The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids 家族ロビンソン漂流記ふしぎな島のフローネ (Kazoku Robinson Hyōryūki Fushigi na Shima no Furōne)
Swiss Family Robinson
Screenshot of the opening logo of The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island
Genre	Adventure
Anime television series
Directed by	Yoshio Kuroda
Produced by	Kōichi Motohashi Takaji Matsudo
Written by	Shōzō Matsuda
Music by	Kōichi Sakata
Studio	Nippon Animation
Network	Fuji Television (Japan) The Family Channel, Smile of a Child (English) ABS-CBN (Philippines)
Original run	4 January 1981 – 27 December 1981
Episodes	50 (49 in the English dub due to two episodes being merged into one episode)

The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island (家族ロビンソン漂流記ふしぎな島のフローネ, Kazoku Robinson Hyōryūki Fushigi na Shima no Furōne) is an exciting anime series made by Nippon Animation.

This show is based on the classic 1812 book Swiss Family Robinson by Swiss author Johann David Wyss. Just like in the book, the island they land on has all sorts of plants and animals that wouldn't normally live together in one place!

In the anime, a character named Flone is added. She wasn't in the original book, where the Robinson family only had a father, mother, and four sons. Flone was likely created to make the show more appealing to girls. Also, the oldest son, Fritz, is called "Franz" in the Japanese version, but his name goes back to Fritz in the English dub. The youngest son, Jack, is three years old in the anime, not ten like in the book.

This anime was very popular in Europe. It's one of the few World Masterpiece Theater series that was dubbed into English language for the American audience. An English version, simply called Swiss Family Robinson, aired on The Family Channel in 1989. In this English dub, Flone is called "Becca," and Franz is called "Fritz." You can still watch it on the Smile of a Child network and Amazon Prime Video. There's also an Arabic version available on Netflix called "The Swiss Family Robinson."

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The Robinson Family's Adventure

The story follows the Robinson family. Dr. Ernest Robinson is the father, a kind doctor. Anna Robinson is the mother, who grew up on a farm. Their oldest son is Franz, who dreams of being a musician. Then there's Flone, the middle child, who is a brave and active girl. And finally, Jack, the youngest son.

The family gets a letter from Dr. Robinson's friend in Australia, Dr. Elliot. He needs Dr. Robinson's help because there aren't enough doctors in Australia. This means the family has to move there permanently. Franz isn't happy because he worries he won't be able to study music in Australia. Flone is excited at first, thinking about playing with kangaroos. But then she realizes their family maid, Marie, can't come because she's taking care of her sick aunt.

They decide that Franz's relatives will look after him while the rest of the family moves. But on the day the ship leaves, Franz changes his mind and jumps onto the ship at the last minute!

A Storm at Sea

On the ship, called the Blackburn Rock, Franz meets a girl named Emily and they become friends. The family meets other people too. Dr. Robinson even helps a pregnant woman give birth!

One night, during a Christmas celebration, a terrible storm hits the ship. It rages for five days! Dr. Robinson and his family are too busy helping injured people to get into a lifeboat. The captain ties Franz to a piece of wood, which saves him from drowning. The rest of the family quickly builds a raft to reach a nearby island before the ship sinks.

They arrive on an uninhabited island. Sadly, they find the body of the Blackburn Rock's captain on the shore. As they bury him, they see the ship sinking with animals still inside.

Life on the Island

The Robinsons first set up camp on the beach. But soon, they have to move and build a house high up in a treetop. This is because of wild jackals or striped wolves in the area. They find a dog named John (who belonged to the captain) and make him their pet. They also befriend a tiny baby cuscus, which they name Mercer. They rescue some chickens and a donkey from the ship and find goats living alone on the island.

Dr. Robinson and Franz spend their days exploring and building things. Anna cooks and starts a farm. One day, they spot a ship in the distance and try to signal it with a rifle. But the ship doesn't see them. They continue to survive, build boats, do chores, and the children study.

Discovering a Cave and New Friends

When heavy rain and wind hit, they search for a waterproof home and find a cave. Inside, they discover a skeleton and a diary. They learn the man, Eric Bates, died on the island, probably from malaria. They give him a proper burial.

As Flone explores the cave, she sees a boy running. Her family thinks it's a wild animal, but Flone feels there are other people on the island. The next day, Flone catches a boy stealing melons from their garden. His name is TomTom, and he's an orphan Australian Aborigine boy who survived on a sunken boat. He lives with an injured ship captain named Mr. Morton.

