Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea (French: Les Mondes Engloutis, lit. "The Engulfed Worlds") is a French animated post apocalytpic tv series created by Nina Wolmark.
Opening Narrative[]
Ever since the time of the Great Cataclysm, the Arkadians have lived deep in the center of the Earth. They believed they were the only survivors of this great devastation. Their civilization thrived under the power of their sun, the Tehra...until it began to fail. In desperation, the children of Arkadia broke the law and entered the forbidden Archives, searching for a solution. What they discovered gave them hope. Anxiously, they used their special powers and created a messenger to the people above. They named her Arkana.
Overview[]
The lost city of Arkadia (named for Arcadia) resembles a small Alderson Disk, and is home to an ancient civilization which escaped a Great Cataclysm in the ancient past by relocating deep within the Earth's crust. Unaware that life continued on the Earth's surface, and hoping to keep their people safe, the elders sealed all records of their past in the city's Archives.
Arkadia survives by the light of an artificial sun, the Tehra (Shagma), which is dying. A group of young Arkadian kids & teens defy the law and enter the Archives. With information about the world above, they create a messenger, Arkana, and send her above to find help.
Arkana encounters two children from the surface, Matt and his sister Rebecca, and brings them back through the underground strata (which seem more like separate worlds or dimensions, with one strata even being the distant future) to save Arkadia. They travel in a living turtle type spaceship called Tehrig, along with Spartakus (a mysterious wanderer) and Bic and Bac (a pair of pangolin-like creatures).
Episodes[]
Intro (English)
- The City of Arkadia
- Living Crystal
- Between Two Worlds
- Arkana and the Beast
- The Pirate Klub aka The Pirate Club
- The Law of the Mogokhs
- Night of the Amazons
- The Capture of Demosthenes
- Tada and the Royal Insignia
- The Icy Web
- The Pirate Convention
- Out of Control
- Children...and Mice
- The Gladiators of Barkar
- The Emperor Quin and the Eighth Kingdom
- The Dark Hole
- The Drummer
- Rebecca, Pirate of the Sea
- Star Healer
- The Prisoners of Lost Time
- Emergency Landing
- The Court of Miracles
- Interstratas War
- The Defeat of Gog and Magog
- Dr. Test
- The Secret of the Auracite
- Prophecy of the Auracite
- The Most Dangerous Game
- Cyrano
- The Tightrope
- The Twisted Rainbow
- High-Risk Highrise
- The Boy Pharaoh
- The Floating Casino
- Prince Matt
- The Land of the Chameleons
- The Token of the Manitou
- The Master of the Tongues
- The Land of the Great Spider
- The Ransom of Peace
- The Triangle of the Deep
- Uncle Albert
- Tehrig's Nightmare
- Rainbow's End
- Holiday Fever
- Dodo
- The Shadow of the Tehra
- The Temple of the Condor
- Mama Thot
- Gateway to Dawn
- The Path of Light
- The Return of the Prisoners of the Lost Time
Production[]
The series has been released in various languages, at times with changes to the names of characters. A notable example is Rebecca's brother's name being changed from Bob to Matt in English versions of the show- the reason why is currently unknown.
Broadcast History[]
Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea originally aired on Antennae 2 from September 17, 1985 till 1987.