Soupe Opéra
Title card
Created byChristophe Barrier
Frédéric Clémençon
Music byGarlo
Country of originFrance
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26
Production
Running time2 mins
Production companyMarlou Films
Original release
NetworkFrance 3
Release1991 (1991) –
2000 (2000)

Soupe Opéra (often referred to in English as Soup Opera) is a French children's television programme. Animated using stop motion by French animation studio, Marlou Films,[1] the show features fruits and vegetables turning themselves into different creatures and objects.[2] The name of the series is a pun on the term "Soap Opera." A total of 26 two-minute episodes were made. In France, the series aired on the France 3 channel.

Visuals

The title sequence of each episode shows a fruits and vegetables slot machine, with accompanying sound effects. Two variations of this title sequence exist, with a slight variation to the visual design of the slot machine and the jackpot either being three star fruits in season 2 or a globe artichoke, an endive and a peach in season 1.

During the episode, various food objects (typically fruit and vegetables) spontaneously exit a basket, moving by themselves, and cut themselves up to form animals and objects. The animals formed then perform actions, such as eating the leftover food. In some episodes, the food that comes out is not fruit or vegetables, such as an egg that is hard boiled, a packet of chips or a bag of baking soda. Non-food items can also come out of the basket too, such as a pot and portable gas stove. Many of the animals that are made became recurring characters on another show created by Marlou Films, Les animaux des quatre saisons (The Four Seasons Animals) in 1998, which follows the lives of various animals who are all made out of fruits and vegetables themselves.

The show is also very similar in style to Poubelles (Dustbins), another Marlou Films production, which came out two years later in 1993. Instead of fruit and vegetables coming out of a basket, the show features rubbish coming out of a bin to create an animal. And the animals made out of rubbish would spend their daily lives in another Marlou Films production Zanimodingos in 2002.

A similar concept of food being turned into animals was also found in the 2007 Marlou Films TV series Miam Miam! (Yum Yum!).

Soundtrack

Soupe Opera features a distinctive soundtrack by French artists C.I.P/Garlo. The score consists of three pieces of music, re-used every episode in the same order. The first track is played during the intro, which is a simple synth melody intended to sound like the jackpot of a slot machine, and is accompanied by various slot machine sound effects. The next track plays over the main stop motion scenes, and features four voices singing in an a cappella fashion. Each segment starts off with a distinct female soprano opera voice singing (and sometimes belting) the words 'Soupe Opéra,' and features a variety of male vocals that include live performed singing, beatboxing, and sampled vocal sounds played back on a synthesiser. The voices features a variety of ranges, such as a higher male voice to accompany the opera singer, and a low groan vocal which accompanies the percussive vocal samples. The last track is an instrumental synth funk arrangement of the same tune played over the credits.[3]

All the sound effects for the series only come from Sound Ideas.

Playlunch song

Australian indie pop band "Playlunch" did their own song dedicated to Soupe Opéra with a music video produced by Checklist Productions, and directed by Zoe Robinson.[4]

International broadcast

Internationally, Soupe Opéra aired in Australia on ABC1 and its sister channel, ABC2, during the ABC 4 Kids line-up.[5] In the UK, it aired on ITV during its CITV children's block and later on the CITV channel. In the United States and Latin America, the series aired on Cartoon Network as part of its Small World anthology series, which featured foreign-made shorts. The show had also been broadcast in other countries, such as CBC Television in Canada, as well as Canal Once in Mexico.

Following

The show developed somewhat of a cult following, particularly in France and Australia, where it was regularly played on ABC[6] in the 2000s,[7] as well as United States and Latin America, where it was regularly played on Cartoon Network during Small World. The whole series of 26 episodes have been posted on YouTube by Marlou Films.

References

  1. ↑ "Marlou Films- Soupe Opéra". Marloufilms.com. 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  2. ↑ "Dalla Francia l'ultima frontiera, i cartoon di verdura - Galleria". Repubblica.it. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "CIPAUDIO". Cipaudio.com. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "PLAYLUNCH - Soupe Opera (Official Music Video) - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Soupe Opera - ABC for Kids". Abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  6. ↑ "For Everyone Who Remembers That Cooked Fruit And Veg Kids' Show Called "Soupe Opéra"". BuzzFeed.com. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "A Fond Look Back At 'Soupe Opéra', The Nightmarish Kid's Show That Turned Fruit Into Animals". Junkee.com. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
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