El Chavo Animado

El Chavo Animado
Genre	Comedy Animation Slapstick
Format	Flash animation
Created by	Roberto Gómez Bolaños
Voices of	Jesús Guzmán Sebastián Llapur Erica Edwards Moisés Suárez Aldana Erika Mireles Sebastián Llapur Maggie Vera Leonardo García Julieta Rivera
Theme music composer	Herrera Pérez Adrián Alejo Flores Luis Fernando
Opening theme	"El Chavo"
Ending theme	"El Chavo"
Country of origin	Mexico
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	115 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Roberto Gómez Bolaños Roberto Gómez Fernández Fernando de Fuentes José C. García de Letona
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Ánima Estudios Televisa
Distributor	Televisa
Broadcast
Original channel	Canal 5 (MEX) Kabillion (USA) Univision (USA) WGBH-TV (USA)
Picture format	480i: SDTV (2006–present) 1080i: HDTV (2011–present)
Original run	October 21, 2006 (2006-10-21) – present
Chronology
Related shows	El Chavo del Ocho El Chapulin Colorado
External links
Website

El Chavo Animado is a Mexican animated series based on a live-action TV series of the same name, created by Roberto Gómez Bolaños.^[1]

After several years of successful reruns of the original series, Televisa launched simultaneously in Mexico, and the rest of Latin America, an animated version of the program made by Ánima Estudios on October 21, 2006 to capitalize on the nostalgia and popularity of the original series. Along with the series, Televisa launched a huge marketing campaign that included merchandise tie-ins to capitalize on the expected success of the show. For the series launching event a full set was built imitating the computerized background, where a presentation showed how the animation was made. Many elements of the original series, including most of the original stories were included in the animated series.

The series aired in Kabillion On Demand as an English dub in North America and the show, like Pokémon and others, was Americanized and redubbed to air in North America for an English-speaking audience, since the series is difficult to translate to other foreign languages due to the common phrases said by the characters that lack translation. Despite appearing in the video-on-demand service, the series does not appear or mentioned in the official Kabillion website until April 2012 due to the website's relaunch in which the series finally gets placed. The series is also airing in YouTube in all of the dubs (mostly Spanish and English).

Voice cast [edit]

Spanish dub [edit]

• Jesús Guzmán as El Chavo / Godínez
• Sebastián Llapur as Quico
• Mario Castañeda as Don Ramón / Ñoño
• Erica Edwards as Doña Florinda / La Popis
• Juan Carlos Tinoco (Season 1-2) and Moisés Suárez Aldana (Season 3-present) as Profesor Jirafales
• Erika Mireles as Doña Clotilde (La Bruja del 71)
• Víctor Delgado (Season 1-5) and Sebastián Llapur (Season 5-present) as Señor Barriga
• Maggie Vera as Paty
• Leonardo García as Jaimito el Cartero
• Julieta Rivera as Gloria
• Roberto Mendiola as Señor Hurtado

English dub [edit]

• Mona Marshall as Chavo / Miss Pinster (The Witch of 71)
• Doug Erholtz as Quico / Mr. Raymond
• Kate Higgins as Phoebe / Mrs. Worthmore / Gordon
• Bob Buchholz as Professor Girafalde
• Yuri Lowenthal as Junior
• Dave Mallow as Mr. Beliarge / Manny the Mailman / Mr. Crookley
• Tara Platt as Patty / Gloria

Animation [edit]

The animated series was created using 3D computer models as backgrounds and 2D drawings for the main characters, animated with Flash.

Background [edit]

The cartoon depicts the children in the right scale compared to the original live action series where the children were played by adults, and the feel was given to the character through their way of dressing, speaking, and mainly through giving them oversized toys.

But this was not the first attempt to animate the characters of the show. Previously, claymation sequences were created for the credits of the original series in the late 1970s. and 2D animations were used for a "submarinos marinela" commercial, and later for the credits of "Chespirito", the program that succeeded both "El Chavo" and its sister series El Chapulín Colorado.

