Toonhound - Ivor the Engine

     "Not very long ago, in the top left-hand corner
      of Wales, there was a railway..."

    Ivor was a handsome green locomotive operated by Jones the Steam and run
    along the Merioneth and Llantisilly railway in Wales. Jones and Ivor were friends
    with Dai Station, Owen the Signal, Mr Pugh, Mrs Thomas, Mrs Porty,
    Mr Dinwiddy the gold-miner, Bluebell the Donkey and Jones the Song who
    was choir-master to the Grumbly and District Choral Society of which Ivor
    was a very welcome member, singing first bass.

    Ivor's work took him to Llaniog, Tan-y-Gwlch, Llanmad, and Tewyn Beach. He
    was regularly taken to Grumbly Town and Grumbly Gasworks, and just the
    other side of the works was the extinct volcano of Smoke Hill. That was were
    Ivor and Jones first discovered The Egg. And from the egg came forth Idris the
    Welsh Dragon, a red-hot fellow who made his home in Ivor's boiler for a while...

    Ivor The Engine was the very first series to be produced by SmallFilms, the
    animation company operated by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. SmallFilms
    were rich with ideas and creative skills, and Ivor's welsh world was perfectly
    realised. In his fascinating autobiography "Seeing Things" (Panmacillan) Oliver
    describes the creative processes he went through to bring Ivor's world to our tv .
    screens. ITV commissioned the series after they viewed SmallFilms' two minute
    test reel. There was no soundtrack, so Oliver pefrormed the whistles, clangs and
    "pss-t-koffs" live in accompaniement to the visuals. With the commission
    looming Oliver had been concerned about his ability to create all of the
    necessary characters, scenarios and scripts but in the end, everything
    seemed to come together quite naturally:

    "Fortunately, now that I had the pictures in my head, the people,
    Jones the Steam, Owen the Signal, Dai Station, simply turned up
    for work. I didn't have to invent them, they came off my pen as if
    they had been there all along, waiting to be called..."

   The first Ivor series was shot in black and white. However, 16 years later,
   after the completion of Bagpuss Monica Simms at the BBC encouraged
   Oliver and Peter to remake the Ivor stories in colour, together with any other
   new tales they could muster up. The rights were duly tracked down to
   Rediffusion Holdings who, it seems, gave them back to the SmallFilms
   partnership with ne'er a concern and the new adventures could be born....

   Ivor The Engine's adventures continued in book form too. Numerous stories
   have been published and reprinted through the years by Abelard Schuman,
   Picture lions and Diamond Books. All are written by Oliver Postgate and
   beautifully illustrated by Peter Firmin.

   In 1979, incredibly, an Ivor book 'The Elephant' actually fell foul of Brent Council's
   intolerance of racial discrimination. They apparently objected to the depiction
   of Indian Elephant-Keeper Bani Moukerjee, whom Oliver refers to as:

    "...a delightful loving man, who spoke with an accent
     one might call 'Bombay Welsh..."

   2004 saw Ivor returning to his Welsh roots, when he starred in a series of
   promotional adverts for BBC2 Wales. These were written and narrated by Oliver,
   and featured Peter's artwork once more. Although they were brought to life through
   the magic of computer software, you could hardly see the join...

        M & L R T C LTD?

     "And in a shed, in a siding at the end of the railway, lived the
     Locomotive of the Merioneth and Llantisilly Rail Traction Company
     Limited, which was a long name for a little engine so his friends
     just called him Ivor..."
                                                                                               - Ivor The Engine: The First Story

     Ivor the Engine on DVD

   The Complete Ivor the Engine
     all 40 colour episodes / R2 / 4 Front / April 2005

     Films by SmallFilms

     story:       Oliver Postgate
     pictures:   Peter Firmin
     music:      Vernon Elliott
     told by:   Olwen Griffiths
                    Anthony Jackson
                    & Oliver Postgate

    On the web

       Smallfims
      http://www.smallfilms.co.uk/ivor
       The official site. Clean, clear graphics and interface lead you to a page
       on the characters, episode listing, several WAVs, and info on the
       associated books, games and videos. Best of all is the detailing of
       Ivor's creation, via Oliver Postgate's friendship with a chap called Denzil...

       Licensing By Design
       http://www.licensingbydesign.co.uk
       These folks are the licensing agents for Ivor and other
       Smallfilms classics. Stop by regularly for product updates...

       Double: Take
       http://www.double-take.co.uk/progs_ivor.html
       Double: Take hold the rights to the 40 colour episodes, and this
       here page features 3 fine pics and an ickle intro to peruse...

       Whirligig-tv
       http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/children/ivor...
       Whirligig's nostalgia page is suitably 'retro' in design, with 2 familiar
       pics and a theme WAV...