Anna doesn't like Mr. Morton at first because he's rude and tries to get Jack to smoke. But she soon warms up to him when she reads a letter he wrote, asking for a ship to rescue the Robinsons. Franz also doesn't like Mr. Morton. TomTom is hesitant to interact with the Robinsons at first because his family was treated badly by Europeans. But he soon becomes good friends with Flone and the rest of the family.

One day, Mr. Morton and TomTom bring an ostrich to the treehouse. Mr. Morton slaps the ostrich to make it run, hoping the Robinson children will chase it. While Franz, Flone, Jack, and TomTom are chasing the ostrich, Mr. Morton climbs into the treehouse and steals a rifle, a magnifying glass, and some of the family's things. That night, he leaves TomTom sleeping in the cave without a word.

The next day, TomTom goes to the Robinsons to see if Mr. Morton is with them. He spends the whole day on the shore, hoping Mr. Morton will return. That night, TomTom leaves the Robinsons and returns to the cave. Anna notices he's gone the next morning. While looking for TomTom, Flone enters the cave and notices the underground water is warm.

Leaving the Island

While TomTom was with the Robinsons, the animals on the island started acting strangely. That night, the Robinsons feel two earthquakes. When Mr. Morton returns to the island, he tells the family they must build another ship quickly. They learn the island is a volcanic island and might erupt soon, which explains the frequent earthquakes.

After staying on the island for over a year, they finally leave for Australia in the boat they built. The journey takes much longer than they expected, but they finally make it, barely alive. They land north of Sydney in winter and travel by train to Melbourne.

Dr. Elliot greets the family and gives them a nice house. TomTom stays with the Robinsons until Mr. Morton finds another ship. They discover that Emily survived and is training to be a nurse. After a short reunion, she decides to go to England to study medicine for three years. She ends up on the same ship as Mr. Morton and TomTom. The Robinson family says their goodbyes, and the anime ends.

Characters You'll Meet

Flone Robinson (Becca in English dub): She's the main character and the middle child. Flone is very free-spirited and loves trying new things. She always says what she thinks. The story is often told from her point of view. Her family celebrates her 11th birthday on the island.
Franz Robinson (Fritz in English dub): He's the oldest child, about fifteen. Franz is shy and quiet. He dreams of becoming a music composer and loves playing his flute and guitar. He becomes more outgoing after meeting Emily on the ship and helps his father build things on the island.
Dr. Ernest Robinson: He's Flone's 46-year-old father and a wealthy doctor. He helps people who can't afford medical care. He decides to move his family to Australia for his work.
Anna Robinson: Flone's mother. She's a typical housewife who takes care of the home and children. She's easily scared by small animals. She always supports her husband's decisions.
Jack Robinson: The youngest son, only three years old. Unlike his mother, he's not afraid of anything and loves collecting things like seashells and small animals.
John/Brewster: A big Saint Bernard dog. He belonged to the ship captain and becomes the family's loyal pet and guard dog. Jack was scared of him at first but they became good friends.
Mercedes/Meri Chri: A cute bear cuscus (a type of marsupial) that becomes another family pet. Flone (Becca) and Jack love playing with her.
Donkey/Robert: A helpful donkey who survived the shipwreck. He carries wood and sugar cane for the Robinsons. Sadly, the donkey later dies after helping the family move their boat.
Eric and Bates: A mother and baby goat found on the island. They are named after Eric Bates, a man who was stranded on the island years before and whose diary the Robinsons found.
Captain Morton: A grumpy sea captain the Robinsons find living in a cave. He's a bit rough around the edges, but he helps the family.
Tam Tam (TomTom in English dub): A young Australian Aborigine boy, about 9 or 10 years old. He is Captain Morton's companion and becomes good friends with the Robinson children.
Emily: A young woman who becomes friends with the Robinsons on the ship before the storm separates them.
Marie: The Robinson family's servant who stays behind in Switzerland.
Dr Samuel Elliot: Dr. Ernest Robinson's friend in Australia who invites them to move there.
The Captain: The commander of the Blackburn Rock ship. He saves Franz from drowning during the storm but sadly dies himself.

Music from the Show

Opening song: "Hadashi no Flone" (meaning "Barefoot Flone") by Keiko Han.
Ending song: "Flone no Yume" (meaning "Flone's Dream") by Keiko Han.
The English opening theme song was sung by Ron Krueger.

Images for kids

Screenshot of the opening logo of The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island