Alfred J. Kwak Episode 2: Difference between revisions

Alfred J. Kwak
"Het verjaardagsfeestje"
Alfred J. Kwak; "Het verjaardagsfeestje"
← Season 1, Episode 2 →
	Title card version 1; Language: Japanese ; Title: アルフレッド誕生 (Arufureddo Tanjō) ; Translation: Alfred's Birth; First airdate: 3/4/1989; Network: TV Tokyo ; Title card version 1 Language: Dutch Title: De Eieren Translation: The Eggs First airdate: 24/12/1989 Network: VARA Title card version 1; Language: Dutch ; Title: De Eieren; Translation: The Eggs; First airdate: 24/12/1989; Network: VARA ; Title card version 1; Language: German ; Title: Hurra, er ist da!; Translation: Hooray, He's Here!; First airdate: 13/10/1990; Network: ZDF ; Title card version 1; Language: English ; Title: Alfred Comes to Life; Translation: -; First airdate: 7/7/1990; Network: Channel 4 ; Title card version 1; Language: French ; Title: La naissance d'Alfred; Translation: Alfred's Birth; First airdate: 05/11/1990; Network: Avant l'ecole ; Title card version 1; Language: Finnish ; Title: Alfredin elon alkutaival - Osa 1; Translation: Alfred's Life Journey - Part 1; First airdate: Unknown; Network: Unknown ; Title card version 1; Language: Italian ; Title: La nascita di Alfred; Translation: The Birth of Alfred; First airdate: 25/09/1990; Network: Italia 1 ; Title card version 1; Language: Portugese ; Title: O Nascimento de Alfred; Translation: The Birth of Alfred; First airdate: Unknown; Network: Unkown ; Title card version 1; Language: Chinese ; Title: 阿福雷特誕生 (Ā fú léi tè dànshēng); Translation: The Birth of Alfred; First airdate: 13/10/1990; Network: Unknown ; Title card version 1; Language: Hungarian ; Title: Alfréd megszületik; Translation: Alfred is Born; First airdate: 27/06/1993; Network: Unknown ;
Animation Staff
Episode direction	Shigeo Koshi
Animation direction	Osamu Kamijō
Episode storyboards	Hiroshi Saitō
Screenplay	Akira Miyazaki
Music	Herman van Veen; Erik van der Wurff; Nard Reijnders
Sound director	Shigeharu Shiba
Running time	25 min
Original airdate	10/4/1989 (Japan)
Original production episode number	2

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Revision as of 00:42, 23 March 2025

"Het verjaardagsfeestje" (lit: The Birthday Party) or "初めてのバースデー" (Hajimete no bāsudē; lit: First birthday) Is the 2nd episode of Alfred J. Kwak's first season. The episode first aired in Japan on TV Tokyo on 10 April 1989 in the Monday 17:00 - 17:30 slot. The episode picks up the story directly from the events of the previous episode and concludes with a cliffhanger that leads into the next episode.

Story

Summary

Language and Regional Variations

The following lists differences between the Dutch version and other versions. For detailed information on music differences check the Music section. General differences between series like names can be found at Alfred J. Kwak Production

Continuity

This episode forms one cohesive story together with Episode 1 and Episode 3.
The scene where Alfred mistakes one of the large guards for a giant doll closely mirrors a moment from the first episode, in which Alfred similarly mistakes a large animatronic gorilla for an inanimate figure before being startled.

Cultural references

The finished version of Groot Speelgoedland, particularly the design of its central castle, bears a striking resemblance to the iconic castle found in Disneyland. This visual similarity serves as a likely reference, reinforcing the idea that Groot Speelgoedland is intended as a satirical counterpart to the famous theme park.

Errata

When Olaf Nijlpaard descends from the stairs Bart 'Beton' Bever pops up in the background without emerging from the room they were in. In the next shot, it's Alfons Rokodil that pops up from the entrance to the building.
In the shot where Olaf Nijlpaard enters the car, Bart 'Bever'Beton's chin is miscolored to be the same as the rest of his face.
An animation error occurs in the scene where Jonkheer Poen van Kale Koen guides Alfred's party to the treasury of the King's castle. One of the guards stationed at the vault entrance is incorrectly positioned in front of the open vault door instead of behind it. This error appears to be due to an incorrect layering of animation cells.
During the crisis scene, several guards are seen running past Jonkheer Poen van Kale Koen and the rest of the group. Soldier 4 and Soldier 13, as identified in the Character gallery, appear to run past twice.

Cast

Character Gallery

The characters in order of appearance.

