Hugo The Hippo

I just finished re-watching this old animated movie I recorded off Zimbabwe TV when I was a kid, it?s called “Hugo The Hippo” and I used to love it.
So yesterday when we were visiting my parents, I picked up this video tape and a number of others I remember loving in my childhood, and brought them with me, so my wife and I could watch them together.

This animated movie of course is nowhere close to today’s animated features in terms of quality and all, but the story is beautiful and the soundtrack is amazing.
After all these years, I still remember every scene and every lyric to every song, it’s incredible.

It?s the story of a little hippo with all it’s ups and downs, with all it’s sad and happy moments, and the message behind it all is how people can be so selfish and how they should pay more attention to animals and treat them fairly and not just use them for their own benefit and then throw them.

It’s a beautiful movie with a wonderful message, and I wish someone like Pixar would remake it and give more people the chance to see it and be touched by it, just like I was by this old version.

Published by

Mohamed Marwen Meddah

Mohamed Marwen Meddah is a Tunisian-Canadian, web aficionado, software engineering leader, blogger, and amateur photographer.

60 thoughts on “Hugo The Hippo”

  1. Hi

    just stumbled across your (any many others)comments about hugo the hippo, am with you on that pixar idea, how fab would that be? I’m sure you’ve been asked this before….but as another fan of the movie who has desperately been searching for it for years and who can only spell Hippoptamus because of said film, i don’t suppose you’re making copies are you?
    thanks for taking the time to read this.
    Best wishes
    Gemma

  2. Hi 🙂
    Hmmmm, seems you really need to see the film again because you’ve forgotten how to spell it 😛
    It’s Hippopotamus 😉
    (just kidding, i know it must have been a typo)

    It’s great to meet another fellow Hugo the Hippo fan 🙂 I was starting to wonder if i was the only one.

    As for copies, well nobody ever asked.
    If you’re interested, maybe we can do some sort of an exchange.
    Would you happen to have a copy of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ? 😉
    I lost my copy of that over a decade ago.

  3. Yeah, I’d really like a copy of that movie, too. I remember watching it when I lived in Europe when I was 5 or 6 and now all I can remember of it is the horrific scene where all the hippos turn to clouds and when the hunters shoot them large holes blast through the clouds, causing them to disperse. I’ve seen Watership Down and Animal Farm within the last year to make sense of those, now I just need to see this movie so I can figure out why it traumatized me the way it did. Unfortunately, I don’t have a copy of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, so I’m afraid I can’t help you with that.

  4. I do have CCBB and would LOVE to scour the earth for any other film you’d like if only to get a copy of Hugo… I saw it in the theatre several times when I was a child, and I can remember images and a little music and being overwhelmingly sad… I’m in the same boat as Nat.

    I’ll even find you other movies so you’ll send Nat and Gemma a copy too. Just say the word.

  5. hello there.

    i just wanted to join in the praise for hugo the hippo. i loved it as a child and still watch it every now and then still today. i am lucky to have the original film on vhs and the soundtrack on vinyl which i hope to soon put onto cd.

    its a great film, but i hate the idea of pixlar remaking it! it was way to trippy for the kids of today?

    anyway…

    dan

  6. this is one of my fave films of all time! i’m glad it has a few true fans, i’ve just been reading a review that absolutely pans it on “badmovieplanet”… which must have been written by mr mcbowwow.

    a remake gets my vote – but by the “shrek” guys and not disney…

  7. Hi Dan, I have been searching for the soundtrack to Hugo the Hippo for years, I knew a vinyl existed because I downloaded just one track from Napster years ago, please please if you put it to CD I would pay whatever you wanted for a copy I’m being serious. Can you email me so we can keep in touch: seanchandler24@hotmail.com

  8. hey now
    I just wanted to share my delight at having found someone who even knows this movie exists!! I have seen it many times as a child whilst living in Lagos and have never been able to forget it since. I desperately tried to find anyone who knew of it, which was difficult since all i remembered was a hippo and underwater singing.. I am now gonnna try and buy it to be able to visit my memories of childhood years and see the hippo again for the first time in over 15 years.
    ps
    also read the thrashing review on badmovieplanet.com maybe the person never saw it through a child’s view..

  9. I remember this movie from when I was little (in the 80s). I cried every time I watched it. We had it taped off the television and I know that I watched it a bunch of times, but I seriously think it tramatized me and have not let my littlest brother watch it at all (he just turned 7). I think he may be getting to an age where he won’t have nightmares about it, but I think I will prolly wait a while longer before I loan it to him.

