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: 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
"De Eieren" (lit: The Eggs) or "アルフレッド誕生" (Arufureddo tanjō; lit: Alfred's birth) Is the first episode of Alfred J. Kwak's first season. The episode first aired in Japan on TV Tokyo on 3 April 1989 in the Monday 17:00 - 17:30 slot.
Story
Summary
The sun rises over Breed Rietland, and bees begin to pollinate the flowers, signaling the arrival of spring. A jet plane passes overhead as Henk de Mol emerges from his molehill. Checking the time, he remarks that Johan Sebastiaan Kwak is late for their meeting again. Meanwhile, Johan rushes to meet Henk, nearly getting run over while crossing the road. He arrives at the wrong tree and calls out for Henk, who redirects him to the willow where they had agreed to meet. Henk scolds Johan for his tardiness, but quickly adds that he is glad Johan kept his promise to meet.
Johan praises the arrival of spring and predicts something extraordinary will happen this year. Henk asks if Johan has any special plans, specifically suggesting marriage. Johan dismisses the idea, saying he is too young. At that moment, he hears the song of Anna van de Polder, who is picking flowers. Henk introduces Johan to Anna, and Johan, overwhelmed with nerves, struggles to speak coherently. Before he embarrasses himself further, he bids a quick farewell and runs off, sitting down in a pasture to dream about Anna. Unbeknownst to him, two heron surveyors, Stip and Stap, begin measuring the pasture around him.
The next morning, Johan wakes up and takes a dip in the river. Hearing 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, another duck engages her in a one-sided conversation about tennis. Soon after, a second duck on a motorcycle arrives and attempts to impress Anna by doing loops around them. The first duck takes the key from the motorcycle 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 jumps around joyfully and kisses both of the other ducks in his excitement.
As it begins to rain, Stip and Stap run for shelter under the willow tree where Johan and Anna are sitting. After the rain stops, Anna and Johan swim and dance under the moonlight. Shortly after, Henk attends Anna and Johan’s wedding.
Henk later comes over with flowers 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 a chic room, Olaf Nijlpaard[note 1], manager of Groot Speelgoedland, shows A. Rokodil, the investor, a miniature model created by Stip and Stap, who are present alongside Bart 'Beton' Bever, the construction supervisor and director of the Beton Maatschappij. Nijlpaard explains plans to build a large theme park called Groot Speelgoedland right on top of the pasture where Johan and Anna live.
Johan paces nervously, waiting for the eggs to hatch, while Henk passes by. Johan tries to appear calm but quickly loses his composure. Anna asks Johan to watch the eggs while she takes a break. Just as Henk leaves, Schor de Kraai and Miriam 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 the tennis-obsessed duck 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. They soon spot a duckling nearby. Henk helps the duckling back home and suggests naming him after his grandfather, Alfred de Mol, who also ran away when he was young. He adds that Jodocus means "Joker" or "Trickster," and Johan and Anna agree to name him Alfred Jodocus Kwak. Just as they make the decision, Alfred’s other brothers and sisters hatch.
As the ducklings are fed, Alfred gets distracted by bugs (among which a duizenpoot) and wanders off. He crosses the same road Johan crossed at the start of spring, unaware of the danger of cars. Rap sets his sights on Alfred and begins stalking him, but Henk 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. Johan keeps his children safe while Anna is asked to leave by Olaf Nijlpaard. The neighborhood is filled with construction machinery tearing up the land. Olaf Nijlpaard, A. Rokodil, and Bart 'Beton' Bever are interrupted by Johan, who asks if they have a permit to build on the land. Nijlpaard assures him they do, and the businessmen drive off in their expensive car.
As night falls, Anna, Johan, their children, and Henk watch the construction progress. Henk shows Johan a photo of his grandfather, Alfred de Mol, posing in front of a mine house in Groot Waterland, a peaceful place. Henk suggests Johan move his family there. Johan decides to think about it.
