Once Upon a Time... Man 

A comprehensive animated survey of the evolution of humanity and the history of predominately Western Civilization.

Creator:

Albert Barillé

Stars:

Annie Balestra, Albert Barillé, Yves Barsacq

Cast

Series cast summary:
Annie Balestra	...	Pierette 26 episodes, 1978
Albert Barillé	...	Narrator 26 episodes, 1978
Yves Barsacq	...	Le Gros 26 episodes, 1978
Claude Bertrand	...	Le Teigneux 26 episodes, 1978
Roger Carel	...	Maestro / ... 26 episodes, 1978
Patrick Préjean	...	Le Nabot 26 episodes, 1978

Storyline

In this series, the history of humanity and Western Civilization is surveyed. To illustrate this in an entertaining way, a cast of specific characters are recast in each episode as they live their lives in each major historical period of focus.

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Plot Keywords:

cult favorite | cult tv | evolution | civilisation | religion | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | History | War

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Procidis [France]

Country:

France Canada Italy Switzerland Belgium Netherlands Norway Sweden Spain Japan

Language:

French

Release Date:

1978 (France)

Also Known As:

Byl jednou jeden... clovek

Company Credits

Production Co:

Procidis, France Régions 3 (FR3), Société Radio-Canada

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min (26 episodes) 25 min (30 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first episode, dealing with prehistory, presents many thoroughly outdated theories originating from the early 20th century. While widely accepted when the show was made, they have been overturned by scientific advancements beginning from the 1980s. Among other inaccuracies, it depicts herbivorous dinosaurs as swamp dwellers, proposes the unsubstantiated idea that carnivorous dinosaurs were afraid of water, and claims that crocodiles descended from dinosaurs. Brachiosaurus is said to have been the largest land animal at 50 tons, but modern-day estimates are significantly lower and many larger dinosaurs have since been discovered. The Anatosaurus is nowadays called Edmontosaurus, and while more recent findings suggest it did have a head crest, it probably wasn't as big as the cartoon version. The Elasmosaurus is incorrectly shown with a bendy neck and Tylosaurus has a ridge on its back and no tail fluke. Furthermore, the extinction of non-bird dinosaurs isn't given an explanation, only depicted as a large earthquake and droughts, because the show was produced years before evidence of an asteroid impact came to light. One of the more forward-thinking theories presented is the now-accepted fact that birds came from dinosaurs, though the animation falsely shows Archaeopteryx (long regarded as the "first bird") descending from generic thecodonts instead of dinosaurs (the term "thecodont" is not in use anymore, these days they would be called archosaurs).

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Alternate Versions

Aspect Ratio is changed from it's original 1.33:1 to 1.66:1 in remastered versions for TV and Digital Plaforms.

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Connections

Followed by Il était une fois... les Amériques (1991)

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Soundtracks

Tausend Jahre sind ein Tag
Music by Udo Jürgens
Lyrics by Siegfried Rabe
Performed by Udo Jürgens
(main theme: German version)

User Reviews

A huge hit at the time here

This series is a very European one, in the sense that it's unheard of in the States while kids all over the Euro-Asia area probably know the Bach's Toccata and Fugue No. 525 simply as this series tune. In Hebrew it was called "Once Upon A Time" and it reigned in the kids' most loved animated shows for a few good years. This one should be offered to be downloaded in the Internet as it is a helpful tool to study history. Excellent stuff.