Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds - October 1981 to December 1981

Dogtanian is a cartoon version of the classic Alexandre Dumas story of d'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers. Most of the characters are anthropomorphisms of dogs, hence the title of the cartoon. Exceptions to this are the temptress Milady (a cat); Pip, Dogtanian's sidekick mouse; the avian jewel thief Blue Falcon; Planchet (a bear), Dogtanian's main servant; and some random townspeople and guards of the Cardinal.

The cartoon was created by Spanish studio BRB Internacional and produced in Japan by Nippon Animation. It was first broadcast in Spain (D'Artacan y los tres mosqueperros) and Japan (ワンワン三銃士) (Wanwan Sanjushi) in 1981 (while the show aired in Japan first, the initial dub was Spanish). There was also an Afrikaans adaption that was broadcast on SABC during 1985 and the early 1990s. The name was changed to "Brakkenjan", which has become a popular name for dogs in South Africa. The voice for Brakkenjan in his earliest years, was done by Gerben Kamper during his time of working for SABC.

The partnership between BRB and Nippon Animation worked so well, that they collaborated in another successful animated series two years after Dogtanian called Around the World with Willy Fog in 1983.