«Once upon a time was the man» was the title of the cartoon series released in the ’70s.
Its creator was the Albert Barillais, a French cartoonist and founder of the production company Procidis, which in the past decades has produced successful animated series in the France. Barillais loved children very much and was engaged in writing books and scripts.
In the 1960s he decided to set up his own company to produce series. As he had said: ’I was scandalised by the series that offered children, as they distracted them« and decided to create cartoons that would wisely occupy the time of young viewers and provide them with useful knowledge.
That's when he was inspired by the series: «Once upon a time... a man» with the wise conductor with the long white beard, young Peter and Jumbo. The series had an educational character and is considered one of the best that was broadcast on state television in Greece.
The first episode began with the creation of the Earth and the other episodes recorded the course of humanity and the difficulties that people faced from time to time. The children had the opportunity to learn how primitive people, Romans, Vikings lived and gain a better understanding of the world. Barillais had hired historians, anthropologists and pedagogical experts to edit the texts and images.
The series was the second created by Barillais and consisted of 26 episodes of 25 minutes. The first episode aired in March 1979 and, as it later turned out, contained some inaccuracies, because historians had relied on theories that were valid at the beginning of the 20th century, but today most of them have been disproved. In 1981 the last episode was broadcast in France.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the production company released series of the same name with the same characters but different themes. They were about space, life, explorers and earth and were similarly successful to the first series. Barillet's series were sold in more than 100 countries around the world and captivated young viewers. In Greece it was broadcast in the 80’s by ERT and was much loved by the audience.
Now, the legendary series that brought up generations of children and adults returns to our screens, through ERT2's frequencies, daily from Monday to Friday, at 12:00.
The series is broadcast in new, digitally enhanced copies, but in the same unrivalled recording with the unforgettable voices of Minas Hadjisavvas, Sophocles Pepas, Vassilis Kailas, Annetta Papathanasiou and other great actors.
The series will also be available on the digital platform ERTFLIX.