That night, curiosity gets the better of Alfred, and he sneaks out of the clog to explore. He wanders through the abandoned theme park and stumbles upon a building with a giant animatronic ape. Startled, Alfred screams when he realizes he has a voice. After relaxing upon realizing the ape is fake, he accidentally pulls a lever that activates the animatronic, causing it to move and make noise. Terrified, Alfred runs back to the clog and his family.
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
In the English version, Herman van Veen's voice is retained in the mix as Johan jumps up and down after being kissed by Anna (in the German version, Herman van Veen does not re-record this part). Later, when Johan tries to hold all his children while being lifted by the excavator, the English version also retains van Veen's original voice. Similarly, Alfred's voice remains in the mix when he leaves the clog for the first time. When Alfred later wanders off to the theme park, his Dutch voice, provided by Ryan van de Akker, is mixed with the English voice, performed by Jill Lidstone[1], though a voice filter is applied to raise the pitch.
The English version has Olaf Nijlpaard say that the theme park is "truely a fairy tale land", mentioning the original name of the park "SPROOKJESPARK" from the original script. The Dutch version turns this into Groot Speelgoedland.
In the English version, Alfred's name is changed to Alfred Jonathan Quack. As a result, the script is altered so that, instead of Henk mentioning his grandfather's nickname, he refers to his middle name, Jonathan.
Several characters in this episode can be interpreted as the parents of characters who appear later in the show. For example, the parents of Dolf are explicitly shown, as well as characters who are likely the fathers of K. Rokodil, Hannibal Nijlpaard and Bert 'Beton' Bever. Additionally, the two kemphanen (ruff birds) bear a strong resemblance to the older versions of Hannes and Wannes. However, this interpretation is complicated by the fact that Hannes and Wannes are brothers. One possible explanation is that the character resembling an older Wannes could actually be the father of a character originally named Hans Gans, but later renamed to Wannes in the series, suggesting that what were initially two distinct characters became merged into one.
Any character depicted as a parent of those appearing later in the series must also have emigrated to a similar location in Groot Waterland as the Kwak family would attempt to in the next episode. This migration could also have been a direct reaction to the construction of the theme park or could have occurred for other reasons.
Several parallels can be drawn between Johan Sebastiaan Kwak and his son, Alfred Jodocus Kwak, in how they respond to their respective crushes and later spouses. Both characters exhibit similar behaviors, such as stammering and speaking incoherently when nervous. Additionally, both offer a bouquet of daisies to their partner. In the Dutch version, the voice actors for both characters, Herman van Veen (Johan) and Ryan van den Akker (Alfred), perform the song Nog Nooit as an insert.[2] Both couples are also featured in symbolic dance scenes: Johan and Anna are depicted dancing in the clouds, while Alfred and Winnie are shown dancing among the glass artwork created by the Dodos.[3]
Rap is confronted by Henk on how he should've flown up into the sky if he was in a hurry. Rap is confused himself why he didn't fly up. This highlights the fact that while Alfred and the other ducks should be able to fly, but never do so in the series.
Dolf's parents feature in this episode at Schor de Kraai and Miriam Merel. While Schor is a crow, Miriam is actually a blackbird. This will later result in Dolf being born a crow with a yellow beak.[4]
Johan sleeps and lives in a huge clog. Clogs are a type of footwear that is typically made of wood, traditionally worn in agriculture and in some factories and mines, in large parts of Europe since before the Middle Ages.[6][7] While they were used in many different countries, it is likely clogs are traditionally associated with the Netherlands due to their widespread trading history.[8]
Anna van de Polder is wearing a hul or Dutch cap/bonnet. The hul is part of a traditional Dutch women's costume worn in the nineteenth century, usually worn by fisherwomen on the North Sea Coast of the Netherlands. The one worn by Anna seems to resemble a Volendam hul.[9]
Schor de Kraai and Miriam Merel both wear traditional German clothes. Schor wears lederhosen, which are traditional leather breeches worn by men in South-Germany, Austria, Bavaria, South Tyrol and Slovenia.[10] As their son Dolf will later change into a dictator akin to Adolf Hitler this connection is made stronger by the clothes they are wearing. The clothes could also indicate that Breed Rietland is intended to be a stand-in for Germany. Additionally, Schor speaks with a German accent and occasionally incorporates German words into his dialogue.
