Colargol ~ Barnaby ~ Jeremy

Where to Find the Videos...

By now, you are wondering where you can get hold of some of those Colargol, Barnaby, or Jeremy videos or DVDs. The fact is, it has never been easy. One exception to this rule is the Polish language releases, which have been commercially available for many years. This is because the legal dispute between the French voice actors and Procidis does not apply to the Polish language version of Colargol.

With the aide of some online English-Polish translators, you can fairly easily order a Polish DVD, VCD, or VHS from any number of online vendors. Often these vendors will also speak English, so sending an email is always worth a try. I highly recommend you consider purchasing a Polish language DVD. That way, the original creators will at least see some royalties from the purchase, and you'll get the best possible video quality available.

Take note that these Polish videos will be PAL releases. Normally, PAL videotapes will not play in North American / NTSC equipment. A PAL DVD will typically play in a DVD equipped computer, though official releases will usually be region coded. Fortunately, a PAL VCD is practically the most compatible format of all and will almost always play in any DVD player, though the quality is lower than DVD and fewer episodes are available on VCD at the moment.

For those in the UK, it is easy to find one English episode of Barnaby on PAL VHS, as this BBC release was sold in large numbers.

French viewers will have greater difficulty, as the three French video releases were are all on VHS (most likely SECAM) and are quickly becoming antiques. What's worse, the quality was poor to downright horrible. I used to recommend looking online on ebay and Priceminister, but it seems that dupes and reproductions are continually being offered for sale by the same folks. Ebay does not allow reproduction videos to be sold, so if it is determined that the item is a copy, the item will be removed. Sellers elsewhere continue to sell reproductions, however. This is not cool, and I do not recommend paying 50 Euros or more for a reproduction video or DVD, no matter how hard it is to find. What we'd really like to see is a completely re-mastered 4 volume French DVD...contact us if you'd like notification when one becomes available.

For all the English speaking fans of Jeremy, if you get hold of one of the original 4 North American Sony VHS releases, you should have a great specimen, provided the tape isn't eaten or worn with age. But alas, these 4 tapes are hard to come by. Try keeping a saved search on ebay or half.com, but steer clear of the dupes and transfers; the quality is typically terribly mediocre.

To get an immediate fix, I've added some short Colargol clips currently found on YouTube in various languages. Some longer clips also exist on Daily Motion.

Below you will find a handy chart to map which episodes came out in which languages, along with a fairly comprehensive listing of all known releases.

