Charley Says
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Charley Says was a series of very short cut-out animated cartoon Public Information Films for children, shown in the United Kingdom in the 1970s for London's Central Office of Information.
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[edit] Overview
Most of the topics deal with everyday safety issues children face, such as not going with strangers or not playing with matches. They featured a little boy (whose name was later revealed to be Dominic) and his cat, named Charley, voiced by Kenny Everett, who would "miaow" the lesson of the episode, which the boy would then translate and explain. Often Charley served as the boy's conscience, similarly to Davey and Goliath or Jiminy Cricket of Disney's film Pinocchio. When Charley and the boy did the right thing, they were rewarded with something for the boy and a fish for Charley, which he ate rapidly. However, on other occasions, Charley suffered the consequences of doing the wrong thing (e.g. in Charley's Tea Party he pulled a tablecloth and a teapot fell on him and scalded him).
[edit] Production details
The films were produced by Richard Taylor Cartoons who also produced Crystal Tipps and Alistair. They also produced the controversial Protect and Survive series, narrated by Shakespearean actor Patrick Allen.
Six films were produced:
- Charley – Falling in the Water (60 s)
- Charley – In The Kitchen (45 s)
- Charley – Matches (30 s)
- Charley – Mummy Should Know (60 s)
- Charley's Tea Party (45 s)
- Charley – Strangers (60 s)
The boy in the films was named Dominic, after the young boy who did the voice.
[edit] References in popular culture
The English electronica group The Prodigy famously sampled Charley Says for their UK 1991 hit single Charly, reaching number 3 in the UK Singles Chart.
In 2005, the Charley Says series was voted #95 on the Channel 4 TV special 100 Greatest Cartoons, and in 2006 was voted the UK's favourite public service advertisement by readers of the BBC News website.
[edit] Video Release
The Charley Says films have been released in the UK (along with other public information films) as both a DVD-video and a two-volume set of VHS tapes.
