The saying “When in Rome do as the Romans do” has been taken to heart by the team producing the award-winning Friends and Heroes animated Bible stories, as they launch an Italian language version of their entire collection of 39 episodes.
The adventures of Macky and Portia, first shown on Italian TV in 2009, are now for the first time available for Italian viewers to purchase on DVD in their native tongue.
Friends and Heroes, or Amici ed Eroi, as modern day Romans would say, is set during the height of the ancient Roman Empire when their army was present throughout the known world! Keen to make the programme as accurate as possible, the research team learned much about Roman life in the period, including their engineering of ships and design of dock cranes! Even Roman food has been portrayed as faithfully as possible. It therefore seems only fitting that a programme offering such an educational insight into the life and times of the Roman Empire should be available on DVD in the language now spoken by Rome’s children.
As Macky and his friends engage in countless escapades and fight for justice across the Roman world, they share the timeless stories of the Bible and learn lessons that help them as they encounter many trials and tribulations.
Each episode uses a combination of traditional hand-drawn and stunning computer generated animation to bring the stories to life.
First shown on BBC TV in 2007, Friends and Heroes is now available in 11 language versions including: Arabic; Chinese (Mandarin); English; French; German; Hindi/Urdu; Italian; Korean; Portuguese (Brazilian); Russian and Spanish (South American), with Manx Gaelic available soon.
“The availability of so many dubbed languages means that Friends and Heroes is appealing to broadcasters and young viewers across the world,” said David Dorricott, Executive Producer.
Source: Friends and Heroes Production, Ltd