Little Robots (2003)

It is no stranger to all in the media biz that these days, any series or movie that features a "big time celebrity" is instantly branded a hit - when in truth, it is partly used as a marketing ploy in order to get the public's attention to what the producers hope will be the next best thing.
That all depends on the quality of the show or the performance of the celebrity (or more importantly, if said celebrities are chosen because they fit the character rather than how important they are). If neither manages to hold up then the efforts of the production team involved will be for none.

However, this show, from what I have seen, succeeds in both categories...

As with many kid's shows, Little Robots started out life as a children's book written and illustrated by Mike Brownlow way back in 1999. It's a cute little read full of rhymes about various types of robots - spotty ones, messy ones, noisy ones of all colours and shapes and sizes. And it caught the eye of Cosgrove Hall / Create TV & Film Ltd at some point, who brought Mike on to adapt his little book as an animated series, which involved designing and defining a full cast based on the many robots he drew.

The series focused on 12 little robots, who create their own special world beneath a scrapyard, proving that it's not just the Wombles who can recycle junk! Next to the fun scripts and the colourful stop-motion models crafted by Mackinnon and Saunders, the cast list is just as impressive - and it's helped greatly that each have a comedy or acting background to boot;

• Tiny, the helpful little mechanic, was played by Hayley Carmichael (co-founder of theatrical company Told By An Idiot), who lives in the Nut and Bolt tree with his dog Messy

• Lenny Henry played Sporty, a fitness fanatic

• The grumpy but organised Stretchy was played by long-standing writer and voice actor Jimmy Hibbert (of Cosgrove Hall fame)

• Rusty, the shy little lass, was played just adorably by Morwenna Banks (who these days is kept very busy playing 'Mummy Pig' for Peppa Pig)

• The gentle giant Stripy, who is never without his Teddy, was played by Martin Clunes (who is best remembered for his work on Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin)

• Su Pollard (Penny Crayon, Hi-De-Hi!) fits into her role very nicely as Noisy...no questions asked!

• The (literally) well-rounded Spotty was performed by Emma Chambers. Very different to her role as the naive Alice Tinker from The Vicar Of Dibley!

• Comedian Mike Hayley played one of my favourite characters - the theatrical Scary, with a touch of Donald Sinden involved...and like Tiny, he has his own companion in the form of Flappy the Bat

• The Sparky Twins were played by comedian duo Mel and Sue (Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins respectively) Mel has also lent her voice for Mist: Sheepdog Tales and is currently the presenter for the 4 0'Clock Show for BBC Radio 4 Extra, whilst Sue became recognised for her work presenting The Great British Bake Off.

 

As I've said before, unless celebrities involved in any production don't fit their characters at all (or at least perform them well) then the show or movie will very likely flop. As it is, for this series, each and every one played their parts just beautifully. With so many characters to play off from, each with their own distinctive personalities, it allowed the writers to come up with many clever episodes, enough to teach the kids a subtle moral while also giving their parents something to giggle at, too.

And it has since paid off - the series became more recognised when it was broadcast overseas via BBC Worldwide, and the characters have even taken part in Peter Kay's All-Star Animated Band for Children in Need.

All four seasons can still be watched today on the cBeebies digital channel - proving how an electrifying series like this can make proper, careful decisions when casting celebrities into their ideal roles. It helps as well that pre-school shows such as these don't have to be Dora the Explorer clones to keep kids amused ;-)

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Mike Brownlow's Little Robots Page!

Toonhound remembers the Little Robots

BBC Report on the Little Robots launch

Sarah and Duck

Over the past few months, I've been absolutely bowled over with this lovely new series currently airing on CBeebies in the UK - the premise for Sarah and Duck couldn't be simpler. A little girl called Sarah (voiced by the adorable Tasha Lawrence) and her best friend Duck embark on gentle adventures packed with huge amounts of imagination. Whether it's baking a cake, stargazing or buying a new chair, creators Sarah Gomes Harris and Tim O’Sullivan have no trouble at all adding such charm that really appeals to children and parents. Compared to a lot of pre-school series today, this one has a special blend of its own, and I can't enough of the episodes aired so far!!

It's as timeless as Mr. Benn where anything here is possible, and with a host of fun characters to add - including Scarf Lady and Bag, Rainbow, Donkey, Moon, the Ribbon Sisters, some friendly little Shallots and the Storyteller (voiced by an unseen but enthusiastic Roger Allam).

So delighted was I in this series that it's fair that I do my bit to spread the word as much as possible. As luck would have it, I got in touch with one of the animators of the show, Hannah de Spon, to hear a little more;

Rainbow pays a visit!

