Once Upon a Time... Life

Procidis
Industry	Animation, Television production
Headquarters	France
Products	Once Upon a Time... Life (animated TV series)

Once Upon a Time... Life (), known in Japan as , is an educational animated TV series developed and directed by Albert Barillé. It represents the third chapter in the Once Upon a Time... collection, reintroducing familiar characters from Once Upon a Time... Man and Once Upon a Time... Space to illustrate human physiology in an accessible and instructive manner. The show consists of 26 episodes.

The production was led by the French company Procidis, collaborating with broadcasters such as , Canal+ (France), (Canada), (Spain), (Netherlands), and (Switzerland), and (Belgium). The animation was managed by Eiken in Japan. The series debuted on Canal+ in France, airing from 13 September 1987 until 13 March 1988, followed by broadcasts on partner networks with localized dubbing.

This project marked the second joint effort between Procidis and Eiken after Once Upon a Time... Space, thus qualifying it as an anime. Unlike its predecessor, it did not air on Japanese television but was instead released on VHS in 1991.

Overview

Once Upon a Time... Life continued the edutainment style established by Once Upon a Time... Man, combining captivating narratives with metaphorical presentations of factual information.

The series portrayed recurring characters representing various cells within the human body, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, while villains symbolized viruses and bacteria. Each episode concentrated on a specific organ or bodily system such as the brain, heart, or circulatory system.

Beyond its countries of origin, the show reached audiences across regions including the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, broadening its international presence.

Music

The soundtrack and theme for the series were composed by Michel Legrand, marking his second contribution to the Once Upon a Time... franchise.

Theme music and song

The opening track "" ("Hymn for Life") was sung in French by Sandra Kim, winner of the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest. Issued as a single under Carrere Records, its lyrics were subsequently translated into English for global editions under the title "This Life is Life, That's Life!".

Score

In 2001, a soundtrack album compiling all incidental music from the series was released by Loga-Rythme (LR-677005) as part of their Anime Classique collection.

Characters

Recurring human figures from both Once Upon a Time... Man and Once Upon a Time... Space appear throughout this series, depicted both as actual people and anthropomorphized representations of cells and bodily processes.

Brain manager – Maestro, characterized as an elderly man with a beard.
Cell nucleus manager – Maestro again, frequently shown dozing in his chair.
Enzymes – illustrated as laborers dressed in bib overalls and caps; digestive enzymes take on male and female forms within the stomach and small intestine.
Hormones – female humanoid robotic messengers distinguished by color coding according to their functions.
Red blood cells – red-colored humanoids including Professor Globus along with Hemo and Globin; their coloration shifts depending on oxygen or carbon dioxide content.
Neurotransmitters – swift blue messengers transmitting signals along nerves.
Platelets – red, disk-shaped entities equipped with limbs.
White blood cells – defenders of the body:
- Neutrophil granulocytes – white-uniformed foot soldiers resembling policemen with yellow star badges; leadership includes Jumbo or Jumbo Junior.
- Lymphocytes:
  - B cells – pilots operating light blue single-seat crafts that release antibodies; represented by Captain Peter and Lieutenant Claire.
  - T cells – similar crafts marked with a prominent "T," emitting purple smoke to eliminate bacteria and cancerous cells.
- Phagocytes – spherical vehicles equipped with suction devices that engulf harmful bacteria.
- Basophils – plump granulocyte-like females who throw histamine grenades to combat toxins.
- Macrophages – large yellow vehicles functioning as cleanup crews and emergency responders within the body.
- Immature leukocytes – adolescent humanoids dressed in thymus police academy uniforms undergoing training.
Antibodies – tiny white insect-like figures launched at invading pathogens; led by Metro.
Pathogens – principal antagonists responsible for illnesses:
- Bacteria – portrayed as large blue bullies.
- Viruses – smaller yellow worm-shaped bullies.
Organic molecules:
- Fats/Fatty acids – represented as yellow ponies.
- Proteins – tall, muscular orange figure resembling a dog.
- Sugars (glucose) – small green-purple hexagonal or pentagonal shapes sometimes resembling candy.
- Amino acids – antibody-like entities mostly invisible except during episodes explaining protein synthesis.
- DNA/RNA – depicted with scientific accuracy during protein synthesis sequences.
- Vitamins – colored living letters; letter P appears infrequently.
- Cholesterol – yellow seal-like creatures capable of obstructing blood vessels.

