Madeline

The show Madeline never got enough street cred. Originally a children’s book, Madeline was a cute little story about twelve girls who were at boarding school with their teacher Miss Clavel. Miss Clavel should’ve been called Sister Clavel or whatever her first name was because she was a nun. The story was set in Paris and the girls would speak English speckled with French words. They didn’t force their native language on their audience like Dora does.

I think what I liked most about Madeline’s life was the structure of her day. Everything was so organized and Miss Clavel had a nice, sharp routine for the girls to follow. They would wake up, eat breakfast, walk around Paris (lucky bitches), go to the zoo, laugh at clowns and mimes, come home, break their bread, brush their teeth, and go to bed. The narrator always spoke in rhymes which was annoying, but expected.

The show would always start with the narrator saying “In an old house in Paris covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. They left the house at half past nine, in rain or shine. The smallest one is Madeline.” Fun fact: Christopher Plummer is the narrator which is kind of cool/kind of creepy. Like, why is he looking in on these little girls and studying their every move?

In one episode, the Spanish ambassador moved in next door to the boarding house. I know you’re thinking, why would the Spanish ambassador move into a normal old house in Paris? When they mention “an old house in Paris” at the beginning of the show, they really mean a gigantic mansion in Paris. So it’s no surprise that the Spanish ambassador would move into their hood. And he has a son, Pepito.

Unfortunately his son is what Madeline calls a “Bad Hat”. He’s mean to animals and shoots the girls with his sling shot. I think the creators of the show were trying to teach young children that Spaniards are awful people who should be avoided at all costs. He’s basically a mini Conquistador. One of his evil plans goes astray and he ends up getting mauled by dogs. Pepito learned his lesson and eventually became Madeline’s friend. And a vegetarian.

Is Pepito a girl?

In another famous episode, Madeline has to get her appendix removed. The day prior she felt sick and wasn’t acting like herself. She went to bed and in the middle of the night Miss Clavel got a bad feeling. She sang this amazing song in her French accent saying, “Something is not right, something is quite wrong!” When she finally reached the girl’s bedroom, her instinct had been right. Madeline was crying because the pain was so bad. Miss Clavel had been singing her song for 3 minutes before she arrived to Madeline’s room. Why is their house so big?! Maybe if her room was next to the girl’s room she would be able to hear the cries instead of depending on her gut feeling.

Apparently these girls are not orphans. Their parents just don’t love them enough to raise them themselves. It must be tough to be a ginger AND have your parents not really love you.

That’s all there is. There isn’t anymore.

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