In this animated series, La Chilindrina, one of the most popular characters of the original show, doesn't appear due to on-going disputes between María Antonieta de las Nieves and Roberto Gómez Bolaños on the copyrights of the character. At the time of production, De las Nieves had and still has the rights of the Chilindrina Character and didn't come to an agreement with the producer of the show, one of the sons of Gómez Bolaños and also a noted Televisa executive, over royalties. De las Nieves won the copyrights of the character on the basis that it was based on her persona and the traits of the character brought forth by her, and presented in previous characters she performed prior to the conception of the show. However the Gomez Bolaños estate claims that Roberto Gómez as the show writer, created the character and De las Nieves only portrayed it, and as such owns the rights to the character. Although the character was included on the original launching materials, it was removed from the final production.

English Dub [edit]

The series was later dubbed into English and aired in Kabillion's video-on-demand which featured major changes to the basic style of the original El Chavo series:

• The theme song for the series was changed to a more upbeat theme song talking about the series' characters rather than just the instrumental music from the original dub.
• Most of the names were changed and Americanized (with the exception of El Chavo, Quico, and Gloria), implying that the series takes place in America instead of Mexico. A couple of examples are Professor Jirafales becoming Professor Girafalde, Doña Florinda to Mrs. Worthmore, Don Ramón to Mr. Raymond and Doña Cleotilde to Miss Pinster. The Spanish cuisine was changed to the American diet as well. The localization changed from Mexico to New York.
• The title names were changed to more American phrases to fit the show's plot such as the episode "What Ghost Around Comes Around" is a parody of "What goes around comes around".
• The characters catchphrases were either different or slightly altered from the original Spanish phrases. One example is El Chavo's catchphrase "Eso, eso, eso" becoming "That's true, that's true, that's true" or "That's it, that's it, that's it", both of which are loosely equivalent to the original. A more significant change however, is Professor Jirafales' catchphrase being changed from "Ta-ta-ta-taaaaa-TAH!!!" to "No-no-no-nooooo-NO!!!". Also, "chusma", when said by either Doña Florinda or Quico in reference to Don Ramón, is rendered as "lowlife". Jaimito's avoiding "fatigue" becomes his "tiredness makes him too tired". Some phrases like Chavo's crying "Pipipipipi" were stayed the same but because the actors do not have Hispanic accents, their sounds would be kind of different like Chavo's "Pipipi" would sound like "Bibibi" if not heard correctly.
• The series features more comedy and many running gags that appeal more to American viewers but their dialogue kind of tilts the humor.
• The original Spanish theme song can be heard in the credits on every episode with some exceptions like the Christmas special.
• When speaking, the characters usually tend to repeat some of the words they've already said in synonyms or different formations very fast along with conclusion and sometimes even repeating the second again. This is because the directors are trying to match the English speaking dialogue with the Spanish mouth and lip movements so they can be synced to what they are saying. Although it's confusing at first, it's better to understand when listened carefully. Chavo's English dialogue is the most difficult to comprehend.
• The characters tend to use the word "jeepers" most of the time, especially Chavo, when frightened or surprised, instead of the Spanish word, "chanfle". Although, some of the time, they use the word when there angry instead of excited (such as in one episode, Don Ramon shouted angrily "Double jeepers! Triple jeepers!").
• Some scenes were edited and replaced because it would be difficult to digitally translate the fast scenes' text into English such as Dona Florinda's outside restaurant shots that were moving too fast, so they had to be freeze framed in order to have a direct translation.

The English adaption was the idea of Fabiola Stevenson, a Mexican director and voiceover artist who worked on the show for all dubs because her company The Dubbing House has corporations in Mexico and the United States. The English version is the only El Chavo cartoon series with a sung intro as all of the other dubs have instrumental music instead. She is now finished with Americanizing the series and only 52 episodes of all 115 episodes are in English. Bang Zoom! Entertainment also commissioned the show to Kabillion in the first place. English production for the show started in 2009 and has been completed. It is not stated if the rest of the seasons will be English dubbed as well as Fabiola didn't say any word about reviving the show.

