History Literature / Madeline

Some ''Madeline'' animated shorts were made in the 1950s; the first, ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline|1952}}'', was nominated for an Academy Award.[[Creator/CookieJarEntertainment CINAR]] and Creator/{{DiC Entertainment}} produced several ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'' cartoons from TheEighties up through the early 2000s. These ranged from TV specials adapted from the original books, to TV shows and direct-to-video movies with original stories.

[[Creator/CookieJarEntertainment CINAR]] and Creator/{{DiC Entertainment}} produced several ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'' cartoons from TheEighties up through the early 2000s. These ranged from TV specials adapted from the original books, to TV shows and direct-to-video movies with original stories.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first book is a realistic {{Slice of Life}}. The subsequent books become increasingly more adventure-driven. ''Madeline's Christmas,'' the last book by Ludwig Bemelmans, goes so far as to introduce magic and fantasy elements, which the books by his grandson also feature. The animated series and 1998 film leave out the magic, but keep the later books' adventurous tone for the most part.

* CatchPhrase: Miss Clavel turning on the light and whispering "Something is not right". Usually happens [[OnceAnEpisode Once Per Book]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_cK2aoIowc It was even turned into a song]] in the 1993 movie.

** The DiC WesternAnimation series brought him back.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Pepito is a brat and he is almost killed when one of his pranks goes too far and [[spoiler: he's caught in the middle of pack of dogs fighting over a cat. Not to mention Madeline rubbing it in while the poor kid is bedridden and covered in bandages.]]

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness/LaterInstallmentWeirdness: The first book is a realistic {{Slice of Life}}. The subsequent books become increasingly more adventure-driven. ''Madeline's Christmas,'' the last book by Ludwig Bemelmans, goes so far as to introduce magic and fantasy elements, which the books by his grandson also feature. The animated series and 1998 film leave out the magic, but keep the later books' adventurous tone for the most part.

* ThatsAllFolks: "That's all there is, there isn't any more." First made famous by American actress Ethel Barrymore, this phrase would always be the last line in every book in the franchise.
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''That's all there is, there isn't any more.''

* [[RedHeadedHero Red-Headed Heroine]]: Madeline.

* SickEpisode: The first book has Madeline's {{Ruptured Appendix}}, while ''Madeline's Christmas'' has Madeline's friends and Miss Clavel all catch a cold.
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* MoralDissonance: Pepito is called out for his ''cruelty'' towards animals. But in the hospital, Madeline does almost nothing to comfort him. Instead, she spends the entire time telling him what an ass he is ''as he's reeling in pain from it and already knows.'' And then he becomes a vegetarian, [[{{Anvilicious}} just to make it more obvious]] how wrong it was for him to torture animals. And at the beginning of the book, before he even does a thing, the girls judge him at first sight as a "bad hat". Their cruelty to ''him'' is ''never'' called out. Miss Clavel's "I'm sure he's just misunderstood" is the closest to an objection raised. And even that is revealed to be misguided.

* FreudianExcuse: ''Madeline and the Bad Hat'' shows glimpses as to Pepito's behavior; since his parents are busy ambassadors, he vents out his frustrations on animals.

* PintSizedKid: Madeline's short height is often a source of frustration for her, like the time she was rejected from a ballet production because her legs were too small, or that time Yvette told her, "Short girls don't model, ''ever!"''

The rest of the books were written and published in TheFifties, including ''Madeline and the Bad Hat'', ''Madeline and the Gypsies'', ''Madeline in London'', ''Madeline's Christmas'' (although it wasn't published until the `80's), and Caldecot-winner ''Madeline's Rescue''. After the death of Bemelmans, his son, John Bemelmans wrote several others, including ''Madeline in America'', ''Madeline Says Merci'', ''Madeline and the Cats of Rome'', and ''Madeline at the White House''.

* BilingualBonus: Generous doses of it, considering that the girls are speaking untranslated French through half of everything. ''Lost in Paris'' springs to mind.

* SickEpisode: The first book has Madeline's {{RupturedAppendix}}, while ''Madeline's Christmas'' has Madeline's friends and Miss Clavel all catch a cold.

* 1998 film: Aggie, Vicki, Chantal, Lucinda, Beatrice, Serena, Lolo, Elizabeth, Sylvette, Veronica, and Marie-Odile

* ThePowerOfFriendship: "We love our bread. We love our butter. But most of all, we love each other."

* SickEpisode: ''Madeline's Christmas'' has Madeline's friends and Miss Clavel all catch a cold.

* BelligerentSexualTension: Madeline and Pepito have the "kindergartener who pushes you into the sandbox" variety, especially in "Madeline and the Bad Hat" though it still does occasionally occur afterwards.

