transfer is a wolf — a big evil vicious wolf.
  • Fog's rival Sullivan is also a wolf, just better kept than Transfer.
• Annoying Arrows: Koa the elephant is hit by arrows when the group is fleeing from the religious fanatics who want to burn Romy alive in a suttee. Koa is not seriously hurt by them, but they sure are not pleasant.
• Anthropomorphic Animal Adaptation: Our heroes, people in the novel, are re-imagined as sapient anthropomorphic animals. Mr Fog is a lion, Romy (Aouda) is a cat, Rigodon (Passepartout) is also a cat, Brigadier Corn (Cromarty) is a roe deer and so on.

• Artistic License – History: When Fog and his companions miss the ship they are scheduled to take from New York to Liverpool, they visit shipping offices of several nations to find another vessel. In the German office, a flag with the colors "black red gold" is displayed, despite the fact that the official colors of Imperial Germany in this time era (1872) were "black white red".
• Attractive Bent-Gender: Fog and Rigodon are clearly intrigued by the French kangaroo lady they meet on a train. Too bad she's actually Transfer in one of his disturbingly effective disguises... as is the next woman they meet. He has a penchant for this, apparently.
• Bag of Holding: Rigodon's suitcase. There is everything they might need from money in small notes to a teapot and several cups.
• Bail Equals Freedom: In one episode Rigodon gets an actual prison sentence, and Fog gets him completely freed by paying the bail. As in, Fog explicitly states they're going to leave the country and he can't spare his manservant to do time.
• Barefoot Cartoon Animal: The entire cast. All the anthropomorphic animals have gorgeous clothes, but none of them wear shoes.
• Bedsheet Ghost: Despite being an excellent Master of Disguise, Transfer actually dresses in white bed sheets to play a ghost to scare Tico in the fourth episode "The Temple of Doom".

• Beware the Nice Ones:
  • You really don't want to engage Rigodon in a fight. He's a pretty laid-back guy with sweet temper, but touch his friend or his employer, and he will destroy you. The same later applies for Romy, a lady in Mr Fog's care. He's very protective of everyone.
  • Tico is a bumbling comic relief character but he has his moments of badassery, usually if someone's threatening his best friend Rigodon.
• Big Eater: Tico eats huge amounts of food despite his diminutive size.
• Bridal Carry: Princess Romy occasionally gets carried in Mr Fog's or Rigodon's arms.
• British Stuffiness: In the final episode, although Mr Fog has come to realise that he loves Princess Romy, he still insists on focusing his conversation with her on the more practical question of his inability to support her financially now that he is facing bankruptcy. Eventually, Romy gets so frustrated that she is the one who declares her love first, and she asks him to marry her instead of the other way around.
• Bully Bulldog: Averted with Bully who, despite his name, is a simple-minded fellow who likes a quiet life and would rather not be chasing a suspected bank-robber around the world.
• The Butler Did It: Discussed in the English dub version of the twelfth episode when Dix demands Bully to base his suggestion that Fog is not the bank robber after all; Bully replies that when people say the butler did it, the guilty party turns out to be someone else. Dix misses the point and starts thinking instead that he can arrest Fog with the help of his butler Rigodon.
• Butt-Monkey: Dix and Bully throughout the travels, getting the short end of the stick of traveling in the lowest class possible while Willy's group travels in style.
• Cane Fu: Willy Fog is quite proficient with his cane. He even beats a bandit armed with a gun with it, by throwing his cane right into the gun's barrel, causing it to blow up in the bandit's hand.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Willy has problems trying to express his feelings for Romy and instead waffles about how he cannot provide for her financially as he is declaring bankruptcy, so Romy expresses hers first.
• Canon Foreigner: Three very central ones, compared to the original novel — Tico, Bully and Transfer.
  • Tico seems to be included mainly for comedy relief, but also so that Rigodon has someone to talk to. He's a Local Reference as a new Spanish character in the cast.
  • Bully is a companion for Dix so that viewers can hear his motivations and to have him interact with another character.
  • Transfer presents a recurring antagonist who's actually a threat (which can't really be said of Dix and Bully), as well as neatly taking over some of Phileas Fogg's more morally-questionable actions from the book, so that Willy Fog becomes more of an unquestioned hero. He also makes Dix more sympathetic, by performing some of Fix's nastier tricks.
• Cartoon Creature: What on earth is Tico supposed to be? Some rodent-like creature. Probably hamster.
• Cats Are Mean: Strongly averted. With the exception of the high priestess of the Kali worshippers, none of the characters who appear in an antagonistic role are feline.
• Cheaters Never Prosper: Sullivan hires Transfer to ensure Fog won't successfully travel around the world in eighty days. Not only does Transfer ultimately fail, but Sullivan ends up losing his job as the governor of Bank of England for covering Transfer's travel expenses through embezzlement.
