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''Madeline'' is a media franchise that originated as a series of
children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
s written and illustrated by
Ludwig Bemelmans Ludwig Bemelmans (April 27, 1898 – October 1, 1962) was an Austrian and American writer and illustrator of children's books and adult novels. He is known best for the ''Madeline'' picture books. Six were published, the first in 1939. Early li ...
. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series and a live action feature film. The stories take place in a Catholic boarding school in Paris. The teacher, named Miss Clavel, is strict but loves the children, cares for them, and is open to their ideas. Most of the media starts with the line "In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines ..." and end with an invocation of a famous phrase used by
Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...
to rebuff curtain calls: "
That's all there is, there isn't any more "That's all there is, there isn't any more" was a phrase Ethel Barrymore used to rebuff curtain calls. The line entered the national consciousness of the United States in the 1920s and 1930s and has often been referenced and parodied. Origins Acc ...
". The stories often are written entirely in rhyme, include simple themes of daily life, and the playful but harmless mischief of Madeline, which appeal to children and parents alike. Most of the books have several recurring themes, such as Miss Clavel turning on the light and saying: "Something is not right".


In literature

''
Madeline ''Madeline'' is a media franchise that originated as a series of children's books written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series and a live action feature fi ...
'' was written by
Ludwig Bemelmans Ludwig Bemelmans (April 27, 1898 – October 1, 1962) was an Austrian and American writer and illustrator of children's books and adult novels. He is known best for the ''Madeline'' picture books. Six were published, the first in 1939. Early li ...
and published in 1939. Bemelmans wrote five sequels between 1953 and 1961. Later books in the series were written by Bemelmans' grandson
John Bemelmans Marciano John Bemelmans Marciano (born 1970) is an American children's book author and illustrator. Life The grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans, the creator of the children's book series ''Madeline'', has continued the series with three books written and illust ...
. The books focus on 12 girls in a Catholic boarding school in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Madeline is the smallest of the girls, only seven years old and the only girl with red hair. She is the bravest and most outgoing of the girls. The images seem classical and show scenery and landmarks of the location where the story takes place such as the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
and the
Seine River The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...
. In the first book, Madeline gets sick, is taken to the hospital, has her appendix removed, and all the gifts she has received cause the other girls to become envious. In ''
Madeline's Rescue ''Madeline's Rescue'' is a children's picture book by Ludwig Bemelmans, the second in his ''Madeline'' series. Released by Viking Press, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1954.American Library AssociationCaldecott Med ...
'' she falls into the Seine River and brings back the dog that saved her life. In ''
Madeline and the Bad Hat ''Madeline and the Bad Hat'' is a children's picture book by Ludwig Bemelmans. It features the popular children's character Madeline. It was first published by Viking Press in 1956. Plot The story opens as the Spanish Ambassador to France move ...
'' she meets Pepito, the son of the Spanish Ambassador to France, and works to convince him to change his naughty ways.
Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...
published a
Four Color Comics ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', is an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...
issue in 1942 titled "Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline and Genevieve".


In film

Animated shorts: The earliest appearance in the cinema was in the 1952 animated short ''Madeline'', produced by
United Productions of America United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio and later distribution company founded in 1941 as Industrial Film and Poster Service by former Walt Disney Productions employees. Beginning with industrial a ...
(UPA) and directed by Bob Cannon. It was nominated for the 1952 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons), but lost to
Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...
's 75th cartoon ''
Johann Mouse ''Johann Mouse'' is a 1953 American one-reel animated cartoon and the 75th ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoon, released in theaters on March 21, 1953 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The short is directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, composed by Scott Br ...
''. In 1959, William L. Snyder's Rembrandt Films produced animated adaptations of ''Madeline's Rescue'', ''Madeline and the Bad Hat'' and ''Madeline and the Gypsies'' for the educational film market. The latter two were featured, along with other similar adaptations of children's books, in Snyder and
Gene Deitch Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons ...
's 1966 theatrical feature ''
Alice of Wonderland in Paris ''Alice of Wonderland in Paris'' or ''Alice in a New Wonderland'' is a 1966 animated film directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder in extreme limited animation. Plot Young Alice, having become a celebrity for her adventures in ...
''. Live-action film: A live-action feature adaptation of ''
Madeline ''Madeline'' is a media franchise that originated as a series of children's books written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series and a live action feature fi ...
'', shot in France by Jaffilms but produced in Britain with predominantly British accents, was released in 1998 by
TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The compan ...
. It starred
Hatty Jones ''Madeline'' is a 1998 family comedy film adaptation of the children's book series and animated television series of the same name. The film starred newcomer Hatty Jones as the titular character with Frances McDormand and Nigel Hawthorne in suppor ...
as the title character,
Frances McDormand Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith; June 23, 1957) is an American actress and film producer. In a career spanning over four decades, McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awa ...
as Miss Clavel, and a supporting cast with British actors
Ben Daniels Ben Daniels (born 10 June 1964) is an English actor. Initially a stage actor, Daniels was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Never the Sinner'' (1991), the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for ''900 Oneonta'' ...
and
Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom ''Yes Minister'' and the Cabinet Secre ...
. Its script encompassed the plots of four of the books. Original music was composed by
Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to ma ...
and
Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...
sang the theme song "In Two Straight Lines". It was directed by Daisy Mayer. The 1998 live action version significantly differed from the TV series and the main book continuity. The filming location of the boarding house and neighbouring Spanish Ambassador's house, can be found at Avenue du Colifichet, Croissy-sur-Seine, although both houses are now obscured by hedging and fencing.