  10. Every time I ask people if they know about Hugo the Hippo, all I get is blank stares or reactions of “WHO, WHAT”. It is great to find I am not alone in the appreacion of the movie. I was pretty youne when I saw it and dont remember the hippos being shot. But I do vividly remember many of the songs, ZING ZONG being on of my favorites along with Mr. MABOWWOW sp?. If any one having a copy of the movie and willing to sell me a copy is out there, I would REALLY like to own a copy of the movie. MY email address is firedogpotter@aol.com please contact me and we can work out a deal!! SO MMM if you see this lets get together and work out a deal.

  12. I can’t believe this site! I saw Hugo the Hippo as a kid in Singapore and I’ve NEVER forgotten the film. To this day, I still hum the songs to myself.
    “If you go below, we’ll save your soul for. And if they send you to China or Hong Kong, we’ll go along, wherever you go, Hugo,you go, we go to.”

    Anyhow, I just wanted to say thanks for this site. I thought I was going crazy because no one has ever heard of that film. It is still one of the most impressionable films I’ve seen as a child.
    Did it ever play in the U.S.?

  13. Hi All,

    The several comments on Hugo the Hippo are fascinating to us (my wife Annetta & I). Why? Because we used to swim with Hugo in the Kurasini (note the spelling of the name of the creek is slightly different from the film/book spelling) Creek in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in the ’60s! Hugo was a phenomenon, living in a creek all alone in a body of water fed at the one end by an ocean (Indian) inlet and at the other end by a fresh water creek coming from inland. Hippos generally don’t like salt water–the Zanzibar part of the story is therefore wholly implausible. But the Kurasini Creek part of the story is “true”! Whence the name ‘Hugo’? Swahili-speaking children would spot the hippo, coming out of the water for fresh air. “Huyo” (that one), they would shout or “Huko” (there). We suspect that the name for the hippo came from the shouts of the children.

    In the late ’60s TIME magazine featured an article on the hippo in Kurasini Creek entitled: “Hugo, the Hip Hippo”. So far we have not been successful in retrieving the article though we did spot and buy a copy of the book, ‘Hugo the Hippo’ for our grand daughter. Anyone who can retrieve that TIME article and send it to us would have our profound thanks

    We would love to hear from anyone else who actually ‘saw’ or ‘swam with’ Hugo a we did.

    Harold & Annetta Miller

    1. Hello Harold …….. I lived in the last house beside Kurasini Creek
      about 4 houses along from the Austrian ambassador’s place. Was there for three years with I.A.(EA)Ltd. from ’64 to ’67 and spent most of time on safari around Tanganyika/Tanzania installing and then maintaining a radio network for Nyerere/regional commissioners.
      Wife or self saw Hugo most days and was chased by him once when too close for photograph. Didn’t swim but had small boat and avoided him then as he could have capsized us ! I’m now 84 and live in Fiji
      Regards.  
      Dick Best

  14. HUGO THE HIPPO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I’m desperately seeking a copy of Hugo the Hippo to relieve fond childhood memories of 15+ years ago. I watched this little tape I had of that movie at least 30 times as a kid, friggin’ loved it.

    If anyone has a copy, please please please drop me an email.

    Many thanks,

    Anthony

  15. THIS IS SO GREAT!
    I have been searching for any information on Hugo the Hippo, and have met with very little success. When I look at stills from the movie it sparks so many dream-like memories from my childhood. I have been asking friends of mine, but no one has ever heard of it. I would love to see the film again now that I am adult. Please if someone can make me copy I would be eternally greatful. I have some 80’s cartoons to trade…please email me. Thanks so much.
    Megan

  16. THIS IS SO GREAT!
    I have been searching for any information on Hugo the Hippo, and have met with very little success. When I look at stills from the movie it sparks so many dream-like memories from my childhood. I have been asking friends of mine, but no one has ever heard of it. I would love to see the film again now that I am adult. Please if someone can make me copy I would be eternally greatful. I have some 80’s cartoons to trade…please email me. Thanks so much.
    Megan
    windy7@hotmail.com

  17. hello again everyone!

    Its so great to find people who love this film as much as i do. I now have the original video (vhs), original soundtrack (vinyl), original movie poster and have just managed to get hold of the musical score book (piano, voice, etc).

    i have been thinking for ages about making a hugo the hippo fan website. have sound clips, lyrics, plot, links, reviews, points of view, cast – and so on.

    I would appreciate any ideas you lot have to make it much better.

    As for copies of the CD i can do this – remember they are just copies of the vinyl but it sounds good (no cover tho) – email me if you are interested!

    Dan

    http://www.melon.org.uk/hugothehippo

  18. Hello again,

    I am still searching the earth trying to find a copy of the VHS hugo the hippo. I just really want to see it again as an adult. If anyone can help me, please let me know. You can contact me at windy7@hotmail.com. Lets see if we can work something out…
    Dan awesome about the fansite, if anything deserves to have a cult following it is this hippo.