Voice Actors

緒方賢一 Kenichi Ogata	¦	ハンク (Hanku) Hank (Henk de Mol)

吉村よう Yō Yoshimura	¦	ヨハン・クワック (Yohan Kuwakku) Johan Kwak (Johan Sebastiaan Kwak)

安達忍 Shinobu Adachi	¦	アンナ・ポルダー (Anna Porudā) Anna Polder (Anna van de Polder)

神山卓三 Takuzō Kamiyama	¦	ヒポポタマス (Hipopotamasu) Hippopotamus (Olaf Nijlpaard)

立木文彦 Fumihiko Tachiki	¦	クロコダイル (Kurokodairu) Crocodile (Alfons Rokodil)

林原めぐみ Megumi Hayashibara	¦	アルフレッド・ヨードカス・クワック (Arufureddo Yōdokasu Kuwakku) Alfred Jodocus Kwak

Frits Lambrecht	¦	Henk de Mol
Herman van Veen	¦	Johan Sebastiaan Kwak
Marlous Fluitsma	¦	Anna van de Polder
Ryan van den Akker	¦	Alfred Jodocus Kwak
Kees Schilperoort	¦	Olaf Nijlpaard
Bram van der Vlugt	¦	Alfons Rokodil
Fred Butter	¦	Bart 'Beton' Bever

Klaus Sonnenschein	¦	Henk der Maulwurf (Henk de Mol)
Herman van Veen	¦	Johann Kwak (Johan Sebastiaan Kwak)
Marlous Fluitsma	¦	Anna van de Polder
Ryan van den Akker	¦	Alfred Jodocus Kwak
Wolfgang Völz	¦	Hippo Nilpferd (Olaf Nijlpaard)

John Baddeley	¦	Hank the Mole (Henk de Mol)
Jill Lidstone/Ryan van den Akker	¦	Alfred Jonathan Quack (Alfred Jodocus Kwak)
Alan Carr Steve Cooke Melvyn Hayes Hugo Myatt Lyn Beardsall to be checked	¦	Other voices

Roger Carel	¦	Henk (Henk de Mol)
Evelyne Grandjean	¦	Alfred J. Quack (Alfred Jodocus Kwak)

Main staff

Original idea and storylines: Herman van Veen^[1]
Series director: Hiroshi Saitō^[1]
Excecutive producer: Dennis Livson^[2]
Producers: Manabe Tamura (Telescreen), Mutsuo Shimizu, Sumio Takahashi (Teleimage)
Production managers: Manabe Tamura, Tamehide Hyakuzuka, Tsuneomi Nakamura^{[note 1]} (TV Tokyo)
Screenplay: Akira Miyazaki
Animation supervisor: Osamu Kamijō
Director of photography: Hisao Shirai
Character designs: Harald Siepermann^[1], Hans Bacher, Susume Shiraume, Masaru Amamizu
Background designs: Hans Bacher

Episode director: Shigeo Koshi
Assistant director: ???

Storyboard director: Akira Miyazaki
Storyboard supervisor: Harald Siepermann
Storyboard artist: Hiroshi Saitō, Harald Siepermann (uncredited)
Key animation: Jōji Yanase, Minoru Kibata, Hiroshi Dobashi, Kaku Saito(?), Asunaro Studio, Emiko Kataoka, Yukari Watanabe, Tetsuro Kaku, Yumi Chiba
Backgrounds: Hiroshi Yoshikawa, Maki Yoneda, Yukari Oba(?), Studio Uni

Music: Herman van Veen^[1], Erik van der Wurff^[1], Nard Reijnders
Lyrics: Herman van Veen
Sound director: Shigeharu Shiba
Sound mixing: Kunio Kuwahara
Sound effects: Kazutoshi Satō (E&M Planning Center)
Sound staff: Fujio Yamada, Shigeki Oashi(?, possibly correct)
Sound produced by: Omnibus Promotion
Recording studio: New Japan Studio

Localization staff

Dubbing: J.P.S. Studio
Technical Director: Joop Pieete
Dutch Texts: Herman van Veen
Script Adaptation: Vivian Pieters
Production and Direction: Vivian Pieters
Dutch Version: Telecable Benelux B.V., commissioned by Vara

Dubbing: F.C.F. Film Synchronization, Berlin, commissioned by ZDF, ORF and SRG
Dialogue editing and direction: Friedbert Cierpka
ZDF Editorial Team: Markus Schächter, Dorothee Herrmann

Dubbing: E.P.K Work in Arts, Bray Studios UK
Direction: Stanley Joseph
Dubbing editor: Russell Shaw

Locations

Production

Scripts

Character Designs

Animation

Music

The following table is a list of the musical cues used in this episode, accompanied by our in-house wiki ids. The Opening and Ending songs Yakusoku Dayo and Happy Happy are performed by Megumi Hayashibara. A7 / Nog Nooit is sung by Herman van Veen.

