Each cartoon has it's bad guys... and it's good guys...

Il était une fois l'Espace - Le Nabot, Popy, Macau, 1981

 

Pierre, Popy, Singapore, 1981

Maestro

Maestro, ?, 1970-1980's

Libellule de Popy - Il était une fois l'Espace / Once upon a time... Space

Libellule, Popy, 1981 Singapore

From all the cartoon we watched on TV in the 80ies, this one (Il était une fois l'Espace / Once upon a time... space) was maybe one of the Frenchiest of all - even though it was created in Japan. All the mecha (= including this spaceship) was the creation of French illustrator Manchu, His very realistic approach to design was something no one had seen yet in a cartoon. But this is also why, about 30 years later, these same designs do not look outdated at all.

Sci-Fy artwork by Manchu 

He was also at the drawing board for Ulysse's 31 "Odysseus" spaceship...

Inicial sketch by Manchu for the Odysseus

Il était une fois...

Psi, Pierrot, Maestro, ... these are some of the Spanish toys made.

Il était une fois l'Espace, Psi and Pierrot in space pods, Comansi, Spain, 1985

Il était une fois l'Espace, Maestro at command post, Comansi, Spain, 1985

The box was generic and referring to another toy-line: Coman Boys 

One extra Metro, please... it's to chew on the road !

Metro Candy Container, Bonbons MAY,
France, 1982

This one is a candy container. It had a Chewing-gum "Trésor" in its belly ! Nice addition to the rest of the gang - check them out here.

Hey ! A bunch of Metro's

(from left to right: Diecast Popy (Singapore),
Plastic Popy (Macau), Plastic Maia e Borges (1983 Portugal))

Aren't you ashamed of dressing like that ? People will
see your underwear !

Another of the great cartoons of my childhood - and another co-production between French and Japanese studios. They had a serie about humankind ("Il était une fois l'homme"), about the human body ("Il était une fois la vie") and about space ("Il était une fois l'espace").

Wonderfull mecha (= spaceships and other futuristic designs for the non-geeks between you) and great stories - with hints of pacifism and ecologic hidden messages.

Hocus Pocus...

...and I am a helicopter !

"Il était une fois l'Espace"

Era uma vez o Espaço (figurinas), Maia e Borges, Portugal,
1983

Another cartoon, this one going a little deeper into human condition, future prospects and the creation of the universe. "Il était une fois l'Espace" followed another multi-country success series "Il était une fois l'homme". Even though it was a French cartoon (Procidis company), other countries like Italy, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Israel participated all in the production.

What made it quite interesting is that it became a multicultural and equalitarian cartoon with "progressist" themes and ideas. For example, Psi, (middle of image) was black - quite unheard of for a cartoon character (and protagonist) of a 80'ies TV serie. Even the president of the republic of planet Omega was a woman, democratically elected...