The Long Long Holiday

The Long Long Holiday (Les Grandes Grandes Vacances) is an animated series broadcast in 2015 on France 3, which tells the story of the occupation of France during the Second World War through children living in Normandy.

The Long Long Holiday
(Les Grandes Grandes Vacances)
GenreHistory
Adventure
Created byDelphine Maury
Olivier Vinuesa
Directed byPaul Leluc
Country of originFrance
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10 (20 segments)
Production
Running time49 minutes (26 minutes for segment)
Production company(s)Les Armateurs
Blue Spirit Animation
DistributorCyber Group Studios
Release
Original networkFrance 3
Original releaseApril 20 (2015-04-20) –
April 30, 2015 (2015-04-30)
See also "The Long Holiday", a 1946 French novel.

In September 1939, Colette and Ernest are welcomed by their maternal grandparents in a fictional village named Grangeville, near Dieppe in Normandy. The short vacation becomes semi-permanent when their father goes off to fight, following the mobilization of France to fight the invading German Army, and the poor health of their mother, required to leave to be treated in a sanatorium. The two little Parisians discover life in the countryside during wartime, including occupation, Resistance, deprivation, but also life with friends.

The ten episode mini-series (sometimes shown as five episodes, including on Netflix) was created by Emile Bravo (graphic design), Paul Leluc (director), and Delphine Maury (author), and produced by Les Armateurs Cyber Group Studios.[1][2] Olivier Vinuesa and Alain Serluppus assisted Delphine Maury at the beginning of the writing on the narrative arc, then Guillaume Mautalent and Sébastien Oursel became co-writers on the whole series, along with Timothée de Fombelle, who also lent a hand on the arc of the ten episodes. Syd Matters composed the music for the series.[3]

In 2016 the show won Best Children's TV Program by the Paris Radio and Television Club.[4]

Characters
  • Robinsons: The main characters of the series, they nickname their group after the story of Robinson Crusoe.
    • Colette and Ernest Bonhoure: Siblings who are left with their grandparents in Grangeville while their parents are away. An elderly, unseen Colette narrates the series.
    • Lily (Muguette): A self-sufficient girl who starts as an outcast, nicknamed "Sea-scum" and considered a witch before Ernest gets to know her.
    • Jean Guibert: Son of the mayor. Over the course of the series, he develops a crush on Lily.
    • Fernand Geber: A Jewish Alsatian, he is at first accused of being a German spy due to his accent. He is later taken by the Nazis for refusing to wear a yellow badge, and ultimately killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
    • Marcel Morteau: The middle brother of the Morteau siblings. At first he is antagonistic toward Ernest, calling him "city-boy" and pulling mean-spirited pranks on him, but they eventually become friends. He also picks fights with Fernand until he learns that their grandfathers had been close friends.
    • Gaston Morteau: Marcel's younger brother. At first antagonistic toward the Bonhoures, he quickly develops a crush on Colette.
    • Paul Tissier: A late addition to the group, he's the kind son of a crooked merchant. He manages to warn the other Robinsons before the Nazis arrive that the Nazi sympathizer Durand had found their hideout.
  • Robert Bonhoure: Colette and Ernest's father, who joins the Resistance after spending time in the Stalag.
  • Lucy Bonhoure: Nicknamed "Lulu" by her husband, and Ernest and Colette's mother, Lucy suffers from tuberculosis for most of the series, and had to go to Switzerland for treatment. She made a full recovery by the end of the invasion of Normandy.
  • Grannily and Grandpalou: Also known as Emilie and René, they are Ernest and Colette's grandparents on their mother's side. The children live with them until the Nazi occupation of France ended.
  • Mr. Herbin: The schoolteacher for most of the children in the series, also known as "Sparrowhawk" as the local leader of the Resistance. As the occupation progresses, he tasks the Robinsons with aiding the Resistance by distributing fliers and performing reconnaissance. Near the end of the invasion of Normandy, Mr. Herbin is injured and ultimately dies in a gunfight with the Nazis, allowing the Robinsons to escape.
  • Mr. Tissier: Grangeville's crooked grocer, Paul's father. He hoards essential goods to sell them on the black market, working with the corrupt Nazi soldier Hans.
  • Hans: A Nazi soldier who abuses requisition to steal food to sell on the black market with Mr. Tissier. He later steals Colette's pet pig to eat it, and shoots the Morteaus' dog for barking at him.
  • Otto: A kind-hearted Nazi soldier quartered at the Morteaus who grows to love their mother, ultimately betraying the Nazis by saving the Morteau family, killing Hans in the process. At the end of the war he is briefly arrested by the Resistance, then released.
  • Durand: A self-serving Frenchman who becomes a Nazi sympathizer, always blatantly trying to get disloyal French folk in trouble with the Nazis. During the course of the series, he works tirelessly to try and find the Robinsons' hideout. He is ultimately arrested and killed by the Resistance for his misdeeds.

Voice cast

English dub
  • Niamh Clarke - Colette
  • Johanna Ruiz - Ernest
  • Joseph Taylor - Fernand
  • Janet James- Gaston
  • Jack Graham - Jean
  • Mark Flanagan - Jean-Baptiste
  • Fiona Clarke Gain - Jeanne
  • Joanna Ruiz - Lucie
  • Melissa Sinden - Grannyli
  • Ben Cusick - Marcel
  • Julie Ann Dean - Mrs. Guibert
  • Eric Mayers - Mr. Guibert
  • Jonathan Keeble - Mr. Herpin, Mr. Tissier
  • Keith Faulkner - Mr. Durand
  • Anna Wilson-Hall - Muguet
  • Christine Dawe - Old Colette
  • Terence Mann - Grandpalou, Narrator Module M
  • Lorenzo Rodriguez - Paul
  • Michael Ledwich - Pierre
  • Jimmy Hibbert - Priest, BBC Speaker
  • Joe Mills - Robert
  • Karen West - Violette Tissier
  • Delia Corrie - Narrator Module F
  • Rob Foster - Antonine

Episode list
  1. The Long, Long Holiday (1)
  2. The Long, Long Holiday (2)
  3. The Exodus (1)
  4. The Exodus (2)
  5. Facing the Enemy (1)
  6. Facing the Enemy (2)
  7. Resistant Youths (1)
  8. Resistant Youths (2)
  9. The End of the War (1)
  10. The End of the War (2)

References
  1. "The Long, Long Holiday". Cyber Group Studios. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  2. "The Long, Long Holiday". Netflix. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  3. http://www.lesarmateurs-lesite.fr/fiches/38-les-grandes-grandes-vacances.html
  4. "'Long Long Holiday' Receives Best Children's Program Award". Animation Magazine. February 17, 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
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