New MacDonald's Farm
Encyclopedia
New McDonald's Farm is an Australia
n children's television program broadcast on the Nine Network
and Playhouse Disney
, with episodes being produced from 2004 to present. This show and Australian hit Hi-5
swap the timeslot in order to film new seasons.
The show revolves around a farm
in the country owned by Milly and Max and occupied by six farm animals: Henry the Horse
, Daisy the cow, Dash the Duck
, Percy the Pig
, Shirley the Sheep, and Charlotte the Hen
. The show is aimed at pre-schoolers, and is of a light-hearted nature. It includes short sequences related to the show's plot, and sequences of singing and dancing with Max, Milly and some other children (who are older than pre-school age). Max is a forgetful, funny and energetic farm worker, who often gets his foot stuck in a bucket. Milly, on the other hand, is an intelligent, helpful and caring farmhand, who often helps Max out of his sticky situations. Each episode is half an hour long.
The name of the show suggests that it was inspired by the classic children's song Old McDonald Had a Farm
. Which is quite suitable, as it is not exactly what you would call an olden day farm, but the exact opposite, except for the good old windmill.
Animatronic designer and puppeteer Ian James Colmer, who also plays the voice of Charlotte the Hen, now runs a film production company Destiny Pictures (www.destinypictures.net).
All songs for the show are provided by a team of writers from Sony/ ATV Music Publishing. Recording & production of all music is done by Music Director, Jay Collie, who is also known for his performance, songwriting and production work in the popular country/ rock/ pop band, Jonah's Road.
Max: "Hurry up, Milly, or they'll be here!"
Milly: "Here I am, Max."
Max: "Are we all set?"
Milly: "Mm-hm. Hair brushed, face washed."
Max: "Are we ready to go?"
Milly: "As ready as we'll ever be."
Max: "Oh, this is so exciting - I just can't wait."
Max and Milly are played by 2 Brisbane actors, Tim and Nikki, who wear large foam and fabric costumes with animatronic heads. The controls are very simple and involve servo motors to actuate the eye blink, eye turn and mouth open and close. This is a very basic system, which relies on the character performers off screen to watch and listen to the pre-recorded audio track, and try to sync the mouth movement.
The animals are cable controlled and have limited movement, sometimes requiring the performers to pick them up and physically move them around to create the illusion of life,
Inside their suits, Tim and Nicky must wear cold vests, which are made of a gel. These are frozen, and then slowly thaw out as the actors wear them. The suits are extremely hot to wear.
After the first season, James Colmer was commissioned to re-design and re-build all the head animatronics, making them lighter, stronger, and easier to maintain. A full kilogram of weight was shaved off, by the use of lightweight aluminium.
For the third season they were re-designed and re-built again, this time by Dan Carlisle. These heads proved to be the most reliable and actor friendly. They required next to no maintenance and were much lighter compared to the heads of the first and second series. The new mechanisms also provided a much greater range of movement.
One of the makers have worked on dozens of other children's shows including Simon Hopkinson
who wrote Petals, The Magic Pudding
and Bananas in Pyjamas
, Ron Saunders
the creator of Spellbinder
and Johnson and Friends
and Ian Munro
who also did Hi-5, Bananas in Pyjamas, Johnson and Friends, Magic Mountain and Cushion Kids
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n children's television program broadcast on the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
and Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney was Disney Channel's television block for programs aimed at entertaining preschool aged children, often airing as its own channel outside the United States. It was introduced in 1997 after Disney Channel's move to basic cable from premium cable, with a target audience of children...
, with episodes being produced from 2004 to present. This show and Australian hit Hi-5
Hi-5 (Australian TV series)
Hi-5, an Australian children's television program, was first shown on the Nine Network in 1999. Hi-5's new Australian cast was announced in Australian talk show Morning with Kerrie-Anne, in February 2009. Hi-5 is now shown in 83 countries. Hi-5 is known as a children's pop music group as well as...
swap the timeslot in order to film new seasons.
The show revolves around a farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
in the country owned by Milly and Max and occupied by six farm animals: Henry the Horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
, Daisy the cow, Dash the Duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
, Percy the Pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
, Shirley the Sheep, and Charlotte the Hen
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...
. The show is aimed at pre-schoolers, and is of a light-hearted nature. It includes short sequences related to the show's plot, and sequences of singing and dancing with Max, Milly and some other children (who are older than pre-school age). Max is a forgetful, funny and energetic farm worker, who often gets his foot stuck in a bucket. Milly, on the other hand, is an intelligent, helpful and caring farmhand, who often helps Max out of his sticky situations. Each episode is half an hour long.
