, also known as The Wondrous Koala Blinky, is a 26-episode anime by Nippon Animation Company that was originally released in Japan in 1984. It depicts the adventures of a 12-year-old girl named Sandy and her koala friends, Blinky and Pinky, who are from the extra-dimensional realm of Koalawalla Land.
Noozles aired in Japan on Fuji TV in Tokyo and affiliated stations in its original run from July to December 1984. An edited, dubbed version later aired in the United States on Nick Jr. from November 1988 to April 1993. The show usually aired at 1 P.M. on the weekdays, immediately following another koala-themed anime, Adventures of the Little Koala, and in the UK on BBC, later on The Children's Channel.
The series has also been dubbed into French (under the title Les Koalous), Korean, Spanish (under the title Sandy y sus koalas), Arabic and German.
The series features episode direction by Noboru Ishiguro, best known for his work on the sci-fi anime series Space Battleship Yamato (Star Blazers) and the original Macross series (which became part of Robotech in North America) and layout work by Yasuji Mori. Mori also worked on the series' original character designs with Shuichi Seki, but the final designs were done by Isamu Kumata.
Plot
One day, 12-year-old Sandy Brown receives a package from her long-lost grandfather containing a stuffed Koala named Blinky that was lost in a shipwreck 38 years ago. Sandy gives the koala a Noozle (another term for an Eskimo Kiss) and it revives him from "magic sleepytime". His first word is "Blinky!!" in response to Sandy thinking out loud what she should name the bear right before she awakens him. They are soon joined by Blinky's sister Pinky, who appears out of thin air soon after Blinky is awakened, and demands immediately that Blinky returns with her to KoalaWalla Land. Blinky refuses however, and the trio go on to have many adventures together. Blinky is able to sustain himself while living on Earth with Sandy because of the Eucalyptus trees that Sandy's grandmother had planted 38 years ago when Sandy's grandfather, an archaeologist who had mysteriously disappeared while on an expedition to Ayers Rock, just before the ship was lost, told her that he was sending a Koala as a gift, as Sandy's grandmother had expressed that she had always wanted one as a pet.
It takes Sandy some time to determine that the "noozle" is the action that revives Blinky from magic sleepytime. She does this several times without thinking about it, and gets frustrated over the fact that Blinky falls asleep repeatedly (during which time his appearance is similar to that of an ordinary stuffed animal) and stubbornly refuses to awaken until she realizes what she must do to revive him. Early in the series, Sandy decides to introduce Blinky and Pinky to her grandmother, but decides to keep them a secret to everyone else.
About halfway through the series, Blinky and Pinky bring Sandy to their homeworld of KoalaWalla Land. KoalaWalla Land is a parallel dimension inhabited by anthropomorphic koalas, kangaroos, platypuses, cassowaries, kiwi, and frill-necked lizards. It is ruled by a wise old koala known as the High Dingy Doo. Humans aren't allowed in KoalaWalla Land (and in fact a human will be arrested and jailed on sight just for being in KoalaWalla Land), so Sandy has to wear a koala mask during each visit (though some are able to see through her poor disguise). A portal to KoalaWalla Land can be found at Ayers Rock. Pinkie also has the ability to create instant portals to KoalaWalla Land at any point, as well as portals back and forth through time, by utilizing the red lipstick in her magic cosmetic kit to draw an interdimensional hole in the time-space continuum.
Meanwhile, Sandy's father Alex, who is also an archaeologist like his father before him, is exploring Ayers Rock and trying to solve the mystery of what happened to his father 38 years ago. While there, he discovers a cave, and on the wall of the cave is a message that his father wrote 38 years ago, saying "I must leave on a mission of great importance. The little koala will know where I'll be." Alex stumbles into the portal to KoalaWalla Land at the end of the tunnel, where he is chased by the KoalaWalla Land police. Sandy, Blinky, and Pinky travel to KoalaWalla Land to rescue him. Alex stumbles upon a crystal planetoid in KoalaWalla Land, where he sees a shadowy figure resembling his father in one of the crystals. There, the KoalaWalla Land police find him and place him under a sleeping spell, but Sandy and Blinky and Pinky arrive to rescue him. They bring him back to Ayers Rock. Alex wakes up, convinced that the entire experience was a dream.