Charlie Chalk
Encyclopedia
Charlie Chalk was a short-lived stop motion
animation
series produced in 1987 in the UK
by Woodland Animations, from the creators of Postman Pat
and the two other children's television programmes that are Gran
and Bertha
.
who, after falling asleep whilst fishing out at sea, ends up on a strange island
by the name of Merrytwit (as explained in the title sequence before each episode). Characters had to be aware of coconuts which constantly fell from the trees on the island.
The pilot episode of the series (entitled 'Shipwrecked Charlie') finds Charlie having just landed on Merrytwit, and after making friends with some of its inhabitants, decides to stay and build a home there. The following episodes follow Charlie and his new friends on various adventures on the island.
TRAVIA - all episodes have been copyrighted in 1987, but not broadcasted on TV as part of Children's BBC until 20th October 1988.
then in 1995 a WHSmith Exclusive Children's Video by Tempo Video/Abbey Home Entertainment was released in store.
then also in 1995 two 'Tempo Kids Club' videos (each with 2 stories on each tape) in the Abbey Home Entertainment series.
in 1999 The Contender Group released two videos under the 'Nippers' children's video label.
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
series produced in 1987 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Woodland Animations, from the creators of Postman Pat
Postman Pat
Postman Pat is a British stop-motion animated children's television series first produced by Woodland Animations. It is aimed at pre-school children, and concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale .Postman Pat's first 13-episode season was screened on...
and the two other children's television programmes that are Gran
Gran (TV series)
Gran was a children's stop motion animation television series narrated by Patricia Hayes and directed by Ivor Wood. There were only two main characters, namely Gran and her grandson, Jim....
and Bertha
Bertha (TV series)
Bertha is a British stop motion animated children's television series about a factory machine. It was produced by Woodland Animations and aimed primarily at pre-school children.-Story:...
.
Synopsis
It tells the story of Charlie Chalk - a jolly clownClown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
who, after falling asleep whilst fishing out at sea, ends up on a strange island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
by the name of Merrytwit (as explained in the title sequence before each episode). Characters had to be aware of coconuts which constantly fell from the trees on the island.
The pilot episode of the series (entitled 'Shipwrecked Charlie') finds Charlie having just landed on Merrytwit, and after making friends with some of its inhabitants, decides to stay and build a home there. The following episodes follow Charlie and his new friends on various adventures on the island.
Main characters
- Charlie Chalk - A clownClownClowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
, he was out on a fishing trip, when he ended up on Merrytwit Island. In the theme tune, he is described as "Got a funny way of walking and a wacky way of chalking". He was voiced by Michael Williams. His 'funny way of walking' was developed when on occasion he would tumble in an acrobatic circus-style through frames, around obstacles, or just to show folks how happy he was. He also had the ability to do magicMagic (illusion)Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
tricks as well.
- Captain Mildred: The boss, who loves to see everyone hard at work and has the practice of listing things that have to be done: "a: do this; b: do that" etc. She lives on the beached ship Buttercup. She shows strong influences of Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
.
- Mary the Hover FairyFairyA fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
An old fairy whom often proves useful due to her ability to cast spells...provided her magic wand, Houdini, hasn't wandered off again. She is getting old, so has decided to settle down on Merrytwit. She now lives on Buttercup, serving as Mildred's first mate.
- Lewis T. Duck: A small duck with a short temper! He is full of ideas, and believes them to be the best, so is quick to inform people that he is "always right". He can be quite friendly, but lacks patience. The 'T' stands for 'The'.
- Arnold the ElephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
: A pink elephant, who is quite jolly, but also very clumsy, much to the annoyance of Lewis, who always seems to be on the receiving end of Arnold's bouts of clumsiness!
- Edward: A monkey who spends his time sleeping and has quite a dislike for work.
- Trader Jones: Trader is the island's odd job man. Not only does he drive a bike which acts as a taxi and a means of transporting goods, he also owns a general supplies store on the island: 'if you want it, he's got it.' He never accepts money; he trades. A supply of bananas may cost you a days beachcombing.
- Bert: A giant monster, discovered by Charlie, Arnold and Lewis in The Mountain that Moaned episode. He lives inside a cave, and whilst an extremely friendly monster, he is quite lacking in intelligence.
- Litterbug: A tiny little bug who is kept busy tidying up litter around the island. He often complains about the amount of litter, but doesn't realize there'd be far less litter if his sack didn't have a hole in it! Being so tiny, he isn't always noticed, a fact which further frustrates him.
