Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids is a series of books by Jamie Rix

Jamie Rix

- Biography :Jamie Rix is the son of actor and MENCAP President Brian Rix and actress Elspet Gray. He is married to Helen and has two grown-up sons, Ben and Jack. He lives in Tooting, London....

 and a TV series produced for ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

.
The original TV series was based on the award winning collections of cautionary tales by Jamie Rix. Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, Ghostly Tales for Ghastly Kids, Fearsome Tales for Fiendish Kids and More Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids. The series was narrated by Nigel Planer

Nigel Planer

Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...

 and animated by Sara and Simon Bor of Wolves Witches & Giants

Wolves, Witches and Giants

Wolves Witches and Giants, narrated by Spike Milligan, is a children's cartoon series of humorous adaptations of classic fairy tales, featuring a collection of villains including the Big Bad Wolf as a wily wolf, a wicked witch and an enormous giant. It was written by musician Ed Welch, based on an...

 fame.

In all, six series and a New Year's special ran from 2000 to 2006 on ITV1

ITV1

ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...

 and Grizzly Tales was consistently one of the highest rated children's animation shows on the channel. A new 26 re invention of the show is being produced for Nickelodeon UK and NickToons UK

The BAFTA-nominated show picked up many awards including Animated Series and Children's Choice at the British Animation Awards, and Children's Animated series at Cartoons on the Bay.

The show is available on DVD through ITV in the UK, Porchlight in the USA and Time Life in Australia. Orion Audiobooks have also released full CD recordings of the books, read by Rupert Degas

Rupert Degas

Rupert Joel Degas is an English actor and voice artist.- Early life:Degas was born in London, the son of screenwriter Brian Degas and television presenter Maggie Clews, whose marriage ended in divorce when he was eight...

. Audio Go have re released the original Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids audio book on CD and download.

The series is produced by Grizzly TV http://www.grizzlytv.co.uk

In 2010 Nickelodeon UK and NickToons UK started broadcasting the original series. The re invented series airs from 2011 on Nickelodeon UK and Nicktoons UK.

Focus

The series is a collection of morality tales which also has insinuations of a horror story; gruesome punishments happen throughout. The stories mainly focus on naughty or horrible (for example vain, untidy or lying children) children learning a grim lesson. Examples include "The Bugaboo Bear" (in which a little blond girl, buys a "Bugaboo Bear", and treats it as a person, only after a surprisingly short amount of time she gets bored with it, and starts treating it in a horrid manner), and "William the Conkerer" (in which a young lad, who destroys trees, attempts to steal every conker in the village).

Television series

First debuting in 2000, the show was broadcast on CITV, commissioned by Carlton Television

Carlton Television

Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...

, now part of ITV plc

ITV plc

ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...

. It was a co-production between Elephant Productions and Honeycomb Animation, Jamie Rix co directing the series with Simon & Sara Bor. On most of the early series, a stopmotion sequence involving a creepy cinema owner named [Uncle Grizzly] http://www.grizzlytv.co.uk (On occasion, the CITV presenters referred to him as the 'Storyteller man') and his pet spider, Spindleshanks would be present. The two would discuss the morals of the tales shown, often ending with Spindleshanks getting badly injured, e.g. squashed or splatted.

These sequences were later removed, possibly to shorten the cartoon's length. More recently, only Uncle Grizzly is shown welcoming you to the show. Spindleshanks was removed too. They also had a different theme song.

Many of the episodes between Seasons 1-4 were adaptations from the books also written by Rix, although they usually edited out or altered many parts of the stories to fit the time slot. In 2006, the series went from hand-drawn animation to digital, starting with "A Grizzly New Year's Tale: The Crystal Eye". The latest seasons of stories were later published in book form, in a new format and known as the Grizzly Tales Series. Each of these books focused on various themes (such as "Nasty Little Beasts", "Gruesome Grown Ups" and "Freaks of Nature") and contained six stories each.

Each tale is normally set in a different location. However, many of the character designs and backgrounds were reused and altered to make different characters and settings.

Nigel Planer was the narrator for this series and played Uncle Grizzly. He also narrated Fearsome Tales for Fiendish Kids on audiobook. Bill Wallis

Bill Wallis

Bill Wallis is a British character actor and comedian who has appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre....

 narrated More Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids and Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids and Ghostly Tales for Ghastly Kids were both read by Andrew Sachs

Andrew Sachs

Andrew Sachs is a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and is best known for his portrayals of Manuel in Fawlty Towers, a role for which he was BAFTA-nominated, and Ramsay Clegg in Coronation Street.-Early life:Sachs was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Katharina , a...

.

After Grizzly Tales ended in 2007, it was announced that Grizzly Tales would return for a brand new series for Nicktoons UK

Nicktoons UK

Nicktoons is a British digital television channel launched on 22 July 2002. It is a cartoon based sister channel to Nickelodeon. The channel airs cartoons, these are commonly known as Nicktoons, as well as other cartoons known as non-Nicktoons. Unlike the United States version, it has been...

for 2011. The series location moved from the Squeam Screen, to the Hot-Hell Darkness. Uncle Grizzly made way to his half brother, The Night Night Porter, who took over as storyteller, but retained Nigel Planer's voice.

