Wolves,
Witches
and Giants (1995
-1999) producers:
Honeycomb Animation
Wolfgang
Cartoons for Carlton TV animation: 2D animation
4 series CINDERELLA
1995 / 13 x 10mins 1996
/ 2 x 11mins special
1996 / 13 x 10mins
1997 / 13 x 10mins SNOW
WHITE
1998 / 13 x 10mins 1997
/ 2 x 11mins special
ALADDIN
1999
/ 1 x 25mins special
"Once
upon a time there was... a wily wolf...
a wicked witch... and a ginooooooormous giant!"
Are you sitting comfortably? - Then we can begin
this terrific series which
retells traditional folk and fairy tales
with a thoroughly modern glint in its eye.
Goldilocks, Puss in Boots, Rapunzel - you
name them, they're here as they
should be, but their stories take a very
different turn in the woods,
to reach
highly unexpected endings and bizarre resolutions.
This particular storyland realm is dominated
by those wolves, witches and
giants of the title, and one or more of these
three fearsome breeds seem to
get themselves embroiled in every tale,
along with a host of modern furnishings
buildings and adornments. Take the familiar
story of "Goldilocks". In this
version, the three bears are constantly
being harassed by wolves who hold
all-night parties and do wheelies around
the lanes on their motorbikes, so
they up sticks to a better neighbourhood.
Daddy Bear has Solihull in mind,
in fact.
Yes, it's that's kind of show.
It's all great
fun, and its shepherded along by
the even greater Spike Milligan, who narrates
each tale with meandering glee.
Spike has that sense of someone not quite
following his script (actually
written by Ed Welch). He threatens to trip over
his own sentences at any
moment, or run right off the page he's reading
from. It's a treat to behold,
and it's little wonder the show won a coveted
RTS award in 1995. It even
garnered a second RTS nomination in 1997...
"Wolves, Witches and Giants" was produced
by Simon and Sara Bor of
Honeycomb Animation. They made four series
of the show, together with
three specials. "Cinderella" and
"Snow White" were two-part productions,
whilst the last, "Aladdin", was
a one-off half-hour. Honeycomb have since
returned to folk tale realms with those Grizzly Tales
for Gruesome Kids...
»Collectors
might want to track down the two tie-in books published by
Scholastic in 1996. "Hansel
& Gretel" and "Little Red Riding Hood"
feature pictures from the
show, and were once again adapted
by Ed Welch...
Awards
1995 Royal Television Society - Best Children's
Entertainment
Episodes
The
Wolf and the Seven Kids
Beauty and the Beast
Little Red Riding Hood
The Little Snow Girl
The Little Red Hen
The Giant and the Apprentice
The Three Little Pigs Peter
and the Wolf
Puss in Boots The
Three Billy Goats Gruff
The Little Mermaid The
Little Tailor
The Wolf and the Horse The
Giant with the Golden Hair
The Witch and the Mill
Jack
and the Beanstalk
Goldilocks
The
Sleeping Beauty
The Snowqueen
Rapunzel
The Wolf and the Fox
The
Witch and the Comb
Billy's Halloween
Hansel
and Gretel
Sweet and Sour
Witch Tales
The Three Wishes
Pinocchio
Molly and the Giant
produced, directed
and designed
by Simon and Sara Bor
traditional tales adapted by Ed Welch
exec prod: John
Marsden project man: Mike
Robinson asst dir: Andy
Wyatt music: Ed
Welch animation: Jon
Miller,
Andy Thomas, Jeff Short,
Joan
Freestone, Les Brookbank,
Francis
Lowe, Mihaly Sikur,
Ferenc
Yarsanyi, Sinan Gungor,
Corinna
Nikel, Robert Tomala,
Akos
Feyer, Katya Mankova,
Katalin
More, Zoltan Turi,
Sandor
Vago colour sups: Ruth
Wallace, Cristina McMorrow,
Phil
Cutler, Jutka Kenemy b'grounds: Virginia
Head prod mans: Sarah
Thomas, Jeno Vass,
Mya
Rothkirch, Krisztina Varga,
Sandor
Paulik camera: Chris
Williams sound: Becki
Ponting editor: Tamer
Osman narrator: Spike
Milligan
On
the web
Honeycomb
Animation
The official studio site, featuring
lots of info on Honeycomb
and their productions...