Signore Studios

The Wind in the Willows - Cosgrove Hall

2012-01-26T13:36:00.004Z

Over the years, Kenneth Grahame's classic story of The Wind in the Willows has been adapted many, many, many times - in Theatre, on Radio, in Animation and live-action. Even a few "sequels", including some by William Horwood, were written in the same familiar style, with one even brought to the small screen.

Really, once Disney pretty much set the ball rolling with their 1949 adaptation, that was it: a timeless classic telling the stories of Mole, Ratty, Badger and pompous Mr. Toad have been told and re-told by just about everybody, British and American alike. Terry Jones, Rankin/Bass, the BBC...and now Ray Griggs is next in line to recreate the stories - not only with a darker view of the book but with hopes that Ricky Gervais would be up voicing Mole...

Oh. Joy. How. can. I. con-tain. my. ex-cite-ment. < / sarcasm>

Honestly, of all the adaptations I've seen so far in this life, sequels and prequels included, while they may each have their own appealing charm, none of them - and I mean none of them - can compare with Cosgrove Hall's vision...which is, by and far, the strongest of the lot.
Next to a memorable cast consisting of David Jason, Richard Pearson, Peter Sallis, Ian Carmichael, and Sir Michael Hordern among others, it also boasted of some of the studio's most beautiful stop-motion animation in its history.

Cosgrove Hall (of Danger Mouse and Count Duckula fame) first adapted the book as a film in 1983, which was met with outstanding ovation for its tranquil theme, beautiful soundtrack and their own personal touches to the original text. As soon as they had bagged a BAFTA award and an international Emmy award, the studio then created the TV Series.

And unlike some Movie-to-TV creations these days, this was just as faithful to Grahame's style and characters as William Horwood's own work, right down to the introductions to each episode describing the changing of the seasons.

Picking up where the film left off, the first series (with Rosemary Anne Sisson co-writing) also made use of the three sole chapters that were omitted from the film - The Further Adventures of Toad, Wayfarers All and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. And with Brian Trueman handing the writing from Series 2 onwards, it ran for Five Seasons, ranking up 52 episodes between 1983 - 1990, and was granted another TV Special, A Tale of Two Toads.

The writing especially is firmly on par with the animation and voice acting. The continuity Brian Trueman and Rosemary built up throughout is outstanding, with new characters like Auberon, Mole's Cousin, making their mark in the series, and constant references from previous episodes that also come into play for future ones to follow - often as the Chekhov's Gun for a particular storyline or three.

In fact, the storyline of Series 4 throughout, which sees the Riverbankers and Wild Wooders in threat of a foreboding railway company, is exactly the sort of thing that grabs the viewer's attention and urges them to "stay tuned for the next episode". It makes such shows far more interesting to watch, with the sort of careful script writing that makes you believe that these characters, though set in the 1900's, were actually real. The believability in their personalities and the adventures they've had has, for this series at least, much more appeal and curiosity than stand-alone episodes that have little to no connection with the original books they were "based" from...or in some cases, their own continuity created by some TV Executive.

The series also showed a great many sides with Brian in the writer's chair: Plentiful comedy from Toad's stupidity and general wordplay, sentimentality without being too soppy, and at times drama, before the Soccer Moms loomed their interfering heads. Drama really made this series stand out at the time it was made, clearly evident that Cosgrove Hall weren't afraid to push the envelope now and again - which has seen the Chief Weasel caught in a hunter's trap, the Wild Wood and Toad Hall set fire respectively and poor Mole suffering from mushroom poisoning.

However, comedy has always been a major part of the show's charm, in relation to the original book, which has seen Toad play out a number of lead episodes as he goes from one craze to another. In fact, the entire Fifth and last Season, "Oh, Mr. Toad!" became a spin-off focusing on Toad's antics, even though it still maintained the strong continuity from the previous seasons. Despite this, the original opening titles were replaced with the classic theme tune in later broadcasts (and DVD releases) to avoid possible confusion.

In short, if anyone asks what's my favourite version of The Wind in the Willows, there can only be one clear winner as I look now to the complete DVD box set sitting proudly on my shelf above me. And I never tire of rewatching the same episodes over and over, knowing full well that we may never see the likes of such a series again...at least outside of another Hollywood money-maker pipeline.

Oh, and to finish up - Rik Mayall, Charles Nelson Reilly, Matt Lucas...you all did your best, but David Jason's performance of Toad still gets the biggest laughs from me ;-)

Series 1 Playlist - for viewer's interest!

OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST:

Toonhound's The Wind in the Willows page (TV Series)

The Wind in the Willows Complete DVD Box Set (which includes the original movie and A Tale of Two Toads)

Download the Songs and Music of the original TV Series from Play.com - composed by Keith Hopwood & Malcolm Rowe

The Kenneth Grahame Society Website

Pluto Music - home of composer Keith Woodman

Theodore Tugboat

2012-01-14T09:46:00.001Z

Another little something for my friends overseas - this charming Canadian series from the 90's seems like an amalgamation of Thomas the Tank Engine and TUGS. But Theodore Tugboat, for those who remember it fondly, became a series of its own in terms of good storytelling and a fun character base to go round, consisting of the lead tugboats, various ships, barges, and even docks and buildings!

