"Cocotte minute" (1990) TV series 1990-1993

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Guy Guilet

Writers:

Enc Henry (writer)
Sylvain Laforest (writer)

Seasons:

2

Release Date:

1990 (Canada)

Genre:

Family

Plot Keywords:

Alligator | Swamp | Puppet | Fox | Chicken

Cast

Ronnie Burkett

(unknown episodes)

Also Known As:

"Chicken Minute" (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

26 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Very obscure, but I still remember it well!

I have been reviewing a lot of kids' shows that I watched on TVO during my childhood. "Chicken Minute" was another one of them, but unlike most of the others, when I looked this one up IMDb two or three years ago, I saw that there was no page for it. The fact that it took so long for a page on the series to finally be added proves that it was very obscure (if you look the title up on an Internet search engine, most of the results will likely be chicken recipes), but I liked it a lot back in the day, so I for one haven't forgotten it!

The show took place by the bayou in Louisiana. The characters were anthropomorphic puppet creatures. Living together were a chicken named Chicken Mama, who liked to sing, and a fox named Minute, who played guitar. On their window sill was Ulysses, a young chicken who lived in his cracked egg shell. Although Ulysses hadn't been around for very long, he was very smart and helpful! Nearby lived their friend, a goofy but well meaning alligator named Anitole Bonbon, who loved to collect things, and often came to visit. Another character was Mudbelly, a monster who lived in a swamp and often caused trouble for the other characters, though he may have occasionally shown his good side.

This show featured some good adventures, as well as humour, interesting characters, and some memorable songs that certain characters sang. I can remember several songs, including one that Anitole sang after Mudbelly left and he missed him, along with several others from Anitole, a song that Ulysses sang about being a landlord (which Mudbelly was trying to be), among others. All the main characters sang at some point. In addition to the entertainment, "Chicken Minute" also may have had some educational value, teaching things such as friendship. It's a shame that the programme wasn't more well known!