Toonhound - The Gingerbread Man

      "I won't be beaten till I'm eaten,
       and I won't be eaten till I'm beaten!"
                                              - The Gingerbread Man

     This fine series was set on the shelves of a dresser in a kitchen, late at night,
     where a quintet of extraordinary characters got up to much mischief behind the
     backs of the sleeping humans - or "Big Ones" - upstairs...

     The Gingerbread Man was originally found unfinished in a baking mould by the
     condiment couple Salt and Miss Pepper and Herr Von Cuckoo the eccentric
     wooden bird from the wall clock nearby. The trio added a cherry slice mouth and
     two raisin eyes to the figure before rousing him into excitable life with a handful
     of pepper. Ginger's gambolling and merriment, dancing to the muzak on an
     old radio, roused the slumbering "Big Ones" and threatened to end our hero's
     new-found life there and then. ''Maybe we made his mouth too big!" says
     sailor Salt. But the "Big Ones" were enamoured of his big cheeky grin and
     decided to keep him "as a sort of decoration"...

      Salt and Miss Pepper     Ginger and Herr Von Cuckoo

     Rounding out the series regulars were Old Bag, a miserable, grumbling tea
     bag who dwelt in a decorative teapot on the top shelf of the dresser and
     Sleek the green-suited mouse with a muddled gangster attitude who constantly
     hungered for a nibble of Ginger and indeed, a nibble of Old Bag's perforations too.
     Sleek's cockeyed dialogue included such gems as: "One move and you'll feel
     my false teeth!" instead of "One false move and you'll feel my teeth!"...

     Sleek, by the way, doesn't put in his first appearance until the third episode.
     Also, Ginger converses with Old Bag in the first episode but he doesn't get
     to see her top shelf teapot face-up until the second episode, during which
     adventure he uncovers her softer side and agrees to spend his nights sleeping
     by her teapot in a miniature deckchair - to keep her company. And that's
     exactly what he does for the rest of the series...

     "The Gingerbread Man" series was actually adapted by playwright David Wood
     from his tremendously successful touring stageshow from the 70s. Wood's
     other plays include "The Tinderbox" (1967), "The Owl and the Pussycat Went to
     Sea…" (1968), "Flibberty and the Penguin" (1971) and "The Ideal Gnome
     Expedition" (1980). "The Gingerbread Man" play was published as part of a
     Wood anthology "Wood Plays 1" courtesy of Methuen Books, in 1998.
     Time Out said this of the production:

      "The perfect children's play, with lots of superbly silly jokes and
       foot-tapping songs ... a magnificent epic of comic disarray"

     Now here's one for Trivia Hounds. Such diverse thespians as Imelda Staunton
     and Melanie "Generation Game" Stace have played the role of Miss Pepper on
     tour with the show over the years....

    Title song

       "Newly-baked this morning, take a look at my tan,
        Hey, hey, I'm the Gingerbread Man!
        Like a magic spell I just appeared with a bang,
        Hey, hey, I'm the Gingerbread Man!
        From the tip of my toes to the top of my head,
        I'm guaranteed genuine gingerbread!
        Soon as I arrived the dresser party began,
        Hey, hey, I'm the Ginger, the Ginger, Ginger, Ginger, Ginger..."

     The Gingerbread Man by David Wood
     a FilmFair production for Central Independent Television

     dir of animation:   Martin Pullen
     producer:             Kath Swain
     exec producer:     David Yates
    music:                 Peter Pontzen and David Wood
     animation:           Mark Waring
     editor:                 Simon Cox
     voices:                Andrew Sachs
                               Jacqueline Clarke
                                David Wood

     On the web

       David Wood
       http://www.davidwood.org.uk/
       David Wood's official site is stuffed with information about his many
       stage plays and literary works - "Gingerbread Man" included, of course.
       Mr Wood is a very busy fellow!

       previous »   next »

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			The Gingerbread Man (1992) producers: David Wood / FilmFair Ltd animation: stop-motion animation episodes: 13 x 10 mins
	"I won't be beaten till I'm eaten, and I won't be eaten till I'm beaten!" - The Gingerbread Man This fine series was set on the shelves of a dresser in a kitchen, late at night, where a quintet of extraordinary characters got up to much mischief behind the backs of the sleeping humans - or "Big Ones" - upstairs... The Gingerbread Man was originally found unfinished in a baking mould by the condiment couple Salt and Miss Pepper and Herr Von Cuckoo the eccentric wooden bird from the wall clock nearby. The trio added a cherry slice mouth and two raisin eyes to the figure before rousing him into excitable life with a handful of pepper. Ginger's gambolling and merriment, dancing to the muzak on an old radio, roused the slumbering "Big Ones" and threatened to end our hero's new-found life there and then. ''Maybe we made his mouth too big!" says sailor Salt. But the "Big Ones" were enamoured of his big cheeky grin and decided to keep him "as a sort of decoration"... Rounding out the series regulars were Old Bag, a miserable, grumbling tea bag who dwelt in a decorative teapot on the top shelf of the dresser and Sleek the green-suited mouse with a muddled gangster attitude who constantly hungered for a nibble of Ginger and indeed, a nibble of Old Bag's perforations too. Sleek's cockeyed dialogue included such gems as: "One move and you'll feel my false teeth!" instead of "One false move and you'll feel my teeth!"... Sleek, by the way, doesn't put in his first appearance until the third episode. Also, Ginger converses with Old Bag in the first episode but he doesn't get to see her top shelf teapot face-up until the second episode, during which adventure he uncovers her softer side and agrees to spend his nights sleeping by her teapot in a miniature deckchair - to keep her company. And that's exactly what he does for the rest of the series... "The Gingerbread Man" series was actually adapted by playwright David Wood from his tremendously successful touring stageshow from the 70s. Wood's other plays include "The Tinderbox" (1967), "The Owl and the Pussycat Went to Sea…" (1968), "Flibberty and the Penguin" (1971) and "The Ideal Gnome Expedition" (1980). "The Gingerbread Man" play was published as part of a Wood anthology "Wood Plays 1" courtesy of Methuen Books, in 1998. Time Out said this of the production: "The perfect children's play, with lots of superbly silly jokes and foot-tapping songs ... a magnificent epic of comic disarray" Now here's one for Trivia Hounds. Such diverse thespians as Imelda Staunton and Melanie "Generation Game" Stace have played the role of Miss Pepper on tour with the show over the years.... Title song "Newly-baked this morning, take a look at my tan, Hey, hey, I'm the Gingerbread Man! Like a magic spell I just appeared with a bang, Hey, hey, I'm the Gingerbread Man! From the tip of my toes to the top of my head, I'm guaranteed genuine gingerbread! Soon as I arrived the dresser party began, Hey, hey, I'm the Ginger, the Ginger, Ginger, Ginger, Ginger..." The Gingerbread Man by David Wood a FilmFair production for Central Independent Television dir of animation: Martin Pullen producer: Kath Swain exec producer: David Yates music: Peter Pontzen and David Wood animation: Mark Waring editor: Simon Cox voices: Andrew Sachs Jacqueline Clarke David Wood On the web David Wood http://www.davidwood.org.uk/ David Wood's official site is stuffed with information about his many stage plays and literary works - "Gingerbread Man" included, of course. Mr Wood is a very busy fellow! previous » next »
	© David Wood / FilmFair Ltd / F2000-2004