• Chekhov's Gun: Rigodon refuses to fix his grandfather's clock each time they enter a new time zone, but has the time right when they finally make it to London. This makes Fog realize that they have gained an extra day by travelling eastward.
• Classy Cane: Mr Fog has a classy cane, as is appropriate for a classy gentleman. He uses it also for Cane Fu.
• Creature of Habit: Fog's life follows a precise timetable which is pinned to the inside of his butler's bedroom door and which his butler is expected to follow to the letter. At the beginning of the series, it's implied that Rigodon's predecessor was dismissed for persistent tardiness. ^note In the novel, the dismissal was for bringing shaving water at the wrong temperature.
• Criminal Doppelgänger: Mr Fog has one. It's the thief who stole money from the bank and who Inspector Dix tries to catch. He's a lion very much like Mr Fog but he's not at all as handsome.
• Damsel in Distress: Princess Romy upon first meeting. She was about to be burned alive and Mr Fog and his companions decide to rescue her.
• Death by Adaptation: Like Aouda in the original novel, Romy initially joins the expedition with a view to reuniting with her family. However, while Aouda learns that her cousin has moved to the Netherlands, meaning a reunion could in theory still be on the cards, Romy's search for her uncle and aunt ends with the news that they were both killed in a flood the previous year.
• Decomposite Character:
  • Rigodon and Tico are in place of Passepartout. Mr Fogg has only one servant in the novel.
  • Dix and Bully are in place of Fix. In the novel, there is only one detective trying to catch Mr Fogg.
  • Transfer performs the most morally questionable actions of Fogg (Fog) and Fix (Dix) in the book.
• Determinator:
  • Koa's Parsi owner follows his stolen elephant's trail for about eighty miles of Indian jungle. He loves Koa so much that he spends two days and nights to reach him and even leaves Dix and Bully to fend for themselves in the jungle when they can't keep up with him.
  • Transfer tries everything he can to complete his mission to ruin Fog's journey. Even falling down Niagara Falls doesn't stop him from reaching New York at the same time Fog does.
• Did I Mention It's Christmas?: The last few episodes take place in the run-up to Christmas 1872, but, aside from the occasional mention of it being December, you wouldn't know it. Christmas is only mentioned directly in the closing narration of the penultimate episode, where the narrator talks about how, while the rest of London is celebrating Christmas, Fog and his companions are "weary with disappointment", having just lost the bet - or so they think.
• Dub Name Change:
  • Rigodon, Dix and Willy Fog himself all have their original novel names in the Finnish and French dubs: Passepartout, Fix and Phileas.
  • The Czech dub has some changes: Transfer is Chidling (called "villainous Chidling" by the narrator), Rigodon is Barnabash, and Tico is Chico.
• Discreet Drink Disposal: When Dix takes Rigodon for a drink in Hong Kong with the intention of convincing him to help arrest Fog, he discreetly pours his second glass under the table as the reluctant Rigodon has another one.
• Evil-Detecting Dog: Koa the (non-sentient) elephant is the only one not fooled by Transfer's disguises.
• Expository Theme Tune: Willy Fog sings about about his bet and adventure: "Hey, now the story must go on, 'cause a lot of time has gone, we must be ready to go away. Eighty days around the world..." In the original Spanish: "The countdown has already begun, will we make it? Yes or no? My trip around the world begins now!"
• Eye-Dentity Giveaway: Transfer is a Master of Disguise (Latex Perfection level - he can copy any size, species, age, height, and gender, and fool even those who know the person he impersonates very well). So the audience can identify him, his eye will glow every time he's on-screen no matter what disguise he's using.
• Flowers of Romance: Mr Fog and Princess Romy exchange flowers, spontaneously picked up during their outing to a park in Singapore. Mr Fog wears the flower on the lapel of his suit jacket.
• Four-Fingered Hands: The entire cast have four-fingered hands. Easier to draw.
• Funny Foreigner: Rigodon (French) and Tico (Italian). Tico was Spanish in the original Spanish version, but the trope was still present because he was explicitly Andalusian ("the funny Andalusian" is nowadays a mostly Dead Horse Trope in Spanish media).
• Furry Confusion: The show manages to avoid this in some interesting ways. All animals are either sapient and anthropomorphic, or neither. All the animals that are sapient are mammals and most (with very few exceptions) are rodents, carnivores, pigs and primates, which are never non-sapient. So there are no pet dogs or cats or any known equivalent. Equines ^note mostly horses, though there is a donkey in the Mexican episode, camels and elephants are never sapient and are used for transport. Bovines are also non-sapient, allowing for the incident where Rigodon and Tico get into trouble for defiling a sacred cow in India, as well as Transfer (during the American arc) stampeding a herd of buffalo across the path of the train in which Fog and his party are travelling.
• Garden of Love: Princess Romy and Mr Fog have a lovely date in a park in Singapore. The place is in full bloom. Mr Fog picks up a flower for her, which she loves and starts dancing with it, and then she picks a flower for him and puts it on his suit as a boutonnière. Definite Ship Tease, and in the final episode, Mr Fog and Princess Romy both remember it as the moment when they started falling in love with each other.