Errata
The English DVD release of this episode seems to have a doubling effect in the music and effects track; the track is overlayed and the timing is slightly off, creating an echo.
In the original script by Herman van Veen, a longer period—spanning several weeks—passes between the start of the theme park's construction and the Kwak family's departure. However, in the televised episode, it appears as though the construction team completes a significant portion of the park in just one day. This is evidenced by the presence of a large tent and a robotic gorilla that frightens Alfred, suggesting an accelerated timeline in the adaptation. This error is corrected in the adaption De wonderlijke avonturen van de eend Alfred Jodocus Kwak: Goedemorgen.
Small animation error as the little duck wind-up toy that Olaf Nijlpaard let's walk around on the miniature set. The robot only seems to have feet when his feet touch the ground.
Olaf Nijlpaard explains that they're going to build Groot Sprookjesland as the biggest amusement park in Groot Waterland, however the pastures they are going to build on are in Breed Rietland. Later on in the episode Johan also calls Alfred Jodocus Kwak a healthy Waterlander.
In the Dutch version Johan Sebastiaan Kwak and Henk de Mol discuss the name Alfred and conclude that it means "prankster" or "joker". However Jodocus (or sometimes Jodokus) doesn't actually mean that. It has several different meanings:
A Breton name meaning "experienced in battle".
Derived from the Greek word "iodokus" meaning "containing arrows"[11].
Someone who claims the most ridiculous things [12].
In the English version, Henk mentions his grandfather and explains that Henk's parents named him Alfred, which is uncommon, as parents are typically not named by their children.
Read the original outlines written by Herman van Veen down below.
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Expand original Dutch text and English translation
Original Dutch
English Translation
1-1
Ik vlieg, ik waggel en ik zwem, ik kwek voor jou en ik kwak voor haar ik snater heel wat bij elkaar en als jij een liedje voor me zingt dan plons dan duik ik en dan zwem ik wat voor hem. Spetter, pieter, pater, lekker in het water ga maar vast naar huis, ik kom een druppel later.
1. DE EIEREN
Breed Rietland.
De winter is voorbij,
de eerste knoppen komen uit,
dieren worden wakker uit hun winterslaap,
een stille landweg.
Henk de Mol steekt zijn hoofd verbaasd uit zijn molshoop omhoog,
Een auto raast over hem heen.
Henk kan zich op het nippertje terug trekken.
Vogels beginnen aan het bouwen van nesten,
lammetjes dartelen door de wei.
Twee landmeters, de reigers Stip en Stap,
zijn druk in de weer met het meten van de polder.
Johan Sebastiaan Kwak wordt verliefd op Anna van de Polder,
een dartele eend,
die door twee vechtende woerden in het nauw wordt gedreven.
Johan bevrijdt Anna,
nadat hij de twee kemphanen uit elkaar heeft gedreven
Johan zingt een liefdesliesje.
Ze vrijen,
ze trouwen
ze bouwen in een oude klomp een prachtig nest
en Anna legt,
niet eens zo heel veel later,
zeven perfecte eieren.
Anna kan haar geluk niet op,
Johan is de koning te rijk,
maar gevaar loert aan alle kanten.
Schor de kraai probeert een ei te stelen,
Snel de Snoek kaapt zelf een ei,
maar Johan weet het terug te veroveren.
In het kantoor van bouwonderneming Bart Beton Bever B.V.
bestuderen de heren A. Rokodil en O. Nijlpaard
hun nieuwe bouwproject.
En dan, op een mooie morgen
begint er een ei te bewegen.
Johan en Anna kijken verbaasd toe en zien
hoe het ei er op twee pootjes als een haas vandoor gaat.
Een wilde achtervolging volgt.
