The New Adventures of Lucky Luke
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation, Television production |
| Headquarters | Paris , France |
Key people | Marc du Pontavice (Producer) |
| Products | Animated television series, including Les Nouvelles Aventures de Lucky Luke |
Les Nouvelles Aventures de Lucky Luke (translated as The New Adventures of Lucky Luke) is an animated television series that aired from 2001 to 2003, inspired by the Franco-Belgian comic Lucky Luke series created by the Belgian artist Morris. The production encompasses a total of 52 episodes.
This series was helmed by director Olivier Jean-Marie and produced under the supervision of Marc du Pontavice at the Paris-based studio Xilam. The musical score was crafted by Ramon Pipin, Hugues Le Bars, and Hervé Lavandier. In 2007, a feature-length film titled Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure was launched, drawing directly from this television adaptation.
Plot
Lucky Luke is a renowned cowboy famed for his ability to draw his gun quicker than his own shadow. Accompanied by his clever horse Jolly Jumper and occasionally his dog Rintindumb, he upholds justice across the Wild West, tracking down notorious criminals such as Billy the Kid and consistently apprehending The Daltons.
Original French cast
- Antoine de Caunes as Lucky Luke
- Eric Legrand lending voices to Jolly Jumper, Jack, and William Dalton
- Bernard Alane portraying Averell Dalton
- Gérard Surugue as Joe Dalton
- Francis Perrin voicing Rintindumb
- Isabelle Mangini as Calamity Jane
- Eric Metayer in the role of Général Custer
- Donald Reignoux as Billy the Kid
- Marc Saez providing voices for Shérif Sleekhorn and TchinasTchin
- François Siener as Aigle Intègre and John Glutton
- Françoise Vallon as Lola Montes
- Valérie Karsenti
English cast
- Marcel Jeannin as Lucky Luke and Rintindumb
- Mark Camacho voicing Jolly Jumper and Jack Dalton
- Ellen David contributing additional voices
- Sonja Ball
- John Stocker as Joe Dalton and Général Custer
- Arthur Holden
- Daniel Brochu
- Laura Teasdale
- Bronwen Mantel
- Pauline Little as Lotta Legs
- Rick Jones as Jack Dalton
- Terrence Scammell
- Rick Miller
- Susan Glover
- Terry Simpson
- Kathleen Fee playing Big Bone Bear
- Adrian Truss as Jolly Jumper
Episodes
Production
After a hiatus of ten years following the previous Lucky Luke episodes, Xilam developed this new installment with the intent to connect earlier productions with contemporary ones. The project involved producing 52 episodes with a financial outlay exceeding 120 million francs (equivalent to over EUR 18 million), featuring entirely original narratives.
- Morris, who passed away in July 2001, had limited opportunity to witness the series before its debut in September.
- The animation preserves Morris's distinctive artistic style, utilizing color schemes strategically to reflect characters’ emotional states or social standing.
- The show incorporates caricatural portrayals of well-known personalities such as Garcimore, Roberto Benigni, and Woody Allen, while also introducing historical and literary figures including General Custer, the Lumière brothers, Lola Montez, Buffalo Bill, John Ford, Ulysses S. Grant, Queen Victoria, alongside fictional characters like Sherlock Holmes and Don Quixote.
- There is a noted chronological discrepancy between episodes 47 and 48 concerning an archaeologist character’s storyline.
Broadcast
The series was shown on France 2 and France 3 within France. On the international stage, it was available on Télé-Québec and Teletoon in Canada, Italia 1 in Italy, Super RTL in Germany, as well as BBC Two and CBBC in the United Kingdom.