My first experience with Theodore Tugboat, I recall, was rather a strange one when the series had a brief run on Discovery Kids here in the UK during the late 90's (albeit with the Harbour Master scenes, played by Denny Doherty, cut out), which then prompted me to look up the show online. Since then, while it's not as grand as TUGS, my interest for it has grown little by little over time - and though a complete DVD release seems a long way off, we still have the wonders of YouTube to keep the spirit of the series alive until such a thing is possible.

He fall down and go BOOM

2012-01-11T18:25:00.000Z

Thought it was time to show off some arts - since it's been a while...again.

From Here to Timbuctoo

2012-01-02T08:20:00.000Z

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's to many new, exciting things to come in 2012 for all of us =)

In honour of Ronnie Corbett (one half of the memorable Two Ronnies) receiving his New Year's Honour, here's another notable star on his comedy career, of the animated sort.

Following his remarkable success with the Mr. Men and Little Miss series, Roger Hargreaves also wrote another little series called Timbuctoo in the late '70's. The books tell the stories of a group of animals, each who are named after the sound they make. Such as with Woof (a sort of Dog), Buzz (a sort of Bee), Squeak (a sort of Mouse), and so on.

The books were later reprinted in the 90's when an animated series was created by Flicks Films, who also worked on all the animated Mr. Men animated shows of the 70's and 80's respectively (although Terry Ward did have a hand to play with the 90's series by Marina Productions) as well as Bananaman in the 80's - with scripts by renowned writer Richard Everett (Busy Buses, Nellie the Elephant), all in the same, remeniscent style of Mr. Hargreaves himself.

With narration and voices provided by Ronnie, check out an episode below, as well as other links relating to the series:

Toonhound's Timbuctoo Page

More Timbuctoo on Richard Everett's official page!

Mike Pearse - The Great Bash Street Nativity Play

2011-12-23T07:52:00.000Z

A while after I had posted several blogs praising Mike Pearse's fantastic Beano entries, I received a very nice email from a blog watcher;

"I am a MASSIVE fan of Mike Pearse and avidly collected the Beano for many years, collecting rather the sizeable collection of classics and 6 years solid of comics (which unfortunately got destroyed a few years back!)

I remember Mike Pearse as being one of the most inventive, funny artists, next to Tom Paterson. But it wasn't just his artistic talents that set him apart, it was his amazing way of storytelling. Reading the Beano would normally raise a smile or a giggle, but Mike Pearse's works would actually have me rolling in laughter, and his stuff still does to this day. Thank you so much for posting the halloween comic, I've been searching for those long comics for SO LONG!

Tell you what though, there are two more. The football one would be a joy to read, but the comic that sticks out further than anything else is the Christmas comic, the nativity play. I still speak about it to this day sometimes, and can't look at a nativity donkey the same way again, it left that much of a mark on me. If you posted that, I would be so grateful!"

So for you, Emma, that's exactly what I intend to do - the original story in all its unedited glory! Merry Christmas from the Signore Studios Blog! :D

NOTE: apart from the cover, which appears to be the work of David Parkins, everything else is Mike's stuff.

...and just for fun, here's an extra Pearse Bash Street comic which, so far as I know, was only available online via the Beano website. Thank Lord for the screenshot button! ;-)

I wonder, though, if "David" was intended to be a nod to the life-long Bash Street artist, David Sutherland...hmmm...

Tom & Jerry Kids - Secondary Stars

2011-12-05T11:02:00.001Z

As with every other character within the animation world, many of the stars we've watched and remembered today each started out as a "bit-character" or antagonist in a previous star's short. Woody Woodpecker from Andy Panda, Snagglepuss from Quick Draw McGraw, the Blue Racer, Crazylegs Crane and the Japanese Beetle from Tijuana Toads...the list is endless.
Even Sheen from Jimmy Neutron, in a bizarre twist of fate, was given his own spin-off series..

In short, if a character has a wide enough appeal through personality or premise, then the producers understand that the audience would want to see more of them, often gaining entire spin-offs for themselves (though in case of Sheen, I'm perplexed. The kid is as likeable as a naked mole rat with anthrax).

And today's blog post is no exception. According to Pat Ventura's latest blog, when he was a writer on Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry Kids series, he mentions the following:

"Being an artist, when I created a character for a cartoon sometimes I would also sketch a rough design and the producer would use it. Two of the characters even starred in a couple of their own cartoons."