Episode list

SERIES 1 2000

1. The New Nanny (4 January 2000)
2. The Spaghetti Man (11 January 2000)
3. Death By Chocolate (18 January 2000)
4. Grandmother's Footsteps (25 January 2000)
5. The Wooden Hill (1 February 2000)
6. A Tangled Web (8 February 2000)
7. The Princess's Clothes (15 February 2000)
8. Burgerskip (22 February 2000)
9. The Barber of Civil (29 February 2000)
10. The Chipper Chums Go Scrumping (7 March 2000)
11. The History Lesson (14 March 2000)
12. Sweets (21 March 2000)
13. Dr. Moribundus (28 March 2000)

SERIES 2 2001

1. The Childhood Snatcher (6 September 2001)
2. Glued to the Telly (13 September 2001)
3. The Broken Down Cottage (20 September 2001)
4. The Cat Burglar (27 September 2001)
5. Mr Peeler's Butterflies (4 October 2001)
6. The Giant Who Grew Too Big for His Boots (11 October 2001)
7. Tag (18 October 2001)
8. Prince Noman (25 October 2001)
9. Jack in a Box (1 November 2001)
10. The Litter Bug (8 November 2001)
11. Fat Boy with a Trumpet (15 November 2001)
12. An Elephant Never Forgets (22 November 2001)
13. Well'ard Willard (29 November 2001)

SERIES 3 2002-2003

1. The Upset Stomach (10 December 2002)
2. Knocked Down Ginger (17 December 2002)
3. The Locked Door (24 December 2002)
4. Simon Sulk (31 December 2002)
5. The Urban Fox (7 January 2003)
6. When the Bed Bugs Bite (14 January 2003)
7. Spoiltsport (21 January 2003)
8. The Pie Man (28 January 2003)
9. Head In the Clouds (4 February 2003)
10. Dirty Bertie (11 February 2003)
11. Crocodile Tears (18 February 2003)
12. Little Fingers (25 February 2003)
13. The Decomposition of Delia Dethabridge (4 March 2003)

SERIES 4 2004

1. It's Only a Game Sport! (13 September 2004)
2. Revenge of the Bogeyman (20 September 2004)
3. The People Potter (27 September 2004)
4. The Gas Man Cometh (4 October 2004)
5. Bunny Boy (11 October 2004)
6. Bessy O’Messey (18 October 2004)
7. Goblin Mountain (25 October 2004)
8. Superstitious Nonsense (1 November 2004)
9. Bogman (8 November 2004)
10. The Stick Men (15 November 2004)
11. Athlete's Foot (22 November 2004)
12. The Grass Monkey (29 November 2004)
13. The Top Hat (6 December 2004)

A Grizzly New Year's Tales 2005

1. The Crystal Eye (Christmas Special 2005) (25 December 2005)

SERIES 5 2006

1. The Bugaboo Bear (12 January 2006)
2. The Butcher Boy (19 January 2006)
3. The Fruit Bat (26 January 2006)
4. Monty's Python (2 February 2006)
5. The Grub A Blub Blub (9 February 2006)
6. Wolf Child (16 February 2006)
7. The Weather Witch (23 February 2006)
8. Kiss and Make Up (2 March 2006)
9. William the Conkerer (9 March 2006)
10. Silence is Golden (16 March 2006)
11. Her Majesty's Moley (23 March 2006)
12. Puppet on a String (30 March 2006)
13. The Soul Stealer (6 April 2006)

SERIES 6 2007

1. Jamie's School Dinners (7 April 2007)
2. Recyclops (14 April 2007)
3. The Clothes Pigs (21 April 2007)
4. Why Boys Make Better Burglars (28 April 2007)
5. The Watermelon Babies (5 May 2007)
6. eBoy (12 May 2007)
7. Nobby's Nightmare (19 May 2007)
8. The Dumb Klutzes (26 May 2007)
9. The Lobster's Scream (2 June 2007)
10. The Old Tailor Of Pelting Moor (9 June 2007)
11. Big Head (16 June 2007)
12. The Piranha Sisters (23 June 2007)
13. Tom Time (Last episode aired on ITV) (30 June 2007)

ITV announced in July 2007 that Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids has not been recommissioned for a seventh series.

