Squirrel and Hedgehog (original Korean title: 다람이와 고슴도치, Taramiwa Kosŭmdoch'inote ) is a North Korean animated series by SEK Studio. It's one of the most popular cartoons in its home country, and by far the most well-known North Korean animation in the outside world.
Set in the World of Funny Animals, story follows chipmunk Geumsaegi and his brothers-in-arms (other chipmunks, hedgehogs, ducks…) as they defend their home country Flower Hill from cruel foreign invaders (weasels, later wolves, and various other predators). Geumsaegi infiltrates enemies' ranks in the guise of a defector, and continuously sabotages their attempts to conquer Flower Hill. The series is effectively a spy thriller (with some war drama thrown into the mix) aimed at North Korean children.
Outside of North Korea, this cartoon is infamous for the level of violence which would be deemed unacceptable for children's media in most other countries. Furthermore, the series' rather heavy political undertones made foreign reviewers label it as Propaganda Piece, with some even claiming that it "reeks of anti-American propaganda from every hole". We'll let you decide for yourself if it does.
The first episode, meant to be a standalone story, was aired in 1977. Following its success, episodes 2 to 4 were released in the years 1978-1983. Starting with episode 5 in 1997, several new episodes were aired almost every year, for total of 32 episodes as of mid-2012. Despite show's immense popularity, no plans were announced to continue it ever since.
Interestingly, there exists a localized version
in English and Italian, with title changed to Brave Soldiers. It's made by Mondo TV, which has collaborated with SEK a number of timesnote , and it's not a faithful dub but a loose recut that uses footage from "Squirrel and Hedgehog" to tell its own story.
See also Clever Raccoon Dog, the other long-running cartoon by the same studio featuring Funny Animals — much less violent and notably apolitical.
Squirrel and Hedgehog provides examples of the following tropes:
- Art Evolution: Is a given the series' status as a long runner, the first couple of incarnations especially look widely different than their more recognizable forms.
- Bloodless Carnage: For all the people getting shot, impaled, blown up and beaten to a pulp, there's shockingly little blood.
- The Call Knows Where You Live: After the Weasel Army is defeated, Bamsaegi quits the army to become a personal assistant. When his lack of vigilance bites him in the ass and results in Dr. Mole being kidnapped, he rejoins again.
- Enemy Civil War: In episode 4, fearing punishment for desertion, the weasel Chief of Staff makes a pact with his subordinates Aekku and Mangko to kill General Commander Jogjebi. The plot is immediately found out, and the ensuing civil war is the focus of the next 10 episodes, with squirrels Juldarami and Geumsaegi infiltrating both sides and playing them against one another. The Rebels of Mt. Rock, as they are called, go through multiple leaders and bases over the course of nearly the entire first series, finally being reabsorbed in episode 24.
- Faking the Dead: The Weasel Commander solves the issue of Black Weasel and General Mangko betraying him by pretending to commit suicide to lure them out into the open, where he is able to confront them at his own funeral.
- Genre Roulette: A more gradual example happens where the first episode is a stand alone fable about being independent but as the series goes on it turns from a war time tale to Spy Fiction with the main characters learning to infiltrate the enemy and outsmart them.
- Group Hug: The heroes of the series have one in the middle of a fiery battlefield while behind enemy lines.
- Homage: The mechanical whale in chapter 29 chases Goseumdochi on the sea. Some parts of that scene look pretty similar to Monstro chase scene from Disney's Pinocchio.
- If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: The wolves tell Geumsaegi to shoot Dr. Mole to prove his loyalty, but it takes him about five seconds to figure that Dr. Mole is too valuable a source of information for the wolves so they must have dragged out an impersonator.
- Impairment Shot: In the first episode, the world spins from Bear's perspective—the mice got him drunk so he couldn't protect Flower Hill from attack.
- No Cartoon Fish: in some shots, fish in the bucket inexplicably gets photorealistic.
- No Ending: The last episode ends on a Cliffhanger, and there's no sign of any more being made.
- Planet of Steves:
- The name of the Hedgehog Commander is Goseumdochi. But then, there's a Scout Goseumdochi who gives his life to destroy an enemy base and near the end of Part One, another hedgehog soldier is named Goseumdochi, but it's not explained if he's the Commander or another hedgehog with that name.
- Mulori the duck. Just like the hedgehogs mentioned above, the Commander of the Ducks Navy is named Mulori, but also there's a duck who died sacrificing herself activating an enemy grenade while underwater. Not only that, but just a few chapters later, there's another duck Mulori who acts as a disguise expert and who also sacrificed herself by kamikazing in helicopter towards a weasel battle ship. There's a duck named Mulori who somewhere between those chapters is featured in a radio show to sing a song. And finally, the duck scout who keeps supporting Goseumdochi and company until recently, is named Mulori.
- Putting on the Reich: in a broad sense. Villains of the series aren't styled after German Nazis specifically, but they do follow "make your fictional bad guys look like historical enemies of your country" template. Weasels', mice's and wolves' military uniforms resemble those of American troops of Korean War, and weasels' commander-in-chief occasionally wears clothes similar to traditional Japanese overcoat.
- Schizo Tech: Different levels of technology get mixed up to a point where Titanic-esque radio messaging at sea (early 20th century) co-exists alongside World War II style uniforms and infantry deployment (mid 20th century) as well as Nintendo DS level portable electronics (early 21st century)... plus rapid-fire laser weapons fired by flapping-wing aircraft (still a ways off).
- The Starscream: So far, almost all the various villains' Dragons have been this, and if they aren't, then Geumsaegi and Juldarami, undercover as Flower Hill traitors, will convince the villain they are.
- World of Funny Animals: All of the characters in the show are various animals.
Tropes in Brave Soldiers adaptation:
- Dub Species Change: The Mondo TV "Brave Soldier" dub turns the evil mice such as Mulmangcho into rats, as rats are considered more villainous than mice.
- Foreign Re-Score: The original soundtrack is replaced by music composed by John Sposito in the English version.
- You Dirty Rat!: The Mondo TV dub turns the Mice characters into rats. The Mice/Rats are spies who serve the bullying Weasels mostly out of fear. You can feel sorry for them, but you can't trust them an inch.