Johan verliest het ei uit het oog
en het ei zoekt zijn weg door naar Breed Rietland,
niet onopgemerkt door Rap de Kiekedief,
die nog nooit zo'n vreemd ding heeft gezien.
Is het een ei dat loopt, of een kuiken in een ei ?
De Kiekedief is niet zeker van zijn zaak
en probeert in het ei te prikken en,
inderdaad het is een kuiken in een ei.
1-1
I fly, I waddle and I swim, I quack for you and I quack for her I quack[note 4] quite a bit and if you sing me a song I'll splash, I'll dive, and I'll swim a little for him. Splash, pitter, patter, enjoying the water go on back home, I'll be a drop later.
1. THE EGGS
Breed Rietland.
Winter is over,
the first buds are blooming,
animals awaken from their winter sleep,
a quiet country road.
Henk de Mol pokes his head up in surprise from his molehill,
A car rushes over him.
Henk manages to pull back just in time.
Birds start building nests,
lambs frolic in the meadow.
Two surveyors, the herons Stip and Stap,
are busy measuring the polder.
Johan Sebastiaan Kwak falls in love with Anna van de Polder,
a lively duck,
who is being cornered by two fighting drakes.
Johan rescues Anna,
after driving the two brawlers[note 5] apart.
Johan sings a love song.
They make love,
they marry,
they build a beautiful nest in an old clog
and Anna lays,
not too long after,
seven perfect eggs.
Anna is overjoyed,
Johan is as happy as a king,
but danger lurks everywhere.
Schor de Kraai tries to steal an egg,
Snel de Snoek even snatches one,
but Johan manages to reclaim it.
In the office of construction company Bart Beton Bever Ltd.
Mr. A. Rokodil and O. Nijlpaard are studying
their new construction project.
And then, on a fine morning
an egg starts to move.
Johan and Anna watch in amazement and see
how the egg scurries away on two little legs.
A wild chase ensues.
Johan loses sight of the egg
and the egg finds its way through Breed Rietland,
not unnoticed by Rap de Kiekedief,
who has never seen such a strange thing.
Is it an egg that walks, or a chick inside an egg?
The Kiekedief is unsure
and tries to poke the egg and,
indeed, it is a chick inside an egg.
Original Dutch
English Translation
1-2
De schaal barst uit elkaar.
En daar staat de kleine Alfred J. Kwak,
op trillende pootjes,
met grote ogen de wereld in te kijken.
De Kiekedief die al heel lang niets heeft gegeten
wil toehappen,
maar als Alfred die grote vogel ziet,
moet hij van schrik heel hard kwaken.
Dit wordt natuurlijk door zijn vader gehoord,
die als een raket komt aangevlogen
en korte metten met de Kiekedief maakt.
Als Johan en Alfred thuiskomen
zit moeder Anna boven op zes donsige gele kuikentjes.
Johan kijkt naar Anna,
Anna kijkt naar Johan
en de tranen van geluk lopen over hun wangen.
Dan ineens vliegt het nest
met kuikens en al
zeker een halve meter in de lucht
en nog eens
en nog eens
het houdt maar niet op,
een aardbeving?
Johan vliegt op en ziet tot zijn ontsteltenis
dat midden in Breed Waterland[note 6],
Bouwbedrijf Bart Beton B.V.
is begonnen met de aanleg van een groot pretpark.
"HIER KOMT SPROOKJESWERELD"
leest Johan op een immens reclamebord.
Wijkkranen, tractoren, vrachtauto’s rijden af en aan.
Grote zandhopen worden in allerlei richtingen geschoven,
en een van die zandhopen wordt onherroepelijk in de richting
van het nest van de familie Kwak geschoven.
Johan vliegt naar de chauffeur van de bulldozer,
maar komt niet boven het lawaai uit.
De bever aan het stuur begrijpt niets van wat Johan
allemaal schreeuwt.
Inmiddels is de zandhoop al maar dichterbij gekomen.
Alfred vliegt naar Anna en sleept haar en de kinderen
vlak voor de zandhoop weg.
