In the Night Garden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| In the Night Garden | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Creator(s) | Anne Wood Andrew Davenport |
| Developer(s) | Ragdoll Productions |
| Narrated by | Derek Jacobi |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC |
| Original run | March 19, 2007 – |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
In the Night Garden is a BBC children's television series, particularly aimed at babies and preschool children, produced from 2005 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Anne Wood CBE, Ragdoll's creative director, and Andrew Davenport, who also created the Teletubbies.
The series was announced in October 2005 and first broadcast in March 2007. The programme is said by its creators to be designed to both relax as well as entertain its intended audience of one to three year olds. One hundred episodes were commissioned by the BBC, with a budget for the first hundred of £14.5 million.
It is narrated by Derek Jacobi and features a mix of actors in costumes, puppetry and computer animation.
[edit] Overview
The programme features six colourful characters: Upsy Daisy, Igglepiggle, Makka Pakka and three Tombliboos who live in a forest. As well as trees and tropical birds (Tittifers), the forest features a surprisingly large cast of other creatures for a programme aimed at toddlers. Like Teletubbyland, it is a surreal environment.
[edit] Characters
Igglepiggle is a blue creature similar to a teddy bear. He always carries his red blanket with him.
Upsy Daisy is similar to a rag doll of someone of Afro-Caribbean heritage. She has her own special bed, which can move around the garden.
Makka Pakka is more rounded than Igglepiggle, smaller than any of the other main characters, and is a creamy colour. He lives in a little cave and likes cleaning things, including the other characters. He travels around the Garden pushing his scooter Og-Pog.
The three Tombliboos are like dolls dressed in costumes with strips and spots: red and green, brown and pink, and pink and yellow.
All the above characters are played by actors in costumes.
The Pontipines (red) and Wottingers (blue) are two families (a mother and a father, plus four boys and four girls) of ten tiny creatures like peg dolls who live in a adjacent semi-detached houses at the foot of a tree.
The Haahoos are six large pillow-like creatures of various shapes and colours. They are 30ft inflatables.
The Ninky Nonk is a train of five differently sized and shaped carriages. In comparison to the trees and other flora of the forest, it is clearly quite small, but the main characters can easily fit inside it. Seat belts are provided in all carriages, and given how much the Ninky Nonk is seen to shake about on its journeys around the forest, are clearly necessary. Exterior shots of travelling are of a toy-sized train, while interiors and static exterior shots are done on sets or life-sized models.
The Pinky Ponk is an airship, speckled with many fins. The characters often use it to travel around the forest. Exterior shots are chroma keyed model shots, while interior ones are produced on a set.
