Funnybones

Janet and Allan Ahlberg wrote many grand children's books together. British readers would remember the likes of The Jolly Postman, Bill Burglar, It was a Dark and Stormy Night and the Happy Families series in their local schools or libraries once upon a time.

Funnybones was another series of books they wrote that I took to most. Maybe it was because the premise of a skeleton "family" was so creative and fun. Or maybe it was the illustrations by Andre Amstutz, where the skeletons, set against the "Dark, Dark Town", truly stood out. Whatever it was, I never got tired pouring through the books I had of youth and admiring each page from cover to cover.

I especially adored the animated series that followed, which saw the adventures of Big, Little and Dog adapted by Jocelyn Stevenson, who was also responsible for the terrific Charlie Chalk as well as a host of Muppets / Sesame Street children's books. Next to a very catchy soundtrack plus theme tune, the animation was expertly crafted, with a jolly Griff Rhys Jones handling the position of Storyteller and voices.

So huge credit to Cartwn Cymru for giving us a faultless little series. Only 12 episodes in all, but this one series alone makes it all the more special. And Cartwn Cymru would continue to entertain and impress with their follow-up show, the Toucan 'Tecs - proving as with Mike Young had with SuperTed, the Welsh can produce more than just beautiful singing voices!

As this series was aimed for the pre-school market, it's more comical than scary - however, if you want "creepy", then check out this strange adaptation of one of the Funnybones books from a Hong Kong production...!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Funnybones on Toonhound

The Griff Rhys Jones Fansite

Janet and Allan Ahlberg's Wiki Page

A little about Jocelyn Stevenson from the Children's Media Foundation

Buy "Funnybones" books from Amazon!

He's Charlie Chalk - make no mistake about that!

He may have a "funny way of walking and a wacky way of talking", but these are a few reasons why folks like myself adore shows like Charlie Chalk:

Simply put, it provides what I like to call "intelligent nonsense". Basically when odd things happen with a somewhat logical reason rather than being LOLrandom with no punchline at all. The Goon Show made a wonderful living with this theory from nonsensical storylines packed to overflowing with bizarre but clever "theories". Just listen to their "What Time is it, Eccles?" sketch for a perfect example of "intelligent nonsense".

Charlie Chalk follows the same wonderfully. Created by Ivor Wood of Woodland Animations (Postman Pat, Bertha and Gran) in 1987, it tells of a clown lost at sea, who washes up on a strange island known as Merrytwit - its inhabitants include Captain Mildred of the Good Ship Buttercup, Edward the lazy Gorilla, know-it-all Lewis T. Duck, Arnold the clumsy Elephant, Trader Jones the odd job man and the aberrant-looking Litterbug.

It may not sound much to some, but with a small cast like this (adding Mary the Hover Fairy and Bert the Mountain Monster), it offers bucketloads of crazy storytelling as demonstrated by Jocelyn Stevenson when she was in her creative prime (Funnybones, Captain Zed, Fraggle Rock, the Magic School Bus). Again, no moral lessons were required quite as often for today's generation - it's the fun of telling a story with solid characters and a lot of imagination that's the best reward =)

Although like many things in this life, Charlie's TV Career was short but sweet - with 13 episodes still on DVD and earning himself a LP Record in 1994 with songs from the episodes themselves. Not bad, eh?

So if you want to find out more about how to write "intelligent nonsense", feel free to watch a few episodes from the Playlist below and learn something... ;D

Charlie Chalk on Toonhound!