''SimsalaGrimm'' is a German

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

, consisting of stories based on fairy tales by the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

, and other notable authors. The series was created by André Sikojev, Stefan Beiten and Claus Clausen, and co-producted by Greenlight Media AG,

Norddeutscher Rundfunk (; "North German Broadcasting"), commonly shortened to NDR (), is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, ...

, Hahn Film AG, Millimages and Magma Films Ltd.

Synopsis

In each episode of the series, one of the famous classical fairy tales is told in the magical land of Simsala. The local characters Yoyo and Doc Croc move between the storyteller and the episode cast, which they tend to help or at least inspire. Each episode begins with Yoyo and Doc Croc as toys on a shelf brought to life by a magical book.

Characters

Main

*Yoyo (German: Hubertus von Lerchenfeld, English: Nigel Greaves) – An adventurous, joyful, brave and mischievous blue

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

dormouse A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...

hybrid. He wears a red hood shoulder piece with two dangling bells. *Doc Croc (nicknamed Crocy; German: Jörg Stuttmann, English: Nigel Pegram) – A bookworm, a red-pink

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

. He wears glasses and a yellow hat, and carries a yellow bag with him. He is kind, timid and smart. It also appears as if Doc Croc has a slight stutter in his voice. * Storybook (Märchenbuch; German: Bert Franzke, English: Erik Hansen) – the book that brings Yoyo and Doc Croc to life and takes them to the land of Simsala. In the first season, it has portraits of the brothers Grimm in the hardcover. Both Yoyo and Doc Croc often argue as Yoyo is brave and willing, but unwise and Doc Croc is sometimes overcautious, yet intelligent, but they do care about each other. Both of them also seem to disrespect the storybook, as it usually takes them to a bad place when they're landing.

Recurring

*Birds - Three clothed birds appear in 15 episodes of the first season, and 1 episode of the second season, often providing/singing advice or insight, sometimes even help, to Yoyo and Doc Croc. *Mice - Three clothed mice appear in 4 episodes of the first season, and 1 episode of the second season, often providing advice or insight, sometimes even help, to Yoyo and Doc Croc.

Episodes

Season 1 (1999-2000)

Season 2 (2010)

Broadcast

''Simsala Grimm'' premiered on

KiKA Kika may refer to: People * Kika de la Garza (1927–2017), American politician * Kika Edgar (born 1985), Mexican actress and singer * Kika Karadi (born 1975), American contemporary artist * Kika Markham (born 1940), English actress * Kika M ...

in Germany on 1 November 1999, and ended on 21 July 2000. It was later renewed for a second season, which premiered on 6 December 2010, and ended on 31 December that same year. The English version of the series premiered in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 2001 on ABC Kids, and later on

RTÉ2 RTÉ2 (formerly branded as RTÉ 2 from 1978–88, Network 2 from 1988–97, N2 from 1997–2004 and RTÉ Two from 2004–14) is an Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched on 2 Novemb ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In addition, the first season of the series was distributed on DVDs in the

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in 2004, under the name "''The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm''". A third season was announced in 2019 and set to be released in 2027. Remastered versions of the previous seasons, titled "''Simsala Grimm: Re-Version''", were produced as well, and were released on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

in March 2021 in Germany and the United Kingdom, with the German version in particular releasing in theaters starting on 28 October. On 7 November 2021, a series of radio plays was announced for an early 2022 release, with the first episode, based on '' The Seven Ravens'', releasing on 11 February on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

Deezer Deezer is a List of companies of France, French music streaming service and media service provider founded in 2007 that provides users with access to a vast library of music tracks, podcasts, and radio stations. It offers streaming services in ...

, and

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. Afterwards, a second episode, based on ''The King's Son Who Feared Nothing'', was released on 17 May 2023, followed by a third episode based on ''The Courageous Flute-Player'' on 20 October 2023, a fourth episode based on '' The Elves and the Shoemaker'' on 17 November 2023, a fifth episode based on '' The Queen Bee'' on 15 March 2024, and a sixth episode based on ''The Thief and the Merchant'' on 14 June 2024. Along these, a new spinoff miniseries called "Yoyo and Doc Croc's Grand Tour" is in production along with a TV Special based on The Water Of Life as well. In October 2024, episodes of the series in English were uploaded to the

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel "Simsala Grimm Official".

Proposed film adaptation

In 2002, Greenlight Media partnered with Berlin Animation Film and John H. Williams of Vanguard Animation to produce a film adaptation that would have been known domestically as '' Happily N'Ever After'', which would have revolved around Cinderella's stepmother taking over the land of Simsala. The film would have starred Andy Dick as Yoyo, and

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Mr. Hall in '' Clueless'' (1995), Dr. John Sturgis in '' Young Sheldo ...

as Doc Croc, with the additional voices of Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar,

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercultur ...

and

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainme ...

. By 2003, Grenlight Media would sell its interest in the film, and while the film did get released in 2007, all connections to the series were removed from the final project. In March 2019, with the celebration of 20th anniversary of the series, Greenlight Media announced that it signed a deal with Fabula Media Group to produce an animated feature film based on the show to be released in 2026, and also stated that the third season is in development.

Notes

References

External links