* BreakTheCutie: In "Madeline in London,"Pepito begins to waste away after being separated from Madeline. Luckily his parents rectify this by inviting the little girls to London for his birthday party.

* BelligerentSexualTension: Madeline and Pepito, especially in "Madeline and the Bad Hat" though it still does occasionally occur afterwards.

* BreakTheCutie: Pepito begins to waste away after being separated from Madeline. Luckily his parents rectify this by inviting the little girls to London for his birthday party.

* MoralDissonance: Pepito is called out for his ''cruelty'' towards animals. But in the hospital, Madeline does almost nothing to comfort him. Instead, she spends the entire time telling him what an ass he is ''as he's reeling in pain from it and already knows.'' And then, the girls force him to become a vegetarian, [[{{Anvilicious}} just to make it more obvious]] they don't like him torturing animals. And before he even does a thing, the girls judge him at first sight. Their cruelty to ''him'' is ''never'' called out. Miss Clavel's "I'm sure he's just misunderstood" is the closest to an objection raised. And even that is revealed to be misguided.

* RaceLift: Nona originally had light skin, but it was changed to be dark brown in season 2 of the DiC series. Anne and Janine also had their skintones darkened. This may have been done to add more diversity to the show.

* RunningGag: When Pepito accompanies the girls on a trip, the taxi always leaves him behind at first.
* RupturedAppendix: In the first book.

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->''It's time to go, au revoir,\\
Though you may shout, "Encore!"\\
That's all there is,\\
There isn't any more!''

* NoAntagonist: Played straight most of the time. The only places where antagonists show up are in the two direct-to-DVD movies and in ''Madeline and the Singing Dog''.
** Zig-zagged through all the adaptations themselves. Pepito starts out as an antagonist, but is then redeemed a little later on.

* {{Meganekko}}: Chantel in the movie.

* BlackBeadEyes

* ChristmasEpisode: A number of them, actually. The book has, of course, ''Madeline's Christmas''.

** Animated series: Chloe, Nicole, Danielle, Yvette, Nona, Lulu, Anne, Ellie, Monique, Janine, and [[SuddenNameChange Sylvie/Simone]]
** Live-action film: Aggie, Vicki, Chantal, Lolo, Serena, Beatrice, Lucinda, and Marie Odile

** Subverted through all the adaptations themselves. Pepito starts out as an antagonist, but is then redeemed a little later on.

* ChristmasEpisode: A number of them, actually.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: When Madeline sings ''Without You'' in ''Madeline And The Science Project''. If you're able to refrain yourself from crying, you'll notice that Madeline has suddenly lost her French accent.

* OrWasItADream: This is the ending of [[spoiler:"Madeline in the Magic Carpet," in which Madeline is told that the adventure she had of riding on a magic carpet and rescuing a genie with Pepito and Pancho was just a dream. That evening, she finds under her bed the magic lamp that had been thrown in Pepito's garbage.]]

** DiC brought him back.

* SickEpisode: ''Madeline and the Costume Party.''
** Also ''Madeline's Christmas'' (The book and TV special).
* SlasherSmile: Pepito gets a few in the "Bad Bat Hat" song.
* ThatRemindsMeOfASong: Every episode.
* TitleSequenceReplacement:
** DisneyChannel tacked the theme song of ''The New Adventures of Madeline'' onto the original specials and Family Channel-era episodes.
** The post-Lost-in-Paris episodes of the show broadcast Asia had the theme song of ''Hats off to Madeline'', the second series theme song, replacing ''Oh Madeline'', the third series theme song.
* TrailOfBreadcrumbs: In "Lost in Paris", Madeline drops beads so that her friends can follow her to wherever her "uncle" is taking her.
* TraumaticHaircut: Downplayed. [=LaCroque=] threatens the lace shop girls with this all the time because lace is supposedly made from human hair. But [[spoiler: when she finally cuts Madeline's hair, it's a few strands on one side; this is treated as if the poor girl has been shorn. Her 11 schoolmates later copy the cut in solidarity.]] However, Fifi's haircut is much more ragged and unattractive, thus playing the trope a little straighter.
* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Mr. Grump in "Madeline's Holiday With Mr. Grump."
* TheVillainSucksSong: "A Bad Bad Hat," describing Pepito's mischievous period.

[-[[caption-width-right:253:"If you believe you must be big in order to be tough, then you should get to know her. She'll teach you other stuff!"]]-]

Although critically acclaimed animated versions of the original books were produced throughout TheFifties (the first was even nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward), it wasn't until 1988 that {{CINAR}} and DiC created the widely remembered TV special based on the first book for {{Creator/HBO}}. [[NamedByTheAdaptation It gave names to three of Madeline's friends]] (Nicole, Danielle, and Chloe) who would be present in later TV showings. The special was a success, so {{CINAR}} and DiC created more specials based on the rest of the books. The project also saw a soundtrack CD, "Madeline's Favorite Songs", with music from the specials released.

