Anatole (1998)

Oct 3, 1998

When Anatole's children yearn to taste the unique cheeses of France, Anatole and Gaston attend the human International Cheese Festival in Paris. There they learn that the famous Duval Cheese factory is about to close because of producing inferior cheeses. Anatole and Gaston visit the factory and, while fighting off the factory cat Charlemagne, discover that Duval's cheese recipes are not accurate and that the milk supplier has been selling Duval old, nearly sour milk. By leaving notes about this to Duval, Anatole anonymously corrects the Duval factory cheese problems and is offered a job as Duval's Vice President of Cheese Tasting.

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After a particularly nasty Paris thunderstorm, Paul, Paulette and Claude build a mouse raft and are accidentally carried off by the swirling waters of a gutter into the sewers of Paris. Claude uses his book knowledge to fashion several close escapes from three rats who are trying to harm them. Anatole, Gaston and Doucette work on a plan to stop the raft from winding up in the Seine and they are helped by another sewer rat named Elmore, who has been trying to save the kids himself. In a cooperative effort all around, the kids are snared into safety in the nick of time.

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At a picnic, Claude's impish tricks and pranks fool everyone so much that when he sees a man inadvertently scoop Doucette, George and Georgette up in a shopping bag he can't get the others to believe it really happened. When Doucette and the others do not return, Anatole takes Claude seriously. Luckily, Claude remembered enough about the man to trace his location - a local toy store. Anatole mounts a rescue operation while Doucette independently does the same from the store by posing as toys in the store window. Meanwhile, at the picnic area a dropped wallet is returned to its human owner through one of Claude's clever ruses, this time a trick that is helpful instead of a prank. Doucette is saved and Claude has learned his lesson.

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Late one night, Anatole sees bakers in a bakery truck leaving the famous Louvre carrying baguettes of bread, which contain famous painting they have just stolen. The next day, Claudette is about to enter her painting in the Children's Art Show at the village museum. Children laugh at her colourful abstract painting and she steals her own painting to prevent others from mocking it. Anatole gathers the village mice and they eat their way across the bakeries of Paris to find the baguettes with the paintings. When Anatole find it, he asks Claudette to paint a Mona Lisa copy that he wants to use to draw the police's attention to the bakery. Her successful copy restores her confidence in herself and helps capture the thieves. She returns her ""stolen"" painting to the Children's museum and while she does not win first prize, receives a commendation for originality.

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The mysterious Shadow Thief has been stealing from mice and shops in the mouse village and Gaston and Anatole are on the case. Little do they know that Paulette is his unwitting assistant. The poor girl was conned by him into thinking that he was a spy and she accepts his job offer as his special spy assistant (a lookout) in order to make money to buy Doucette a very special birthday present. Complications occur when circumstances convince Pamplemousse that Anatole is the thief and is hunted by the authorities. Paulette redeems herself when she helps to ensnare the Shadow Thief at the cheese factory so that Anatole can bring him to justice and clears his own name.

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Human bulldozers are digging up large sections of Parc Montsouris and are getting closer to the mouse village. Pamplemousse encourages the villagers to move, but Anatole thinks they should first find out why the bulldozers are digging so much. The sight of the bulldozers and the destruction they cause, bothers Claude so much that he begins to have fears and nightmares about a dragon (that looks suspiciously like a bulldozer). As half the town pack to leave, Anatole learns that the humans are digging randomly in search of a major underground pipe leak. With the help of his friend Moliere and Mole, he discovers the leak's location and conveys the information to the humans. Saving the village, as Doucette helps Claude realizes that his irrational fear of a dragon is based upon something real, and once you know what you are afraid of, you can overcome it.

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When two treasure hunting crows attack a ""flying menace"" and send it crashing to the ground, Anatole and Gaston are provided with a wonderful surprise to bring home - a kite! With the kite requiring some repairs, George and Georgette forego a field trip to the Eiffel Tower. Doucette and the other children can help Anatole and Gaston get the new treasure into airworthy condition. Paul and Paulette encourage Claude and Claudette to stay behind as well; they are tired of their younger siblings slowing them down as they stop to pick up trinkets and trash for their ""junk collection."" Claude and Claudette, unable to resist all of the ""treasures"" that they might find along the way, elect to go on the outing. Anatole, Gaston, George and Georgette begin their repairs on the kite, but soon find themselves flying high when a gust of wind takes the foursome for an unexpected and thrilling ride above the city! Down below, Paul and Paulette start to lose patience with their brother and sister, who w