Polish Title (and Director)	French Title (or translation)	English Title (or translation)	BBC Title**	VHS	VCD	DVD
1. PORANEK MISIA (Tadeusz Wilkosz)	Un Matin a Bois-Joli	A Morning in Pretty Wood	In the Forest
2. FRUWAJACY MIS (Jadwiga Kudrzycka)	Un ours qui vole	Flying teddy-bear	(Combined with episode 3 below?)
3. MIS U KRÓLA PTAKÓW (Krystyna Dobrowolska)	Chez le roi des oiseaux	At the King of Birds	The Bear Visits The King of the Birds and Learns to Sing
4. KONCERT MISIA (Janina Hartwig)	Au concert	The Concert	The Concert
5. CYRK PIMOULU (Lucjan Dembinski)	Au cirque	The Pimoulu Circus	The Circus
6. CYRKOWA SLAWA MISIA (Lucjan Dembinski)	Chanteur de cirque	Circus Singer	(Combined with episode 5 above?)
7. OSWOBODZENIE MISIA (Teresa Badzian)	La délivrance	Deliverance	The Rescue	*
8. OSTATNIA LEKCJA (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	Qu'on est bien dans l'eau	Jeremy at Sea	Barnaby Learns to Swim	*
9. MIS NA MORZU (Anna Harda)	Aventures en Mer	Sailor Jeremy	Ship's Boy
10. COLARGOL MARYNARZEM (Janina Hartwig)	Colargol Moussaillon	The Return of the Bear	(Combined with episode 9 above?)
11. UCIECZKA MISIA (Jadwiga Kudrzycka)	La révolte	The Last Lesson	(Combined with episode 9 above or 12 below?)
12. COLARGOL NA BIEGUNIE PÓLNOCNYM (Anna Harda)	Au pole nord	Jeremy on the North Pole	Escape To Nordine
13. POWRÓT MISIA (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	En route pour Bois-Joli	On the way to Pretty Wood	Return To The Forest
14. MIS W PRZESTWORZACH (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	Colargol et l'espace	Outer Space
15. COLARGOL KOSMONAUTA (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	En route pour le cosmos	On the way to the Moon
16. MIS W KOSMOSIE (Dariusz Zawilski)	Dans le cosmos	In Space
17. COLARGOL NA KSIEZYCU (Jadwiga Kudrzycka)	Sur la lune	On the moon
18. COLARGOL NA FANTASMAGORII (Krystyna Dobrowolska)	Dans la fantasmagorie	In Imaginary Land
19. COLARGOL NA METEOROLOGII (Marian Kielbaszczak)	Vers la métérologie	Towards Good Weather Land
20. MIS U WRÓZKI CARABOSSE (Janina Hartwig)	Chez la fée carabosse	The Wicked Fairy
21. POWRÓT NA ZIEMIE (Jadwiga Kudrzycka)	Le retour	Return to Earth
22. WAKACJE COLARGOLA (Lucjan Dembinski)	Les vacances	Jeremy's Vacation	The Holiday
23. W OCZEKIWANIU PRZYJACIÓL (Lucjan Dembinski)	D'avance	In Anticipation
24. WITAJ NORDYNKO (Janina Hartwig)	Nordine arrive	Nordine Arrives	Welcome to Nordine
25. COLARGOL DRUZBA (Jadwiga Kudrzycka)	Le mariage de Raven	The Wedding of Raven	Crow's Wedding
26. WESELE KRUKA (Marian Kielbaszczak)	Réception de mariage	Wedding Reception	(Combined with episode 25 above?)
27. POZEGNANIE Z NORDYNKA (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	Nordine est capturé	Nordine is Captured	Farewell Nordine
28. ZIMOWE KLOPOTY (Lucjan Dembinski)	Se renseigner sur la température	Learning about Temperature
29. ZGUBIONY FLECIK (Jadwiga Kudrzycka)	Les perdus sifflent	The Lost Whistle
30. MIS POD WODA (Dariusz Zawilski)	Colargol sous-marin	Jeremy Underwater
31. WITAJ WIOSNO (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	Colargol à la télévision	Jeremy on Television
32. WEDRUJACY MIS (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	Colargol va à Jollywood	Jeremy Goes to Jollywood
33. COLARGOL NA FESTIWALU (Marian Kielbaszczak)	Colargol au festival	Jeremy at the Festival
34. COLARGOL KOWBOJEM (Dariusz Zawilski)	Cowboy Colargol	Cowboy Jeremy
35. MIS NA DZIKIM ZACHODZIE (Janina Hartwig)	Dans l'ouest sauvage	In the Wild West
36. COLARGOL I DYLIZANS (Jadwiga Kudrzycka)	Colargol et la fille des ours gris	Jeremy and Grizzly's Daughter
37. MIS I BANDA ZLEGO KIDA (Marian Kielbaszczak)	Colargol et les bandits	Jeremy and the Bandits
38. COLARGOL I EKSPRESS (Edward Sturlis)	sur le train exprès	Jeremy on the Express Train
39. COLARGOL SZERYFEM (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	Shérif Colargol	Sheriff Jeremy
40. MIS W GOLDEN CITY (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	Colargol dans la ville d'or	Jeremy in Golden City
41. COLARGOL W HOLANDII (Jadwiga Kudrzycka)	en Hollande	Jeremy in Holland		***
42. COLARGOL W ANGLII (Dariusz Zawilski)	en Angleterre	Jeremy in England		***
43. COLARGOL W AMERYCE (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	en Amérique	Jeremy in America		***
44. COLARGOL W MEKSYKU (Marian Kielbaszczak)	au Mexique	Jeremy in Mexico		***
45. COLARGOL W AUSTRALII (Jadwiga Kudrzycka)	en Australie	Jeremy in Australia		***
46. COLARGOL NA SYBERII (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	en Sibérie	Jeremy in Siberia		***
47. COLARGOL W INDIACH (Janina Hartwig)	en Inde	Jeremy in India		***		2007?
48. COLARGOL W EGIPCIE (Marian Kielbaszczak)	en Egypte	Jeremy in Egypt		***		2007?
49. COLARGOL W AFRYCE (Dariusz Zawilski)	en Afrique	Jeremy in Africa		***		2007?
50. COLARGOL NA SAHARZE (Janina Hartwig)	au Sahara	Jeremy in the Sahara		***		2007?
51. WIELKI POWRÓT COLARGOLA (Eugeniusz Ignaciuk)	Le Grand Retour	The Great Return		***		2007?
52. NASZA CHOINKA (Jadwiga Kudrzycka)	Notre arbre de Noël	Our Christmas Tree
53. SWIATECZNY WIECZÓR (Tadeusz Wilkosz)	La veille de Noël	Christmas Eve
* From TVO tape at Cedarbrae Library, Scarborough (officially unreleased) BBC Aired only 13 episodes of Colargol, translated to Barnaby. Based on the titles listed by the BBC, it's not certain if they hypothetically combined any two episodes into a single episode; if the BBC destroyed their masters, perhaps we will never know! * French and English releases are edited to 90 minutes (approx. 30 minutes omitted & without redundant opening and closing credits, from the 1979 Polish feature film version).