In 1993, after their partnership with {{CINAR}} had ended, DiC decided to make a Madeline TV series. Reusing the character designs, some of the talents (Christopher Plummer was held back by DiC as the narrator), and the TitleThemeTune from the old specials, Madeline's other friends were given names, and had various adventures that were not present in the books. Similar to the specials, the show was filled with EarWorm music. It premiered on [[Creator/ABCFamily The Family Channel]]. Some notable differences between the {{CINAR}}-DiC Partnership version and this version were new voice actors, some girls hair colors were changed, the animation was ''much'' better, and various supporting book characters made more appearances as well. In 1995, more episodes premiered on ABC Saturday mornings, under the title ''TheNewAdventures of Madeline''. Following a second Soundtrack CD release ("Hats Off To Madeline"), the franchise went into a 4-year hiatus.

The silence ended when DiC made a direct-to-video movie, known as ''Madeline: Lost in Paris''. The plot was a man posing as Madeline's uncle came to take her to a finishing school in Vienna, but it was actually a lace factory that put orphan girls to labor. This movie had a slightly different color palette than the 1993 version, and different voice actors. Released by Disney in 1999, the movie was later re-released by Shout! Factory on DVD, but removing all Disney idents.

This was immediately followed by the 3rd series, in 2000, when DiC made more episodes, also under the title ''TheNewAdventures of Madeline'', with improved animation (to follow up with the direct-to-video movie). Also, the color palette changed again for a few of the girls. Many of the voice talents also changed in this version. This version of the cartoon premiered on Playhouse Disney. A third soundtrack CD was released shortly after, "Sing-A-Long with Madeline", after which the franchise once again fell silent.

The latest and possibly final project involving everyone's favorite redhead is the direct-to-video movie ''My Fair Madeline'' (although it did air on Nickelodeon once), which was released silently in 2002, one year after the regular cartoon ended. The plot was Madeline and her friends going to stop a gang of thieves. There have been no new episodes of the show produced since.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Chloe gets one in "Madeline and the Old Violin."
* AdaptationDyeJob: The DiC series changed up a few of the girls' hair colors between seasons:
** Janine was a blonde, up until season 3 where her hair suddenly became dark brown.
** Sylvie (or [[SeriesContinuityError Simone]]) had greenish-colored hair while Monique's appeared to be a pink color. Both of them received brown hair in season 3.
** Ellie also had greenish hair early on, but it was darkened to black by season 2.
* AdaptationalHeroism: The gypsies from ''Madeline and the Gypsies'' seem like kidnappers who take Madeline and Pepito into their circus, and eventually hide them in a lion's suit so that Miss Clavel can't find them. The TV special instead had the gypsies tell Madeline and Pepito to go home after they come down from being stuck on the Ferris Wheel, only for the two of them to express a desire to join their circus. They also don't make Madeline and Pepito wear the lion's suit until after their own lion becomes too sick to perform.
* AdultFear:
** Miss Clavel noticing Madeline's empty bed in ''Madeline and the Gypsies'', then [[OhCrap quickly realizing]] that Madeline got left behind at the circus. The cartoon also shows Pepito's parents (who were apparently off on a business trip in the book) worrying about him also getting left behind.
** Why, hello there, ''Lost In Paris.''
** The original "Something is Not Right" sequence. Especially the ending.
* AesopAmnesia: Pepito's cousins return in "Madeline and the Mummy" and seem to have completely forgotten why they stopped being brats in the last episode.
* AnimationBump: ''Madeline: Lost in Paris'' has better animation from the specials and TV series.
* AnywhereButTheirLips: [[spoiler: Pepito]] gets a kiss on the cheek from Madeline after he gives her a new parasol in "Madeline's Birthday at the Zoo."
* ArtEvolution: Went a long way from the original books to the last special, ''My Fair Madeline''. And it's still evolving, but thankfully now at a slower pace.
* AuthorAvatar: Sort of. There's an artist named Ludwig in the TV series who is friends with the girls and is even seen working on the original picture book in one episode.
* AwardBaitSong: The song "Wishes" from the Madeline's Christmas special stands out as this because of its pop-like quality and sound despite not being sung by someone famous. Nonetheless, [[TropesAreNotBad this doesn't lose the syrupy nature of most Madeline songs, and it fits]].

