Little Robots
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Little Robots is a stop-motion animated children's TV series, produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Create TV and Film Limited and broadcast on CBeebies (the BBC's children's channel). The fiction series was based on the eponymous book by Mike Brownlow, published by Ragged Bears Publishing. It is distributed by BBC Worldwide to over 60 countries.
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[edit] Background
The show is centered on eleven Little Robots, each with his own distinct looks and personality. They were abandoned on a scrap heap in a junkyard until Tiny, the central figure of the story, fixed them. The robots set to build a world of their own, using junk to build their houses, gadgets, plants and flowers, and even their own sun and moon.
The centre of their world is the Nut And Bolt Tree, a big, metallic structure that serves as a home to Tiny. Other important features of their world are the Day-Night lever, which causes the sky to rotate 180 degrees, switching from night to day; and the junkyard, that's constantly receiving junk from the surface through a chute.
The main stories are presented in 10 minute scripts. They focus mainly on the life of the robots as a community, often dealing with topics such as resolution of conflicts, collaboration and friendship. Several shorter stories have been produced, called Little Robots Learn. These short pieces are much different from the main stories, with the characters "interacting" with the viewers, introducing simple topics like gravity, contraptions, sounds, counting and even confidence and self-esteem, sometimes featuring a song.
The programme uses the talents of several British comedians, including Lenny Henry, Martin Clunes, Morwenna Banks, Emma Chambers, Su Pollard and Hayley Carmichael.
[edit] Cast List
Morwenna Banks
Hayley Carmichael
Emma Chambers
Martin Clunes
Mel Giedroyc
Mike Haley
Lenny Henry
Jimmy Hibbert
Sue Perkins
Su Pollard
[edit] Crew List
Franc Vose, Producer
Bridget Appleby, Art Director
Vanessa Chapman, Executive Producer
Michael Carrington, Executive Producer
Theresa Plummer-Andrews, Executive Producer
Bob Heatley, Composer
Hilary Baverstock, Script Editor
Mellie Buse, Writer
Jimmy Hibbert, Writer
[edit] Characters[1]
- Tiny - The central character of the show. He is blue, has a red antenna on top of his head, and a red button on his belly which opens the lid of his head, uncovering a couple of tools which he uses for fixing machines and robots. He is also responsible for pulling the Day-Night lever at the right times. Tiny lives on the Nut And Bolt Tree, right next to the Day-Night lever. He always has a positive view on things, and always tries to help his friends to live in peace and harmony together. Voiced by Hayley Carmichael.
- Messy - The robot dog of the Little Robots' world, he loves things dirty and messy. Scary teaches him tricks and makes shows with him, where he's known as "Messy, the Wonderhound".
- Sporty - The strongest and fittest of all the robots, he's constantly running, playing games and sports, and never gets tired of making himself stronger and fitter. Sporty has his own, private gym with a trampoline and a conveyor belt. Voiced by Lenny Henry.
- Stretchy - Very organised and efficient, he's in charge of sorting the junk that comes from the chute on the junkyard. He's blue and tall, and has a long, flexible neck. Though his main worry is to keep the junkyard organised so his friends can use, his workaholism and obsession for organisation sometimes causes problems - on one occasion, he accidentally tied a knot on his neck due to overwork. He lives in the junkyard, inside an abandoned radiator. Voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.
- Rusty - A feminine and sensitive Little Robot, she has a red dress made with rusty metal, and wears a funnel on top of her head. She lives in an old, rusty bucket, and she constantly has new ideas on how to improve and decorate it. She's very impulsive and accident prone, though, and tense situations or anything that causes her to get overexcited can make her overheat and release puffs of steam. She also has a notable, childish crush on Sporty. Voiced by Morwenna Banks.
- Stripy - Big and made with coloured stripes of metal, he's practically the complete opposite of Sporty: moves and talks slowly, but he's a deep and introspective thinker, also a specialist in flowers and storytelling. His best friend is Teddy, his metallic teddy bear, and his favourite activities are taking care of his garden, telling stories to his friends and playing games that require little agility and lots of skill. Voiced by Martin Clunes.
- Noisy - Speaks loudly, has a trumpet for a nose, plays instruments, writes and sings songs, and loves whatever kind of noise she can produce. Her house is an old drum, with a xylophone-themed entryway. Her passion for loud music and noise can often be bothersome for her friends, but she's also a great entertainer. Her laughter is unforgettable, too. Voiced by Su Pollard.