Polish Video, VCD, and DVD Releases

Colargol has been readily available in Poland for some time now. In Polish, it is spelled either Colargol or Colargola, depending on the grammatical context, as Frederic from France notes: "Polish language has declensions, just like in Russian, Latin, German & many Germanic languages, the ending of the word changes according to its function in the sentence." The Polish Colargol releases are the only authorized copies being produced and sold commercially today. Videos or DVDs in other languages are either vintage antiques or unauthorized copies. Shown below are some of the past and present VHS, VCD, and DVD releases.

MIS COLARGOL VHS (the Christmas Episodes)
Nasza choinka & Swiateczny wieczór
An earlier Christmas video release of the final 2 episodes 52 & 53
Released by SDT Film, www.sdtfilm.pl on PAL VHS in Poland
Distributed by Twoje Media, www.twojemedia.pl
[found at online auction, for approx $10]

Ulubione wieczorynki - Kot Filemon, Miś Colargola on Region 2 PAL DVD
Released: 2004 in Poland
Released by SDT Film, www.sdtfilm.pl
Distributed by JAWI in Poland

Przygody Misia Colargola on PAL VHS, DVD and VCD
Released: 2003 on VHS and since 2004 on DVD and VCD in Poland
Released by SDT Film, www.sdtfilm.pl
Distributed first by EFV Welpol www.welpol.com.pl and then JAWI in Poland

In North America, these 4 tapes (VCDs and DVDs not available in NTSC) can be ordered in NTSC format from The Polish Bookstore in Ottawa, 7986 Parkway Road, Metcalfe, Ontario K0A 2P0 Canada, Phone & Fax: 613-821-1008

[VHS releases]

In 2005, JAWI also released a 2 Disc PAL DVD set of 14 episodes with Przygody Misia Colargola: śpiewający Miś (The Singing Bear) AND Przygody Misia Colargola: Colargol na Dzikim Zachodzie (Colargol in the Wild West) in a single slipcase, shown below.

Przygody Misia Colargola (Colargol Christmas DVD)
PAL DVD - 68 minutes; episodes 11, 52, 53, 46, and 28 (in that order) released in 2006 by JAWI

NOTE! Pik Pok Pingwin - follow-up animated series made by Tadeusz Wilkosz from 1989-1992 is now available on a 3 disc PAL DVD set (Polish language only, no subtitles).

Pik Pok Pingwin episode 14 of 26, directed by Tadeusz Wilkosz.
The penguin with the heart of a bear! Joanna Stasiewicz narrating.

