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Genevieve is the girls' pet dog (Irish Red Setter). Although she can sometimes be spunky and mischievous, Genevieve is always loyal, kind, smart, and helpful.

Description[]

In the books and animated series, Genevieve is depicted as a mixed breed (primarily Irish Red Setter). In the 1998 live action film, she is a Labrador/Golden retriever mix with blonde coloring.

Literature[]

Madeline was written by Ludwig Bemelmans and published in 1939. Bemelmans wrote five sequels between 1953 and 1961. Later books in the series were written by Bemelmans' grandson, John Bemelmans Marciano. Dell Comics published a Four Color Comics issue in 1942 titled "Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline and Genevieve". Genevieve is introduced as a nameless stray dog. She rescued Madeline in the second book of the series, Madeline's Rescue, when Madeline falls in the Seine. Miss Clavel and the girls bring the dog home and name her Genevieve. But Landlord Cucuface discovers Genevieve at the school, and sends her away. The girls and Miss Clavel look all over Paris for Genevieve, but do not find her. Late that night, Miss Clavel wakes up and finds Genevieve in the light of the doorway. Everyone rejoices at Genevieve's return. That night, the girls fight about where Genevieve will sleep, causing Miss Clavel to take Genevieve to her own room. Even later that night, they find that Genevieve has given birth to twelve puppies, meaning each girl can have one.

Animation[]

While the rescue premise is the same as in the books, Genevieve is later caught by Lord Cucuface, but he changes his mind about sending Genevieve away when one of her puppies takes a liking to his hat. Cucuface's heart is softened, and decides to keep this puppy and that Genevieve can stay. Cucuface is supportive of Genevieve throughout the series and Miss Clavel demonstrates no allergies.

Television: The earliest appearance of Madeline in the cinema was in the 1952 animated short Madeline, produced by United Productions of America (UPA) and directed by Bob Cannon. In 1959, William L. Snyder's Rembrandt Films produced animated adaptations of Madeline's Rescue, Madeline and the Bad Hat and Madeline and the Gypsies for the educational film market. The latter two were featured, along with other similar adaptations of children's books, in Snyder and Gene Deitch's 1966 theatrical feature Alice of Wonderland in Paris. In 1960, the Madeline stories were adapted to a one-hour color episode for the NBC series The Shirley Temple Show. On April 9, 1988, DIC Enterprises adapted the first book into an animated television special for HBO, and aired an animated television special titled Madeline. The teleplay was an adaption of the first book written by Ludwig Bemelmans. The later series was written by Judy Rothman who would become a writer, story editor, and lyricist for nearly all subsequent Madeline animated projects. The special was produced by DIC Enterprises and Cinar (now part of WildBrain). Between 1990 and 1991, Cinar and France animation produced animated adaptations of the other five original books for The Family Channel, In 1993, DIC produced a Madeline television series of twenty episodes, which also aired on the Family Channel, and in 1995, an additional 13 episodes were produced by DIC for ABC, under the new title, The New Adventures of Madeline. Between 2000 and 2001, DIC produced 26 episodes for Disney Channel. Shortly after its airing on ABC, both the network and DIC were acquired by The Walt Disney Company. The 33 produced episodes began to air in reruns on the Playhouse Disney block of Disney Channel.

Animated Films: In March 1998, DIC announced the launch of a direct-to-video division that would produce films that Disney would distribute worldwide through Buena Vista Home Entertainment, with a Madeline film being the first of the films they would produce. The following year, the title was revealed as Madeline: Lost in Paris, and was released in August of the same year. Most of the cast members from the 1995 iteration returned with Lauren Bacall and Jason Alexander also voicing new roles. The success of the film led to DIC producing 26 new episodes for Playhouse Disney. Two more films followed ahead: My Fair Madeline, which aired on Nickelodeon in November 2002 as part of the DIC Movie Toons series, and Madeline in Tahiti.

Live-Action[]

A live-action feature adaptation of Madeline, shot in France by Jaffilms but produced in England with predominantly British accents, was released in 1998 by TriStar Pictures. It starred Hatty Jones as the title character, Frances McDormand as Miss Clavel, and a supporting cast with British actors Ben Daniels and Nigel Hawthorne. Its script encompassed the plots of four of the books. Original music was composed by Michel Legrand and Carly Simon sang the theme song "In Two Straight Lines". It was directed by Daisy Mayer. The 1998 live action version significantly differed from the TV series and the main book continuity. The filming location of the boarding house and neighbouring Spanish Ambassador's house, can be found at Avenue du Colifichet, Croissy-sur-Seine, although both houses are now obscured by hedging and fencing.Genevieve rescues Madeline when Madeline falls from a bridge into the Seine. They lose track of her until the following day, when Genevieve arrives at their back door and Madeline lets her in. However, animals are not allowed in the school, so the girls initially try to hide her. Miss Clavel is allergic to dogs so she discovers Genevieve, but tells the girls they may keep her in the shed. Still, they must hide her from Lord Covington (Cucuface), who is showing the house to try and sell it. On his way back home, Covington discovers the dog and turns loose Geneviève despite the girls' pleas. They look for her the next day but are unable to find her, so they go to a circus to cheer up. After Madeline gets kidnapped at the circus, Miss Clavel gets in the car to look for her, and finds Genevieve waiting near the house on the way. She takes Genevieve along with her in the car, and together, they find Madeline and Pepito, who were kidnapped by Leopold. Genevieve is then seen at the end of the movie, walking with Miss Clavel and the girls. She never had puppies in the film.

Trivia[]

  • Genevieve is the only major character who is an animal (the house mice are considered minor characters).

Gallery[]

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