American Names [edit]

Chavo, Gloria and Quico are the only character's whose names have not been Americanized or changed. Although Paty's name sounds the same, the American version adds another "t" to the name.

• Don Ramón - Mr. Raymond
• Doña Florinda - Mrs. Worthmore
• Profesor Jirafales - Professor Girafalde
• Doña Cleotilde/La bruja de 71 - Miss Pinster/The Witch of 71
• Señor Barriga - Mr. Beliarge
• Jaimito el cartero - Manny the Mailman
• La Popis - Phoebe
• Ñoño - Junior
• Godínez - Gordon
• Patty - Patty
• El Chapulín Colorado - Captain Hopper
• Señor Hurtado - Mr. Crookley
• Serafina - Stephanie
• El Justiciero Enmascarado - The Secret Masked Crusader
• La Rubia Margot - Margo Blonde
• Vicente/Chente - Chova

Challenges and differences with the original series [edit]

Being El Chavo a popular TV series that hold most of the fun in the severely repeated gags that takes the public to a simple story, there were at the beginning not much ideas to develop in the animated version. Also the Chilindrina character was pulled out due to the legal problems with Maria Antonieta de las Nieves, being this character "substituted" by Popis, that becomes one of the main characters (in the original series, Popis was a recurring character due to being performed by Florinda Meza and seldom appeared when Doña Florinda was present). When the story shows necessary to bring more girls, Paty, a guest character in the original series become a recurring character and later one of the main characters.

The first season chapters were animated adaptations of the most popular episodes of the original series even ending with the last episode that had the classic cast together (Vacaciones en Acapulco). From second season and beyond, the series became to show original stories and new guest characters. For example, instead of having El Chapulin Colorado as the main superhero, they also add El Justiciero Enmascarado, a luchador-esque superhero to the kids imagination. Also, the characters have adventures outside the neighborhood so they were able to visit museums, the zoo, entertainment parks and more.

Also, due to the orientation to child audience, the physical and spoken violence that normally rounds around the original series, were softened to show a more cartooned violence. Sometimes, the characters shows some Mexican popular culture themes inside the episodes (for example, Quico refers to a vacation where he fell out to a river, mirroring the Edgar se cae meme where he takes the part of Edgar and Ñoño the part of Edgar's cousin).

Every depiction of violence from adults towards children from the original series was removed too. The most notorious is Don Ramon's custom of hitting Chavo after he annoyes him. Instead of that, Don Ramon simply turns to the camera with an angry expression.

Localization [edit]

In the episode "La mascota de Quico" (Trial and Terror in English) was changed during the English version. In the Spanish and Portuguese versions, Quico's pet cat dies due to being run over by Chavo. The English version states that the cat ran way.

In the episode "Una mosca en el cafe" (Bread and Butterflies in English) featuring a dubbing change. In the Spanish and Portuguese versions, Chavo calls flies "mosca" (fly in Spanish). The English version features Chavo calling them "what'cha ma call'ems" thinking that they are imaginary creatures in his head. Also in that episode, "Restaurante Dona Florinda" became "Mrs. Worthmore's Cafe". To Americanize the series for north-American viewers, the Mexican cuisine such as sopa de tortilla, arroz con leche, enchiladas and caldo de pollo gets replaced with the American diet and cuisine such as hot dogs (with sauerkraut), hamburgers, soups (presumably chicken noodle soup), chocolate cake, rice bowls and spaghetti and meatballs. Pancakes existed in both versions but it was called hotcakes in the Spanish version while just "pancakes" in the English version. Also in that episode, when everyone laughed at Junior for the third time, he said to the professor "¡Mírelo, eh!" (Did you see that huh?) in the original version while the English version, he said "You see Professor?". Also in that episode, Professor Girafalde gave the bad kids "zeros" in the original version while the English version, he gives them "D's", an American grade letter (although "F" is worse than a "D", which Quico made a mistake of asking the teacher for it).