  19. Greetings,

    This is awesome, I’ve been trying to remember what the name of this animation was for years.
    I still remember seeing it from when I was 3..
    It’s awesome to find this page with other people that have been looking for it also..I would really like to try to get a copy of it if anyone has one?

    thanks,

    lokin

  20. hi dan

    isn’t there anyway you can record vhs to either vhs or dvd?!! you could make a fortune out of us!!

    as a word of advice, it may be worth checking out obscure ‘picture house’ cinemas as i’ve come across 2 that have viewed hugo in the past year….sadly i missed both 🙁

    cheers

  21. how fantastic was it to find this! i was reading a book to my son about animals and showing off to my husband that i could spell hippopotamus as a result of this film and he has not seen it, so please can anyone help me get a copy or tell me who released it so i could write to them thanks your all special to love hugo x x x

  22. My sister and I watched Hugo religiously when we were young (my mother must’ve taped it off of HBO or something way back when). I would give my eye teeth for a copy to share with her when I return home over the winter holiday. To this day, the very thought of the film evokes a very visceral sort of sadness that is probably partially the result of a very sad story, but also that strange grown-up pining for childhood lost. If anyone is making copies, please, please contact me!

  23. Wow! I can’t believe you have all been talking about this this recently. I went with my pregnant wife to the zoo this weekend and saw the hippos and thought of a cartoon that hadn’t crossed my mind in over 25 years- but I couldn’t think of what it was!!! Torture all weekend!!! Finally a friend found a reference to it today. Any idea how I can get a copy? I LOVED HUGO!!!

  24. Hugo The Hippo was the best part of my childhood! I used to watch it hundreds of time, now have it on vhs but am desperate for the soundtrack – any help???

  25. I have a VHS of this movie for sale, ex-rental, but in very good condition. Original box was cut to be inserted into plastic rental case, but has been carefully remounted on generic white VHS sleeve. – any offers?

  26. Hi there,

    My name’s Jim and late last year (2003) I finally ended a 20 year search for this film Hugo The Hippo… I didn’t know the title or anything until recently… all I could remember were some vaguely pyschedelic animations, the hippo, some random song lyrics, and that the cartoon/film was reminiscent of The Yellow Submarine and The Water Babies

    Since finding the title of the film, I tracked down an old VHS copy on eBay (which cost me a fortune), and was over-joyed to be able to relive my childhood

    Quite some time back I bought up the domain name:

    http://www.hugothehippo.com

    With the intention of building a fansite for the film (didn’t realise Dan had made one too!)

    I’m hoping to use my fansite to get a petition going, to get Hugo The Hippo a full release on DVD… so if you’re interested in helping out or want to share your memories, please head over to the site!

    all the best
    Jim
    http://www.hugothehippo.com

  27. Hi I am so happy to read all these positive comments about Hugo the Hippo, me myself, I am a German and I have seen it in Germany when I was young, but when my parents saw the vid, and recognized it for what it was, a vid which was clearly made on drugs, they deleted it.

    But it such a beautiful movie. I really would love to see it again.

    Is it possible to get a copy?

  28. “Hugo the Hippo” VHS is the first movie my sister remembers seeing, and I’d like to buy it for her for the holidays. Could anyone sell me a copy? Please let me know: coltonm1@mac.com

    thanks,
    Michael Colton

  29. To those of you looking for a copy of Hugo the Hippo, why not look on Osmond fan website – osmond.com, for example. As Osmonds were involved in it originally, it’s well known amongst us.

  30. I grew up with this film! All I remember is watching it over and over again, and how it is possibly the all time classic of animated films. Apart from all of you on this site, I just can’t believe how nobody else seems to have heard of it. I really would love to have it again on VHS, if not only to relive my childhood, but also to share with my friends and their children how great films used to be. If you have any way I can get the VHS please email me on alex_huisman@yahoo.co.uk
    Thanks in advance!

  31. I grew up with this film! All I remember is watching it over and over again, and how it is possibly the all time classic of animated films. Apart from all of you on this site, I just can’t believe how nobody else seems to have heard of it. I really would love to have it again on VHS, if not only to relive my childhood, but also to share with my friends and their children how great films used to be. If you have any way I can get the VHS please email me on alex_huisman@yahoo.co.uk
    Thanks in advance!

  32. This is so incredible to see that so many people remember HUGO. I used to watch it so many times with my daughter when she was small (I was 20 but I loved Hugo). Still love him and trying to find a copy of the video.