• Gentleman Adventurer: Fog, utterly against his character in the novel. This version of Mr Fog is actually interested in travelling and seeing the world. In the second series, he travels into the centre of the Earth and has adventures under the sea.
• Gratuitous Princess: Romy is an Indian princess who gets rescued by Mr Fog and his companions and then travels with them around the world. Everybody is impressed that such a beauty is also an aristocrat. She, however, says she's a daughter of wealthy merchants and she has her title of princess via marriage. She was a Rajah's wife, so normally she would be a Rani. Rajah is sometimes translated as Prince, so Rani can easily be Princess.
• Hammerspace: Transfer's various disguises must come from something like this. He doesn't have any luggage, but he always whips a perfect mask with a perfect costume.
• Heal the Cutie: Romy, who finds happiness as Fog's travelling companion, and later as his wife, having previously lost her parents in a typhoid epidemic, been forced to marry an old raja, nearly fallen victim to "the horrible Indian ritual of suttee" and learned that the uncle and aunt she had hoped would take her in had died.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Rigodon and Tico. Inseparable pair of friends. They met when both worked in a circus and since then stick together.
• High-Speed Train Reroute: When Fog and the others are traveling on a handcar, they find themselves on a collision course with a train that's approaching from the opposite direction. At the last second, Rigodon jumps off the moving handcar and reroutes it using a points lever, meaning the gang avoid getting hit by the train, though they do end up crashing the handcar. Fortunately, none of them are injured.
• Hollywood Geography: To be expected, but presumably played more for flavor and fun than the original's relative accuracy (which was exotic at the time). For instance, the temple complex visited in Egypt is clearly Karnak, nearly 500 miles or 750 kilometers from Suez, yet they reach it on camel and back in a single day.
• Iconic Item:
  • Willy Fog has a top hat and a walking cane, the latter often being used in self-defense.
  • Rigodon has a valise, as well as a bowler hat which he believes brings him good luck and refuses to replace when he briefly loses it. It was his grandfather's, so he treasures it.
  • Tico is given an Ancient Egyptian "sun clock" early in the series and finds an excuse to consult it in nearly every subsequent episode.
  • Princess Romy has a jewelled maang tikka, revealed in one episode to contain medicinal chicken bones.
  • Inspector Dix has a flat cap and a pipe, though he is never actually seen smoking. Fitting for a detective.
• Iconic Outfit:
  • After widowed Princess Romy drops her mourning dress, she always wears a gorgeous pink and white dress. She's covered in a thin veil and she has some exquisite Indian jewels — bracelets, arm circlets, earrings and a gorgeous maang tikka. She wears different clothes in the second series. Makes sense, as she lives in England and travels a lot.
  • Willy Fog's brown suit and red tie with black polka dots, complete with his top hat and a classy cane.
• Informed Ability: Rigodon claims that ventriloquism is among his many talents. However, the closest he gets to actually demonstrating this skill is covering for Tico in the early episodes where Fog is unaware of Tico's presence.
• Inspector Javert: Dix and Bully. Their unusually determined efforts are lampshaded when the police chief of Calcutta complains that they're blowing more of Scotland Yard's budget on this intercontinental chase than he makes in a year.
• Instant-Win Condition: At one point it is suggested that, were Fog to die in his attempt to travel around the world in eighty days, Sullivan and co would win the wager by default, regardless of how much time remained before the deadline expired (no pun intended). And, judging by how potentially lethal some of his traps are, Transfer is clearly aware of this.
• Interspecies Romance:
  • Willy (a lion) falls in love with Princess Romy (a panther). They get married in the end. Their kitten-cubs will be hella cute.
  • The Hawaiian episode features a romance between a monkey and a pig. Mani, the monkey, is a lower class guy, and the lady pig, Kahula, is the king's daughter.
• Jaw Drop: Mr. Fog has one in slow motion when he sees to his delight that Rigodon and Tico are safe and sound among the Native Americans.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Andrew Speedy, the Captain of the Henrietta, the ship used to cross the Atlantic, is a highly stubborn and short-tempered captain who gives his crew little salary and takes for himself meals cooked for others. However, he's right to warn Willy not to sail through a hurricane with the sails unrolled and all the fuel being used on fair wind. The sails end up being torn apart, and the coal runs out, forcing Willy to buy the ship from the righteously angry captain in order to use the wood on board as fuel.
• King of Beasts: Fog is an anthropomorphic lion. While he isn't royalty, he is, in addition to being very wealthy, ^note How he came by his wealth is, as in the novel, never specified described as having a "noble disposition" and is the de facto leader of the party.
• Knife-Throwing Act: While Rigodon and Tico work in a circus while penniless in Yokohama, Rigodon almost gets killed in a knife act thrown by villain and Master of Disguise Transfer. Willy Fog steps up and saves him.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Sullivan was fired from his position as governor of the bank for misappropriation of funds, from his attempts to make sure Willy Fog loses the bet.