Dan, ineens klinkt er een sirene
en wordt het land weer stil,
alsof er nooit een bouwonderneming is geweest.
Schafttijd.
We moeten verderop gaan wonen,
hier kunnen we niet blijven.
De familie Kwak verplaatst het nest een paar kilometer verderop,
waar inmiddels ook Henk de Mol opduikt,
die minstens zo verontwaardigd is als de familie Kwak.
Weken gaan voorbij,
het pretpark groeit en groeit
en is zo te zien bijna klaar.
Alfred is ongelooflijk nieuwsgierig
en zou dolgraag eens een kijkje gaan nemen,
maar dat heeft zijn vader hem uitdrukkelijk verboden.
Alfred kan zijn nieuwsgierigheid niet bedwingen
en verlaat op een warme zomeravond het ouderlijk nest
om eindelijk eens in dat pretpark te gaan kijken.
Die avond draait het park proef
voor een laatste controle.
1-2
The shell bursts apart.
And there stands little Alfred J. Kwak,
on trembling legs,
looking at the world with big eyes.
The Kiekedief, who hasn't eaten in a long time,
wants to snatch him up,
but when Alfred sees the big bird,
he quacks very loudly out of fear.
Of course, this is heard by his father,
who comes flying like a rocket
and quickly deals with the Kiekedief.
When Johan and Alfred come home
mother Anna is sitting on six fluffy yellow chicks.
Johan looks at Anna,
Anna looks at Johan
and tears of joy run down their cheeks.
Then suddenly the nest,
with the chicks and all,
jumps half a meter into the air,
and again,
and again.
It just won't stop,
an earthquake?
Johan flies up and sees in shock
that in the middle of Breed Rietland,
construction company Bart Beton ltd.
has started building a large theme park.
"HERE COMES FAIRYTALE WORLD"
Johan reads on an enormous billboard.
Cranes, tractors, trucks come and go.
Huge piles of sand are being pushed in all directions,
and one of these sand piles is inevitably being pushed
towards the Kwak family's nest.
Johan flies to the bulldozer driver,
but can't be heard over the noise.
The beaver behind the wheel doesn't understand a word
of what Johan is shouting.
Meanwhile, the sand pile keeps getting closer.
Alfred flies to Anna and drags her and the children
away just in time before the sand pile.
Then, suddenly, a siren sounds
and the land becomes quiet again,
as if there was never a construction company there.
Break time.
We need to move further away,
we can't stay here.
The Kwak family moves the nest a few kilometers away,
where Henk de Mol also appears,
who is just as outraged as the Kwak family.
Weeks go by,
the theme park grows and grows
and looks almost ready.
Alfred is incredibly curious
and would love to take a look,
but his father has strictly forbidden it.
Alfred can't control his curiosity
and on a warm summer evening, he leaves the family nest
to finally take a look at that theme park.
That evening the park is having a test run
for a final check.
Original Dutch
English Translation
1-3
Alfred bekijkt alle attrakties,
tot en met het spookhuis
en dat had hij beter niet kunnen doen.
Gillend van angst
en trillend als een riet
vlucht hij naar huis
waar hij wordt opgewacht
door een dodelijk ongeruste familie.
De volgende dag wordt het park officieel geopend.
Duizend dieren stromen over de nieuw aangelegde weg toe.
Het is voor altijd gedaan met de rust in Breed Waterland.
De familie Kwak is ontroostbaar.
“Waarom gaat u niet emigreren? Dan emigreer ik mee. De lol
is er hier voor goed af", zegt Henk de Mol.
Ze pakken hun spullen
en vertrekken over de dijk
naar Groot Waterland.
Daar zou het nog rustig zijn.
Henk de Mol is al vooruit gegaan
om een goed plekje uit te zoeken.
De eenden waggelen en waggelen,
dag in, dag uit.
‘s Nachts slapen ze in de berm van de weg
of ergens verstopt op een boerderij.