In the episode "El juego de beisbol" (Know Hitter's in English), Chavo pretends to be a goalkeeper from several countries mentioning Peru, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Argentina and Mexico. When he said he's from Mexico, he is referencing to the fact that the original Mexican version, the vecindad is from Mexico, meaning that the English version's localization is changed to the United States. Although Jesus Guzman (voice actor for Chavo in Spanish dub) says he's the goalkeeper of Mexico in Spanish, it could be a coincidence.

In the episode "Amar a los enemigos" (Love thy Enemy in English), Professor Girafalde asks Chavo to explain from the beginning "why Quico's crying", Chavo mentions "Adam and Eve" in the English version (not the Spanish version) meaning that the series does take place in America in the English version and Chavo's religion is a Christian.

In the episode "Futbol Americano" (Kickin It in English), the kids play American football but it wasen't called American football in the English version meaning it's another reference to the fact that the series takes place in America in the English version.

In the episode "Los bomberos" (Fire in the Hole in English), when Chavo and Quico were playing astronauts, during the computer animation shots of the rocket, a Mexican flag is seen, one of the things AF The Dubbing House seemed to miss on their censors in Americanization.

In the episode "Los globos" (Ballooney in English), when Mr. Raymond was thinking about children in his imagination (drawn in a children's like art style), a grave appeared with his hat on it and it's engraved "Don Ramon" with a Christian symbol and Ramon Valdez's actual birth and death. Don Ramon is Mr. Raymond's original Spanish name from the El Chavo series'. Also, it is a sign that he's also Christian like Chavo.

In the episode "¡Como suben los alimentos!" (What goes up, must come down in English), when Chavo was mentioning about Adam and Eve (played by Worthmore and Girafalde), he stated that they moved to New York and ate the apple in which they were kicked out because they couldn't pay the rent from God (played by Beliarge). Since the Adam and Eve scene was a play on the Chavo cast, it means that the American's relocation is in New York and not in Mexico.

In the episode "El Hombre Invisible" (Invisible Man in English), it is mentioned many cities in Mexico, like Guadalajara, Monterrey, Chimpancingo, Cuernavaca, etc. But in English version it is not mentioned.

When Manny's apartment is shown, there is a picture frame of "Tangamandapio". The picture wasen't Americanized into "Upsidedowntown". Possibly because the picture was too dark and deep to be noticed.

Everytime Girafalde's classroom is shown, one of the posters on the wall is a map of "Mexico". Since the English versions new location is at New York, the map should have been the United States. Possibly because the picture was too dark and deep to be noticed.

In the episode "Deudas a pagar y sillas a pegar" (Chair Repair in English), there was a scene showing Cristóbal Colón in a buriel with the sign Tangamandapio on the covers. In the English version, the word was edited and replaced with Christopher Columbus, possibly to edit reference to Mexican culture. Ironically, both of the dubs were talking about Columbus but with different pronunciations; the Spanish variation Colón and the English variation Columbus.

In the episode "Vamos al circo" (Let's Go to the Circus in English), the attractions featuring an annoyed short man with male pattern baldness, a barking duck and a three legged dog. In the original version, the man was known as "El enano mas alto del mundo" (The world's tallest midget) while the English version, he is known as "The world's baldest man". That wasen't the correct translation unlike the other attractions "Perro de tres Patas" (Three-legged dog) and "Pato que ladra" (Barking Duck) which were actual translations. Possibly because they thought the word "midget" would be offensive for children.

In the episode "Un bebé en la vecindad" (Baby Talk in English), the title for the episode in the original version shows Chavo, Quico, Dona Florinda and Don Ramon looking at the baby who is showing his arms (one of them holds a rattle) wanting to be picked up. The English version, the title picture is changed to a still picture of the baby in a basket shaking his rattle, for a mysterious reason.