In Pat's case, more than two secondary characters were given the spotlight treatment in later seasons, though not all penned by Pat - all who originally featured in the various Tom & Jerry / Spike & Tyke segments. So we'll see how Slowpoke Antonio, Kyle and Clyde Cat, Bernie Bird, Wildmouse and Calaboose Cal get on, shall we? B-)

When Animation Goes AWOL - Roobarb - Season 2 (2005)

2011-11-20T07:47:00.000Z

Another blog post about plans that were stopped before they could begin or releases that never came to fruition:

ROOBARB - SEASON 2 (2005)

Roobarb was the creation of Grange Calveley, and the outline of the first series was as simple - yet brilliant - as the animation.

1974 saw the adventures of Roobarb, a green dog who was a mad as a box of hazelnuts, always daydreaming or inventing some daft new creation while also being mocked / assisted by the chattering birds and Custard, the fat pink cat next door. Narrated by the ever-charming Richard Briers (The Good Life, Ever Decreasing Circles, Skylark, Bob the Builder) and animated by Bob Godfrey (with his trusty marker pens that gave the series its original "wobbly" style), it was the first fully animated television series to be made in the UK, and has, as with many British Shows, gained a great cult following since.

So it came to pass that, over 30 years later, a brand new series, Roobarb and Custard Too, was produced by Irish company Monster Animation & Design (of Fluffy Gardens fame). And it has been one of those rare chances when a revival of a classic kids series has succeeded!!!

With Grange Calveley to write 40 further stories to accompany the 30 before, Richard Briers returning as the joyful storyteller, and the animation - though animated with Flash on the computer - retaining its trademark "wobbly" look with simplistic backgrounds, very little else had been changed - including its unforgettable theme song.
Some minor characters were tweaked and some new ones added, but above everything else Series 2 has maintained much of what made Series 1 so memorable in the first place :D

And with Series 1 already on DVD, Series 2 was soon to follow suit - and then comes the mystery of this wonderful, successful revival...

Rather than released as a massive box set as with the likes of Shaun the Sheep, Series 2 was planned as a series of 4 separate DVDs. And no matter how much I have asked or looked, only Volumes 1 and 2 have been made available...

So what has happened to Volumes 3 and 4??

We've seen a series of books based on the new episodes published by Mogzilla, and while Series 2 has continued to be rerun on Channel 5's Milkshake block, it's a mystery why the rest of it has yet to make it to DVD. Perhaps they just got mislaid or forgotten somehow...who knows...?

LINKS:
The Official Roobarb & Custard website!
Toonhound's Roobarb Page
Grange Calveley's home page!

When Animation Goes AWOL: Cosgrove Hall

2011-11-19T09:37:00.000Z

Mark Hall 1936 - 2011

First off, something that I only just found out last night - I regret to inform the death of Mark Hall, who lost his battle with cancer on Friday November 18th. The news really took me off-guard, especially as it seemed he and Brian Cosgrove were ready to provide a host of exciting new animation projects for a fresh young generation, while attracting the interest of the old following the opening of their new studio...

Though I fear of how this may affect Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick now, when so early in the game, my deepest sympathies and coincides go out to Mark's family, friends and colleagues in this difficult time. God Bless =(

However, I intend to carry on regardless by showcasing a few other shows that Cosgrove Hall Films were unable to complete before their company folded in 2010:

One of these was their first venture into CGI with a series entitled "Theodore". While little information is given on this particular pitch, Wikipedia states that it was to be set in a Nuclear Organisation called "Radioactive Science and Technology Station" (RSTS). When these may resurface again remains uncertain.

Another series that never passed the pilot stage was The Carrottry Kid, created by Andy Fanton (a comic artist for the recent Dandy Comic). The series would have featured the characters as anthropomorphic fruit / vegetable characters, the hero being a karate-chopping young carrot who, with help from his mentor Master Che-Ri, trains to be a true karate fighter in order to stop the evil forces of Count Cornelius Cob.
Unfortunately, due to ITV's absorbing of Cosgrove Hall, the series never really flourished. However, over the years it has found new life as a web comic, with the original pilot still available to view online:

To say that Mark passed away aged just 75 years old says a great deal for his legacy in the British Animation media. The talents he urged, the skills he shared and developed, the hands-on approach with every member of every series that he and long-time colleague Brian Cosgrove helped to create should be an example to us all - even in today's cynical media, half the shows in the world that are created are not as glorious as Danger Mouse, Count Duckula, the Wind in the Willows, Victor and Hugo and many, many, many more...

In fact, I received a second surprise the following morning when I was contacted by one Roger Stennett, who was a writer on several CHF shows, including Fantomcat, Avenger Penguins and Sooty's Amazing Adventures. He was "particularly pleased that I enjoyed the work of Cosgrove Hall Films so much", going by what I've posted about in the past, and went on to say:

"Both he (Brian Cosgrove) and Mark were such gently powerful influences at Cosgrove Hall Films, and whenever I think of my time working with them both, it always makes me smile.

Over my 20 years + of writing Animation, they were indeed 'the best of times' "

In short, Mr. Hall truly did leave his Mark.

