Noddy's Toyland Adventures

Noddy's Toyland Adventures is a children's television programme that was broadcast from September 1992 until December 1994 and again from 1999 to 2001 on the BBC. It was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films and was produced and shown in stop-motion animation.

The show featured the most-memorable voice-acting talents of character voice-actors and television writers Jimmy Hibbert and Susan Sheridan (both of whom also worked on the UK version of The Little Polar Bear, as well as the later 'also Cosgrove Hall Produced' TV series Animal Shelf), with every episode of Noddy's Toyland Adventures being written by Julia and Chris Allen respectively during its broadcast run.

It follows the adventures of Noddy a little wooden doll who lives in Toyland with his red and yellow taxi often trying to make sixpence or getting himself in trouble. His best friends Big Ears, Mr Plod and Tessie Bear are always ready to lend a hand, especially when he gets tricked by Gobbo and Sly the wicked Goblins. Whatever the situation the episode mostly ends with Noddy laughing and nodding his head which makes the bell on his hat ring.

The show had some airtime in Canada and America as "Noddy" which featured the original segments redubbed with Canadian and American voices with live action segments that aired in between. The show was eventually moved back to the UK in 1999, this time as "Noddy in Toyland" (not to be confused with the 2009 show); it was decided to keep the original British voices, but the live action segments remained.

Characters

• Big-Ears, a wise, bearded Brownie who lives in a toadstool house outside of Toytown. He is Noddy's best friend and if Noddy has problems, Big Ears is always kind to help his best friend. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the UK dub and Benedict Campbell in the US dub.
• Mr Plod, The Toytown policeman. He is a good friend of Noddy and thinks Toytown can't live without him. He sometimes blames Noddy for being in trouble and Noddy is always trying to be honest to him. He has a British accent in both the UK and US dubbed versions. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the UK dub and Benedict Campbell in the US dub.
• Bumpy Dog, Noddy's constant companion. He is highly excitable and will rush at friends and lick them in greeting, but has sensitive feelings if scolded by Noddy or anyone else.
• Mr. Wobbly Man, a funny little man who cannot lie down. He has a round base which he wobbles about on. He rocks back and forth to get around. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.
• Master Tubby Bear, Mr. and Mrs. Tubby Bear's son whose sometimes naughty and mischievous. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.
• Mr Tubby Bear, Noddy's next door neighbour. First name unknown. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.
• Mrs Tubby Bear, Noddy's next door neighbour, it is clear that she, like Mr Tubby Bear are the superiors of Noddy, as if they are adults and he is a child, mainly because Noddy always refers to them as "Mr and Mrs Tubby Bear". First name unknown. She was voiced by Susan Sheridan.
• Clockwork Mouse, a toy mouse who often requires winding up. He's always taken things that don't belong to him. He also often gets into scrapes as a result of Noddy's misadventures, although the two are generally good friends. He was voiced by Susan Sheridan.
• Dinah Doll, a china doll who sells all kinds of everything in the market. She is a good friend to Noddy, and the two are always ready to help each other out. She was voiced by Susan Sheridan.
• Tessie Bear, A clever and kind teddy bear and a great friend of Noddy. If Noddy gets the blame, she'll think of a plan to prove it really wasn't Noddy who was playing tricks or stealing. She was voiced by Susan Sheridan.
• Mr Milko, Toyland's local milkman. He sometimes can be gloomy and sad, but Noddy's bell on his hat always cheers him up. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.
• Mr Sparks, Toyland's handyman, who can mend anything. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.
• Miss Pink Cat, a cat who is portrayed as a fussy and neat cat with a French accent and no patience for foolishness, even her own. She always bosses to Noddy to do something for her and doesn't like Noddy for being late. In the American dubbed version, she speaks with a Southern accent. She was voiced by Susan Sheridan.
• Mr Jumbo, an elephant friendly with Clockwork Mouse. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.
• The Skittles, a family of bowling pins consisting of Mrs Skittle and her many children of various sizes. The Skittles are red and yellow in colour with black hands. They love to be knocked down, and even frequently run out in front of Noddy's car so he will hit them and knock them over.
• Little-Ears, Big-Ears' brother who looks just like Big-Ears, but his ears are much smaller.
• Bert Monkey, a monkey with a tail that is so prehensile that it has a mind of its own, often stealing objects all by itself. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.
• Martha Monkey, a mischievous tomboy but very silly and bossy to Noddy and making rude remarks always. She was voiced by Susan Sheridan.
• Sly and Gobbo, are goblins who are very mischievous and greedy. They always steal things like ice cream, coins or Noddy's car. They always play horrid tricks onto Noddy. However, they always end up in jail after they have completed their evil schemes and are often found out by Mr Plod and sometimes Big-Ears. They were voiced by Susan Sheridan and Jimmy Hibbert in the UK dub and Catherine Disher and James Rankin in the US dub.
• Clockwork Clown, a toy clown who makes funny tricks. He stands only using his hands not his feet because he has 'fused' feet like those of a sea lion. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.
• Mr Train Driver, train driver who drives the Toyland Express train. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.
• Sammy Sailor, local harbour sailor. He was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the UK dub and James Rankin in the US dub.
• Mr Noah, lives on the ark with Mrs Noah and the animals.
• Mrs Noah, lives on the ark with Mr Noah and the animals.
• Noddy's Car, the yellow car with red decals which Noddy drives. It has a brain of it's own and can talk to other characters with it's unique sounding horn that says "parp parp!"