Episode list
The series consisted of 13 original episodes, as listed below:| # | Title | Summary | Broadcast Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shipwrecked Charlie | Charlie lands on Merrytwit and meets Edward, Trader Jones, Captain Mildred, Arnold and Lewis T. Duck. They all agree that the first thing Charlie must do is build a house... but where? | 20th October 1988 |
| 2 | Arnold's Night Out | Charlie finds a treasure map and he, Lewis and Arnold decide to go looking for it. However The crew found the direction head for left and right so Lewis sends Arnold to Left but Arnold wants to go with Charlie to left and Lewis to right Because Lewis is annoyed of Arnold being Clumsy and Lewis finally Snaps at Arnold and yelling out "Your a Big Clumsy Elephant and I'm fed up out of you FED UP!". Arnold ends up finding the treasure after walking through the night. | 27th October 1988 |
| 3 | The Coconut Harvest | In the middle of the coconut harvest, Trader Jones makes a wish, and before anyone knows what's happened, Mary the Hover Fairy appears. She grants Trader's wish, and he discovers the magic may not be the best way to harvest coconuts. | 3rd November 1988 |
| 4 | The Sneezes | Charlie unfortunately has to cancel the big expedition to find the Bye Bye Beast because he's got the Sneezes. But when Trader Jones' cure for the dread disease happens to include the elusive Beast's favourite food, Charlie's luck changes. | 10th November 1988 |
| 5 | Jumping Bananas | Litterbug, on his constant quest for tidiness, picks up Mary the Hover Fairy's wand when she puts it down half way through a spell. When the poor creature is chased by a crowd of jumping bananas, he finds out that there could be such a thing as being tidy. | 17th November 1988 |
| 6 | The Mountain That Moaned | One day Arnold claims that the mountain moaned and everyone doesn't believe him. So Charlie and Lewis decide to set off and see why does the mountain moans. The mountain leads them to a new friend. | 24th November 1988 |
| 7 | Edward Keeps Fit | It's inspection day on Merrytwit and Captain Mildred decides it's time lazy Edward took some exercise. | 1st December 1988 |
| 8 | The Feast | Charlie is helping Trader Jones beach combing when they stumble upon a cookery book. Trader decides to prepare the first Merrytwit feast, but when coconuts and bananas are the only ingredients available, the feast doesn't quite work out as planned... NOTE: This was the first end of the intro that two Charlie Chalks were green instead of red. | 8th December 1988 |
| 9 | There Are No Roads On Merrytwit | Lewis T. Duck, who's always right, discovers a local atrocity that there are no roads on Merrytwit. So he decides to build one... | 15th December 1988 |
| 10 | Mildred's Day Off | Captain Mildred is becoming bored of her day to day life of living on her boat she calls a home, so she decided to take her best friend Mary the hover fairy with her on a short holiday. | 22nd December 1988 |
| 11 | Bert's Boring Day | The cave monster Bert is having a boring day, he has run out of interesting things to do in Merrytwit, but his day soon livens up when his friends plan a day full of fun. The beginning of the intro yellow square on the pink background was small instead of big. | 5th April 1989 |
| 12 | Return Of The Litter | It will soon be Litterbugs birthday; Charlie and the other inhabitants of Merrytwit cannot think of a gift to give Litterbug for his birthday, they decide to explore the island for the perfect gift. | 12th April 1989 |
| 13 | Goodbye, Hello | Although Charlie is enjoying his new life on Merrytwit, he also misses the circus and his old friends back home, so Charlie decides to say goodbye to Merrytwit and his newfound friends and go back to his old life as a clown. | 19th April 1989 |
TRAVIA - all episodes have been copyrighted in 1987, but not broadcasted on TV as part of Children's BBC until 20th October 1988.
Merchandise
- Charlie Chalk - The Complete Collection features all 13 episodes and is currently available in the UK. It was made by Right Entertainment plc in 2005.
- In 1994, Redrock Records released a Charlie Chalk LP. It included the several incidental songs played on the show and the full Charlie Chalk theme song which includes some previously unheard lyrics.
- A new Charlie Chalk CD has been developed in America.
- The UK based restaurant chain Brewers FayreBrewers FayreBrewers Fayre is a chain of around 125 licensed family and casual dining pub restaurants in the United Kingdom, owned by Whitbread.They are known for serving traditional British pub food, including gammon and steak & ale pie which are among the most popular choices. Nearly all Brewers Fayres are...
originally used Charlie Chalk as their mascotMascotThe term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
, but this image has since changed to the firm's own 'Brewster the Bear' who has nowadays been replaced with new kids character called 'Penny the Pineapple'.
UK VHS Releases
all 13 episodes have been released on three BBC Videos in the UK from 1988 to 1991| VHS video title | Year of release | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Chalk - Shipwrecked Charlie (BBCV 4195) | 1988 | Shipwrecked Charlie, Arnold's Night Out, Coconut Harvest, Sneezes, Jumping Bananas |
| Charlie Chalk - The Mountain That Moaned (BBCV 4427) | 1990 | The Mountain That Moaned, Edward Keeps Fit, The Feast, There are No Roads on Merrytwit. |
| Charlie Chalk - Mildred's Day Off (BBCV 4636) | 1991 | Mildred's Day Off, Bert's Boring Day, Return of the Litter, Goodbye Hello. |
then in 1995 a WHSmith Exclusive Children's Video by Tempo Video/Abbey Home Entertainment was released in store.
| VHS video title | Year of release | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Chalk - Jumping Bananas (975927) | 1995 | Sneezes, Return of the Litter, Mildred's Day Off, The Feast, Jumping Bananas |
then also in 1995 two 'Tempo Kids Club' videos (each with 2 stories on each tape) in the Abbey Home Entertainment series.
| VHS video title | Year of release | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Chalk - There are No Roads on Merrytwit (978225) | 1995 | 'There are No Roads on Merrytwit' and 'Edward Keeps Fit' |
| Charlie Chalk - Coconut Harvest (986725) | 1995 | 'Coconut Harvest' and 'Goodbye, Hello' |
in 1999 The Contender Group released two videos under the 'Nippers' children's video label.
| VHS video title | Year of release | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Chalk Bumper Video (NIP11063) | 1999 | Shipwrecked Charlie, Arnold's Night Out, The Coconut Harvest, Sneezes, Jumping Bananas |
| The Adventures of Charlie Chalk (NIP11085) | 2000 | The Mountain That Moaned, Edward Keeps Fit, Mildred's Day Off, Return of The Litter |
Credits
- Created by: Ivor Wood
- Written by: Jocelyn Stevenson
- Voices By: Michael Williams, John Wells, Barbera Leigh Hunt
- Music and Lyrics by: Mike Redway
- Director Of Animation: Derek Mogford
- Film Editor: Martin Bohan
- Song Vocals: Ken Barrie
- Props: Brian Driver
- Produced by: Woodland Animations Ltd
- © Woodland Animations Ltd 1987
External links
- Charlie Chalk at Cjetech.co.uk