Thank you, Sir. From all of us.

And from 2006, view a brief interview with Mark Hall himself on his time with his most famous company.

When Animation Goes AWOL: Orsum Island (2005/08)

2011-11-17T22:03:00.001Z

Another blog post about plans that were stopped before they could begin or releases that never came to fruition:

ORSUM ISLAND (2005/08)

Co-written with Ryan Healy =)

During his lifetime, David Mitton had made a firm name of himself as Director, Producer and Writer for television – more famous for his 20 years of work on Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (from 1984 till 2003) and for creating Thomas's “sister” series, TUGS (1989).

David left Thomas in 2003, following the HIT Entertainment takeover, and later began working with long-term business associates David Lane, who he had known from his days working with Gerry Anderson on the set of Thunderbirds (David Lane directed a number of Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and other Century 21st productions – as well as working on feature films such as Superman and Muppet Treasure Island), and mutual friend and colleague, Michelle Fabian-Jones. Together, they set up Pineapple Squared Entertainment – their first major series being Adventures On Orsum Island, based on books featuring the adventures of Monty Dragon.

Orsum Island was intended for older children, in terms of more dramatic storylines and sharper humour. The series would follow the adventures of a boy traveller called Kodi and his struggle of survival with his friends Divine Flower, Monty the Dragon and Fidget the Chameleon, as the evil Zarkan tried to rid the island of all life using his terrifying army of The Viners, led by Malus.

Its original website had everything for its first planned series – character sheets, episode outlines, etc – all the perfect ingredients of filling a gap in the market for the 7 to 11 age group demographic, which is felt to be sorely overlooked by broadcasters and producers in the UK, who are currently more geared toward the preschool market. The team also intended for Orsum to be ground-breaking in terms of visual and technical innovations, with live action sets and 3D / CGI characters and effects.

Production on Orsum Island was ongoing between 2006 and early 2008. However, whilst the series was intended to begin with a 13-episode first series run when deals with broadcasters had been agreed and finalised, only four episodes were produced when production came to an abrupt halt. David Mitton, who had been a major financier of the project, suddenly died of a heart attack in May 2008.

Very short-lived - the logo for Pineapple Squared Entertainment Ltd

All three partners in Pineapple Squared Entertainment were passionately committed to the project, but David felt it a great opportunity to pass on his 40 years of experience in the film industry to a new generation. He was very enthusiastic about Orsum Island and the future for his new company and team. Production on Orsum Island never started up again following David’s passing, and Pineapple Squared folded – with Michelle Fabian-Jones and David Lane abandoning the company and setting up a brand new venture to carry on the legacy that the previous project had left behind.

As of now, it seems very unlikely that the episodes will actually air – however, clips from the series have been scattered across the internet to view from. A full episode is currently available on YouTube to watch (See Below). Interestingly enough, David wasn’t the only member of the Thomas crew to feature on the Orsum team – Robert Gauld Galliers, who had been Art Director on Thomas from Series 1 to 7 also came on board to help with the project, and Martin T. Sherman, who would go on to provide the USA voice of Thomas from 2009, was also part of the voice cast for the series!

In a strange way, whenever I hear a company bearing the word “pineapple” today, I don't think of that loopy Louie Spence and his Pineapple Dance Studios – I just think of one of my childhood heroes and what could have been truly “orsum” to watch...

Friends, Colleagues and Fans alike pay tribute to David Mitton

When Animation goes AWOL - Willo the Wisp Season 2

2011-11-16T08:11:00.000Z

Another blog post about plans that were stopped before they could begin or releases that never came to fruition:

WILLO THE WISP - SEASON 2 (2005)

Willo the Wisp was one of the memorable 80's shows fondly recalled for the surreality in its characters and storylines - all thanks to creator Nick Spargo and his manic imagination.

Originally created in 1980 and narrated by Carry On star Kenneth Williams, Willo the Wisp is a ghost-like storyteller / "gossiper" who'd tell about the goings-on in Doyley Woods, where we first meet Mavis Cruet the "overweight fairy person", Arthur the Caterpillar, The brainless Moog, the Beast (formally Prince Humbert the Handsome), Carwash the Cat and Evil Edna the wicked witch.

The series has gained a strong following since, eventually making its way to DVD with all 26 episodes completely remastered - but what this DVD release contains is what inspired me to create these AWOL posts in the first place.

Willo had proven so popular that, come 2005, Nick's daughter Bobbie Spargo decided to bring forth a second series featuring all-new adventures for the fans. There were, obviously, notable differences:

Willo was no longer a caricature of Williams - instead after the new narrator, James Dreyfus (My Hero, Nina and the Neurons, Gimmie, Gimme, Gimmie, The Thin Blue Line).
Mavis Cruet was redesigned slightly slimmer (although still too heavy to fly).
Evil Edna became a widescreen television, with a wheeled stand instead of her original metal legs.

