The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon is a Canadian children's television series which aired on YTV in Canada and on public television stations (through Tampa, Florida PBS member station WEDU) in the United States. It aired from 1993 to 1997 and later reran until 1999. Made in live-action, it incorporated actors, full body costume characters (notably the titular dragon) and puppets. Graham Greene won a Gemini Award in 1994 for his role. He was nominated in 1998 for the episode The Tiny Little Raincloud. Jackie Burroughs was also nominated in 1994 for the same award, this time for performing in the episode High Flying Dragon.

Premise

The series follows Dudley, a dragon who recently woke up from centuries of hibernation and his new 10-year-old friends Matt and Sally, both of whom guide Dudley around the modern world and the trio would learn about environmentalism, friendship and pro-social values. Besides Matt and Sally, Dudley was later joined by other kids, Terry, Julia, Mickey and Laura. Other recurring characters included a laid back frog named Sammy, the Robins, a grouchy apple tree named Mr. Crabby Tree and a lovable caveman.

Cast

Puppets

The remaining puppets were all hand puppets, performed by James Rankin, Sue Morrison, and (in early episodes) Wende Welch.

The kids

Recurring characters

These characters, while mostly portrayed by well-known performers, made several appearances throughout the series.

Guest stars

Episodes

Season 1 (1993)

Season 2 (1994)

Season 3 (1995)

Season 4 (1996)

Season 5 (1997)

Production

Dudley first appeared in The Conserving Kingdom, a 1982 play made by the Ontario Ministry of Energy, and the rights to the character were bought by Ira Levy and Peter Williamson, partners in Toronto's Breakthrough Films and Television Inc, who produced the show with provincial educational broadcaster TVO. Dudley appeared as a six-story tall float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The creators have explained that the show does not directly compete with Barney, to which it has been compared and seen as more entertaining for adults, as Dudley was intended for what they claim is a slightly older age group of 3 to 7 years old. Jean Morphee-Barnard, an educational consultant on the show, said that, "We don't want to use violence or insults. We want to avoid stereotyping; girls have to be just as involved as the boys are. And usually our villains are misguided rather than evil." The creators of the show have stipulated that merchandising, such as toys and clothing or food products, should be made from natural fibres or should not include any sugar or preservatives. Series writer and co-creator Alex Galatis was inside the costume for the first two seasons, but later only did the voice.

Broadcast and home media

In 2008, Breakthrough closed a deal with APTN to rebroadcast the show. APTN also broadcast the series in French as Les Aventures d’Arthur le Dragon. In the U.S. it currently airing on Heartland and Retro TV as of 2023.

VHS releases

VHS Tapes released from GoodTimes Entertainment and Malofilm Video.

Les Aventures d'Arthur le Dragon

During the production of the first two seasons of "Dudley", a French version was also produced and aired on TFO (from September 26, 1993 to March 11, 1994) and Canal Famille (from March 11, 1994 to 1995) in Canada and on TF1 and France 3 in France. For the French version, puppeteers Alex Galatis, James Rankin, and Sue Morrison (as well as Patrick McKenna, who played the Troll) continued to portray their characters, with their voices dubbed by French-speaking actors. These actors included Olivier L'Ècuyer, Christian Laurin, and Mireille Dumont. Asia Vieira, Daniel DeSanto, and Robin Weekes were replaced by French actors. The young actors portraying the kids would watch Vieira, DeSanto, and Weekes perform a scene, and then would do their version of the same scene. In addition, most of the Canadian guest stars on the show were replaced by French celebrities, with the exception of Graham Greene, who continued to portray "Mr. Crabby Tree" (with his voiced dubbed by a French actor). As a result of its cancellation, the version was not distributed to other French-speaking nations. French Cast