In television

In 1960, the Madeline stories were adapted to a one-hour color episode for the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
series ''
The Shirley Temple Show ''Shirley Temple's Storybook'' is a 1958–61 American children's anthology series hosted and narrated by actress Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales like Mother Goose and other family-oriented stories performed by wel ...
''. In 1988,
DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions, sometimes stylized as DİC) was a French American film and television production company that ...
adapted the first book into an animated television special for
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
. Between 1990 and 1991,
Cinar The Cookie Jar Group, commonly known as simply Cookie Jar and formerly known as CINAR, was a Canadian animation studio, media production and distribution company that existed from 1976 until it was folded into DHX Media, now WildBrain, on Dec ...
and
France Animation MoonScoop S.A. also known as the MoonScoop Group was a French television production company and animation company that created and published animated television series. Its corporate headquarters were located in Paris, France, along with offices ...
produced animated adaptations of the other five original books for The Family Channel. In 1993, DIC produced a ''Madeline'' television series of twenty episodes, which also aired on the Family Channel, and in 1995, an additional 13 episodes were produced by DIC for
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
, under the title ''The New Adventures of Madeline''. Between 2000 and 2001, DIC produced 26 episodes for
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
. It features songs written by Andy Street and Judy Rothman. Arguably, this rendition gave the characters their iconic designs.


Audiobooks

''Madeline'' audiobooks have been appearing since the early 1970s as vinyl records. The record typically consists of a mixture of stories and songs. The first soundtrack for the TV series was ''Madeline's Favorite Songs'', released in 1995. It contains 16 tracks of music composed by
Joe Raposo Joseph Guilherme Raposo, OIH (February 8, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was an American composer and songwriter. He is best known for his work on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'', for which he wrote the theme song, and several no ...
or Jeffrey Zahn with lyrics by Judy Rothman from the DIC and Cinar specials. The second soundtrack, ''Hats off to Madeline'', was released in 1996. It contained 17 tracks of music from the 1993 and 1995 episodes with music by Andy Street and lyrics by Judy Rothman. In 2002, the latest Madeline soundtrack to date, ''Sing-A-Long With Madeline'', was released, featuring 27 tracks of music from the 2001 episodes and they were also written by Andy Street and Judy Rothman.


Video games

Between 1995 and 1999, ten Madeline-themed
educational Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...
point-and-click Point and click are one of the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse or other pointing device (''click''). An example of point and click is in hypermedi ...
computer games were released by various developers.


Toys

''Madeline'' toys were initially produced by Eden Toys LLC, since acquired by Learning Curve. Most popular during the 1990s was a Madeline rag doll, with a signature half-smile and scar from the appendectomy that corresponds with the story from the book. Eden's Madeline Doll House received the Toy of the Year Award for Best Specialty Toy at the first annual Toy Of The Year Awards in 2000.


DVD releases


Films


See also


References


External links

* *
Madeline
at
Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on February 11, 2016. {{Madeline Child characters in literature Fictional people from Paris French children's books French novels adapted into films French novels adapted into television shows French-language children's books Boarding school fiction Fictional French people in literature Literary characters introduced in 1936 TriStar Pictures franchises