The Bluffers

The Bluffers
Genre	Cartoon series
Created by	Frank Fehmers based on an idea by Gene Deitch
Directed by	Frank Fehmers
Voices of	Allen Swift Kees ter Bruggen Richard Felgate Gene Deitch Eric Jan Harmsen
Narrated by	Gene Deitch
Theme music composer	Eric Jan Harmsen
Country of origin	Netherlands
Original language(s)	Dutch
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer(s)	Frank Fehmers
Producer(s)	Frank Fehmers
Running time	25 min.
Release
Original network	AVRO
Original release	7 October – 30 December 1986

The Bluffers is a Dutch children's cartoon series created by Frank Fehmers. It was first screened in 1984. The stories revolved around the inhabitants of the fictitious land of 'Bluffoonia' and their ongoing struggle against the evil tyrant 'Clandestino' and his plans to destroy the forest in which they live.

The series was based on an idea by Gene Deitch, who also wrote the lyrics. Michael Jupp, who also created The Dreamstone and Bimble's Bucket, was art director for the series and created the characters.

The show's opening strapline is:

Bluffoonia once was a beautiful country before the crazed maniac Clandestino took over. Clandestino turned that beautiful place into this. Why? Because Clandestino is afraid the Bluffers will get his secret — the secret of getting it all!

Each episode is approximately 25 minutes long. Most of the stories are centered on Clandestino doing or plotting something that will either destroy Bluffoonia's last forest or otherwise disrupt the Bluffers' lives, and the Bluffers' attempts to thwart him. Some of the stories are centered on the Bluffers' plans to steal Clandestino's "Secret of Getting It All" so they can use it to remove him from power. This secret, which plays a major part in most episodes, is never successfully stolen or even revealed throughout the series. The closest of it seen is the door to the secret, locked and vaulted with chains, a skull and stylish lights around its frame. Only Clandestino is allowed to see it, and if anyone tries and dares, even by his servants, are to be killed. That's why he always carries to keys to the locks of the door. In the final episode of the entire series, whilst digging his courtyard with his machines for minerals, ended up disrupting the moat, thus causing the entire castle to be flooded, and the lower parts sunk, taking the secret with it, despite his futile attempts of rescuing it.

Each episode contains two musical numbers.

In the late 1980s, the series was released on VHS videocassettes in the United States (by Celebrity Home Entertainment's "Just For Kids label) and most European countries, each containing one or more episodes. There was also a videocassette of collected musical numbers from the series. As of this writing, all of these are out of print.

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Wikipedia