Grizzly Tales - Cautionary Tales of Lovers of Squeam
Nickelodeon series (aka series 7 & 8)

Batch 1 (series 7) 2010 (First UK transmission May 2011)

1 Tinklebell (2 May 2011) Gilbert

2 Sick To Death (2 May 2011) Victoria

3 The Ugly Prince (3 May 2011) Spencer

4 Hear No Weevil See No Weevil (3 May 2011) Brokli

5 The Rise and Fall of The Evil Guff (4 May 2011) Bart

6 Cat’s Eyes (4 May 2011) Cat

7 Message in a Bottle (5 May 2011) Poppering

8 Little Angel (5 May 2011) Eliza

9 The Dragon Moth (6 May 2011) Josiah

10 The Long Face (6 May 2011) Petty

11 Kingdom of Wax (9 May 2011) Nathaniel

12 The Spelling Bee (9 May 2011) (Based On The Death Rattle) Purnellopy

13 The Flat Pack Kid (10 May 2011) Humpty

Batch 2 (series 8) 2011

14 The Blood Doctor (Sept 2011) Georgina

15 The Hair Fairies (Sept 2011) Peacebiscuit

16 The Apostrophic Expositor (Sept 2011) B.S Brogan

17 Nerves of Steel (Sept 2011) Charlie

18 The Worm (Sept 2011) Eustus

19 Lazy Bones (Sept 2011) Linda

20 Frank Einstein’s Monster (Sept 2011) Frank

21 Nails In Her Coffin (Sept 2011) Nails

22 The Undertaker (Sept 2011) Callum

23 Little Flower Girl (Sept 2011) Petal

24 The Wrap Man (Sept 2011) Samuel

25 Old Macdonald’s Farm (original story) ) (Sept 2011)

26 Nuclear Wart (Sept 2011) The Two Boys

Books

Nearly every story Jamie Rix has written for Grizzly Tales are adaptations from his books:

Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids

• The New Nanny
• The One Tailed, Two Footed, Three Bellied, Four Headed, Five Fingered, Six Chinned, Seven Winged, Eight Eyed, Nine Nosed, Ten Toothed Monster
• The Spaghetti Man
• The Princess's Clothes
• The Black Knight
• Glued to the Telly
• The Barber of Civil
• The Man with a Chip on his Shoulder
• The Giant who grew Too Big for his Boots and hats
• The Wooden Hill
• The Litter Bug
• Goblin Mountain
• Sweets
• The Top Hat
• The Childhood Snatcher

Ghostly Tales for Ghastly Kids

• Grandmother's Footsteps
• Burgerskip
• Tag
• The Locked Door
• A Tangled Web
• The Well
• An Elephant Never Forgets
• School Dinners
• The Big Sleep
• Bogman
• The Broken-Down Cottage
• Guilt Ghost
• The History Lesson
• The Ghost of Christmas Turkeys Past
• Rogues Gallery

Fearsome Tales for Fiendish Kids

• The Cat Burglar
• Mr Peeler's Butterflies
• Fat Boy with a Trumpet
• The Chipper Chums Go Scrumping
• Prince Noman
• Death By Chocolate
• Well'ard Willard
• Athlete's Foot
• The Matchstick Girl
• Simon Sulk
• The Dumb Clucks
• Doctor Moribundus
• The Stick Men
• Little Fingers
• Bessy O'Messy
• Jack in a Box

More Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids

• Knock Down Ginger
• The Upset Stomach
• The Gas Man Cometh
• The Urban Fox
• Spoilsport
• Dirty Bertie
• The People Potter
• It's Only a Game, Sport!
• Fast Food
• Sock Shock
• Revenge of the Bogeyman
• Crocodile Tears
• The Pie Man
• Bunny Boy
• Spit
• The Grass Monkey
• Superstitious Nonsense
• Head in the Clouds
• When the Bed Bugs Bite
• The Decomposition of Delia Deathabridge

Nasty Little Beasts

• The Grub A Blub Blub
• Monty's Python
• The Lobster's Scream
• Wolf Child
• The Fruit Bat
• The Clothes Pigs

Gruesome Grown Ups

• Jamie's School Dinners
• Silence is Golden
• The Old Tailor of Pelting Moor
• Her Majastey's Moley
• The Soul Stealer
• Nobby's Nightmare

The 'Me!" Monsters

• The Apostrophic Expositor
• Kiss and Make Up
• The Kingdom of Wax
• The Blood Doctor
• The Ugly Prince
• Big Head

Freaks of Nature

• Frank Einstein's Monster
• Recyclops
• The Weather Witch
• William the Conkerer
• Hear No Weevil, See No Weevil
• Tom Time

Terror Time Toys

• The Butcher Boy
• The Bugaboo Bear
• Why Boys Make Better Burglars
• Puppet on a String
• The Death Rattle
• eBoy

Blubbers and Sicksters

• The Piranha Sisters
• The Crystal Eye
• Cat's Eyes
• The Hair Fairies
• The Watermelon Babies
• The Nuclear Wart

The Naughty Gnomes of NO!

• Tinkerbell
• The Long Face
• The Dragon Moth
• Sick To Death
• Message in a Bottle
• Lazybones

Super Zeroes

• Fatal Attraction
• Little Angel
• The Flat-Pack Kid
• The Worm
• The Little Flower Girl
• The Rise and Fall of the Evil Guff

A Grizzly Dozen

• The Grub A Blub Blub
• Monty's Python
• The Lobster's Scream
• Wolf Child
• The Fruit Bat
• The Clothes Pigs
• Jamie's School Dinners
• Silence Is Golden
• The Old Tailor of Pelting More
• Her Majesty's Moley
• The Soul Stealer
• Nobby's Nightmare