De wonderlijke avonturen van de eend Alfred Jodocus Kwak: Goedemorgen

Wat Wijzer "De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred Jodocus Kwak: Goedemorgen"
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FrontBack
Written by	Herman van Veen
Artwork by	Harald Siepermann Hans Bacher
Typesetting by	Karel van Laar
Layout by	Van de Garde
Graphical design	Graphic Promotions
Publisher	Harlekijn uitgeverij
Language	Dutch
Release date	1989
Number of pages	40
Binding method	Hardcover
ISBN	90 6386 070 6

"De wonderlijke avonturen van de eend Alfred Jodocus Kwak: Goedemorgen" (lit. 'The wonderful adventures of the duck Alfred Jodocus Kwak: Good morning') is the second book released in the Wat Wijzer series of books, but is chronologically considered the first part of the series. The parts seem to correspond with the episode numbers of the animated series. This part is therefore based on Episode 1 of the animated series.

The first book in a series of children's books called "De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: De zeven eieren" seems to take its text from this book, but shortened and modified to make it more concise and accessible for a younger audience.

Story

Summary

It's morning in Breed Rietland. The animals slowly start their morning routine, among which a pike singing under water. A jetplane flies over and the pasture is silent for a short moment until the animals slowly start moving again.

Henk de Mol emerges from his molehill in the pastures of Breed Rietland. Checking the time, he remarks that Johan Sebastiaan Kwak is late for their meeting again. Meanwhile, Johan rushes to meet Henk, after having awoken from a dream about icecream with chocolate sprinkles and whipped cream. He crosses the road without looking left or right and nearly gets run over by a crocodile in a big limosine. He finds Henk, apologizes about his tardiness and tells Henk about the dream he had.

The two decide to use Johan's clog to drift over the river to the Plaspoelpolder. Henk asks when Johan is going to get married. Johan thinks he's still too young, but just as he says that he hears singing from in the distance and Johan starts swooning. Henk laughs at Johan's sudden change of demeanor, while Johan paddles to the shore and finds Anna van de Polder under a tree picking daisies. Henk introduces Johan to Anna, and Johan, overwhelmed with nerves, struggles to speak coherently. Anna walks away, but does ask for Johan's named again. Filled with love, Johan walks into the pastures, and starts writing poetry in his head. Unbeknownst to him, two heron surveyors, Stip and Stap, begin measuring the pasture around him.

The next morning, Johan wakes up hears Anna's voice in the distance. He heads toward her but quickly returns to the river to clean himself and brush his teeth. As he approaches Anna, he sees another duck has engages her in conversation. Soon after, a second duck on a motorcycle arrives. Both ducks start arguing over Anna's affection, which leads to a brawl between them. Anna walks away from the scene, and Johan approaches her, offering her a flower. In return, Anna kisses him. Elated, Johan asks Anna for a walk. They talk until late in the night and Johan sings Nog Nooit (I Have Never). Johan then gets on one knee and proposes to Anna. Anna says yes.

On a Wednesday afternoon, half past three, Johan Sebastiaan Kwak and Anna van de Polder marry. Henk is Johan's witness and Amanda de vlinder is Anne's.

Henk later comes over on a maternity visit to see Johan and Anna’s clog filled with seven eggs. Meanwhile, Rap de Kiekedief spies on them through binoculars.

In the office of the Beton Maatschappij, Olaf Nijlpaard, manager of Groot Speelgoedland shows K. Rokodil, the mayor of Waterslag aan Zee in Groot Waterland, a miniature model created by Stip and Stap, who are present alongside Bart 'Beton' Bever, the construction supervisor and director of the Beton Maatschappij. K. Rokodil has come to Breed Rietland because he's interested in Nijlpaard's themepark plans as an investor. Nijlpaard plans to build the theme park right on top of the pasture where Johan and Anna live.

Johan paces nervously, waiting for the eggs to hatch. Henk visits a second time and asks how it's going. Johan replies that the eggs still haven't hatched yet. Anna asks Johan to watch the eggs while she does some groceries. Then, Schor de Kraai and Miram Merel judge the eggs, loudly proclaiming they will likely spoil before hatching. Angered, Johan takes back the egg Schor is holding. At that moment, Rap, disguised as a bush, sneaks in and steals an egg. Johan chases after Rap, who bumps into Henk, causing the egg to soar into the air. The egg bounces off the tennis racket of one of the brawling ducks, onto the roof of K. Rokodil and Olaf Nijlpaard's car and lands in the water, where Snel de Snoek swallows it whole. Johan pulls him out of the water and forces him to spit the egg out.

As Henk scolds Rap, Johan returns to receive a scolding from Anna. Johan confidently reassures her that the egg is safe, but when he shows her, only pieces of the shell remain. Henk then soon spots a duckling nearby and Johan and Anna run to help the duckling back home. Henk suggests naming him after his grandfather, Alfred de Mol, who also ran away when he was young. Anna adds Jodocus to his name. Just as they make the decision, Alfred’s other brothers and sisters hatch.

