Parauszek i przyjaciele

Parauszek and Friends / Parauszek i przyjaciele

Published: February 11, 2017

Parauszek and Friends (Parauszek i przyjaciele—though “Parauzek” is translated as “Flapper” in the show’s English-language teaser) is a Polish children’s puppet show that aired in 2013 and 2014. There are two seasons and 26 episodes, each about 10 minutes. The show is produced by Se-Ma-For, the seminal Polish animation studio that has been around since 1947 and produced such favorites as Floppy Bear (Miś Uszatek), which aired in the 1970s and ’80s (reruns still air).

The show is based on a story by Polish children’s writer Wojciech Próchniewicz, who was highly prolific starting in the 1980s and ending with his death in 2011. Parauszek the TV series tells the story of a bunny and his eight friends, all various types of animals, who all live together in a forest. An owl named Uhu is the narrator. The episodes mostly feature the animals going about their lives together, enjoying one another’s company and the forest.

Like many children’s shows from the region, this one is meant to be educational and impart life lessons to children; a child psychologist even consulted in the making of the show. The first episode, for example, shows Parauszek trying to have a party at his renovated home in the forest, but the key to his pantry is stolen. In the end, the characters learn not to steal. Later episodes are a bit more creative—viewers learn about cooperation in an episode about music, and friendship and sharing in an episode about cool new toys.

 

Creator: Zbigniew Żmudzki
Voice actors: Joanna Stasiewicz, Jacek Łuczak, Michał Staszczak, Ewa Gałat, Jolanta Jackowska
Production studio: Se-Ma-For
TV channel: MiniMini+

 

The first episode of Parauszek and Friends, 2013:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeUKstPzL-c

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About the author

Julie Hersh

Julie studied Russian as a Second Language in Irkutsk and before that, Bishkek, with SRAS's Home and Abroad Scholarship program, with the goal of someday having some sort of Russia/Eurasia-related career. She recently got her master’s degree from the University of Glasgow and the University of Tartu, where she studied women’s dissent in Soviet Russia. She also has a bachelor’s degree in literature from Yale. Some of her favorite Russian authors are Sorokin, Shishkin, Il’f and Petrov, and Akhmatova. In her spare time Julie cautiously practices martial arts, reads feminist websites, and taste-tests instant coffee for her blog.

Program attended: Home and Abroad Scholar

View all posts by: Julie Hersh