Notes [edit]

• Mona Marshall, English actor for Chavo, also voices Plue from Rave Master, Mrs. Flatbottom from Squirrel Boy, Izzy from Digimon, Shiela from South Park, Bull from Battle B-Daman and Musashi from the video game Brave Fencer Musashi. Marshall uses his "Chavo" voice when playing Musashi, Shiela, Izzy and Bull while she uses her "Finster" voice as Flatbottom.
• Couple Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt also voice two characters in the show; Patty & Gloria (Platt) and Junior (Lowenthal) seeming as they voice several other characters in different media like Naruto in which Platt is Temari and Lowenthal's Sasuke. But they use totally different voices compared to what they used for Sasuke and Temari.
• Kate Higgins, English actor for Worthmore, Phoebe and Gordon, also voices Sakura Haruno from Naruto. Higgins uses her "Sakura" voice for all of the characters but Gordon's voice is deep to sound more masculine and Worthmore's voice is changed to sound like an adult woman. Like Thorton, Higgins also provided some various bit parts for some feminine roles in the show.
• It is unknown if or when "El Chavo" will appear in major networks such as Vortexx, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, The Hub, ABC, Qubo and others, possibly because it's a Spanish cartoon. But it is unlikely as it was created in Mexico and not many fans are into Chavo in English, possibly because they think that because the cartoon was translated into English, they think it lacks the humor and puns from the original series.
• The hour-long Christmas special has three alternative titles; "Christmas Party" (listed in YouTube), "The Gift of Christmas" (listed in Freewebs.com which has been removed) and "El Chavo Special" (listed in Kabillion on-demand). Christmas Party is actually Regalo de Navidad 1 while The Gift of Christmas was known as Regalo de Navidad 2.
• Only 52 episodes were Americanized and English dubbed. It is unknown if the other seasons will be put into English as Fabiola Stevenson said no word about renewing the show.
• Although not in the US, the animated series was put into Cartoon Network in Brazil so there might be a chance that Cartoon Network US would pick it up to as they took Robotboy and it aired in the United Kingdom before USA. Also, the channel also gained more popularity when they brought up Canadian programming (6teen, Total Drama, Almost Naked Animals, etc.) to the network, although modily edited for censorship. Taiwanese puppet series Pili was edited, redubbed and remastered by Animation Collective becoming Wulin Warriors which aired in Toonami (although two out of the thirteen episodes aired). So, there might be a chance for the show to get place.
• Two YouTube users named elchavodel8 and Rennan64 uploaded the English language episodes of El Chavo in the first place. elchavodel8 has all 52 episodes but it's for a foreign region, in which they are not allowed to be viewed in the United States. Rennan64 is still updating and his videos consist of two parts of a full episode. Some of his early videos' footage were episodes from Canal 5 in Mexico but switches to Kabillion footage for English texting and the current videos will sometimes feature the opening theme in Kabillion footage while the rest in high-definition. Episodes "Baby Talk" and "The Camping Trip" are the only episodes fully recorded in Kabillion.
• The "Acapulco" episode was the only episode on YouTube to be uploaded by Rennan64 incorrectly. The video is a recording from the Brazilian dub in Cartoon Network as seen in the credits and the audio was footage of the episode in Kabillion recorded in a video camera. This was later fixed on February 22, 2013 when Rennan64 uploaded an HD version. Both versions are still intact.
• Despite airing since the channel was on the air, the show was little success on Kabillion due to being only available in limited cable services (as there are no games for the show) but featured a high success in YouTube.
• The first season is the only season in which the plots' are based on the original live-action series. Although Junior, Gordon and Phoebe fill in or La Chilindrina because she did not appear in the animated version.
• In January 2013, a seventh season was announced.

