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The
Clangers (1969-1972
+ 1974)
producers:
Smallfilms for the BBC
animation: stop-motion animation
episodes: 26 x 10mins
1
x 5mins special
"Can
we imagine the sort of people that might live on a star like this?
Let us go very close. Let us look and
listen very carefully and perhaps
we shall see... and hear..."
-
intro to "Flying"
It's 1968 and the Space Race is in top
gear. The Americans intend to blast off
for and set foot upon the Moon within
the next twelve months. Meanwhile in a
converted cow-shed in Kent the Smallfilms partnership
of Oliver Postgate and
Peter Firmin have been considering the recent
brief from the BBC asking for all
future series productions to be in colour,
and not only that, but colourful with it.
The duo think a science-fiction series could
fit the bill and Oliver recalls a playful
conversation with his three year old twins,
Simon and Stephen. According
to
the youngsters a giant called Edward lives
on the other side of the moon and he
dines on hot soup. It seems he aquires
this soup by lifting the lids off volcanoes
and sucking it up through a straw. Oliver's
own creative soup is beginning to
simmer. He envisages these Edward-types, or
something similar, living in caves
to avoid all that space debris whizzing about
in the atmosphere. And these caves
would naturally have metal covers that would
"clang open" when the creatures
emerged. Oliver
now remembers a Noggin
the Nog book drawn by Peter. "Noggin
and the Moonmouse" featured a mouselike
visitor in a duffelcoat. Now our
twosome have the makings of an extraterrestrial
lifeform, all they need
is a suitable name...
Thus were born the adorably popular
Clangers, inhabiting their own unique
encapsulated world in the far reaches
of space. Theirs is a simple existence,
savouring the pleasures of their
little star, their green soup and blue string
pudding, the joys of music, of fireworks,
of fishing for useful space debris
and befriending Soup-Dragons, Froglets,
Iron Chickens, Skymoos and Clouds.
There are five main Clangers at
the heart of the series - Major Clanger,
Mother Clanger, Grandmother Clanger,
Small Clanger and Tiny Clanger -
and, as anyone who's ever sen the
show will tell you, they communicate
via a strange whistle-whoop language
which is, in fact, the sound of
Mr Postgate blowing through a Swanee
whistle. The script for each episode
was written in English and "played",
rather than spoken. Oliver's wonderful
narration was actually an adition
requested by the BBC, who were
concerned as to whether their young
viewers could comprehend a
series without a normal soundtrack. But
thank goodness they did,
because that commentary adds such depth
and melancholy to
the films. The introductions throw light
upon the abrasive, intrusive nature
of humanity's place in the cosmos and
the ripple effects of our actions
around the firmamemt. Like
the Clangers' own little moon world, this
series is a unique and utterly precious
creation....
Some
Clang-tastic detail
»
The Froglets first appear in the episode entitled Top
Hat. When they
get sick
they are roused only by a dollop of a new kind of nourishment
called Blue
& White Pudding Soup - specially collected by the
Soup-Dragon...
»
In The
Visitor the ranting, mayoral, moustached figure on that
tv
screen is actually
Oliver Postgate in disguise...
»
The Soup-Dragon is female. And she proves it by laying an egg
(The
Egg) which hatches forth Baby Soup-Dragon...
» In
the Series One finale Goods,
amongst the plastic items the Clangers
dump into
the Froglets' top hat are models of Fred Flintstone and
Barney Rubble
- check it on your DVD if you don't believe us!
»
In Tablecloth
Man finally touches down on the Clangers' planet. If you
look at the flag
he leaves behind it's a combination of the American and
Russian flags
- keeping both Space Race competitors happy...
»
Adult Clangers are approximately 4ft high. We get to see a Clanger/Human
comparison
in Rock Collector
when Man makes First Contact with
the little
whistlers...
»
Although the tv series finished broadcasting in 1972, a friendly
Froglet
returned
to our screens in a Vote
For Froglet special during the 1974
General
Election...
in
the news
The
Hound: December 2001
SmallFilms licensing and Clangers
CD-ROMS...
broadcast
info
Series One premiered
on BBC1, on 16th November 1969...
Series Two kicked off
on 18th April 1971...
Vote for Froglet first
aired on 10th October 1974...
episode
titles
Series one Series
two
Flying Tablecloth +
Vote For Froglet
The Visitor Rock
Collector Election
Special 1974
Chicken Glow
Honey
Music The
Teapot
The Intruder The
Cloud
Visiting Friends The
Egg (2)
Fishing Noise
Machine
The Top Hat The
Seed
The Egg
Pride
The Hoot The
Bags
The Meeting The
Blow Fruit
Treasure The
Pipe Organ
Goods Music
of the Spheres
The
Clangers on DVD
The
Clangers - Series 1
Region
2 / all thirteen eps. / Universal / April 2005
The
Clangers - Series 2
Region
2 / all thirteen eps. / Universal / November 2005
The Clangers by Oliver
Postgate
Film by Smallfilms
design: Peter
Firmin
music: Vernon
Elliott
narration: Oliver
Postgate
On
the web
The
Clangers
Unofficiall,
but officiaaly recognised by Smallfilms...
SmallFilms
The official official site
with info on all things SmallFilms-related...
Coolabi
They now own the rights to
the characters...
Clive
Banks
An excellent detailed guide.
No whistles and bells, just a good solid
block of information...
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