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			Ivor the Engine producers: SmallFilms animation: cut-out animation 1959 / 6 x 10mins / b/w / for Assoc. Redifusion 1961 / 26 x 10mins / b/w / for Assoc. Redifusion 1975 / 40 x 5mins / col / for The BBC 2004 / promotional ads for BBC2 Wales
	"Not very long ago, in the top left-hand corner of Wales, there was a railway..." Ivor was a handsome green locomotive operated by Jones the Steam and run along the Merioneth and Llantisilly railway in Wales. Jones and Ivor were friends with Dai Station, Owen the Signal, Mr Pugh, Mrs Thomas, Mrs Porty, Mr Dinwiddy the gold-miner, Bluebell the Donkey and Jones the Song who was choir-master to the Grumbly and District Choral Society of which Ivor was a very welcome member, singing first bass. Ivor's work took him to Llaniog, Tan-y-Gwlch, Llanmad, and Tewyn Beach. He was regularly taken to Grumbly Town and Grumbly Gasworks, and just the other side of the works was the extinct volcano of Smoke Hill. That was were Ivor and Jones first discovered The Egg. And from the egg came forth Idris the Welsh Dragon, a red-hot fellow who made his home in Ivor's boiler for a while... Ivor The Engine was the very first series to be produced by SmallFilms, the animation company operated by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. SmallFilms were rich with ideas and creative skills, and Ivor's welsh world was perfectly realised. In his fascinating autobiography "Seeing Things" (Panmacillan) Oliver describes the creative processes he went through to bring Ivor's world to our tv . screens. ITV commissioned the series after they viewed SmallFilms' two minute test reel. There was no soundtrack, so Oliver pefrormed the whistles, clangs and "pss-t-koffs" live in accompaniement to the visuals. With the commission looming Oliver had been concerned about his ability to create all of the necessary characters, scenarios and scripts but in the end, everything seemed to come together quite naturally: "Fortunately, now that I had the pictures in my head, the people, Jones the Steam, Owen the Signal, Dai Station, simply turned up for work. I didn't have to invent them, they came off my pen as if they had been there all along, waiting to be called..." The first Ivor series was shot in black and white. However, 16 years later, after the completion of Bagpuss Monica Simms at the BBC encouraged Oliver and Peter to remake the Ivor stories in colour, together with any other new tales they could muster up. The rights were duly tracked down to Rediffusion Holdings who, it seems, gave them back to the SmallFilms partnership with ne'er a concern and the new adventures could be born.... Ivor The Engine's adventures continued in book form too. Numerous stories have been published and reprinted through the years by Abelard Schuman, Picture lions and Diamond Books. All are written by Oliver Postgate and beautifully illustrated by Peter Firmin. In 1979, incredibly, an Ivor book 'The Elephant' actually fell foul of Brent Council's intolerance of racial discrimination. They apparently objected to the depiction of Indian Elephant-Keeper Bani Moukerjee, whom Oliver refers to as: "...a delightful loving man, who spoke with an accent one might call 'Bombay Welsh..." 2004 saw Ivor returning to his Welsh roots, when he starred in a series of promotional adverts for BBC2 Wales. These were written and narrated by Oliver, and featured Peter's artwork once more. Although they were brought to life through the magic of computer software, you could hardly see the join... M & L R T C LTD? "And in a shed, in a siding at the end of the railway, lived the Locomotive of the Merioneth and Llantisilly Rail Traction Company Limited, which was a long name for a little engine so his friends just called him Ivor..." - Ivor The Engine: The First Story Ivor the Engine on DVD The Complete Ivor the Engine all 40 colour episodes / R2 / 4 Front / April 2005 Films by SmallFilms story: Oliver Postgate pictures: Peter Firmin music: Vernon Elliott told by: Olwen Griffiths Anthony Jackson & Oliver Postgate On the web Smallfims http://www.smallfilms.co.uk/ivor The official site. Clean, clear graphics and interface lead you to a page on the characters, episode listing, several WAVs, and info on the associated books, games and videos. Best of all is the detailing of Ivor's creation, via Oliver Postgate's friendship with a chap called Denzil... Licensing By Design http://www.licensingbydesign.co.uk These folks are the licensing agents for Ivor and other Smallfilms classics. Stop by regularly for product updates... Double: Take http://www.double-take.co.uk/progs_ivor.html Double: Take hold the rights to the 40 colour episodes, and this here page features 3 fine pics and an ickle intro to peruse... Whirligig-tv http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/children/ivor... Whirligig's nostalgia page is suitably 'retro' in design, with 2 familiar pics and a theme WAV... index » previous » next »

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