"The Old Man had been around a long time,
    and thought he knew about everything - But he didn't!"
 

    The Old Man of Lochnagar is a jolly Scottish fellow with a big bushy white beard
    and a penchant for baths. But the world keeps intruding upon his warm water
    wallowing, so he's set off to a cave half-way up the nearest Munro, where he
    can pipe the good stuff from a babbling stream and fill his tub till his heart's
    content. Only, unbeknownst to the Old Man, his cumbersome plumbing has
    intruded upon the home of the piskie-like Gorms. These miniature folks live
    beneath the ground, where they make, paint and plant all the flowers of Scotland
    - planting them from the bottom up, wouldn't you know. Now, as coincidence
    has it, the Gorm King has just invented a bagpipe-like musical contraption he's
    calling a Shrunkler. And this Shrunkler shrinks plants down to seeds when it's
    played, which means the Gorms will now be able to save themselves a heap
    of time and trouble when they're working. They can plant these seeds and get
    them to grow brighter and bushier than ever with just a few drops of  water.
    But the Old Man of Lochnagar's big brassy bath pipe is thrusting into the
    middle of their Gormpire, and pretty soon they're engulfed by a wild wave
    of waste water that washes the Shrunkler away, and the Gorn King's
    children with it...

   "I'm just an old man - I wanted a bath! -
    No one likes a dirty old man!"

    This sploshy tale has Royal connections, don't you know. It was written
    by His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and it's based
    upon a story he told his princely young brothers, Andrew and Edward
    to amuse them during a voyage on H.M.Y Britannia. The Old Man of
    Lochnagar (Picture Puffin) features illustrations by architect, painter and
    author Sir Hugh Casson (1910-1999) and it was first published in 1980 in
    aid of The Prince's Trust charity. The Old Man lives in a cave close to the
    corrie loch of Lochnagar, a mountain which overlooks the royal estate
    at Balmoral.

        

    Produced by the Dave Edwards Studio, in Wales (!), this adaptation
    eschews Sir Hugh's watercolour figures in favour of Siriol-type cartoon
    characters and the story is truncated to fulfil the needs of its half-hour
    commission. If you're looking for a highlight, this viewer welcomed the
    Old Man's shrunkling scene, which includes some great extreme poses. 
    The film makers have also championed that Royal connection by having
    Prince Charles appear on screen within a pair of live-action bookends.
    The Prince recalls the story to a goggle-eyed collection of children who've
    assembled in his stately home. He isn't the most natural of storytellers,
    but it's all for charity, folks, and the story's inner theme of natural harmony
    is something that's close to Charlie's heart, so the film gets a pass for having
    its heart in the right place. And at the end we're left with a hint that this
    Tall Tale may not be quite as tall and  made-up as the kids orignially think...

 

    By Royal Appointment

    Prince Charles isn't the first Royal to enter animated realms, of course.
    The Duchess of York previously introduced us to Budgie, the sprightly
    helicopter. And if you want on-screen cameos, you'll recall the Queen played
    a sizable role in the story of The BFG. Queen Victoria also played some Great
    games with Bob Godfrey and Isembard Kingdom Brunel, and recently, she
    teamed up with Aardman Animation to tackle the nefariouas Pirate Captain
    and his mottled, motley crew in "The Pirates! an Adventure with Scientists".
       
 

  

     On the web


     Sir Hugh Casson
     His official, posthumous web site...