And with the series written by "Grizzly Tales" and "Alistair Fury" creator Jamie Rix, it looked and had good promise - with an announcement that Season 2 would be on DVD in 2006, a year after "Season 1" itself was released...

It's there in red and white. Trailer and all. A planned DVD release that never happened - so why?

Was it because the fans weren't happy that the characters looked or sounded different?

Was it because Rix's new stories weren't as memorable as Spargo's original series?

Was it another economical / business issue that stifled hopes and plans?

Or was it because of total disrespect from Playhouse Disney UK by lack of advertisement and giving the series lacklustre timeslots - between Midnight and 2am - denying anyone of any age the opportunity of seeing it properly...?

Whatever the reason, I don't know. But from what little of Series 2 I did manage to catch by sheer luck, I think it would have grown more and be accepted by the fans had it been treated respectfully during its run.

For now, at least there's YouTube - catch what remains of Series 2 to judge for yourselves:

The Official Willo the Wisp Website

Toonhound's Willo Page

When Animation goes AWOL - The Diddleys

2011-11-15T08:02:00.000Z

Don't you find it annoying, yet ever so curious, when you hear, see or read news of something "Coming Soon" in the animation world...only for it to actually never happen, despite previews and advertisements and the like? How, for whatever reason/s, it goes AWOL (Absent WithOut Leave) as if it was never announced at all?

Several times in this life I have seen this sort of thing happen, and in most cases they're usually within the United Kingdom. Here is a short series of blogs about projects that were stopped before they could begin or releases that never came to fruition:

THE DIDDLEYS (2003)

When Thomas the Tank Engine still ruled the rails (and still in model-form), and long before Chuggington came to be, Silverglint Entertainment tried to get in on the act by what it seems like an attempt to merge two of the most popular interests for boys - namely, steam engines and superheroes - while also trying to match Pixar in terms of CGI animation.

The Diddleys, as the tagline declares, were "steampowered superheroes who live in the magical world of Toostville". Diddley-Dum and Diddley-Dee, with the help of Charlie the Stationmaster, are always on the look-out for anyone in danger whilst they're running the railway.

But when the call does come, all it takes is for the titular characters to be filled up by H2O the Water Tower's "magic stuff" for them to transform into anything necessary for the emergency. A Submarine for an underwater adventure, a Rocket Ship for a space rescue...

...and that's about it, at least that's what was offered from the teaser trailers. Since then, apart from a few measly books that were published, The Diddleys along with their fancy website just vanished into virtual thin air. Nowadays if you're fortunate enough, you might just come across that lonely little book in a charity shop, or see if the Diddley-themed engines are still at work at the Brooksland Miniature Railway in Sussex, which must have been created to help promote the series further...then again, it's been so long, no one seems to know whether the park is still open today.

Mind you, maybe the whole concept of superhero steam engines just wasn't meant to be, especially with creepy character designs as this. Then again, the Diddleys didn't abandon railway realism entirely...they also tried to promote Railway Safety through activity pages et al, probably also to tie-in with the miniature railway one can assume.

Still, it would have been interesting to know more about the show's development - how it came to be, a little chat with the creator/s - or at least wonder why we didn't appreciate it properly when it was first announced back then.

Ah well, that's life - sooner or later, things get derailed, quite literally =P

LINKS:

View what you can of the old Diddleys website courtesy of the Internet Archive

A view of the Diddley-themed Minature Engines

Brooklands Theme Park - aka; "Diddleyland"...

Another advert for Brookslands "Diddleyland"

Plonsters

2011-11-13T07:47:00.000Z

As you may know, if you've been following this Blog of mine long enough, I've always been an admirer of anything obscure, original or just downright nutty - so this stop-motion series from Germany fits all three roles nicely...

Plonsters was created by Bettina Matthaei and produced by Anima Studio für Film & Grafik GmbH in the late 1980's. Having been aired in Australia and Norway, it eventually made its way to British airwaves, which I happened to catch sight of as part of Channel Five's Milkshake! block during some channel surfing one morning.
The series follows the adventures of three plasticine creatures known as Plif (green), Plops (blue) and Plummy (orange). With each episode lasting no less than 5 minutes, showcasing simple yet fun storylines for youngsters to follow, it really does prove what one can do with some plasticine and a little imagination...

In fact, going by the gibberish language from the Plonsters, the series seems to have the same universal appeal as with Morph and Pingu in a way - but you be the judge.

Check out the Plonsters YouTube Channel for all avaliable episodes!

Also check out Bettina Matthaei's own web site (It's in German - however you can translate it by using Google Translate!)

I talk to the Trees...

2011-11-12T21:18:00.000Z

Drawn last weekend during a damp day in the local park. Wasn't too bad going by the lovely scenery mind =)

Animusic

2011-11-11T07:45:00.000Z

Music and Art both have something in common - the need to express one's feelings and / or creativities, through the smallest of doodles to the shortest of songs. Even animation, however comical or dramatic, has expressed the talents of the animators and Directors over the years.

