If you grew up in the 90s, the phrase "In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines" probably triggers a very specific Pavlovian response. You can likely hear that comforting, rhyming baritone voice in your head right now. But honestly, if you look back at the madeline tv series cast, things get a lot more complicated than just one narrator and a handful of schoolgirls.
The show went through several iterations, spanning from 1993 to the early 2000s, and the voices behind the characters shifted more than most fans realize. We aren't just talking about a couple of minor changes. We’re talking about a rotating door of Canadian voice-acting royalty and a Hollywood legend who stayed longer than anyone expected.
The Voice That Defined Our Childhood
Let’s get the big one out of the way. The narrator. For the first two seasons and the original specials, the madeline tv series cast was anchored by the legendary Christopher Plummer.
It’s actually wild when you think about it. You had an Academy Award winner—the guy from The Sound of Music—spending years narrating a cartoon about 12 little girls in two straight lines. He didn't just phone it in, either. Plummer won a Primetime Emmy for his voice-over work on the series in 1994. His delivery had this perfect mix of warmth and authority that made the rhyming dialogue feel like high art rather than a simple children’s show.
When the show transitioned into The New Adventures of Madeline around 2000, Christopher Gaze took over the mantle. Gaze did a solid job, but for the purists, Plummer’s "That’s all there is; there isn't any more" remains the definitive ending to any episode.
Who Was the Real Madeline?
Depending on when you tuned in, the voice of Madeline herself was actually different people. In the very first season of the 1993 series, Tracey-Lee Smythe (sometimes credited as Tracey-Lee Eddy) provided the voice. She brought that spunky, slightly mischievous energy that Ludwig Bemelmans originally wrote into the books.
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Then, things shifted.
Starting in Season 2 and continuing through most of the later episodes, Andrea Libman took over. If that name sounds familiar, it's because she’s basically a titan in the voice-acting world. Before she was Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, she was our red-headed Parisian lead.
Libman’s take on Madeline was a bit softer but still captured that "not afraid of mice" bravado. Interestingly, when Libman moved up to the lead role, Tracey-Lee Smythe didn't just disappear; she actually voiced Madeline's friend Danielle for a while. Talk about a talent swap.
The Steady Hand of Miss Clavel
While the girls and narrators were swapped out, one person remained the backbone of the madeline tv series cast: Stevie Vallance (also known as Stephanie Louise Vallance).
She didn't just voice the iconic Miss Clavel; she was also the voice of Genevieve the dog and served as the show's voice director for much of its run. It’s hard to overstate how much Stevie influenced the "sound" of the show. Every time Miss Clavel sat up in bed saying, "Something is not right," that was Stevie. She managed to give Miss Clavel a voice that sounded disciplined but deeply loving, which is a tough needle to thread for a kids' show character.
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The Supporting Girls and That Pesky Pepito
The rest of the "twelve little girls" were voiced by a group of prolific Canadian actors, many of whom were children themselves at the time.
- Nicole: Originally voiced by Kristin Fairlie (who later became the voice of Little Bear), and later by Brittney Irvin.
- Chloe: Voiced by Vanessa King in the early days, and then by Shannon Chan-Kent in later specials.
- Danielle: This role was a bit of a carousel, voiced at various points by Kelly Sheridan, Tracey-Lee Smythe, and Chantal Strand.
And then there’s Pepito, the boy next door (and son of the Spanish Ambassador). He was voiced by A.J. Bond in the early 90s, but as the show evolved into the 2000s, David Morse and Michael Hayward stepped into the role.
Why the Cast Kept Changing
You might wonder why a show like Madeline had so much turnover. It basically comes down to the "aging out" problem. Since the characters were supposed to be young girls, the producers often used actual young girls to voice them.
Puberty is the enemy of continuity in animation.
When a voice actress grew too old to sound like a seven-year-old, they’d often move her to a different character or bring in new talent. This created a weirdly tight-knit community of voice actors in Vancouver who all seemed to have "Madeline Alum" on their resumes.
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Tracking Down the Credits
If you're looking for a specific episode's cast, it can be a headache because the show's title changed across networks. It hopped from The Family Channel to Disney Channel to ABC Saturday mornings.
Most people searching for the madeline tv series cast are looking for the 1993 DIC Entertainment production. If you see names like French Tickner (who played the grumpy but lovable Lord Cucuface), you know you're looking at the right era. Tickner was a staple of the show, providing that perfect "blustery bureaucrat" energy that made Lord Cucuface so fun to watch.
What to Watch Next
If you're feeling nostalgic, the best way to appreciate the work of this cast isn't just through a list—it's by listening.
- Find the original 1993 pilot episode. Listen to Christopher Plummer’s first lines; the cadence is legendary.
- Compare an early Season 1 episode with a Season 3 episode of The New Adventures. You'll hear the subtle shift in Madeline’s tone from Smythe to Libman.
- Pay attention to the songs. Each episode featured an original musical number, which meant the cast had to be able to sing in character—a huge feat for such young performers.
The legacy of the madeline tv series cast lives on in the sheer amount of work these actors did afterward. From My Little Pony to Dragon Tales to Barbie movies, the "Madeline girls" basically voiced the rest of the 90s and 2000s.