Bosco Adventure

Princess Apricot of Fountain Land must leave her kingdom and set out on a journey.

She must return to Fountain Land before a lunar eclipse that would end her world.

Along the way she joins a group of forest animals from Bosco, flying together on a giant turtle-shaped balloon.

Each episode brings adventures, villains, and obstacles - including Black-Human and Carlos the panther - but they always overcome them and continue the journey.

The series combined a spirit of childhood adventure, friendship among different characters, and a clear goal: getting Apricot home in time.

Apricot / Linky - princess of Fountain Land, the series heroine.

Zuf - a frog, leader of the group in the Hebrew version.

Tutti - the inventor who never gives up on new discoveries.

Black-Human - a villain mentioned in the opening theme.

Carlos - a panther; "don't trust Carlos the panther."

Kotor / Serin, Damia, Panther, and others - companions and enemies along the journey.

The Flying Turtle Crew aired in Israel in Hebrew on Channel 1 from 1991 to 1992, with reruns on Junior.

Among the original dub cast: Oded Menashe (Zuf), Dana Mushkatblit (Apricot), Yoav Tzafir (Kotor / Serin), Yasmin Gamiel (Tutti / Damia), Moti Dikna (Black-Human), Tomer Sharon (Panther), Uri Hochman (Carlos), and Ami Mandelman (narrator).

Junior reruns included a re-recorded dub for some episodes; the final episode aired in a new version after the original dub masters were lost.

Later Junior dub cast included Michael Inbar, Yasmin Ayun, Efron Etkin, Nurit Banai Koran, and others.

The Hebrew opening theme, "The Lighters' Crew," was performed by Moti Dikna and Yasmin Gamiel.

Lyrics by Ziv Sidi and Sharon Melamed; music by Ziv Sidi and Avner Hodorov.

The song tells of Zuf, Tutti, and Linky/Apricot, and warns of Black-Human and Carlos the panther - so the series is sometimes remembered as "The Lighters' Crew" as well.

The series was produced in 1986 by Nippon Animation.

It drew on the world of Italian author and illustrator Tony Wolf, especially the Storie del Bosco book series.

It was popular in Europe and the Far East in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Japan later released DVD and Blu-ray remastered editions.

In Israel the show entered the collective memory of the 1990s generation thanks to Channel 1 broadcasts and its opening theme.