For folks who are unfamiliar with you, tell us a bit about yourself;
Ok well I'm a 28 year old traditional animator from London. I've been into cartoons and animation since I was a kid and it's the only job I've ever really wanted to do. I currently work for Karrot Animation studio where we make Sarah and Duck.


Who / What inspired you to want to become an artist?
This is always a REALLY hard question for me, because there wasn't one single thing or moment that made me go 'gosh I want to do that!'...but I think it really helped having family who encouraged me. Even when I was drawing amazingly naive comics and colouring them with highlighter pens they would encourage me to do more.

Plus watching a LOT of cartoons up until now keeps inspiring me further. There's so much quality animation around, kids today are so lucky!


What caught your interest first - drawing or animating?
Drawing :D I didn't even realise you could do animation as a job until I saw a promo trailer thing for Disney's Pocahontas which showed animators animating. And then finding out later I could STUDY it too? WHAT. I WANT THAT


How did you become involved with Karrot Animation? What's a typical working day there like?
I became involved when I was introduced to one of the studio's founders before the studio was even created. I was still a student at the time but had made some contacts through some articles I had written about animation festivals, and two of those contacts introduced me to him. Then I did some other jobs for a while when he contacted me again asking if I wanted to join his new company. I would have jumped at the chance but I was already on another work contract at a school and could not break away.

Thankfully I kept in touch and once I'd finished at the school I worked part time for him and the slowly growing Karrot Animation before I was finally taken into the fold full time.

A typical S&D day is fairly intense but I think we have a great work environment. We all get on really well as a team even if we are in our separate groups so when there's a problem we all help each other out to get the job done. Plus there's the awesome commercial team on the top floor of the building (who work on other Karrot projects and commissions) who are also a great bunch of guys and girls!


What did you think about "Sarah and Duck" when it was first developed / pitched?
I loved it. I know I'm bias because I work on it but seriously, Sarah and Duck is a totally unique and different looking and feeling show. Though the show has developed a LOT since the original designs by S&D created Sarah Gomes Harris I think it's still retained a lot of the essence of what she was going for; a quirky and unique show about a little wide eyed girl and her flappy duck companion on their odd mini adventures.


What was working on this series like? Did you had any idea how much interest it would receive when first aired?
Again I'm bias because I was so excited and happy to be working on the show. Every time I get a scene approved it's an amazing feeling...even if it's just a shot of a character blinking! I knew the show would get some attention for being different. So far the feedback we've been getting from review sites and twitter and parents (and kids!) has been so uplifting, we are glad everyone loves this show as much as we do.

Sarah and Duck at Scarf Lady's house

Who is your favourite character from the show, and why?
Scarf Lady. Really there is no part of her I DON'T like. Everything from her design to her voice acting is brill, her banter with her Bag always gets a laugh from me, and she's a fun model to animate too.


As S&D is pretty vast in imagination, how would you describe this series to first-time viewers - or parents looking for an ideal programme to watch with their children?
Oooh there's the million dollar question. I would say firstly that Sarah and Duck is unique appearance wise. I don't know of any pre-school show that has so much detail put into the character designs and backdrops (seriously, this show is loaded with little 'easter eggs' and sight gags) to make the whole world fit together. Plot wise it's more like a kids story book, a relaxing and quiet show that isn't trying to force a message, in my opinion it's perfect 'just before bed' viewing.

Plus it's very gender neutral. Sure the protagonist is a girl but she's a curious, good natured and focused little soul who is balanced out by her boisterous and blustery friend. I think most children can see themselves in the characters, even Duck who is...well...a duck.


With wild speculations that "2D animation is dead" and "British Animation is being phased out", do you think that this will peak interest again from across the Globe, and open up new possibilities for Animators / Artists in the UK? More to the point, where do you think the current state of Animation in the UK stands at this present time?
I hope so! The UK animation scene has been struggling these last few years, but we have still managed to maintain a strong preschool legacy and kept work 'in house' rather than sending it abroad. I don't know how big an impact Sarah&Duck will make on the global scene compared to other big preschool shows, but I would like to think it helps prove that preschool animation has the capacity to be smart, beautiful and a little outlandish. So the more kids who like it the higher the bar is raised.

I'm afraid I can't say much for other animation (film etc) as I really don't know. But Great Britain has always had a knack for producing quality animation with a look that is all our own, and I think people internationally recognise and respect that. No one can produce British animation like Britain can! 


Thanks for your time! Any final thoughts for fellow "Sarah and Duck" fans out there?
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. The number of people who have told me how much they enjoy the show warms my heart every time I hear them. And this is from adult fans of the show as well as the kids! It's a great feeling to be working on this show and when the going gets rough and the hours get long it's the support of people like you that make it all worth it. We'll keep making the show great for you!

Duck wants to be a penguin!

You can view Hannah's home page here for more of her lovely work!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Follow Sarah and Duck on Facebook and Twitter!

