Dad'X is a French Christmas-themed show, animated by D'Ocon Films Productions in 1998, commissioned by French broadcasting network TF1. Only one season was ever made.
The series follows the titular Dad'X (aka Santa Claus), his elves Gadget, Gouly, Love-Love and Cruck (the head elf), his reindeer Swamollo and a fairy named Princess. They aid children and animals all over the world. Foudror (known as Striker in English) plots to ruin their plans, ultimately seeking to replace Dad'X and reclaim the Toy Factory he was kicked out of. Aglagla is his reluctant bat assistant who powers his machines, and she also has feelings for Swamollo, for some reason. Despite the Character Title, Foudror is the most featured and developed character.
Due to how inaccessible this show is, its general existence is almost unknown. It likely aired in Europe, but its disturbingly violent nature and poor animation quality may have played a factor in it being silently pulled from the air, with not many physical copies existing (and only for the first 6 episodes). Some dubs partially survive, and there are efforts to preserve the show online.
All episodes can be found in English on archive.org here
. French episodes can be found on Dailymotion here.
Dad'X contains examples of:
- By the Lights of Their Eyes: Gouly gets his head stuck in a post box, and just before Gadget and Love-Love pull on him from behind, his eyes are seen in the darkness of the post box.
- Child Hater: Foudror designed dangerous toys with the intent of harming children because he hated their guts, which led to him getting kicked out of Dad'X's Toy Factory.
- Christmas Town: Exaggerated in the form of Christmas Planet, where Dad'X, the elves, his reindeer, and even his Arch-Enemy Foudror reside. The good guys live in the planet's North Pole, which is more snowy and covered in Christmas decorations, while Foudror's abode in the South Pole is more dark and ominous.
- Circling Birdies: Princess and Cruck help Dad'X get his beard unstuck from the toy conveyor belt. He flies backwards onto Cruck, causing both of them to have circling stars around their aching heads. Princess gets similarly dizzy due to the strong magnetic waves present in Foudror's base.
- Comically Missing the Point: When Foudror threatens to have the elves "be reduced to couscous" with a Descending Ceiling, Gouly wails that he doesn't like couscous.
- Descending Ceiling: The cell that Foudror imprisons the elves in has a lowering spiked ceiling to have them "reduced to couscous".
- Dub Name Change: Foudror is the villain's name in the show's original French. He's otherwise known as Striker in English, Georgian, Russian and Chinese dubs, while in Italian he's called Fragore.
- Dramatic Thunder: Foudror's dark castle is constantly surrounded by black clouds and lightning, and he's always plotting something evil.
- Faux Affably Evil: Foudror can act like he means well as a forefront to his cruelty. In "No Mail for Dad'X", after Foudror kidnaps the elves, he pulls out a red carpet, welcomes them to his "humble cave" and calls them his friends as he invites them to step forward. They aren't fooled, and surely enough, he forces them to hand over the sacks of Christmas letters before locking them in a cell that has a Descending Ceiling with Spikes of Doom.
- Flashy Protagonists, Bland Extras: A lot of Dad'X's elf workforce look like carbon copies of each other, except for the four elves that are given more focus and are more involved in the hero's adventures.
- Freudian Excuse: Foudror mentions his troubled childhood and unloving mother numerous times.Foudror: I'm monstrous, I know, but don't hold it against me. I had a difficult childhood.
- Incredible Shrinking Man: Princess the fairy is capable of shrinking others to her size, which also gives them her likewise ability to fly.
- Just in Time: Dad'X unlocks the cell his elves are trapped in just before the Descending Ceiling lands on the floor. Love-Love remarks "That was a close call!"
- Limited Animation: Everything that D'Ocon is well-known for (simplified framerates, reused frames, etc.) is taken up to eleven in this cartoon.
- Mouth Cam: One scene abruptly transitions to another while Foudror is doing an Evil Laugh, in which the camera goes from a close-up of his mug to the inside of his cackling mouth.
- Mystical White Hair: Foudror is a white-haired villain in a wizard-like cloak. He has many magical abilities, such as shooting lightning out of his fingers.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Foudror can come off as highly whiny and immature, with a high streak of violence all the same.
- Santa Claus: The titular Dad'X, despite the name, is the standard jolly fat man in red and white who gives gifts to children all over Earth. However, he lives on the North Pole of Christmas Planet, a separate planet from Earth.
- Shock and Awe: Foudror frequently attacks people with lightning that shoots out of his claws.
- Sickeningly Sweet: Dad'X and Princess manage to deter Foudror by singing Christmas Songs. He's so disgusted by them that he covers his ears and flees.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Foudror has scruffy white hair and is the main antagonist of the show.