List of Episodes

Series 1 (1992)

1. Noddy Loses Sixpence (17 September 1992)
2. Noddy and the Goblins (24 September 1992)
3. Noddy and the Naughty Tail (1 October 1992)
4. Noddy and the Pouring Rain (8 October 1992)
5. Noddy and Martha Monkey (15 October 1992)
6. Noddy and the Kite (22 October 1992)
7. Noddy's New Friend (29 October 1992)
8. Noddy and His Bell (5 November 1992)
9. Noddy and the Milkman (12 November 1992)
10. Noddy and the Broken Bicycle (26 November 1992)
11. Noddy and the Special Key (3 December 1992)
12. Noddy Delivers Some Parcels (10 December 1992)
13. Noddy Gets a New Job (29 December 1992)

Series 2 (1993-1994)

1. Noddy and the Missing Hats (5 April 1994)
2. Noddy and the Useful Rope (12 April 1994)
3. Noddy Loses his Bell (19 April 1994)
4. Noddy Cheers Up Big Ears (26 April 1994)
5. Noddy Goes Shopping (3 May 1994)
6. Noddy Borrows an Umbrella (10 May 1994)
7. Noddy Meets Some Silly Hens (17 May 1994)
8. Noddy Lends a Hand (24 May 1994)
9. Noddy Finds a Furry Tail (31 May 1994)
10. Noddy Sets a Trap (7 June 1994)
11. Noddy To The Rescue
12. Noddy Has a Bad Day

Series 3 (1994)

1. Noddy and the Fishing Rod
2. Noddy the Champion
3. Noddy and the Warm Scarf
4. Noddy and the Golden Tree
5. Noddy and his Unhappy Car
6. Noddy Has an Afternoon Off
7. Noddy the Magician
8. Noddy and his Money
9. Noddy Borrows Some Trousers
10. Noddy and his Alarm Clock
11. Noddy Buys a Parasol
12. Noddy Tastes Some Cakes
13. Noddy the Dancer
14. Noddy and Father Christmas

Series 4 (1999)

1. Noddy and the Magic Watch (10 January 2000)
2. Noddy and the Goblins (17 January 2000)
3. Noddy And The Singing Bush (24 January 2000)
4. Noddy Is Far Too Busy (31 January 2000)
5. Noddy And The Noisy Drum (7 February 2000)
6. Noddy Gets Caught in a Storm (14 February 2000)
7. Noddy Tidies Toyland (21 February 2000)
8. Noddy and the Bouncing Ball (28 February 2000)
9. Noddy And The Treasure Map (6 March 2000)
10. Noddy Tells A Story (13 March 2000)
11. Noddy And The Artists (20 March 2000)
12. Noddy The Nurse (27 March 2000)
13. Noddy and the Driving Lesson (28 March 2000)

Theme tune song

The show is fondly remembered for its memorable theme tune song which was sung by the Paul K. Joyce (The Composer of the theme and incidental music) and some Cosgrove Hall production staff members.

UK VHS releases

UK DVD Release

• The original Noddy series has never been released on DVD as of yet. However it is hoped that all episodes of the show could be released on DVD by Classic Media in 2015. The ideas for the cover for each release will be as follows, Series 1 with a red cover, Series 2 with a green cover, Series 3 with a blue cover and Series 4 with a yellow cover.

References

External links

• The Unofficial Noddy site