Animusic brings the theme of timing animation to a particular soundtrack to a whole new level. Founded by Wayne Lytle in 1995, he and co-founder David Crognale have produced a new style of visualisations where "the music drives the animation" - quite literally according to the programmers.

Mixing stunning, imaginative CGI with incredible Midi-based scores, Animusic was released on DVD in 2004 and 2005 respectively as a series of music videos - originally intended for music/animation enthusiasts, they have since become popular for all ages. Wonderful stuff for the imagination if you're after something different =)

Check out a few videos from the DVDs, including the earliest Animusic video that set the ball rolling - More Bells and Whistles:

The official Animusic website - where you can watch TV interviews and buy the DVDs!

Mr Potato Head - The Comic Strips

2011-11-09T09:46:00.001Z

Ever since Pixar's Toy Story came out, I can never imagine viewing my old Mr Potato Head toy without hearing Don Rickles's memorable tones first. The character's popularity has obviously grown far more since the Toy Story Trilogy, though he was already popular long before then. Next to a short-lived TV Series that almost no one seems to remember, he was also granted a sizeable life as a comic strip character.

Designed and drawn by Jim Davis and Brett Koth, famed for Garfield and U. S. Acres, I remember reading this with great delight on the old ucomics website (now under the name of GoComics). Featuring Mrs. Potato Head and their two kids, Chip and Julienne, the humour centred on various subject in the strips' run - family life, handing a new job, taking advantage that all the characters have removable body parts...or in Brett Koth's case, complete surreality that invaded Orson's Farm... XD

The strip's actual run escapes me as it's been so long, but at a guess I think it started out somewhere in July 2002 until June 2004 est. ~~However, I think it'd be nice if Jim and Hasbro got together again to at least release the original strips into printed form - or in case of Orson's Farm, "revived" online again for revisiting~~.

EDIT: Actually, scratch the above comment - the strips happen to have already been available in book format for his 50th birthday back in 2002. Another slip under the radar...

So here's a healthy selection to enjoy anyway!

Fester Fish!

2011-11-07T08:34:00.001Z

Aaron Long is one of these guys that Cartoon Network, Disney, Nickelodeon, etc desperately need now more than another Spongebob / Beiber marathon fest. Next to being a fantastic music composer, he's got a very sharp sense of humour, which has been let loose since he took to his hand in animation.

Fester Fish is pleased with his growing popularity!

From his early days with Danger Lady and Slick Nick Private Dick, he really took off when he brought to us Space Goose and Fester Fish, both which have become Internet favourites since. It's not just the creative storytelling and characters that Aaron has produced (with inspiration from the 1920 rubberhose cartoons of yesteryear), but the fact that he uses Flash (and Photoshop for BGs) to animate frame-by-painstaking frame instead of the lazy "tweening" method one sees nowadays from Flash-based cartoons - and that he, he alone, created these with no funding from anyone as a regular one-guy studio - shows that any artist / animator with enough patience, skill and guts can produce equally fun results.

...in short, if TV fails, make your own entertainment!

Although these have been featured on Cartoon Brew already, I just can't help but share his two Fester cartoons further. Be sure to check out his DeviantART and Blog pages for further development in his style and plans for future shorts to come =)

The Sooty Show - 2011

2011-11-04T12:09:00.001Z


Title Card for the New 2011 Series

Anyone in British Waters ought to have seen, heard of or grown up with Sooty and chums. Originated from Harry Corbett in 1948 for the BBC, Sooty, Sweep and Soo would go on to become the longest-running children's programme in the UK, spanning an incredible 60 years in various shapes and forms (including an animated series from Cosgrove Hall Films).
Even when Harry retired, he handed the bear to his son, Matthew, who - until his own retirement in 1998 - became a huge creative driving force for Sooty's further adventures, becoming as iconic as his little friend during his respectable career.
Richard Cadell, a life-long friend to the Corbett family and co-star of Sooty and Co, happily took over from Matthew started with Sooty Heights, and has since continued the traditional string of stage shows, keeping the little band of friends alive for generations old and new.

Hey Ho, it's Sooty & Co! Matthew Corbett poses with the Camper Van

However, Sooty's television career since the late '90's hadn't always been "Izzy Wizzy". Following HIT Entertainent's takeover of Gullane Entertainment, it left the series in creative doubt.
HIT's current brands have had (to them) more of a worldwide appeal than just one country alone - consisting of Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam, Pingu, Barney and Thomas the Tank Engine - so their attempts of making Sooty appeal outside of Great Britain had been rather negative and, lack of a decent word, stupid. Poorly-made puppets and a lack of Brendam Longman (long-time voice of Soo) were two of the biggest blows to the "franchise".

Soo from the 2004 series, comparing the old look with the (then) new. Don't fix what isn't broken...