  • Dix and Bully get demoted to common traffic cops for their wrongful arrest of Fog and Rigodon, which nearly cost Fog the bet.
• Latex Perfection: Transfer. How does he always hide those huge ears? Hammerspace ears? In addition, he's unusually quick in making the outfit and mask, sometimes specifically resembling a person the group previously hired.
• Leitmotif:
  • The melody from the theme song is associated with Mr Fog and his bet. It's usually heard when our travellers manage to board their train or ship, when they succeed or prevail against all odds or if they help someone.
  • The end title theme music is often heard in scenes which focus on Rigodon and Tico. A light-hearted version is used in scenes where the two friends are in an optimistic mood, but there is a more sombre version which plays whenever they are feeling discouraged.
  • Princess Romy in danger, a leitmotif for the evil priestess and worshippers of Kali who want to sacrifice Romy. Heard several times when Romy's rescue takes place and in flashbacks. Also heard when Willy Fog saves Brigadier Corn from ferocious orca's.
  • Princess Romy romantic leitmotif is heard when she's being adorable. It's used often whenever she has a romantic moment with Mr Fog.
  • Inspector Dix and Constable Bully have a distinctive tune, repeated in moments when they mess up, whenever Dix realizes he can't arrest Mr Fog or when Bully is seasick or homesick.
  • Transfer, the villain who tries to undermine Mr Fog, has a brief sinister theme whenever he makes a sudden appearance and thinks about his evil plan.
• Let's Fight Like Gentlemen:
  • Played straight by Fog; whenever he is provoked into a fight by an aggressor who won't take no for an answer, he always insists on conducting himself with honour. Never is this more obvious than when he is pushed into a gunfight in a San Francisco saloon and chooses to fight with his cane instead of with one of the guns the saloonkeeper offers him; he simply throws end of the cane into the barrel of his opponent's revolver, causing it to backfire.
  • Avoided by Rigodon, Tico and Transfer, all of whom are prepared to fight just as dirty as their opponents if need be, including kicking, biting, taking advantage of distractions, anything to get the upper hand. This particularly comes through during the various fistfights between Rigodon and Transfer when the former sees through the latter's disguise and realises he is a saboteur.
• Lighter and Softer: Surprisingly, not as much as you'd think; on the whole this is a very faithful adaptation of Jules Verne's novel, with good things and bad things happening to the characters throughout — though there are a few aspects that have been softened a little. Most notably, there's Willy Fog himself, who compared to the Phileas Fogg of the novel is a far more jovial and friendly fellow (even if he is still obsessed with punctuality).
• Local Reference: Tico is Spanish in the original Spanish version, and Portuguese in the Portuguese dub. The balloon man in Tijuana is also Spanish (but unlike Tico, he is not Andalusian).

• Lost in Translation:
  • Tico's not only Spanish in the original version - he has a very thick Andalusian accent and uses a lot of Andalusian slang.
  • In the Japanese version, they try the "kawaii" effect for Tico with a high-pitched voice. In the Spanish version, he has a rather deep voice.
• Mirrored Confrontation Shot: In the first episode, there is a rather longish shot of Mr Fog facing Mr Sullivan after they agreed on the bet.
• More Expendable Than You: In Episode 9, Rigodon sets out to single-handedly rescue Romy from the Kali worshippers, knowing full well that they will kill him if they catch him. The exchange between him and Tico immediately beforehand makes it clear that he's embarking on such a dangerous mission because he doesn't want Fog to put his life and fortune on the line "trying to save zat girl".
• The Musical: In 2008, a Willy Fog stage musical (featuring actors in Funny Animal makeup) opened in Spain to commemorate the series' 25th anniversary.
• Mystical India: Snake charmers, sacred cows, angry brahmin monks, turbans, tamed elephants, jungles, and attempted human (well, anthropomorphic animal) sacrifices to Kali. The only thing missing from India as portrayed in the series is flying carpets.
• National Animal Stereotypes:
  • Willy Fog is a lion, while Dix and Bully are a beagle and a bulldog. All three animals are often associated with the United Kingdom.
  • The team meets two weird and very Anubis-like black dogs in Egypt, but they turn out to be a couple of twin German archaeologists.
  • Tigers are most common in the show's version of India. While in there, the cast also gets to ride an elephant, Rigodon runs in trouble after Tico eats offers to a sacred cow, and Tico is bitten by a tamed cobra (who luckily for him, has no teeth).
  • The Chinese captain (and part-time pirate) that Willy hires to travel from Shanghai to Yokohama is a panda.
  • The Japanese police chief is a fox and Rigodon and Tico find refuge in the humble home of two Japanese macaques while in Yokohama.
  • Travel through the American West is delayed by a bison stampede (non-sapient) and an attack by coyote Native Americans.
