This is perhaps the very first bizarre first impressions I have. In fact it's so bizarre, I'm cutting out the opening entirely. So this First Impressions review is about the infamous animated series "Squirrel and Hedgehog" - the Enlgish dub.
Yep. An english dub version apparently exists from 2008 and is released just recently on Vimeo, which I will provide the link in the video description.
For those who don't know, Squirrel and Hedgehog is produced by SEK Studios, which is, to the best of my knowledge, the ONLY Animation Studio from North Korea. The series is still ongoing to this day, having started in 1977. Except that due to the economic and political atmosphere surrounding North Korea, there is a huge gap of several months, if not YEARS, before a new episode is released. Definitely far longer than waiting for a new episode of Steven Universe, or Bee & Puppycat. At the moment, the last episode of Squirrel and Hedgehog came in 2013, and a new episode has yet to be released.
The premise of the series is of the inhabitants of Flower Hill (or Lotus Village in the dub), comprised of Squirrels, Hedgehogs, and Ducks, among a few other animals, defending their territory from other factions. The inhabitants of Flower Hill obviously refers to North Korea, while the other factions are the other nations represented by a specific animal - The bears being Russia; the weasels, Japan; and the Americans as wolves.
Despite it's North Korean propaganda, its depiction of violence (you WILL see a lot of on-screen deaths), and the fact that this is supposed to be a Children's show, Squirrel and Hedgehog gained fame worldwide when episodes where released and fansubbed on outlets like Youtube. Animation-wise, it's nowhere on par with what we see today, but the narrative and the characters are just weirdly entertaining. Whether you'd laugh at some of the scenery or feel the intense moments of the series, you just can't take your eyes off of it.
So when Mondo TV, an italian company, decides to produce and English dub of the series under the title "Brave Soldier", I was like "WHAAAT?" and had to check it out. This company, by the way is NOT to be confused with Mondo Media, the group behind Happy Tree Friends.
I just don't know if the English dub is meant for kids or those who watched the original "Squirrel & Hedhehog" cartoons. I wouldn't say the dubbing is terrible, but it's done in almost the style of 70's or 80's cartoons that I couldn't help but laugh at the dialogue and I really couldn't take it seriously! Add the fact that the soundtrack is entirely fanfare so the ambience sounds kid-friendly, when obviously, it's anything but. Even in the scenes where it's something bad is about to go down, it still uses these kiddy-tracks! So when the village was burned down, and this fanfare is still playing, it's as though everyone is still happy about it, and so should the audience! I don't know if that's meant to be satire, or Mondo TV just couldn't get the right track and just lazingly slap it there. And yet, I can't really say whether it's a good thing or a bad thing at all! That's just how bizarre this dub is!
I did compare the dub to the original North Korean dialogue with the fan subs and though there are some changes in the English dub, such as adding a narration to explain the plot, and changing the names of the characters so its easier to pronounce, for the most part, it retains much of the original cartoon. They also did some restoration to the animation since the original is clearly faded over time, but not much.
I would say that "Brave Soldier" is more of a curiosity in itself rather than being a good or bad version of "Squirrel and Hedgehog", and I do wonder how many episodes Mondo TV has done in this series. Again, the last episode of Squirrel and Hedgehog was on 2013 and a new one has not been known to be available since, and I'm just as wondering how Geumsaegi, the protagonist of this series, will finish his recent mission.
All 32 episodes of the Squirrel and Hedgehog series is availabie on Youtube, while Brave Soldier, the English dub is on Vimeo. You can find the links in the video description.
Squirrel & Hedgehog Complete (so far)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsAeTEvKgtAXMslYTrFt0K1sKt40DMfKJ
English Version Ep 1
https://vimeo.com/163252380
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