UK Video Release

A 15 minute episode of Barnaby singing at the circus (episode 5) is the easiest tape to find on eBay, but only in PAL format. The BBC's online catalog indicates that only 13 episodes of Barnaby were ever aired by the BBC [although strangely enough, I did spot a "Barnaby in Space" Viewmaster disc.] Rumour has it that the BBC destroyed their copies of Barnaby, as they did to many shows in the 60s and 70s "for a variety of economic and space-saving reasons." In fact, "thousands of hours of programming from across all genres were destroyed up until 1978, when the BBC's archiving policies were changed." If by chance these episodes are not lost, perhaps we can look forward to seeing them on the iPlayer one day soon!

Barnaby was seen on a daytime children's broadcast on BBC-1 called Watch With Mother. Watch With Mother aired from 1953 to 1988, and Barnaby was first seen on Watch With Mother in April of 1973. According to the BBC catalogue, the series was rebroadcast once in 1976, twice in 1977, once in 1978, and twice more in 1979. The British Barnaby featured the voices of Colin Jeavons, Charles Collingwood, Gwenllian Owen, and Percy Edwards. [more]

Look for the PAL VHS video "Watch with Mother, The Next Generation" on ebay.co.uk; there is generally one available at any given time.

[This Barnaby video sells on eBay for a few £ daily]

German Film Release

A very rare 35mm print of "Teddybär und der Wunderkoffer" ("Colargol and the Magic Suitcase", or "Jeremy Around the World") appeared on ebay.de recently, and apparently is complete in 4 acts. I assume it is 90 minutes, the same footage that appears in the English, Polish, and French versions. As described: "...the first 5 minutes of the first act cracks and flashes 3 times, otherwise the film is in a good condition, the colors are wonderful, no snow..."

[on eBay for €50-80]

French Video Releases

The first series seen below was released by Proserpine in 1989. The episodes found on each VHS are now confirmed, and this 3 volume release features the first 12 episodes. The quality of the Prosperpine video transfers are sadly mediocre, with high contrast and high colour saturation.

L'Ours Colargol Volumes 1-3 (1989) on SECAM VHS
Released by: Proserpine

The next release of Colargol was by SF2 Video. This 4 volume series was released in 1991 but apparently only for a very short period of time, perhaps because of the French lawsuit, or perhaps because these video releases themselves were unauthorized.

A TF1 logo also appears on the cover artwork, but I wonder if these video releases had anything to do with the French broadcaster TF1. While these videos contain more episodes than the Proserpine volumes, they are worse than mediocre. The first three volumes feature a very muddy, very low contrast, off-colour image. In my opinion, these 3 volumes are borderline unwatchable.

The French Colargol theme song; this clip also illustrates the
dismally muddy picture quality of an SF2 Video release.

Thankfully, the space episodes are better quality than the previous 3 volumes. It features a soft image with low contrast, but with generally nice clean colours and normal saturation.

A Volume 5 was planned, but never released. The episode titles were printed on the back of Volume 4, but the video evidently never made it to the shelves. It would have contained the remaining space episodes 18-21 (Dans la fantasmagorie, Vers la métérologie, Chez la fée carabosse, and Le retour).

[Original French videos sell for approx €20-100; dupes sell for less; there is stiff competition in France for these tapes! I found vol 4 through an ORTF collector in Paris]

L'Ours Colargol Volumes 1-4 (1991) on SECAM VHS
Released by: SF2 Video

The third French video release of Colargol contains 90 minutes from the final series, Colargol autour du monde. Released by MPA Video Productions Inc, could this be a French Canadian release? Rather than show individual episodes, it is the 90 minute 1979 film version shown in a continuous narrative. All but one intro and exit theme are cut, and 30 minutes of various scenes such as the return to Paris on the way back home to Bois-Joli have been omitted. Quality is acceptable, though the soft picture quality does not match the English or Polish releases.

Colargol autour du monde (Date unknown)
Released by: MPA Video Productions Inc.

90 minutes, containing scenes from episodes 41-51, following Colargol and Raven 12 around the world as they pursue Kid Blacky and finally demand the release of Hector.

[DVD-R originally found online, but no longer accessible; received in a trade from a librarian at La Sorbonne]