Alfred J. Kwak: Episode 2 Japanese OST
Catalogue	NTSC Time Range	Title	Literal Translation	Wiki ID
OP	0:00 - 1:30	Yakusoku Dayo "Kwak's Song" (TV Size)	It's a Promise	M-1B
TC	1:31 - 1:36	M-3A		M-3A
A1		Rote Wangen	'	M-23A(?)
A2		Rote Wangen
A3		K. Rokodil
A4		Ben Jij Het?
A5		Untitled Cue
A6		Untitled Cue
A7		Untitled Cue
A8		Untitled Cue
A9		Untitled Cue
A10		De Eendjes En De Tweetjes
A11		Alfred's Verjaardag
B1		Zo Vrolijk
B2		Help Help (Variation)
B3		Untitled Cue
B4		Wat Gebeurt Daar?
B5		Kijk Niet Om
EP^{[note 2]}	Unknown	Unknown		M-4A
ED	TODO	Happy Happy (TV Size)	Happy Happy	M-5B

In the French and Hungarian versions, A7 / Nog Nooit has been left instrumental.

Availability

This episode has been released in the following formats.

VHS

German

Hebrew

DVD

Dutch

MBI 6067 De verjaardag van Alfred (2004) (Dutch)
DDVD 904247 Liefde 1 (2006) (Dutch)

Finnish

Alfred J. Kwak (DVD Box, 7802) (2009) (Finnish)
Alfred J. Kwak - 1 Jaksot 1-7 (DVD, 7855) (2009) (Finnish)

German

PTD 2834 Episode 1, 2, 3 (2001) (German)

Streaming

Dutch

The complete episode is available in Dutch on Harlekijn Holland's YouTube page down below.

Removed

The series used to be available trough Netflix in the Netherlands around 2015^[3], but was removed sometime after^[4].

Adaptations

Several adaptations have been made of the story contained in this episode.

Audio cassette

Dutch

MC 16093 De eieren (1990) (Dutch)

CDs

Dutch

WSPCD 16093 De eieren (1990) (Dutch)

Books

Dutch

De wonderlijke avonturen van de eend Alfred Jodocus Kwak: Goedemorgen (1989) (Dutch)
De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: Achter tralies (1989) (Dutch)

De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: Achter tralies (1989) (Dutch)
De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: Omnibus 1 (1989) (Dutch)
Alfred J. Kwak Mijn avontuurlijke leven (1991) (Dutch)
Alfred J. Kwak Filmstripboek Deel 1 (2006) (Dutch)
De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: het grote voorleesboek (2010) (Dutch)

External Links

Watch the complete Alfred J. Kwak episode "Het verjaardagsfeestje" in Dutch on Harlekijn Holland's youtube page here.

Notes

↑ In the Dutch version credited as Tuneomi Nakamura
↑ It is currently unknown if the Japanese version included the episode previews, however the Mandarin version used this as the music for it.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 Alfred J. Kwak Opening Dutch credits. 24 December 1989. VARA
↑ Alfred J. Kwak Ending Dutch credits. 24 December 1989
↑ "European cartoon films; does anybody remember Alfred J. Kwak?". www.reddit.com. Reddit user theh1982 mentions that the series is available trough the Dutch Netflix.
↑ "Alfred J. Kwak Nu op Netflix". www.nuopnetflix.nl (in Nederlands).

[3] In the Dutch version credited as Tuneomi Nakamura

[4] It is currently unknown if the Japanese version included the episode previews, however the Mandarin version used this as the music for it.

[Opening_Dutch-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 Alfred J. Kwak Opening Dutch credits. 24 December 1989. VARA

[Ending_Dutch-2] Alfred J. Kwak Ending Dutch credits. 24 December 1989

[5] "European cartoon films; does anybody remember Alfred J. Kwak?". www.reddit.com. Reddit user theh1982 mentions that the series is available trough the Dutch Netflix.

[6] "Alfred J. Kwak Nu op Netflix". www.nuopnetflix.nl (in Nederlands).

[1]

[2]

[note 1]

[note 2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 53: / Line 53: @@
 ===Cultural references===
+* The finished version of [[Groot Speelgoedland]], particularly the design of its central castle, bears a striking resemblance to the iconic castle found in [[wikipedia:Disneyland|Disneyland]]. This visual similarity serves as a likely reference, reinforcing the idea that Groot Speelgoedland is intended as a satirical counterpart to the famous theme park.
 [[File:Mpvsnap 2025-03-18 0003.png|thumb|right|300px|One of [[The King's soldiers|the guards]] is positioned in front of the vault door, instead of behind it.]]
 ===Errata===
 * When [[Olaf Nijlpaard]] descends from the stairs [[Bart 'Beton' Bever]] pops up in the background without emerging from the room they were in. In the next shot, it's [[Alfons Rokodil]] that pops up from the entrance to the building.