Bill
the Minder (1987) producers:
Bevanfield Films Ltd animation: cel animation episodes:
15 x 5min episodes
"Bill
loved to wander the downs. And as he wandered, he would
imagine all sorts of extraordinary
people, places and things..."
Adapted from the works of William Heath
Robinson, "Bill the Minder" follows
the meandering adventures of young
Bill, wandering the downs in a dream
with his cousins Boadicea and Chad
in tow. During his wanderings, Bill
meets such eccentric characters as
the tired King who must be pushed
around in a wheelchair, a navigator
called Ron, Aunt Galladia and Norris
the green-toed button crane of Baraboo,
and the most Respectable Gentleman.
Each encounter introduces an accompanying
connundrum or concern
which Bill must address, which he
does admirably, because Bill is a
most extraordinary chap with a mind
for invention....
Bill being a Heath Robinson character,
his inventions and contraptions were
as myriad and marvellous as can be imagined,
like the tired King's wheelchair,
a contraption for removing stains from
jackets, a device for tending to the needs
of an Australian Nose Plant, and a
machine to draw the green toed button
crane away from its perch. Bill's world,
the downs and the phatasmogorical
characters and creatures remind one
of that classic fairytale of "The Little Prince".
There is no lineal adventure here,
no bad guy thwarted, no plan of action.
Bill simply wanders, encounters things,
and solve things with his extraordinary
low-tech but complex inventions...
"Bill the Minder" came from
the same studio as the oblique, intriguing Murun Buchstansagur. The
series was narrated by Peter Chelsom, best known as
the director of such films as Feel
My Song and Funny Bones. Fans should
keep their eyes open for a tie-in
audio tape of the series featuring Peter's
narration and at least three Grafton picture
books featuring stills from
the show...
Bill the Minder stories
Old Crispin The
Doctor
The King
The Sicilian Cleaning Lady
The Navigator The
Button Crane Of Baraboo
Aunt Galladia The
Waiter
The Respectable Gentleman Bosworth
Chloe
a Bevanfield Films Ltd production
based on the stories by W. Heath
Robinson
producer: Mary
Swindale director: Timothy
Forder adapted by: Timothy
Forder narrator: Peter
Chelsom