  • Transfer disguises as a coyote while in the US, both when he pretends to be a Native and when he pretends to be a European settler.
  • The mad prospector in San Francisco is a raccoon (might be a Stealth Pun, since both prospectors and raccoons spend a lot of their time washing stuff in the river).
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Transfer ends up several times inadvertently helping Fog's journey to proceed.
  • If Transfer hadn't stolen Koa the elephant and impersonated the owner in order to swindle Fog out of two thousand pounds, Fog wouldn't have traveled through the jungle and reached Allahabad in just the two days he was ahead of the original schedule. Neither he would have crossed paths with the worshipers of Kali and rescued Romy before they could burn her.
  • After missing the last ship to England, the heroes board another ship that has a different destination. Since this makes it impossible to complete the journey in time, Rigodon and Dix agree to stage a mutiny for Fog's sake. Before it can come to that, however, Transfer enlists as a cook and attempts to feed Fog poisoned food, but the bull-headed Captain Speedy snatches the meal and eats it himself. This allows Fog to persuade the bedridden captain to give the ship's authority to him and set the course towards England.
• Noble Savage: Unlike their novel counterparts, the Native Americans under Calm Buffalo don't desire war. They attack the Union Pacific train only because Transfer, disguised as a warrior from another tribe, told them they're about to be attacked with the "iron horse". They capture Rigodon and Tico who've fallen from the train to question them about why they'd want to attack the tribe. Once the duo tell them that they never planned to attack and Transfer flees before he can be questioned, Calm Buffalo returns them to Willy Fog, provides him with two horses, wishes him luck for his travel, and departs in peace.
• Over-the-Shoulder Carry:
  • When Rigodon saves Princess Romy, he puts her over his shoulder at first, but then he carries her in his arms.
  • A later episode has Bully carry Rigodon over his shoulder when Transfer (disguised as Dix) orders him to put Rigodon and Tico on the Carnatic to keep them from informing Fog and Romy that the ship will be departing that evening, not the following morning as Fog and his companions think. (Tico is carried under Bully's other arm.)
• Peace Pipe: Calm Buffalo smokes one before questioning Rigodon and Tico. He then offers it to Rigodon who fails to follow the chieftain's example and blow neat smoke rings.
• Pet Positive Identification: When first met, Koa the elephant's Parsi owner makes it clear that he loves Koa like a brother. After Transfer steals his identity and Koa, Fog and his friends witness the fake Parsi treating the elephant harshly. After Transfer vanishes and Romy has been rescued, the real Parsi shows up. Rigodon confronts him in fury, but Fog and Tico figure out that Koa's owner was impersonated as they see how happy Koa is about his appearance when compared to the disdain he had for the impersonator.
• Policeman Dog: The police detectives Inspector Dix and Constable Bully are depicted as dogs, unlike the other main characters, who are felines.
• Pop-Cultural Osmosis: While the novel's plot is universally known overseas, many a Spaniard will come with the name Willy Fog whenever referring to the protagonist instead of original protagonist Phileas Fogg due to the series' enormous success.
• Pragmatic Adaptation: The series neatly sidesteps some of Phileas Fogg's ethically questionable actions in the book by transferring events to Transfer and his sabotage attempts in order to make Fog the unblemished hero. Dix benefits from this as well.
• Prospector: The gang meets an old one in San Francisco who has gone mad over the years and carries a bag of dirt thinking it's gold dust.
• Psycho for Hire: Transfer is on Sullivan's payroll, and is explicitly hired to stop Willy Fog from getting around the world in 80 days; there is nothing to which he will not stoop, including murder (with other passengers on the train or boat he is trying to sabotage evidently seen as acceptable collateral damage).
• Pyrrhic Victory: Defied by Fog. If faced with a situation where he can only continue his journey at the expense of his companions, he will put them first, even if it means falling behind schedule and potentially losing the bet. Two incidents from the American arc illustrate this. First, Fog forgoes the chance to continue on to New York in order to look for Rigodon and Tico, who are missing following an attack on the train by Sioux Indians. Shortly after, with heavy snow preventing their train from leaving Chicago, Fog and his companions set out to cross the Great Lakes in an ice boat, only to be forced to seek shelter when Tico nearly succumbs to the cold.
  Fog: We should never have left Chicago. My journey and the wager I have made are nothing compared with his health. (Beat). Rigodon, we will stay here until Tico is completely recovered.
  Rigodon: But, sir, don't you realise zat Tico would never forgive himself if he was the cause of your failing to travel around ze world in eighty days?
  Romy: He's right, you know.
  Fog: I would be more unforgiving of myself if I were to abandon him.
• Quintessential British Gentleman: Willy Fog, obsessed with punctuality, clubs, tea and values the fame of the British Empire. His species is even Britain's heraldic animal!
• Race Against the Clock: Fog and co. race to reach the Reform Club before 8:45 PM on December 21 1872. They have 80 days to complete their journey. Lots of the times they must hurry to catch their ship/train/what have you.
• Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Fog is only interested in winning the bet for the sake of sportsmanship; he spends almost as much money on his journey as success will win him.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!:
  • Need to get through the Indian jungle? Buy an elephant! Ship running out of coal? Buy the ship and burn the furnishings! Sometimes they have to force some people into helping them.
  • Sullivan doesn't care about the bet money as long as Willy loses it. He even promises his 5000 pounds to Transfer if his sabotage attempts are successful, and he sponsors Transfer's travel expenses.
• Single-Minded Twins: Dr. Frik and Dr. Frok, the German twin archaeologists working at the same excavation in Egypt. They finish each other's sentences and have similar, or outright the same, ideas.
• Sliding Scale of Villain Threat: Transfer falls into the Local Area Threat category. His attempts to stop Fog and his party regularly go as far as deliberately endangering their lives and the lives of those who happen to be travelling with them.
• South of the Border: After a fire on board caused by Transfer, the team docks at Tijuana, Mexico, where the locals are scared of a flying monster. Fortunately, the monster turns out to be a hot air balloon that the characters can use to fly to their initial destination, San Francisco.
• Spiritual Successor: To a little-known Australian animated series from 1972.
• Spoiler Opening:
  • Princess Romy appears in the Title Sequence, singing part of the opening song. However she doesn't actually appear in the series until much later on, when the group get to India. So you know that not only that she is going to join the group, but that she will also not die in the attempt to sacrifice her.
  • Andrew Speedy appears in the Title Sequence (among a group consisting of Dix, Transfer, and Ralph) as well, despite only featuring in a small number of episodes towards the end of the series. So you know from the beginning that this character will appear at some point.
• Spoonerism: When Dix is exasperated (which is often), he completely scrambles his sentences, such as referring to Willy Fog as having "robbed the Ink of Bangland" or telling his assistant that he's "sick of your bullyaching, Belly!"
• Sudden Downer Ending: Episode 22 ends with Willy Fog and co. barely missing the China-ship which was the only ship to Liverpool.
• Theme Twin Naming: Dr. Frik and Dr. Frok, German twin archaeologists have matching names with alliteration; their names are almost identical as they differ only in one vowel.
• Trailers Always Spoil: While sailing to Hong Kong, the travellers find themselves in the path of a typhoon which, the narrator notes, they may not survive. However, the trailer for the following episode features all the main cast except Bully and Transfer, meaning the viewer will know five out of the seven are going to come through the storm alive.
• Trigger-Happy: Most of the population of 1872 San Francisco are depicted as being quick to go for their guns. The first thing they do when they see the hot air balloon in which Fog and his party have travelled from Mexico is shoot it down. Fortunately, it has been losing altitude and is close enough to the ground to land safely. Shortly after, Fog and co witness a shooting at a saloon bar, where Transfer later lures Fog into a confrontation with a local outlaw.
• Vague Age: Tico is old enough to work and (technically) live on his own, but often acts childish and is treated by Romy in a motherly fashion. The vagueness of just what he is supposed to be doesn't help.
• Victorian London: Mr Fog's home; however, he has a comfortable life as a member of the upper-middle class.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Dix and Bully. For all Bully tries Dix's patience with his clumsiness, constant complaining and tendency to get travel sick, there are moments where Dix actively tries to encourage his partner. Also, when faced with the prospect of having to leave Bully behind in New York, Dix says he won't go home without him.
• Vomit Discretion Shot: Bully is forever being sick over the side of every ship he and Dix take while in pursuit of Willy Fog, though he is only ever seen from behind while he is doing so. When the two detectives hitch a lift on Fog's balloon from Mexico to San Francisco, he proves to be airsick as well; in a long distance shot of the balloon, a horrified Dix is heard telling him not to face into the wind while throwing up.
• Wham Episode: The 13th episode, "The Butler's Dilemma"; not only have Romy's relatives have been passed away, but Rigodon and Tico are separated from the group due to Transfer's nasty plan. Also, Willy and Romy don't get on the ship on time.
• Westminster Chimes: Big Ben is heard at the beginning of each episode. The narrator recaps what happened previously and how is Mr Fog's doing as he speaks over the chimes. Viewers are then shown what happens in London in the Reform Club as the gentlemen who bet against Mr Fog and Mr Fog's avid supporters compare their information and talk about Mr Fog's journey.
• The Wild West: In the United States, they visit a typical American town, rough cowboys, saloon owner, eccentric American businessman, Indians, and they travel in a very Cool Train.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Romy. She fears she will be recaptured by the Kali worshippers if she stays in India, prompting her to join Fog's expedition.

Willy Fog 2

• Adaptational Angst Downgrade: Due to the removal of Captain Nemo's tragic backstory, he is a more cheerful person in the series.
• Adapted Out: Unlike in the original book, Professor Aronnax doesn't have a servant named Conseil.