** Especially in TheMovie.

* BraggingThemeTune: "I'm Madeline". Also counts as an IAmSong.
* BreakTheCutie: Pepito begins to waste away after [[spoiler: being separated from Madeline. Luckily his parents rectify this by inviting the little girls to London for his birthday party.]]

* ChekhovsArmy: At the start of ''Madeline and the Forty Thieves'', we see a pair of magpies fly briefly across the screen. [[spoiler:It turns out that they are the 40 thieves]].

* CinderellaCircumstances: The lace shop girls in Madeline: Lost in Paris.
* CircusEpisode: One episode of the animated series involves Madeline and Pepito joining a travelling circus.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Nicole in the cartoon.
** And Cloe in the first special.
* CoolBigSis: Tatiana the prima ballerina from ''Madeline at the Ballet.'' She might have the most important role, but she makes sure ''all'' of her co-stars are treated fairly, including Madeline, who was initially left out of the production because the dance teacher thought she was too short. Even after Madeline botches the first rehearsal, Tatiana finds her backstage, comforts her and still allows her to dance in the production, and they pull it off flawlessly.
* CreatorCameo: In the animated series episode ''Madeline at the Louvre'', Madeline meets up with an artist named after Ludwig himself.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Compare ''Lost in Paris'' to the rest of the franchise.
** ''My Fair Madeline'' qualifies as well.
* DeadpanSnarker: Miss Clavel in TheMovie.
* DisneyAcidSequence: Used in every song, but much, much more in the DiC version (ironic since they used to be with Disney).
** Unsurprisingly, this show airs on the Disney channel in regions outside the US.

** His cousins, by their own admittance, are worse, but they still get chased and nearly gored by an angry full-grown bull.

* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Fifi in ''Lost in Paris'', due to her lack of sunlight.
* EvenTheDogIsAshamed: In the opening of "Madeline and the Treasure Hunt," Genevieve whimpers and whines each time the girls give obviously wrong answer to questions being asked of them regarding geography.
* EveryEpisodeEnding: Each episode of the cartoon ends with the narrator saying, "And that's all there is. There isn't any more." Those lines originally appeared at the end of the first ''Madeline'' book.

* ForScience: In "Madeline and the Dinosaur Bone," this is the stated reason why a group of paleontologists is allowed to wreck the garden of the old house, digging a giant mess, and then taking away the dinosaur bone that Genevieve dug up to a museum.
* FreudianExcuse: ''Madeline and the Bad Hat'' shows glimpses as to Pepito's behavior; since his parents are busy ambassadors, he vents out his frustrations on animals.
** [=LaCroque=] of Lost in Paris has one. Downplayed in that it's [[spoiler: she lost her entire cabaret career after tripping, falling offstage, and exposing her underwear. She was forced to sell her hair to make lace, and perhaps out of revenge, began a lace-making sweatshop that imprisoned little girls.]]
* HeartwarmingOrphan: Madeline in the second DiC series and TheMovie. All other adaptions have her parents alive and well (the old house is a Catholic boarding school, not an orphanage).
** And the orphans in ''Lost in Paris''.
* HeelFaceTurn:
** Pepito in "Madeline and the Bad Hat"
** Mr. Grump in "Madeline's Holiday With Mr. Grump"
** Sugar Dimples in "Madeline in Hollywood."
* IllGirl: Fifi in ''Lost in Paris''.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Again, Fifi. [[spoiler: Of course, by the end, it goes away.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Vicki in TheMovie.
** And Pepito to some extent.
* JustAStupidAccent: Of course, Madeline speaks English with a French accent. The others characters also speak English with a French accent, except for the ones with voice actors who are NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent. In the movie, everyone has [[TheQueensLatin British accents]]. The characters, however, particularly Miss Clavel, do occasionally speak a bit of French here and there, in fact, enough that if you watch through the entire series you can probably pick a fair few French phrases.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Zigzagged. In "Madeline and the Costume Party," the girls contract chicken pox and Pepito laughs every time he sees them. Of course, on the eve of the party, [[spoiler: Pepito has caught the illness from the girls and fully expects them to laugh at him too. They spend the evening with him to watch the fireworks instead.]]
* LampshadeWearing: In ''Madeline and the Big Cheese''. See [[Funny/{{Madeline}} CMOF]] page for details.
* {{Licensed Game}}s / {{Edutainment Game}}s: Tons of edutainment titles came out for PC/Macs between the 90s and the turn of the century. Chances are if you studied grade school in the US during the 90s, you would've played one of the titles in the classroom.
* LimitedAnimation: It was produced by DiC in the late '80s to the beginning of the 2000s, after all. Though it's extremely evident in the original specials.

* AdultFear: Why, hello there, ''Lost In Paris.''