Fünf Freunde / Funf Freunde

Fünf Freunde is a long running German radio program for children, based on characters from the popular series of books by author Enid Blyton. The five friends referred to in the title are Georgina (George for short), the tomboy daughter of a respected scientist; Julian, a clever and levelheaded boy; Julian's sister Ann, an indoor type who's George's opposite; Dick, Julian and Ann's younger brother and the joker of the group; and Timmy, George's dog. Together, the friends regularly find themselves caught up in exciting adventures as they go exploring and run afoul of villains. After several of Blyton's stories were adapted into plays for voices by the German record label Teldec, the Fünf Freunde radio series premiered in 1978, and over 80 episodes had been created and aired as of 2010; the most recent voice cast includes Alex Garcia as George, Theresa Underberg as Anne, Ivo Moller as Julian, and Jennik Endemann as Dick. In addition to the early Teldec recordings, many episodes of the radio series have been released on compact disc and continue to be popular with youngsters. Enid Blyton's characters have also inspired a number of television series in Europe, the U.K. and Canada, and have even appeared in a line of computer games.