Toonhound - What-a-Mess

       "A tangled heap of unpleasantness...
                                    Good grief, What-a-Mess!"

    Prince Amir of Kinjan was a mischievous muddled-up pedigree Afghan puppy,
    who was simply referred to as What-a-Mess, and who grew up believing that
    really was his name. What-a-Mess meant well, he really did, but somehow
    every trail of discovery he explored, every good deed or dalliance he diverted
    towards would end up creating chaos all around him. And creating chaos can
    make one so very tired. Most adventures would finish with our filthy tangled
    mutt collapsed in his basket and ready for a deep puppy sleep...

    The 'What-a-Mess' stories were created and written by that so-eloquent gent
    Frank Muir. The first title, called simply 'What-a-Mess', was published
    by Ernest Benn LTD in 1977. The puppy's tales were illustrated by Joseph
    Wright who imbued extra scruffy charm upon the fellow, and dotted the
    scenery with little people and beasties of various household, garden and
    indeed alien variety. What-a-Mess himself had a little yellow bird in the
    hand, or rather, in his hair throughout his adventures. And there was a
    second blue-feathered friend often nearby - quite similar, actually, to
    Woodstock in those 'Peanuts' strips.

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				What-a-Mess (1990) producers: Bevanfield Films Ltd for Central TV animation: cel animation episodes: 13 x 10mins

	"A tangled heap of unpleasantness... Good grief, What-a-Mess!" Prince Amir of Kinjan was a mischievous muddled-up pedigree Afghan puppy, who was simply referred to as What-a-Mess, and who grew up believing that really was his name. What-a-Mess meant well, he really did, but somehow every trail of discovery he explored, every good deed or dalliance he diverted towards would end up creating chaos all around him. And creating chaos can make one so very tired. Most adventures would finish with our filthy tangled mutt collapsed in his basket and ready for a deep puppy sleep... The 'What-a-Mess' stories were created and written by that so-eloquent gent Frank Muir. The first title, called simply 'What-a-Mess', was published by Ernest Benn LTD in 1977. The puppy's tales were illustrated by Joseph Wright who imbued extra scruffy charm upon the fellow, and dotted the scenery with little people and beasties of various household, garden and indeed alien variety. What-a-Mess himself had a little yellow bird in the hand, or rather, in his hair throughout his adventures. And there was a second blue-feathered friend often nearby - quite similar, actually, to Woodstock in those 'Peanuts' strips.
			"The puppy's name was Prince Amir of Kinjan. But he had never heard anybody call him that..." - from 'What-a-Mess' 1977
	'What-a-Mess' has been the star of three different animated adaptations over the years. The first was brought to life via Oliver Postgate of SmallFilms. Oliver mentions his involvement in his fabulous autobiography 'Seeing Things' (Pan Books, 2000). He tells us that, back in 1977, after he'd finished working on his remakes of 'Ivor The Engine' for the BBC, Frank Muir got in touch with him and asked him to write the series. But the toons weren't completed and aired until 1980. However tracking down further info on these films is tricky. They seem to have been sidelined by time, shunted aside by the arrival of this second adaptation by Bevanfield Films. This particular series was directed by Timothy Forder and produced by Mary Swindale. Bevanfield Films stuck faithfully to the Joseph Wright 'look', and Frank Muir himself brought his lisping, lustrous tones to the narration. It's a fine package, with the busy background world regularly brought to the fore. Thus we have miniature gnomes and animals scurrying about, teasing one another and causing much merry mischief whilst Prince Amir of Kinjan musses his way through each tale. Trivia Hounds should take another look at the episodes entitled 'What-a-Mess Goes To The Seaside' and 'What-a-Mess Goes To School', both of which feature two tiny insectoid versions of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy getting into a fine mess! After the two British adaptations came a third, a 1995 toon courtesy of Canada's DIC Animation. The whole 'What-a-Mess' concept was rejigged and 'Americanized' for the show, with storylines extended to fill the standard 20min format of Saturday Morning toon schedules. Prince Amir was given a walking, talking human family and even a karate-kicking sidekick. Frank Muir meanwhile, was charged with providing the voice of a sheepdog called Frank(!). Bevanfield episodes What-A-Mess Goes To The Seaside What-A-Mess & Little Poppet What-A-Mess Goes To School What-A-Mess goes Camping Prince What-A-Mess What-A-Mess The Beautiful Super What-A-Mess What-A-Mess & The Cat Next Door What-A-Mess Keeps Cool What-A-Mess Has A Brain Wave! What-A-Mess Goes To Town What-A-Mess & Cynthia Hedgehog What-A-Mess Goes To The Vet Bevanfield Films in association with Link Licensing for Central Independent Television created by Frank Muir adapted by Timothy Forder based on the illustrations by Joseph Wright director: Timothy Forder producer: Mary Swindale exec prod: Claire Derry, David Hamilton music: Barrie Guard dir of animation: Roger McIntosh backgrounds: Ian Henderson animation: Malcom Bourne, Peter Hale, Charlie Macrae, Steve Roberts, Neil Salmon, Tim Webb asst anim: Terry Dormer, Dominic Griffiths, Amanda Talbot paint & trace sup: Martin Dray rostrum camera: Lyndon Pickersgill narrator: Frank Muir On the web Frank Muir Appreciation Page http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Nebula/4658/muirwam.html This official appreciation page details Frank Muir's original books and features titles, print dates and pics. Clear, clean presentation too... 80sNostalgia http://www.80snostalgia.com/classictv/whatamess/ The Bevanfield series is given the 80sNostalgia treatment here. There's a great, reflective introduction, lots of pics, sound files, and RealVideo clips. Toonarific http://www.toonarific.com/w/whatamess.html Toonarific indexes the DIC series. There's a credits page and eight screen grabs to compare and contrast with what you've already seen.... index » previous » next »

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