Na zeven dagen waggelen,
bereiken ze de grens van Groot Waterland.
Die grote autoweg nog over en dan...
Het land ziet er prachtig uit.
Het oversteken valt niet mee,
het is zondag en er is veel dagjes verkeer.
Alfred waggelt achter een vlinder aan
terwijl de familie alvast oversteekt.
Dan piepende remmen,
de heer A. Rokodil rijdt pardoes over de familie heen.
Doodse stilte.
Alfred begrijpt niet wat er gebeurt,
dieren rennen over de weg,
auto's stoppen.
Alfred voelt een hand op zijn schouder,
het is Henk de Mol.
“Alfred, kom, dan gaan we vast naar mijn nieuwe molshoop".
Alfred begrijpt er niets meer van
en waggelt achter de mol aan.
Maar..., maar... Ik vlieg, ik waggel en ik zwem, ik kwek voor jou en ik kwak voor haar ik snater heel wat bij elkaar en als jij een liedje voor me zingt dan plons dan duik ik en dan zwem ik wat voor hem. Spetter, pieter, pater, lekker in het water ga maar vast naar huis, ik kom een druppel later.
1-3
Alfred looks at all the attractions,
up to and including the haunted house
and he really shouldn't have done that.
Screaming in fear
and trembling like a reed
he runs back home
where he is awaited
by a terribly worried family.
The next day, the park is officially opened.
Thousands of animals stream over the newly constructed road.
It's over for good with the peace in Breed Rietland.
The Kwak family is inconsolable.
"Why don't you emigrate? Then I'll emigrate with you. The fun
is over here for good," says Henk de Mol.
They pack their things
and leave over the dike
to Groot Waterland.
It should still be peaceful there.
Henk de Mol has already gone ahead
to find a good spot.
The ducks waddle and waddle,
day in, day out.
At night, they sleep in the ditch by the road
or hidden somewhere on a farm.
After seven days of waddling,
they reach the border of Groot Waterland.
Just one more big highway to cross and then...
The land looks beautiful.
Crossing is not easy,
it's Sunday and there's a lot of day traffic.
Alfred waddles after a butterfly
while the family is already crossing.
Then, screeching brakes,
Mr. A. Rokodil drives right over the family.
Dead silence.
Alfred doesn't understand what happened,
animals run across the road,
cars stop.
Alfred feels a hand on his shoulder,
it's Henk de Mol.
"Alfred, come, let's go to my new molehill."
Alfred doesn't understand anything anymore
and waddles after the mole.
But..., but... I fly, I waddle and I swim, I quack for you and I quack for her I quack quite a bit and if you sing me a song I'll splash, I'll dive, and I'll swim a little for him. Splash, pitter, patter, enjoying the water go on back home, I'll be a drop later.
In the original outline written by Herman van Veen, the episode ends right after Alfred's family was run over by a car.[16] This was later changed to happen in Episode 2. There are many minor changes between the original script and the final episode, but the biggest changes include:
The order of events has been slightly changed. For example, the scene in the office with Alfons Rokodil and Olaf Nijlpaard discussing over a model version of the amusement park is moved to earlier on in the story. The hatching of Alfred's egg also happens earlier, as the egg is seen waggling by Johan, Anna and Rap in the script, but only hatches after Johan has saved Alfred from Rap and Snel in the episode. Finally, Henk offering the idea to emigrate is before Alfred goes to the attractionpark in the episode, but after in the script. This was likely reworked to make Alfred returning to the nest after being scared in the park (plus the lingering question of emigration) the ending to the episode.
The passage of time is also different between each versions. It seems like a few days pass after Alfred and his brothers and sisters hatch in the episode before they are interrupted by construction work, but in the script it's almost simultaneous. Conversely, in the script several weeks go by before Johan, Anna and Henk decide to emigrate, but in the episode they only sleep on that decision for one night. However Episode 2 keeps it ambiguous how much time transpired between episodes.
In the eventual episode Henk is not the one missed by the car, but Johan is.
