The Clangers to return to children’s TV
Rebecca Hawkes | 15-10-2013
A remake of the iconic BBC children’s TV show The Clangers is currently in production and scheduled for transmission on CBeebies and the US pre-school network Sprout in 2015.
A £5 million co-production between CBeebies, Coolabi, Smallfilms and Sprout, the series will be produced in stop motion animation by Factory Transmedia and puppetmakers and producers Mackinnon and Saunders.
The much loved programme, which made its debut shortly after Nasa’s moon landings in 1969, featured knitted alien mice-like creatures, living on a cold blue planet, not far from Earth. Their crater homes were covered by metal dustbin lids, which ‘clanged’ when opening or closing.
“When you watch the original Clangers you have to make allowances for the limitations of the animation techniques when it was made,” said puppetmaker and co-creator Peter Firmin. “It was magical for its time, but this is a new Clangers for a new age!”
Animator Peter Firmin, who also created children’s TV favourite Bagpuss, is an executive producer of the new series, along with Daniel Postgate – son of the original co-creator and narrator, Oliver Postgate. Postgate is writing the script for the show, a task he has described as a “labour of love”.
CBeebies controller Kay Benbow added: “Nostalgia is a funny thing, and we always think very carefully about remakes or re-imaginings of classic children's programmes.
“The Clangers is a programme that has an enduring magic. The new proposition has been built firmly upon the joyful foundations of the original, and will be produced by a team of exceptional talent which includes the extraordinary Peter Firmin.”
BBC Worldwide will distribute the show internationally.
الرئيسية 