• Adaptational Wimp: Rigodon has a more cowardly nature in this series.
• Almost Out of Oxygen:
  • When Nemo invites Fog and friends to go for a walk on the seabed, Sergeant Pat sabotages Fog's oxygen supply so that he'll run out of oxygen near the end of the walk when he's apart from the others. Fortunately, Captain Nemo notices Fog's distress in time and opens his backup tank which Pat closed.
  • In the antepenultimate episode, the Nautilus is trapped under Antarctic ice, and there are only several hours to break through the ice before the oxygen runs out.
• Anti-Villain: Byronic Hero in the original novel, but in this adaption Captain Nemo kills innocents by sinking vessels that get too close to the Nautilus and intends to keep the heroes imprisoned in the submarine forever. Other than that, he's courteous to the prisoners he insists to be his guests as well as a Reasonable Authority Figure to them. He also highly values his crewmembers, including the deceased ones, and he gives gold to the needy.
• Artistic Licence – Geography:
  • To get to Iceland, the group take a train to English Channel, a ship to France, another train through Belgium and Germany, another ship from Hamburg to Copenhagen, and then another ship from Copenhagen to Reykjavik. This is a very circuitous route, since they travel across much of Western Europe to end up 1300 miles from Iceland. On the other hand, they could have taken a train up to Glasgow, chartered a ship to take them 800 miles to Iceland, and only had to cross one international border.
  • Not only is Antarctica home to polar bears, but the Nautlius is said to reach the South Pole by travelling beneath the ice. The fact there's an actual continent there isn't mentioned.
• Bat Out of Hell: In the eighth episode, Romy and Lidenbrock are harassed by subterranean vampire bats.
• Bowdlerise: A minor change in episode "The Pearl Divers"; the Spanish dub and the English dub Captain Nemo makes it very clear that Willy Fog and co. will stay on Nautilus for the rest of their lives, but the Finnish dub he just implies that he will prevent them leaving Nautilus at the moment.
• Canon Foreigner: Sergeant Pat and Oliver. In the book Captain Nemo's crewmembers names aren't revealed and no one is particually malicious or involved on the main characters' journey.
• Cats Hate Water: Averted; Captain Nemo is a cat and he says that the sea is his sanctuary.
• Chased by Angry Natives: After the Nautilus leaves Pat and his Melanesian allies behind, the angry Melanesians turn on Pat, who swims for his life as the tribesmen chase after him either by swimming or on their canoes.
• Demoted to Extra:
  • Unlike his book counterpart, Professor Lidenbrock's nephew Axel isn't forced to join his uncle's expedition to the Center of the Earth, so he remains in Hamburg to look after his uncle's students with Gräuben and doesn't appear after the second episode.
  • Professor Aronnax was the main character in the original book, but his role is smaller in the series and doesn't have the same kind of friendship with Captain Nemo; it's Willy Fog who ends up being a closer friend to him.
• Everyone Has Standards: Ned Land hates being trapped in the Nautilus and wants to escape so much that he's not averse to suggesting reckless plans (such as swimming ashore in the Strait of Gibraltar while a storm is on its way) or snooping through Captain Nemo's office to discover the latter's itineraries. However, when Sergeant Pat offers to let Ned leave the submarine if he helps him overthrow Captain Nemo, Ned immediately refuses to help Pat who has been imprisoned for trying to murder Willy, and as much as he resents Captain Nemo, he respects him enough that he's completely against letting Pat get his way.
• Furry Confusion: Ned Land, an anthropomorphic bear, fights a non-sentient bear in one episode.
• Furry Reminder:
  • Tico sometimes eats with his hands like rodents instead of using utensils.
  • Captain Nemo has vertical pupils and they slit in some scenes.
• Genre Shift: The first series, as with the book it's based on, has little in the way of fantastic elements (unless you count being a World of Funny Animals), being firmly based on "this is how someone might actually have travelled around the world in this time period". Willy Fog 2 is based on Verne's scientific romance works.

• He Knows Too Much: Captain Nemo refuses to let the heroes leave the Nautilus so that the world won't know about his submarine he and his crew treat as their sanctuary.
• Hot-Blooded: Ned Land is always ready to fight, be it crewmembers of the Nautilus, Melanesian tribesmen, a polar bear, or giant octopuses.
• Humans Are Bastards: How Captain Nemo views people on the land; as he states he refuses to live on land created by the greedy and worthless people.
• Iconic Item: Tico's "sun clock" from the first series is gone, so he gains Axel's yoyo compass.
• Jerkass: Sergeant Pat, the arrogant crewmember of the Nautilus. After Willy humiliates him for manhandling Romy, Pat tries to frame him as a thief so that Captain Nemo would make him the first officer of the Nautilus. After that fails, Pat tries to murder Willy. He also likes sinking vessels that get too close to the Nautilus.
• Leitmotif:
  • When Willy Fog and his friends are in danger, a tense and dark track plays out.