But bad writing in all stifled the series between 2001 - 2004, which landed them in a 6-year hiatus until HIT, unsure of what to do next, decided to put the rights up for sale.

Richard with Sooty, Sweep and Soo!

...however, Richard became a true hero in the end when he snapped up the rights in 2008 and, from 2011, delivered us a brand-new series set in a holiday camp theme park. And having watched a majority of the new series, I was happily delighted with the results. Now that he's in complete charge his talent shines through much more. You can really see how passionate he is about Sooty and the brand, rather than just trying to make money off it.
It really does feel like old school children's TV from the 80's/90's - purely to entertain and not educate, with all the wonderful slapstick that made Sooty and Sweep a brilliant duo in the first place. And even the additional writers, Alex Skeratt, shares his enthusiasm!

In this day and age where reviving and destroying childhood heroes is becoming an annoying "fad" in today's media, it's folks like Richard that has to remind everyone that if you do plan to bring back a classic series to the present day - DO IT PROPERLY. And so I applaud Richard for showing 'em how to do just that, even with a small budget.
While I'll always adore the Matthew Corbett shows (mainly because that was the era of Sooty I grew up with), Richard Cadell is fast becoming a second favourite if this new series is anything to go by =D

Currently airing on the CITV channel, the number of guest stars to take part have been an additional treat - including Stacey Solomon, Justin Lee Collins, Keith Chegwin, Paul Daniels....and an old friend who makes a delightful return for one last hurrah...

Talking of familiar faces, test your Sooty knowledge and see if you remember any of Sooty's past from the episodes below - a little slice of why the 2011 series deserves further admiration!

Toonhound's Sooty Page

The Official Sooty Show Homepage!

The Sooteries YouTube Page, with the biggest collection of Sooty-related videos on the Internet!

Rat-Rat-Rat-Ratties!!!

2011-11-02T08:22:00.000Z

There's a personal quote of mine I tend to live by: "Being normal is boring - it's more fun to be mad!" And that same theory seems to have worked very nicely for Spike Milligan himself.

Anyone who has heard of or listened to The Goon Show should obviously know who Spike Milligan is. His warped, manic sense of humour has left a lasting impact to those who are inspired to follow in his footsteps - walking backwards to Christmas all the way!

In fact, Spike was also a hit for children's television once his radio days had long since passed. Next to narrating Honeycomb Animations' Wolves, Witches and Giants and writing Badjelly the Witch (as well as countless children's books and poems), he may also be remembered for The Ratties - created and written by Mike Wallis and "daughter of 'Eccles'" Laura Milligan. But going by the mad giggling in the episodes below, one can only suspect that Spike had sneaked in a few dozen improvs during recording...!

Once again, to whom so ever owns the rights to this show - DVD release plezthanx.

The Ratties on Toonhound!

Laura Milligan's Book Creator's Circle Page!

Mike Pearse - A Nightmare on Bash Street!

2011-10-31T07:48:00.000Z

Just in time for Halloween, here's one of Mike Pearse's "extra l-o-n-g" stories from 2000, featuring the Bash Street Kids.

With no disregard at all for David Sutherland's long-standing career, what I love about Mike's Bash St. comics is how he injects more character to the kids - Spotty became a loud-mouthed practical joker, Sidney a cocky wannabe, and even Plug displays intelligence amongst his ghastly features. All different and perfect for character interactions to play from.

In fact, considering how many extended stories Mike has penned for the Bash Street Kids, I wouldn't be surprised if these were considered his favourites to work with, next to The Three Bears!

The Muppets - "Once A Year Day"

2011-10-30T09:23:00.000Z

Halloween comes but once a year - the Vile Bunch know how to celebrate their special day as only they know how in true Muppet fashion!

The Spooks of Bottle Bay

2011-10-29T08:41:00.001+01:00

Something else to help you-all get into the spirit (no pun intended) of Halloween - from the same company who brought us the wonderfully weird Button Moon, Playboard Puppets also blessed us with the equally mad yet dark Spooks of Bottle Bay, which spanned three seasons between 1992 and 1995.

Some of the Spooks are out to play! Drawn by me back in 2009.

Mad because the series, as shown in the title sequence, seems to take place in a fishing village within a ship-in-a-bottle trinket, and dark because...well...because that's how I remember it visually. From Sybil Sludge's gruesome Zelda-like appearance from Terrahawks to the manic plaid-covered Tommy Spook, who was forever grinning and giggling...

Yet somehow, it was one of those shows where I enjoyed being terrified, in a good way. There was a light-hearted manner on how the scares in this series were portrayed, and the construction of the puppets had me fascinated whenever this popped up on CITV "in the day", with a theme tune as haunting as the spooks themselves.

In fact, just compare the mouth shapes of Fred Spook to Captain Large of the Bottle army - almost a "family resemblance" when one looks hard enough...

So for those who have never seen see the series before, or haven't seen it in a while, let us start from the beginning where we "Meet the Spooks" before em-bark-ing on a "Doggy Trail"...whoooooo!