Karrot Animation's main website

For the wee 'uns, Sarah and Duck's CBeebies page!

Episode guide of eps currently on air so far!
Find out how Sarah and Duck came to be!

Toonhound's review on Sarah and Duck

Chuggington Sketches

Since I've not posted anything art-related here for....ever, I thought I'd remedy that once again!

After discovering and reviewing Chuggington, I thought I'd take a crack at drawing some of the characters, which I drew back in June earlier this year. Since each have more complex locomotive designs than what I'm used to seeing on British Railways and Heritage Lines, it was a fun challenge to attempt =)

Chuggington © Sarah Ball, Ludorum plc. I own nothing!

Fourways Farm (1993)

Farms have had an impact on Children's TV over the years, going by the great number that have been made for younger viewers - Tumbledown Farm by Dick King-Smith, Dappledown Farm starring Brian Cant, Forget-Me-Not Farm starring Mike Amatt. Even today we have such gems such as Big Barn Farm and Mist: Sheepdog Tales, which teaches children about farm life or basic life lessons through talking animals.

Whether with puppets, animation or live-action, all have the same format, but each in their own way stand out in terms of storytelling for youngsters to watch and learn from.

Fourways Farm is no exception. Back when Channel 4 used to air educational shows during lunchtimes, this series was one of them (as well as Sesame Street, but that's another story). It was a stop-motion animated series produced by Case Television, as part of the 4Learning Primary Science block between 1994-1995. It was a fantastic show where the animal characters, all voiced by Martin Jarvis, taught viewers basic science - consisting of nature, the weather, forces, health and other topics. It offered a variety of characters that were a great source of ideas, from Godfrey the gloomy horse to cheery Davenport the dog, and the cunning rats known as Uno, Duo and Trio.

Chris Ellis created the show and wrote every episode. And it's thanks to him that the episodes were able to teach the viewers something new in the form of a clever, fun story each time. Even today many fans still remember it - and although there isn't a proper DVD release made for the public, one is never too far away from finding a "rare" VHS Cassette or selection of books from eBay or Amazon.

So enjoy a few episodes from the Playlist below and see just why many fondly remember Fourways Farm!

LINKS OF INTEREST

Fourways Farm on DVD via the 4Learning website

Martin Javis' Wikipedia page

Chris Ellis' Wikipedia Page

Olly the Little White Van

As I've said before, though I'm still a nostalgic chap at heart - whether for the 50's Golden Age to the 90's Silver Age, or the surrealism of the 80's - there are times when a modern-day show still manages to get my attention by achieving in two vital areas: namely animation and scripting.

And this little pre-school series seems to be another runaway success from what I can make out!

Olly the Little White Van tells of a cheery, helpful van, and his Driver Stan, who is "always glad to lend a hand" to his friends in the cheery town of Bumpton. With a mixture of vehicle and human characters, there's plenty of friends for Olly to help - including best mate Bazza, Jethro the Tractor, Royston the Fire Engine, Miss Florette the Greengrocers, and many more!

 

The characters' voices are all brought to life by Justin Fletcher - already famed over on CBeebies for developing and starring in Tikkabilla, Something Special, Gigglebiz and the Tweenies, to name but a few.

Created by Ideas At Work, the series aired on the CITV Channel sometime in early May, and apparently has gained quite a fanbase from viewers since. Having eventually got round to watching several episodes from ITV Player, I can see many reasons why!

The stories maybe short, running just over five minutes, but the writers clearly pack in a lot of energy and fun dialogue to keep the kiddies' interest, and don't shove lessons down the throats of their viewers. From that, you can tell that this is a wholly British Product to be sure of!!

Each episode contains a brief song to drive (no pun intended) the story along, with everyone bouncing and bobbing like a black and white "rubber hose" 'toon from the 1930's.

Mind you, in the vehicles' case, they literally do just that - swaying and rolling and jumping like mad, giving the series a true "animated" feel from your average pre-schooler show. The team behind the superb CGI quality seem to have been inspired by Pixar's popular Cars movies - with perhaps a touch of Chuggington to boot - in terms of adding more character to their...erm...characters. The vehicles may not appear or move very realistic, but the animation team at Birmingham are clearly having fun all the same! ;-)

In short, I'd recommend Olly to anyone looking for a suitable series for youngsters. It's fun and colourful with likeable characters, and an amazing look and style that you simply can't help but grin at. It's another series that you can watch with your kids without being bored by it!

Check out the official Olly Web Site for clips and games!

Olly on YouTube!

An interview with "Mr Tumble" himself, Justin Fletcher, about entering the world of Olly!

And keep an eye out for Olly Merchandise from Hornby Hobbies, coming in Spring 2012!