Johan originally drove the two drakes that are fighting over Anna apart, but in the episode the drakes turn on each other and Johan uses this opportunity to start a conversation with Anna.
Schor de Kraai, who turns out to be Dolf de Kraai's father, visits the clog while Anna goes to the bathroom in the episode, but in the original script Schor actually steals one of the eggs.
Henk plays a much larger role in the episode. In the script he's absent until the Kwak family is thinking of moving, while in the episode he's there when Johan and Anna get married, have eggs, and is involved in Johan's fight to get Alfred's egg back from Rap.
In the original script, when Johan gets Alfred home all Alfred's brothers and sisters have already hatched, making it unclear if Alfred was the eldest, while in the episode this remains unambiguous.
The episode adds an extra storybeat in which Rap tries to eat Alfred as a little duckling. This is completely absent from the script version and was likely added to pad the runtime.
In the Dutch version of the episode the name of the amusement park, "SPROOKJESWERELD" (Fairy Tail World), was changed to "GROOT SPEELGOEDLAND" (Great Toy Land) in the episode.
In the episode version Henk mentions the mine his grandfather owned as a place to move to. This hadn't been added yet in the script stage.
Character Designs
The episode numbers listed in this section are the original production numbers and may not align with the final episode order.
Character line-up for "De Eieren".
For this episode 21 characters (including all Alfred's brothers and sisters were designed by Harald Siepermann and Hans Bacher, based on the script outline by Herman van Veen. Several other characters appear, for example Dolf's mother, but her Character model sheet is labelled as Episode 5 and 6, even though she does not appear in those. Other characters not included in designs specifically linked to this episode are Willem Bij and his family who appear in the second cut of the episode. They were originally designed for Episodes 7 and 22. Another character remains unnamed, but the character design sheet calls this character De Duizendpoot (the centipede) which shows up walking by when Alfred is sitting in the clog with his brothers and sisters.
Also a character design for a young Hannibal Nijlpaard appears in the original line up, who at some stage of the production might've been part of the story. Character model sheets for Big, Hannes and Wannes are also linked to this episode (as they are linked to episodes 1-6), but do not appear in the episode, nor in the line up.
Characters designed for this episode were drawn primarily in March through August of 1988, with Alfred's design as a small child designed last.[17]
Storyboarding
After Herman van Veen had written the outlines for all 52 episodes and Harald Siepermann and Hans Bacher had finished the Character- and Color-Designs for Alfred J. Kwak book, the Japanese animation team, lead by Hiroshi Saitō, created the first storyboard drafts. It quickly 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 member of the creative team present in Japan. Due to the hierarchical nature of Japanese culture, he was unable to directly instruct Saitō to implement changes. Instead, they met discreetly, with an interpreter as the only witness, to discuss revisions to the episodes and storyboards. Siepermann created corrected storyboards in a hotel at night, which Saitō then redrew, reversing the orientation from left to right, and presented as his own to his team. Although the staff was aware of this arrangement, it allowed Saitō to maintain face in front of his colleagues. Additionally, Saitō needed convincing about the storyline involving Alfred's parents fleeing their homeland, as such actions were considered treasonous in Japanese culture[18][19].
Below are the storyboards for episode 1 as drawn by Harald Siepermann.
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Sound
Music
The following table is a list of the musical cues used in this episode, accompanied by our in-house music ids.
↑Miscredited on [[wikipedia:IMDb|]] and several other pages as Paul van Vliet
↑In the Dutch version credited as Tuneomi Nakamura
↑In Dutch, "Snateren" means to talk a lot or to quack.
↑In Dutch, a "Kemphaan" is someone who likes to enter into discussion, but literally it's also a bird, belonging to the order of waders, and the size of an ordinary turtledove.
↑Herman van Veen erroneously calls Breed Rietland 'Breed Waterland', making it an amalgamation of Breed Rietland and Groot Waterland.
↑It is currently unknown if the Japanese version included the episode previews, however the Mandarin version used Untitled Cue (UC-2) as the music for it.
