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The Secret World of Santa Claus
The Secret World of Santa Claus (French title Le Monde secret du Père Noël, German title Weihnachtsmann & Co. KG) is a Canadian French children's animated television show.[1] It is syndicated to several countries worldwide, including Teletoon in Canada, and Super RTL in Germany, and is generally seen every December during the holiday season. On December 25, 1999, Christmas Day, The Secret World of Santa Claus marathon took place from 6:00am to 7:00pm. As of 2013, it has been released on 2 DVDs from Cinedigm in the US. SynopsisEach episode usually starts out showing Santa Claus preparing for Christmas and doing some Christmas-related activities at his workshop. Then two recurring villains (Gruzzlebeard and his partner Dudley) show up trying to foil Santa's plan and ruin the hopes of children. The two trolls usually end up actually finding themselves in a trap that they constructed themselves and the show usually ends showing that all of Santa's things end up turning out fine. CharactersSanta ClausSanta Claus is the main protagonist of the show. He owns a large workshop in the North Pole with his three elves. He owns a sleigh with reindeer. It is not clear how long he has been Santa Claus or how old he is but in the episode "The 12 Labours of Santa Claus" it is revealed that he has been Santa Claus for at least 100 years. Also in "The Christmas Conference" he stated that they had successfully ended the 451st annual Christmas Conference, so he has apparently been in the job for a long time. He is always shown in the classic Santa outfit: a red suit, hat, pants and black boots with golden buckles. He is voiced by Tony Robinow. ThorenThoren is the only female elf at the workshop and she is often very caring and kind. Like the other elves, she always wants things to turn out best for Santa Claus and is the one who looks out for everyone's safety. Her powers enable her to fly, become invisible for short periods of time and she is able to translate any known language on the planet, including animals. Because she cannot hold her powers for long amounts of time, it is believed that she is the second oldest elf, next to Jordi. She is voiced by Anik Matern. GuilfiGuilfi is the tallest elf at the workshop and is great with mechanics. He wears a red hat and constantly has his sleeves rolled up. He has not graduated to the level of Master elf like Thoren or Jordi, hence why he is usually left at the workshop and has no powers (until the last episode where he develops telekinesis). Santa Claus takes Guilfi with him sometimes when Jordi can't go, or goes on a mission with Jordi and Thoren. He's maybe the youngest elf, but also learned the Russian language after to go to Kalicagrad with Jordi, Balbo, Thoren and Santa Claus. He is voiced by Teddy Lee Dillon. JordiPresumably the oldest elf due to his refined magical skills, he is the brains of the three and primarily involved with tech and maintenance. He has a strong sense of responsibility and is usually no-nonsense, particularly when it comes to Guilfi, but he has also been shown to goof off and have fun on occasion. He is always willing to help people but usually jumps in without thinking. He is the shortest, wears a red hat with a pompom and his undershirt is untucked. He has the power to change into any animal or inanimate object for any period of time. He is also quite a magnet with girls, being referred to as 'cute' as well as having a brief fling with a nymph. He is voiced by Thor Bishopric. BalboBalbo is a polar bear that acts as Santa's assistant. In one episode it is revealed that Santa found him when he got lost at sea on an iceberg and separated from his parents. Santa found him and took him to his workshop. Balbo is very playful and also horribly clumsy. He usually watches the workshop with Guilfi. He's in love with Thoren. He is voiced by A.J. Henderson. GruzzlebeardGruzzlebeard (originally called Père Fouettard in French) is the main antagonist and Santa's neighbour in the series and often tries to foil his plans and ruin Christmas. He appears in almost every episode trying to foil Santa's plan, but in the end, he often ends up stuck in his own trap. He is a large Troll, almost human in appearance with a large blue "gruzzled" beard (hence his name) and a bald, cone-shaped head. He enjoys bossing Dudley around and playing the guitar (which he isn't very good at). He usually refers to Santa as 'That Red-suited Sap' or 'Bulbnose', the elves as 'The Oafs' and the reindeer as 'The Hatracks'. Gruzzlebeard and Dudley both seem to be immortal and ageless: both have not aged when Santa travels into the year 2222, where Gruzzlebeard has become a futuristic totalitarian dictator in absence of Santa and his helpers. He is voiced by Mark Camacho. DudleyDudley is a different species of Troll from Gruzzlebeard (Dudley is a Terrible Troll, which is a close cousin of elves). This was confirmed in "The Story of the Trolls" where in order to find out how to defeat a Terrible Troll, Santa & the Elves had to ask a Terrible Troll themselves, in which they removed Dudley's hat while he was asleep and found out that the globe attached to his head was made of steel. Up to that episode, however, there was never anything under his hat and Gruzzlebeard had even called him an elf on numerous occasions (and his ears are more like an elves' than a troll's). Dudley can be just as sneaky and evil as Gruzzlebeard, but he does have a good side. He has often helped Santa (probably just to save his own butt) and is often fed up with the way Gruzzlebeard treats him. Like Gruzzlebeard, he is both immortal and ageless. He is voiced by Michael Rudder. The ReindeerInstead of the traditional team of Santa Claus's reindeer, there are only three reindeer that pull Santa's sleigh: Rudolph (voiced by Bruce Dinsmore; Jacob Tierney in episodes 1 and 20), his father Donner (voiced by Ian Finlay) and his grandfather Blitzen (voiced by Gary Jewell). The other two don't have very big roles, but Rudolph got his own episode in the show, entitled "Rudolph is Missing", where he thought no one wanted him around. He ran away and befriended a young Inuit boy, though they eventually parted ways when Santa came looking for him. Episodes
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