  34. heya folks,greetings to all. i stumbled upon a site called moviegoods.com that has 4 styles of Hugo posters for about $20 and 8 theater lobby cards fro $10 each. cool to check out just for the pics alone. i just barely remember seeing this in california at the theater in 1976.i had to have been about 5. shortly after i had vivid waking nightmares about colorful sharks swimming through the air in my bedroom. oh yes the imagery stayed with me for years and i never had seen it again. wish i could have seen it on vhs growing up.
    if someone does have a clear vhs copy they should do the right thing and transfer it to dvd and make copies for everyone.(at cost) i know i would.
    dvd recorders ar cheap now. and so on…… thanks for joging my fading memories of this great flick.

  35. Hi… I am German and I love Hugo … I had this movie on tape,since I was young, but I moved so many times and somehow I lost it… I watched it so many times …

    I was pretty sad,because nobody could help me out to find a copy of it….
    PLEASE…I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO HAVE IT AGAIN ON VHS.IF YOU HAVE ANY WAY I CAN GET THE VHS PLEASE E-MAIL ME; OF COURSE I WILL PAY.

    reneeuzelac1975@hotmail.com

    Thanks in advance!!!

  36. This was such a great film. It’s pretty much the exact same story for me: my parents taped it on American television when I was very young and I grew up watching it over and over. I’ll probably name my kid Jorma someday. I can’t imagine anyone ever trying to remake this film. It’s way too unique a piece of visual art to try to remake. Like everyone else here, I would love an NTSC copy on dvd or VHS. Please send me an email if you can provide me with a cd copy of the soundtrack or a video.

    –Logan

  37. please email me if you have a copy of this film (hugo) ANY FORMAT! I must see it again, i will pay.

    many thanks

  38. I lent my copy of Hugo to a friend who accidently recorded over it! Arghhhhh I have been searching ever since I discovered the www. How can I ever get it again??? Please help or advise….thx

  39. Hi,

    I’m looking desperatly for a copy of this great movie. As I read in other site, Dan is not able for doing more copies. So, I would ask to these people who get a copy from Dan… Is it possible to you to make a copy for me? I would thank you the rest of my life… Please, contact me by e-mail (es3ter@hotmail.com). And sorry for my poor English (I’m writting from Spain, so…)

  40. O.k, i see that a NEW DVD will be available in NOVEMBER 2005 of Hugo the Hippo! only joking…i’ll just continue to dream on..

    NAh but seriously, CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GET ME A COPY!!!!!!!!! its an amazing film! Yousef.

  41. i loved hugo the hippo so much when i was kid the colours,the music, well the whole film really it was amazing i hav’nt seen it for donkey years and would really love to see it again ive tryd everywhere and everyone for it so if anyone has a copy can you please please email me.

  42. Hello. I’m actually called Hugo, and when I was a kid I had a hippo soft toy. It was also called Hugo. I was sure that this was because of a movie called “Hugo the Hippo”, but when I told my girlfriend about this, she insisted that there was no such film, and that I had simply seen a generic film about hippos, and called one of them Hugo because I am an egomaniac. I was starting to believe she was right. Hurrah!

  43. I can’t believe it. Hugo the Hippo! That was my absolute favorite movie as a kid. It was actually my very first VHS movie I ever owned, and my parents tell me all the time how I would sit and watch it for hours. I always tell my wife and friends about it and none of them have even heard of it. I agree that someone should re-release it. I wish I still had my copy so that I could pass it along to my kids and so on, because I remember being an excellent movie. I really hope that these requests are seen or mentioned to someone who could make this possible. If anyone knows of somewhere I could find a copy of Hugo the Hippo please e-mail me with the info I would really appreciate it.

  44. [b]Calling all Hugo The Hippo fans![/b]

    My Hugo The Hippo fansite now has it’s own message board, please head on over and get involved!

    We’d love to hear from fans of the film… let us know your childhood memories of the movie, and help us get this film released on DVD!

    http://www.hugothehippo.com/

  45. I am shortly finishing transferring the VHS version to DVD anyone interested please contact me. The present version is PAL but on DVD I don’t think it matters.

  46. Both our children would love a copy of this fabulous movie.
    They both enjoyed it immensely, and thought it hilarious.

  48. I LOVED Hugo the Hippo as a little girl. I used to watch it with my little sister. We used to cry because, Hugo did not have a home. My Dad, said that he could not have two crying girls so one day he said that we could not longer watch Hugo the Hippo because, we would both cry, and we never saw it again.

    So I googled Hugo the Hippo and YouTube had some songs from the movie. Very familiar. This time I watched with great job and I did not cry.

    I still LOVE Hugo the Hippo after all of these years. I am Thirty now, and I wish too, wish that Pixar would remake Hugo the Hippo. I think that this movie would be very popular now.

  49. Hi I am a huge fan of hugo the hippo. I had a copy on VHS and gave it away the biggest mistake of my life!!!!! I now have a little girl and I am forever singing her the songs from the movie. If anyone has a copy of the movie or a cd of the songs please email me and I will be willing to pay all costs!!!!

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