K. Rokodil, Olaf Nijlpaard, Bart 'Beton' Bever, Stip and Stap planning the destruction of the pasture, smoking, drinking.

As the ducklings are getting named, Alfred gets distracted and escapes from the clog. Rap sets his sights on Alfred and begins stalking him, but Johan catches on and intervenes, beating Rap up.

Alfred is returned to his family, but suddenly, the clog and the ground around them begin to rise, lifted by a giant excavator. The neighborhood is filled with construction machinery tearing up the land. Johan tries to protest with Olaf Nijlpaard, K. Rokodil and Bart 'Beton' Bever, but they say that they have bought this land. The foreman is no help either and tells Johan and Henk that they have a permit.

Henk shows Johan a photograph of Alfred de Mol, his grandfather, standing in front of a mine house in Groot Waterland near Polderstad, suggesting emigrating there. Johan feels an attachment to this place, so wants to sleep on it a couple of nights. A week later the park is basically finished. The night before the official opening Alfred escapes the clog and walks into the theme park. He walks into a haunted house. He is frightened by a ghost animatronic and let's out his first quack. He runs back to the clog and goes back to sleep.

The next day the theme park is opened. While the park floods with tourists and guests, Henk, Johan, Anna and their children start their journey to Groot Waterland. Even Rap de Kiekendief and Snel de Snoek are emigrating. As they're leaving rain starts to pour down on the park and is slowly catching up with them.

They sleep in a hollow tree and then continue their trek. Before night falls again they have to pass one more road to reach the border between Breed Rietland and Groot Waterland. Alfred is distracted by a frog and Henk goes back for him, while the others start crossing the road. Henk catches up to Alfred, but they hear the honking of a big truck. Johan, Anna and their children have been run over. Henk promises Alfred to always take care of him.

Henk and Alfred start living in the minershouse of Henk's grandfather. A month passes and it's Alfred's "vermaandag". Henk writes a song and invites the kids from the neighborhood. After singing the song the bus arrives to bring them to the King's Palace for a guided tour.

Alfred hears his own voice for the first time while wearing a diaper.

Continuity

This book retells the story of Episode 1 of the animated series. Please check that page for more info.

• Johan Sebastiaan Kwak's character, like his son, has a significant connection to dreams.
• Amanda de vlinder returns later in the book De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak.
• This is the first piece of media to reveal Johan's second name, Sebastiaan.
• This is the first piece of media to reveal the names of Alfred's brothers and sisters, namely Josefien, Clara, Marjolein, Hans, Jan and Robbie. The book De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak reveals more about the origins of their names.
• This is the first piece of media to reveal Olaf Nijlpaard's first name. In other media, including his character sheet, he only gets an initial.
• While it doesn't give their first name explicitely, this gives a likely surname for Hannes and Wannes, namely, Snater.
• Henk also mentions his grandmother while showing the picture of the minehouse.
• While the last page of this story promises to continue to tell Alfred's adventures at the King's Palace, there was never a part two to this story in the Wat Wijzer series.

Cultural references

• Johan Sebastiaan Kwak's full name is likely a reference to Johann Sebastian Bach.

Errata

• This version of the story of the first episode of the animated series mistakes Alfons Rokodil for his son Kaspar Rokodil. K. Rokodil's occupation of being mayor even carries over here.
• Alfred is seen depicted wearing a diaper, but none of his brothers and sisters are. When he's pictured with his brothers and sisters the diaper vanishes.
• This book claims Wat Wijzer met Alfred Jodocus Kwak was released in 1987, but this book leans heavily on character designs borrowed from unused designs from the Character- and Color-Designs for Alfred J. Kwak book for it's new characters. All these designs are dated 1988 and so could not have been used in a book released in 1987.

Cast

Character gallery

The characters in order of appearance.

• 
  Snel de Snoek
• 
  Henk de Mol
• 
  Johan Sebastiaan Kwak
• 
  Anna van de Polder
• 
  Woerd (mentioned)
• 
  Stip
• 
  Stap
• 
  Henri Dropshot
• 
  Johnny Hollyday
• 
  The great-great-great-grandmother of Amanda de vlinder
• 
  Rap de Kiekendief
• 
  Olaf Nijlpaard
• 
  Kaspar Rokodil
• 
  Bart 'Beton' Bever
• 
  Schor de Kraai
• 
  Miriam Merel (not named)
• 
  Alfred Jodocus Kwak
• 
  Alfred's brothers and sisters
• 
  De duizendpoot
• 
  The foreman
• 
  Alfred de Mol
• 
  Henk's grandmother (mentioned)
• 
  Truck driver
• 
  Hannes Snater
• 
  Wannes Snater
• 
  Drieling Mus
• 
  Ollie de Ooievaar
• 
  Pikkie de Ekster
• 
  Radbout de Derde (mentioned)
• 
  Herman van Veen (backside)