  • Whenever the latter part series show up an underwater view, a soft and tender humming theme plays.
• Lighter and Softer: Espicially the latter part of the series; while Nautilus attacks vessels and sinks them, nobody dies on-screen. The series also removed entirely Captain Nemo's tragic backstory and mentions of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 aka Sepoy mutiny, which is why Nemo came to hate humanity so much, changed his name from Dakkar to Nemo (which means Nobody in Latin) and escaped into the ocean.
• Lima Syndrome: Captain Nemo and his crew take Willy and the others prisoner and refuse to let them go so that they can't tell the world about the Nautilus, but they're treated reasonably well, with only Sergeant Pat being truly malicious towards them. Captain Nemo (who insists on calling them his guests), Oliver and Sam become particularly close with them to the point of allowing them (even the constantly defiant Ned Land) to help around the ship. Oliver helps them escape in the final episode, with Sam wishing them luck and Captain Nemo ultimately accepting their departure as well.
• Misplaced Wildlife: Rigodon, Tico and Ned are threatened by a polar bear in Antarctica.
• Morality Pet: Willy is able to convince Captain Nemo not to attack the battleship Avenger on two separate instances. On the first instance, Willy shakes hands with Nemo and says that he considers the captain a true gentleman even if it means nothing to the latter. Nemo admits that it means a great deal to him.
• Multinational Team: The expedition to the Center of the Earth is composed of Willy Fog (British), Princess Romy (Indian), Rigodon (French), Tico (Spanish/Italian), Professor Lidenbrock (German) and Hans (Icelander). The latter two are replaced by Professor Aronnax (French) and Ned Land (Canadian) as prisoners of the Nautilus.
• Never My Fault: In the first episode, Sullivan rants that he wouldn't have lost his position as the head of Bank of England if Fog hadn't won their bet. It was actually his own misappropriation of funds that got him fired.
• Nice Guy: Out of all Nemo's crewmembers Oliver is the friendliest fellow; he is against sinking innocent vessels and in the final episode he helps Willy Fog and his friends escape from the Nautilus.
• The Owl-Knowing One: The renowned marine biologist Professor Aronnax is an owl, and he often has to remind Ned Land to rein in his impatient need to escape the Nautilus.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: The subterranean vampire bats have nasty red eyes. Romy even notes that they have an evil look in those eyes.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ned Land and Professor Aronnax in the latter half of the series. Ned is always vocal about his dislike of being trapped in the Nautilus and desire to escape, while Aronnax often cautions him to be patient and wait for an opportune moment to escape.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Thanks to Willy Fog and co, the frigate ship and the warship Avenger are not destroyed by Nautilus like in the book.
  • Ultimately, Captain Nemo and his crew. In the novel their fates were left unclear and the sequel book "The Secret Island" reveals that Nemo is the sole survivor and even he dies in the end.
• Sigil Spam: N decorates a lot of spots in Nautilus, including walls, pillows, and the crewmembers' uniforms. Willy and Romy actually notify this soon after being imprisoned in the submarine.
• Spoiler Opening: Well, in this case the spoiler end credits reveal that Willy Fog and his friends will be on board the Nautilus submarine.
• "Shut Up!" Gunshot: When Pat and Tico are threatened by Melanesian tribesmen, Pat uses gunshots to scare them into submission.
• Tampering with Food and Drink: As the last resort to sabotage Fog's journey to the Center of the Earth, Transfer contaminates the expedition's drinking water with salt. Realizing this only after they've started descending, they're forced to search for fresh water and end up getting it from a subterranean river.
• Token Evil Teammate: Sergeant Pat is the most black-hearted named member of the Nautilus. While Captain Nemo, Oliver and Sam the cook quickly befriend their prisoners and earn some respect from Ned Land, Pat is giving them, especially Willy, trouble either out of spite or to advance himself. Captain Nemo views sinking ships as a necessary evil and Oliver goes along with it out of loyalty to Captain Nemo even though he personally thinks it's wrong, but Pat outright enjoys sinking ships. Eventually, Pat's murder attempt on Willy makes Captain Nemo declare him a traitor, after which Pat decides to kill both him and Willy.
• Uncertain Doom: Pat is last seen swimming for his life as he tries in vain to reason with the angry Melanesian tribesmen.
• Undying Loyalty: Expect Sergeant Pat, all of the crewmembers of Nautilus are loyal to Captain Nemo. Some of them have been even perished when protecting their sanctuary and the secret of Nautilus existence.
• Warm-Hearted Walrus: Sam, the main chef of the Nautilus, is a walrus and almost as much of a Nice Guy as Oliver.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Willy Fog suggesting that Captain Nemo should surrender to the Avenger vessel and he would talk to them for his behalf. Problem is that Nemo has sunk many ships and given the time period of the series he would been either sentenced to prison or downright executed for such crimes, so it isn't any wonder why he refuses to surrender.

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