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A factory worker, Marcel, tells Duval that he is the mysterious cheese taster Anatole, and Duval allows him to invent a brand new cheese. Anatole and Gaston are outraged. How can they unmask this impostor and save Anatole's reputation? Anatole writes Marcel a note, asking him to tell Duval the truth. Gaston, on the other hand, sneaks off to sabotage Marcel's cheese recipe. Meanwhile, to raise money for their school, Paul and Paulette have been sneaking to the cheese factory and lying to their parents about it. The next day Duval tastes the ruined cheese, and Marcel is disgraced. Marcel admits to Duval that he is not really Anatole. Only then does Anatole find out that Marcel only lied in order to pay his wife's medical bills, but now he has lost his job as well! In a single evening, Anatole must concoct a batch of Marcel's new cheese, as well as rescue Paul and Paulette from Charlemagne's clutches. The inimitable Anatole accomplishes both tasks, and Marcel gets his job back, as well as

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At Mr. Duval's request, Anatole must deliver a gift of cheese to the celebrated opera singer, Madame Leblanc. Gaston must overcome his terrible fear of the Phantom of the Opera to help Anatole deliver the cheese. When they reach the Opera House, Gaston's worst fears are realized! Someone has stolen their cheese and all fingers point to a mysterious Phantom figure. . .Anatole and Gaston give chase, only to find out that the mouse sized Phantom is really a young singer named Rene! Rene turns out to have the same problem as Anatole's daughter, Paulette. They are both afraid to sing in public. Rene is put to the test when she must sing in front of human security guard, giving Anatole and Gaston a chance to rescue the cheese! In this action packed episode, both Rene and Paulette learn to accept intermittent failures on the road to success.

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It is New Year's Eve and the village mice are busily carving wood toys to exchange at the much-anticipated Gift Giving Ceremony. When strangers from out of town (Otto, Gretchen and their son Hans) wander into the village, Anatole invites them to join them and tells them the story of the ""Gift Giver"" who, years ago, carved wonderful wooden toys and secretly delivered them to every girl and boy in town. George and Georgette listen carefully to the story and come to the conclusion that Otto, who fits the description perfectly, must be the Gift Giver! Anatole's new friends eagerly join in the preparations for the celebration - but the efforts of the village are set back when Hans accidentally sets fire to the pile of toys and they burn to the ground. The villagers begin a search for wood to carve a new batch of toys and canvass Pamplemousse for a donation. Pamplemousse, the classic scrooge, hoards great piles of wood for ""firewood"" and refuses to donate any logs to the toy drive. Prospects

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When rumors spread through the village that a monster is living in the park, Anatole heads off to investigate. Narrowly escaping a falling tree, Anatole and Gaston discover that the ""monster"" is Nathalie, a Canadian beaver escaped from the local petting zoo! Anatole vows to fulfill her wish to return to Canada. Hunted by a trapper from the zoo, Anatole, Gaston and Nathalie embark on a hair-raising chase through Paris in an effort to reach the Canadian embassy. Meanwhile, Georgette cannot convince the other children (and Doucette!) that her school project on wood exists. Unlike the others, she seems to have nothing to show for it, but ignoring their concerns she continues with her idea. Once at the embassy, Anatole cleverly navigates the group through a party and into the ambassador's room. Anatole cleverly brings Nathalie concerns to the attention of the ambassador, who agrees to return the homesick beaver to Canada! When Georgette's seed sprouts to a plant, Doucette and the children r

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The village is in a panic. Madame Duval has organized a national Cat Show, to be held in Parc Montsouris, right beside the mouse village! To make matters worse, the Comtesse De Souris, Doucette's fellow teacher from the countryside, is scheduled to visit the village with her school mice on the same day. The Comtesse is already en route and they do not know from which direction she will come. There is no way to warn her! Anatole must come up with a plan to ensure the safety of the traveling Comtesse, as well as that of the entire village. However, when Pamplemousse's bravado puts them all in immediate, feline danger, Anatole must think quickly! Knowing that cats fear water above all things, Anatole uses the park sprinkler system to dowse the hungry cats and save the day! In the end, Anatole proves that brains will triumph over even the most intimidating brawn.

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Anatole visits Notre Dame to help Gaston's cousin Maurice in a feud with a mysterious bat. Anatole suggests talking with the bat and working things out peacefully, but Maurice and Gaston prefer to fight back! Winning the bat's trust, Anatole, through the common ground of love of music, brings the two sides together to sort out their differences. Meanwhile, Doucette, George and Georgette are having a little adventure of their own with the gargoyles of Notre Dame! In the end everyone learns that it is better to seek knowledge in a conflict rather than react with fear and hatred.