Locations

• 
  Plaspoelpolder
• 
  Beton Maatschappij office
• 
  Groot Speelgoedland
• 
  Alfred de Mol's mining house

Main staff list

© Harlekijn uitgeverij 1989

Illustrations: Harald Siepermann, Hans Bacher
Text: Herman van Veen with illustrations by Hans Bacher and Harald Siepermann
Typesetting : Karel van Laar, De Bilt
Layout: Van de Garde, Zaltbommel
Graphical design: Graphic Promotions

ISBN: 90 6386 070 6

Production

During the production of the animated series Alfred J. Kwak, Herman van Veen, Harald Siepermann and Hans Bacher worked on various books and merchandise. In 1988, they released Wat Wijzer met Alfred Jodocus Kwak, the first released book in the Wat Wijzer series. This book closely retells the events of Episode 20 and loosely covers Episode 21. It heavily incorporates unused character designs from the Character- and Color-Designs for Alfred J. Kwak book for its new characters.

Alfred in diapers. Original sketch made by Harald Siepermann. The inked and colored version is by Hans Bacher.

The next installment, "Goedemorgen", was later retroactively designated as part 1 of the series, while "Wat Wijzer met Alfred Jodocus Kwak" became part 20. Goedemorgen relied less on unused character designs and closely retells the events of the first and part of the second episode of the animated series. The production of the initial episodes presented challenges. Hiroshi Saitō, the series director and storyboard artist for the first two episodes, presented storyboards created by himself to the team in the Netherlands. It became evident that the animation studio's interpretation differed significantly from the vision of the creative team. The studio's depiction of the world resembled Saitō's previous projects, such as Kimba the White Lion or ジャングル大帝 (Janguru Taitei, lit: Jungle Emperor), portraying the characters as more animalistic, often walking on all fours.

At the time, Siepermann was the only team member present in Japan. Due to the hierarchical nature of Japanese culture, he could not directly instruct Saitō to implement changes. However, they secretly met to work on corrected storyboards, with only an interpreter to translate. Additionally, the cultural belief that moving away from one’s homeland was seen as treachery created further difficulties. Siepermann later expressed regret that the various production issues resulted in a suboptimal final product.

In projects like the Wat Wijzer books, Siepermann and the team aimed to address some of these shortcomings. Siepermann continued this effort in the unfinished comic Guten Morgen, which ran for three issues in Pierrot. One stylistic element in line with Siepermann's original vision is the depiction of a jet plane flying over the quiet meadow at the beginning of the story, intended to disrupt the idyllic setting and introduce a sense of conflict. While this is not explicitly conveyed in the artwork, the accompanying text emphasizes the plane as a disturbance in nature, more so than in the original episode.

Since many character designs from Character- and Color-Designs for Alfred J. Kwak were referenced in various projects, some repeated imagery appears in the books. One example is on the last page of this book, which also serves as the cover for Achter tralies, which were both based on the character designs made for Alfred Jodocus Kwak for the second and third episode.

• 
  From "Goedemorgen" (1989)
• 
  De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: Achter tralies (1989)

Changes from the original

The following lists all the changes between the first and second episode from the animated series and this book.

Johan Sebastiaan Kwak and Henk de Mol take Johan's clog out for a boat ride to the Plaspoelpolder.

• Johan's reason for being late was never expanded on in the original episode, but the book explains that he was dreaming of icecream with chocolate sprinkles and whipped cream.
• Johan and Henk take Johan's clog for a boattrip on the river to the Plaspoelpolder in the book, while in the series they are just relaxing in it under a tree.
• Henk de Mol introduces Anne van de Polder as being the daughter of a duck called Woerd (lit. Drake). But according to the episode, her father's name is Jan van de Polder.
• When Johan is infatuated with the singing of a female duck, Henk laughs at him in the book, but in the series he doesn't.
• The moment Anna and Johan get together is changed in the book. "De zeven eieren" depicts Johan and Anna getting together almost immediately, as they are already shown sitting affectionately beneath a tree. Following this, Johan, filled with love, walks into the pastures, where he encounters Stip and Stap, while it takes a little longer in the episode.
• Alfons Rokodil is replaced by his son Kaspar Rokodil. While he's still depicted as an investor, this character is also the mayor of Waterslag aan Zee in Groot Waterland like in the series.
• Instead of having to go to the bathroom, Anna leaves Johan in custody of the eggs because she's going to do groceries.
• Alfred is depicted wearing a diaper in the book, when he never used one in the episode.
• When Alfred escapes and is being stalked by Rap de Kiekendief it's not Henk who saves him, but Johan.
• Johan, Anna and their kids are run over and killed by a big truck in this book, instead of Olaf Nijlpaard and Alfons Rokodil driving a car. While in the episode it's likely a hit-and-run, here the unnamed driver of the truck at least gets out of the truck.
• Henk and Alfred's birthday celebrates the first year of Alfred's life in the episode, while in the book they celebrate his first month alive.