List of episodes [edit]

1st season [edit]

The original title is in Spanish which aires in Canal 5. The American title is the English version which aires in Kabillion in which the English titles are based on popular American phrases or sayings, not actual translations. The French title is for the French dub and the Portruguese title is for the Brazilian version of El Chavo.

2nd season [edit]

The original title is in Spanish which aires in Canal 5. The American title is the English version which aires in Kabillion in which the English titles are based on popular American phrases or sayings, not actual translations. The French title is for the French dub and the Portruguese title is for the Brazilian version of El Chavo. This is the last English Dubbed season of the El Chavo cartoon series as Fabiola Stevenson has completed her ordered 52 episodes.

3rd season [edit]

The original title is in Spanish which aires in Canal 5. The American title is the English version. The French title is for the French dub and the Portruguese title is for the Brazilian version of El Chavo. At present, it's not known if any of the future episodes will be in English as Fabiola Stevenson has completed her ordered 52 episodes.

4th season [edit]

5th season [edit]

6th season [edit]

7th Season [edit]

In January 2013, a seventh season was announced. It is currently in development.

Spin-offs and merchandise [edit]

Televisa has released 6 episodes of El Chavo in Mexico in 2007. In Brazil the same collections are released by Universal Video Entertainment in 2008 under the title Chaves: O desenho. In 2004 were launched dolls in Mexico representing Quico, La Popis (Phoebe), Don Ramón (Mr. Raymond), Doña Florinda (Mrs. Worthmore) y Profesor Jirafales (Professor Girafalges). In 2006, McDonald's and Bimbo Products launched another six dolls, there's a new videogame of Nintendo DS that will be launched in Mexico but still doesn't have dates this premiere, will in Latin America with Spanish and Portuguese calls "El Chavo animado: El videojuego", and launched a CD with soundtrack of El teatro del Chavo Animado, in Mexico, with songs basen in the original series and El Chapulin Colorado too.

A stage show based on the animated series, featuring actors in full body costumes with masks, and a music soundtrack based on updated versions of the songs used in the live show has toured several cities.

A Facebook game was released on March 2012 called La Vecindad del Chavo where the player designs his own neighborhood kid and shares missions with the other characters of the Vecindad in order to increase the friendship with them and also joins them in actions like clearing the neighborhood, playing some games in the vicinity or inside the imagination of the kids (like a Star Wars-esque game where the play must shut down Quico ships before they escape). The game was developed by Playful Play studios in Monterrey, Mexico.

Video game [edit]

A video game based on the series was released on April 27, 2012 for the Wii and is a Mario Party like game where the players can play some Mexican games in order to win points. The game was developed by Kaxan Media Group and was developed by Slang Publishing and Televisa Home Entertainment. It is only available in Mexico.

Broadcast History [edit]

El Chavo is broadcast on the following stations around the world:

Region	Network(s)
Argentina	Telefe / Cartoon Network / Max TV / Canal de las Estrellas / Canal 9
Brazil	Cartoon Network / SBT / Canal de las Estrellas Brasil
Bolivia	Canal de las Estrellas
Canada	Teletoon
Chile	Mega / Cartoon Network / Boomerang
Colombia	Cartoon Network / Boomerang / RCN-TV
Costa Rica	Cartoon Network / Repretel
El Salvador	TCS Canal 2 / Cartoon Network
Ecuador	Cartoon Network / Gamavision / Canal de las Estrellas
Mexico	Canal de las Estrellas / Canal 5 / Cartoon Network (some episodes not on air)/ Cinema Golden Choice / Tiin
Peru	América Televisión / Cartoon Network / Canal de las Estrellas
Puerto Rico	Univision
Spain	Boomerang / TVE2
Uruguay	Teledoce / Cartoon Network / Canal de las Estrellas
USA	Univision (January 6, 2013-present) / Galavisión/ Kabillion (English) / YouTube (daily; English, Portruguese & Spanish)
Venezuela	Cartoon Network / Venevisión / Canal de las Estrellas

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• El Chavo at the Internet Movie Database
• Anima Estudios