Bile – blue-green fluid that aids fat emulsification during digestion.

Within the series, a highly organized "society inside the body" is portrayed, featuring distinct hierarchical roles that mirror biological functions.

Episodes

{{Episode list EpisodeNumber=16 Title=The Liver Factory NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Focuses on the liver. LineColor=000000 }} {{Episode list EpisodeNumber=17 Title=The Kidneys NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Covers the kidneys and the urinary system. LineColor=000000 }} {{Episode list EpisodeNumber=18 Title=The Lymphatic System NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Explores the lymphatic system. LineColor=000000 }} {{Episode list EpisodeNumber=19 Title=The Bones and the Skeleton NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Discusses the bones and human skeletal structure. LineColor=000000 }} {{Episode list EpisodeNumber=20 Title=The Muscles and the Fat NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Covers the muscular system along with fat tissue. LineColor=000000 }} {{Episode list EpisodeNumber=21 Title=Toxin Wars NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Covers microbes and antibodies. LineColor=000000 }} {{Episode list EpisodeNumber=22 Title=The Vaccination NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Covers vaccination and immunization processes. LineColor=000000 }} {{Episode list EpisodeNumber=23 Title=The Hormones NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Covers hormones and the endocrine system. LineColor=000000 }} {{Episode list EpisodeNumber=24 Title=The Chain of Life NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Covers the food chain. LineColor=000000 }} {{Episode list EpisodeNumber=25 Title=Repairs and Changes NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Covers regeneration. LineColor=000000 }} {{Episode list EpisodeNumber=26 Title=And Life Goes On NativeTitle= OriginalAirDate= ShortSummary=Covers ageing and death. LineColor=000000 }}

Regional home-video releases

In certain English-language versions, the series title displayed in the opening sequence is Once Upon a Time – Life.

A UK partwork titled How My Body Works was published as 50 hardback volumes, each containing roughly 30 A4-sized pages, marketed under Orbis’s play & learn series. Several character names were altered: The Professor became the Maestro; B-cell lymphocytes were renamed Captain Courageous and Ace; Hemo and Globin transformed into Plasmus and Globina; Jumbo was renamed Corpo; bacterial characters were called Toxicus, Germus, and Infectius; while the virus character was known as Virulus. VHS tapes of English episodes were bundled with these issues.

Procidis released a DVD collection containing all episodes, which was distributed by different companies regionally. The series was made available in multiple languages including French, English, Polish, Finnish, German, Italian, Hebrew, Norwegian, Hungarian, Dutch, and Swedish; however, it was not officially launched in the UK. By 2011, the English DVD set could be purchased in Canada through Imavision.

Complete episodes are also accessible via YouTube.

Biological accuracy

While most biological terminology was translated with care, certain errors and outdated terms remain:

In episode 7, the heart chamber currently known as the atrium is called the "auricle," a term formerly accurate but now assigned to a different cardiac structure.
The phrase "pulmonary aorta" appears mistakenly in episode 4 instead of "pulmonary artery," noting that humans possess only a single aorta.
The portrayal of the immune system lacks representation of antigen-presenting cells such as macrophages, B-cells, and dendritic cells, which are vital for adaptive immunity through MHCII complexes. Although antibody specificity toward pathogens is referenced, the process of its formation is not depicted. Additionally, the complement cascade is absent.
Episode 11 incorrectly identifies lysosomes as present in tears for eye surface protection; the proper term is lysozymes.
In episode 13, Meissner's corpuscle is inaccurately labeled as Golgi corpuscle, causing confusion with the Golgi apparatus organelle.

External links

Official website – producer of the series
Hello Maestro on YouTube