Fimbles
Encyclopedia
Fimbles was a British
television program
me designed for pre-school children. The Fimbles are Fimbo, Florrie and Baby Pom, who all live in a bright, lush and colourful place called Fimble Valley. Fimbles is produced by Novel Entertainment who created the characters. These Fimbles are magical.
The snouted and concentrically-ringed appearance of the Fimbles was based on the eponymous villains of Lucy Anna and the Finders, written and illustrated by Sarah Hayes. Although Hayes is cited in the credits of Fimbles, and she was involved in adapting the characters for the television series, the implacably omnivorous Finders (who, throughout the book, threaten to eat Lucy Anna) have nothing else in common with the Fimbles.
The scripts of the 200 episodes were written by a number of writers, most notably the programme's producer Lucinda Whiteley. The Fimbles are cuddly, hippo like creatures and are portrayed by 'skin' actors in complex, fluffy animatronic suits and all look quite similar apart from their colour and size. Fimbo is yellow with green stripes, is the tallest and likes to eat Crumble Crackers, Florrie is blue with purple stripes, a little smaller than Fimbo and is often seen carrying a Fimble-like doll called Little One, and Baby Pom is the smallest, pink with green stripes and generally follows the others like a toddler, whilst pushing her Trundle Truck. Other characters, which are essentially large scale puppets, are a blue tree frog
called Rockit (sic), a purple and green striped mole
called Roly Mo, a plump and motherly pink bird
called Bessie, and Bessie's chick
, Ribble. Originally Ribble was an almost featureless squeaking blob of orange fur with a beak; more recently he has also had eyes.
The three Fimbles have a special "sixth sense
" - when the Tinkling Tree tinkles its bell
-like blossoms, it makes the nose, fingers and topknot of one or more Fimbles twitch as they get the 'Fimbling Feeling'. This tells the character(s) that they are going to find something. It may be a natural phenomenon - a patch of sunlight for example, an everyday object, e.g. a tambourine, or something which would be totally inexplicable in the real world, such as a puddle of blue "goo". Whatever is found becomes the catalyst for the episode's adventures and the trigger for the Fimbles' creative play.
Roly Mo, who has a vast underground library of books, tells a story in every episode, and either Roly Mo or Bessie give a summary at the end of the programme as to what has happened to the Fimbles that day. Live action film of real children at play also features in every episode.
There is a spin-off
to Fimbles called The Roly Mo Show
, starring Roly Mo and a cast of other characters including Roly's niece Little Bo. The Roly Mo Show concentrates on literacy and books and is made as an educational programme. Also devised by Novel Entertainment the programme plays daily on the CBeebies channel. The Fimbles also feature in a touring stage show for children, called Fimbles Live! which was devised by the playwright and author David Wood CBE.
on Shanghai Media Group's
children's network HAHA TV. All 200 episodes are being shown sequentially and dubbed in Mandarin Chinese. As the show in its original format is only 19 minutes long, the show has been lengthened by 5 minutes for the Chinese market.
In Vietnam, since 2008, Fimbles is a part of the show 5 Minutes to Learn English Everyday (5 phút học tiếng Anh mỗi ngày), which is produced by HTV4 together with many famous English centers and international schools. However, in VBC, it is a separate show named Những chú heo con Fimbles!
From June 2008, the show has also been broadcast by Tata Sky DTH in India under partnership from BBC on channel cBeebies.
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...
television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
me designed for pre-school children. The Fimbles are Fimbo, Florrie and Baby Pom, who all live in a bright, lush and colourful place called Fimble Valley. Fimbles is produced by Novel Entertainment who created the characters. These Fimbles are magical.
The snouted and concentrically-ringed appearance of the Fimbles was based on the eponymous villains of Lucy Anna and the Finders, written and illustrated by Sarah Hayes. Although Hayes is cited in the credits of Fimbles, and she was involved in adapting the characters for the television series, the implacably omnivorous Finders (who, throughout the book, threaten to eat Lucy Anna) have nothing else in common with the Fimbles.
The scripts of the 200 episodes were written by a number of writers, most notably the programme's producer Lucinda Whiteley. The Fimbles are cuddly, hippo like creatures and are portrayed by 'skin' actors in complex, fluffy animatronic suits and all look quite similar apart from their colour and size. Fimbo is yellow with green stripes, is the tallest and likes to eat Crumble Crackers, Florrie is blue with purple stripes, a little smaller than Fimbo and is often seen carrying a Fimble-like doll called Little One, and Baby Pom is the smallest, pink with green stripes and generally follows the others like a toddler, whilst pushing her Trundle Truck. Other characters, which are essentially large scale puppets, are a blue tree frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
called Rockit (sic), a purple and green striped mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
called Roly Mo, a plump and motherly pink bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
called Bessie, and Bessie's chick
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
, Ribble. Originally Ribble was an almost featureless squeaking blob of orange fur with a beak; more recently he has also had eyes.
The three Fimbles have a special "sixth sense
Extra-sensory perception
Extrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...
" - when the Tinkling Tree tinkles its bell
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
-like blossoms, it makes the nose, fingers and topknot of one or more Fimbles twitch as they get the 'Fimbling Feeling'. This tells the character(s) that they are going to find something. It may be a natural phenomenon - a patch of sunlight for example, an everyday object, e.g. a tambourine, or something which would be totally inexplicable in the real world, such as a puddle of blue "goo". Whatever is found becomes the catalyst for the episode's adventures and the trigger for the Fimbles' creative play.
Roly Mo, who has a vast underground library of books, tells a story in every episode, and either Roly Mo or Bessie give a summary at the end of the programme as to what has happened to the Fimbles that day. Live action film of real children at play also features in every episode.
There is a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
to Fimbles called The Roly Mo Show
The Roly Mo Show
The Roly Mo Show is a CBeebies children's television series featuring a cast of puppets; it is a spin-off from the Fimbles show and was created by the same people, Novel Entertainment...
, starring Roly Mo and a cast of other characters including Roly's niece Little Bo. The Roly Mo Show concentrates on literacy and books and is made as an educational programme. Also devised by Novel Entertainment the programme plays daily on the CBeebies channel. The Fimbles also feature in a touring stage show for children, called Fimbles Live! which was devised by the playwright and author David Wood CBE.
International broadcasts
As of June 1, 2007 Fimbles (粉宝乐园) is being broadcast in ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
on Shanghai Media Group's
Shanghai Media Group
Shanghai Media Group , under the Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group , is a multimedia television and radio broadcasting, news and Internet company...
children's network HAHA TV. All 200 episodes are being shown sequentially and dubbed in Mandarin Chinese. As the show in its original format is only 19 minutes long, the show has been lengthened by 5 minutes for the Chinese market.
In Vietnam, since 2008, Fimbles is a part of the show 5 Minutes to Learn English Everyday (5 phút học tiếng Anh mỗi ngày), which is produced by HTV4 together with many famous English centers and international schools. However, in VBC, it is a separate show named Những chú heo con Fimbles!
From June 2008, the show has also been broadcast by Tata Sky DTH in India under partnership from BBC on channel cBeebies.
Award nominations
- BAFTA Children's Awards 2003
- Nominated for Best Pre-school Live Action Series
- BAFTA Children's Awards 2004
- Nominated for Best Pre-school Live Action Series