Little Gems' Spooks of Bottle Bay Page

Toonhound's Spooks of Bottle Bay Page

Playboard Puppets' website - Button Moon and Spooks of Bottle Bay included!

The Peager

2011-10-27T17:58:00.000+01:00

Peacock + Tiger = Peager!

IMO, "Peager" sounds more natural to say than 'Piger' or...dare I say...'Ticock'. Ooo Matron! =P

Chuggington Sketches

2011-10-22T10:55:00.000+01:00

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 =)

They're the Baddies! Victor and Hugo...

2011-10-19T18:14:00.000+01:00

Of all the shows Cosgrove Hall had produced over the years, it comes as a surprise when only a handful are still remembered to this day (thanks to DVD releases). Danger Mouse, Jamie & the Magic Torch, the Wind in the Willows, and even Terry Pratchet's Truckers.

But then there are shows from CH that somehow fall by the wayside, either by lack of interest from the public or lack of advertising from the TV Boffins - shows like Creepy Crawlies, Fantomcat, Albie and even Vampires, Pirates and Aliens. Anyone seen a (British) DVD featuring this lot?

But the most semi-obscure show from CH has to be these guys:

Victor and Hugo: Bunglers in Crime was another of Cosgrove Hall's wonderfully odd-ball shows, featuring two French criminal brothers always hatching "a meticulous plan" to steal valuable items - but hardly ever succeed due to their constant bumbling.

But there is more to this series than one would think:

- The series combines the writing / voice-acting talents of Brian Trueman, Jimmy Hibbert and David Jason alone (with others such as Edward Kelsey popping up time to time). This would be the last time that Brian and David would provide their voices for a Cosgrove Hall series, as well as being the company's cel-painted show before going from Cosgrove Hall Productions to Cosgrove Hall Films.

- David Jason's voice for Hugo (the short "brain of a brussel sprout") is based from that of Bluebottle from the famous radio programme The Goon Show! To add to that, often Hugo is constantly pestering Victor with the phrase "What is it that it is...?", another Bluebottle trademark ;-)

- Often in animated shows starring anthropomorphic animals, everyone bar themselves is human. Whereas in THIS cartoon, it's vice-versa - the brothers themselves the only human characters!

But that's not all...

A crossover well deserving - drawn by Andrew Morrice!

- Victor and Hugo weren't always Victor and Hugo to begin with. Originally, they started out as Gaston and Pierre from Count Duckula before being redeveloped slightly as humans. And as a result, with thanks to Brian and Jimmy's hilarious scripting, other characters from Danger Mouse and Count Duckula cross-over into V&H either in reference or as supporting characters!!

So with all the perfect chemicals for a winning show, what has happened to the "Bunglers in Crime"?

Well, the sad fact was that V&H were unfortunately created at the time when Children's ITV was undergoing an anti-cartoon phase in 1991-1992, causing Thames TV to lose their franchise. So according to various sources, the episodes were never shown more than once - at least for British airwaves. Last I heard, they seemed to have gained new life Down Under in Aus...

And apart from one episode on a Cosgrove Hall-themed DVD, the rest of the two seasons that were made are only available on lesser-spotted VHS cassettes and books (both hardback and audio!!).

However, for those who do remember, let us hope that one day we shall see all of Victor and Hugo's bungles on DVD, in this day and age where even the most obscure of shows have managed to find new life for today's generation as such...and pray even harder that we Brits will get it first and not Australia...!! =P

For now, though, here's a handful of eppies to watch by:

OTHER LINKS:

Victor and Hugo on Wiki

Toonhound's V&H Page

A more in-depth history of Victor and Hugo from Cosgrove Hall Ate My Brain!

From the Ashes...

2011-10-17T20:32:00.000+01:00

...rises the Phoenix!

This isn't technically "new" to report, but for those of you who have been out of the loop, I'll give a brief update:

Back in February earlier this year, I gave a sombre yet loyal salute following the closure of Cosgrove Hall Films - a huge loss for British animation.

But then came a huge surprise to us Brits when, in August 2011, Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall came out of retirement to reopen their new studios in Stockport, Cheshire, alongside new partner, co-funder and Jakers! creator Francis Fitzpatrick.

....thus, Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick was born, and already they have two new shows in the pipelines, Pip and The Hero Gliffix, both which look and sound quite promising.

Personally, though, while I am over the moon to see Brian and Mark back in the animation field, I rather wish they'd go back to their glory days and start creating "wacky" shows again - the sort that made legends of Danger Mouse, Count Duckula and even Foxbusters. There are plenty of shows in the pre-school market being offered by other studios - so let's hope CHF start producing more of the fun stuff again for us abnormal, mad fans.

...although the less said about Eddie Retractorhead, the better....blechh >(

More information about Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment and their new upcoming shows from their official website.

Media Release on Pip!

Further news on Pip and CHF via Imagine Animation
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