The name of the show suggests that it was inspired by the classic children's song Old McDonald Had a Farm
Old McDonald Had a Farm
"Old MacDonald Had a Farm" is a children's song and nursery rhyme about a farmer named MacDonald and the various animals he keeps on his farm. Each verse of the song changes the name of the animal and its respective noise. In many versions, the song is cumulative, with the noises from all the...
. Which is quite suitable, as it is not exactly what you would call an olden day farm, but the exact opposite, except for the good old windmill.
Animatronic designer and puppeteer Ian James Colmer, who also plays the voice of Charlotte the Hen, now runs a film production company Destiny Pictures (www.destinypictures.net).
All songs for the show are provided by a team of writers from Sony/ ATV Music Publishing. Recording & production of all music is done by Music Director, Jay Collie, who is also known for his performance, songwriting and production work in the popular country/ rock/ pop band, Jonah's Road.
Format
The farm is tying into the title's name "New McDonald's Farm". The logo (on the entrance to the farm) is a yellow sun with the title name on it (in yellow, blue and orange. A running gag is that whenever the sign falls down, Max is desperate to fix it. The "Song of the Day" segment is after the intro of the show:Max: "Hurry up, Milly, or they'll be here!"
Milly: "Here I am, Max."
Max: "Are we all set?"
Milly: "Mm-hm. Hair brushed, face washed."
Max: "Are we ready to go?"
Milly: "As ready as we'll ever be."
Max: "Oh, this is so exciting - I just can't wait."
Max and Milly are played by 2 Brisbane actors, Tim and Nikki, who wear large foam and fabric costumes with animatronic heads. The controls are very simple and involve servo motors to actuate the eye blink, eye turn and mouth open and close. This is a very basic system, which relies on the character performers off screen to watch and listen to the pre-recorded audio track, and try to sync the mouth movement.
The animals are cable controlled and have limited movement, sometimes requiring the performers to pick them up and physically move them around to create the illusion of life,
Inside their suits, Tim and Nicky must wear cold vests, which are made of a gel. These are frozen, and then slowly thaw out as the actors wear them. The suits are extremely hot to wear.
After the first season, James Colmer was commissioned to re-design and re-build all the head animatronics, making them lighter, stronger, and easier to maintain. A full kilogram of weight was shaved off, by the use of lightweight aluminium.
For the third season they were re-designed and re-built again, this time by Dan Carlisle. These heads proved to be the most reliable and actor friendly. They required next to no maintenance and were much lighter compared to the heads of the first and second series. The new mechanisms also provided a much greater range of movement.
One of the makers have worked on dozens of other children's shows including Simon Hopkinson
Simon Hopkinson
Simon Charles Hopkinson is a food writer, critic and former chef. He is considered to be one of the best cookery writers working today.- Early career :...
who wrote Petals, The Magic Pudding
The Magic Pudding
The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff is an Australian children's book written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay. It is a comic fantasy, and a classic of Australian children's literature....
and Bananas in Pyjamas
Bananas in Pyjamas
Bananas in Pyjamas is an Australian children's television show that premiered in July 1992 on ABC Television. It has since become syndicated in many different countries, and dubbed into other languages. In the United States, the "Pyjamas" in the title was modified to reflect the American spelling...
, Ron Saunders
Ron Saunders
Ron Saunders is a retired English football player and former successful manager. He remains the only manager to have taken charge of Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, normally bitter rivals....
the creator of Spellbinder
Spellbinder
Spellbinder may refer to:*Spellbinder , an Australian-Polish science fiction television series*Spellbinder , a Batman villain*Spellbinder , the star of the 1980s Marvel Comics limited series Spellbound...
and Johnson and Friends
Johnson and Friends
Johnson and Friends is an Australian children’s television programme broadcast on ABC TV from 1991 to 1996. It was produced by Film Australia. Six seasons were made....
and Ian Munro
Ian Munro
Ian Munro may refer to:* Ian Munro * Ian Munro , Australian pianist and composer* Ian Munro, Canadian politician...
who also did Hi-5, Bananas in Pyjamas, Johnson and Friends, Magic Mountain and Cushion Kids
Cushion Kids
Cushion Kids is a computer-animated television show produced by Endemol that is seen daily on Tiny Pop. It is created by Hi-5, and is about five kids who are cushions...
.