- Spotty - She's round, yellow, covered in coloured spots, wears specs, and can retract all her limbs and roll around like a ball for fast locomotion. She has a strong personality, likes rules and orders, and tends to give orders to her friends (often causing conflicts with her friends). Her dream is to be an artist. Voiced by Emma Chambers.
- Scary - He's purple and wears a black cape. Scary is a great actor, likes to scare his friends (though he's often not successful) and stage shows to entertain his friends. He has his own stage, which is also his house. Voiced by Mike Hayley.
- The Sparky Twins - Sparky One and Sparky Two are almost identical twins who are full of energy, love dancing and doing practical jokes on other robots. Sparky One has a red spot on her belly and Sparky Two has a yellow spot on her belly. They are able to communicate over distances by exchanging electrical rays through the antennae on their heads, and their catch phrase is Gimmie Three, Sparkee! when they high-five. They live in a pair of speakers by an old record turntable. Voiced by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
Other characters are Flappy the Bat, and the Robo-birds, who often play important roles on the show.
[edit] Episode List
[edit] Season 1
1. The Sound of Music
First broadcast: 1/7/2003
Production Code: LAQC525T
Convinced by Tiny that it'll be impossible play five instruments all by herself, Noisy decides to form a band, but Sporty is horrified to discover that Noisy wants him to be the singer.
2. The Hiccalots
First broadcast: 1/14/2003
Production Code: LAQC520Y
Sorty bumops into Noisy who gets a bad case of robotic hiccups.Everyone tries different ways to cure her.
3. A Friend for Teddy
First broadcast: 1/21/2003
Production Code: LAQC521S
Rusty is embarrassed when she discovers Spotty's secret affection for her pink fluffy slippers.
4. Robot Race Day
First broadcast: 1/28/2003
Production Code: LAQC522L
The Little Robots hold a sports day.
5. Knock Knock
First broadcast: 2/4/2003
Production Code: LAQC524A
Spotty and Scary keep getting confused about which home belongs to which of the Sparky twins. Upset that they are always being mistaken for each other the twins decide to put shiny things on their doors to identify which is which.
6. Spotty's Clean Machine
First broadcast: 2/11/2003
Production Code: LAQC519E
Wanting to get all their stuff clean, Spotty tries out Stretchy's new cleaning machine, but it goes out of control.
Writer: Jimmy Hibbert
7. One Hundred
First broadcast: 2/18/2003 Production Code: LAQC523F
When their artificial moon breaks, Tiny enlists the help of the other robots to make a new one.
Writer: Jimmy Hibbert
8. Stretchy in a Twist
First broadcast: 2/25/2003
Production Code: LAQC526N
Trying to do too many things at once, Stretchy gets his neck stuck in a knot.Tiny and Rusty try to help.
Writer: Neil Arksey
9. Stripy on the Ball
First broadcast: 3/4/2003
Production Code: LAQC527H
Stripy makes a new ball, but the Sparky Twins steal it.They get trapped and the other robots rescue them.
10. Scary Scary
First broadcast: 3/11/2003
Production Code: LAQC528B
Scary has been trying to frighten the little robots, but is unsuccessful until he accidentally gets covered in his magnetic props.
11. Hole in the Sky
First broadcast: 3/18/2003
Production Code: LAQC529W
Rusty is terrified on finding a hole in the sky above her home.
12. Noisy's New Song
First broadcast: 3/25/2003
Production Code: LAQC531J
The hatch in Stretchy's junkyard is jammed, no-one can unstick it and Noisy has a new song.
13. A Bit of Give and Take
First broadcast: 4/1/2003
Production Code: LAQC530P
Tiny needs some help with the Nut and Bolt Tree.
[edit] Distribution
BBC Worldwide distributes the series, and licensed it in over 60 countries. In the U.S., Little Robots is part of Cartoon Network's Tickle-U programming block and debuted in 2003. It is also aired on TVOKids in Ontario, Canada, on Kids Central in Singapore, and on Nick Jr. in Australia (formerly for a short time on Nickelodeon). The BBC website lists further customers: Germany (ZDF and KiKa), Canada (SCN and The Knowledge Network), Norway (NRK), Finland (YLE), Denmark (TV2), Iceland (RUV), Italy (RAI 13), Portugal (RTP), Malta (MEBC), Russia (RTR Kultura) and South Africa (SABC), Mexico (Discovery Kids).[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Little Robots rocks!" says Lenny Henry, BBC press release, December 31, 2002. Retrieved on September 26, 2007.
- ^ Little Robots make it big in Japan , BBC Worldwide press release, March 31, 2004. Retrieved on September 26, 2007.
