News

Exclusive: Cake has completed the acquisition of assets from rival Jetpack Distribution in a move that doubles the size of its library and reduces the kids TV sales field by one.

The agreement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, comes after Cake announced a deal to buy a significant number of Jetpack’s assets last month. We understand talks had been ongoing for several weeks prior to that.

Jetpack, a well-respected indie distributor, had had been hit by the tough kids TV marketplace, but its founder, Dominic Gardiner, and Cake Group CEO Ed Galton pointed to their close personal relationship as reasoning behind today’s deal. According to Companies House, Jetpack liquidated on August 21, but a deal for the assets such as Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed had been announced two weeks prior.

Galton told Deadline in an exclusive interview: “We were impressed with how Dom had built the Jetpack brand...

A UK animation firm announced Friday that, after 24 years of operation, it has gone into liquidation, including the sale of many assets that will be familiar to the fans of its shows.

The BBC reports that Factory Transmedia, based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, has been put into a creditors’ voluntary arrangement.

Over the past two decades, the firm has produced animation for global companies including Disney, Milkshake, Nick Jr, Cbbc and CBeebies. In 2015, it led a £5million revamp of classic children’s show The Clangers, with Monty Python star Michael Palin as the narrator. Other titles included Scream Street and Strange Hill High.

The BBC reports that liquidators cited “challenging conditions” in TV commissioning as a factor in the firm having to close, and that many of the company’s assets will be sold off via online auction, including props and studio equipment.

The Sun reports that the firm had...

To celebrate the release of The Clangers, available to own on Blu-Ray and DVD from 30th October, we are giving away Blu-Rays to 2 lucky winners!

Originally broadcast between 1969 and 1972 Clangers was made by Smallfilms the company set up by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin producing many other childhood classics including Bagpuss, Noggin the Nog and Ivor the Engine.

Enjoy all 26 episodes from Season 1 and 2, now fully restored and presented from high-definition masters.

Discover a small blue planet populated by pink beings known as Clangers, a green dragon who cultivates soup and orange monopods who emerge from a magician’s top hat. Wonderful and exotic creatures often visit, and are always very welcome, especially a chicken made of iron who lives on a nearby nest made of space junk.

Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only.

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The Small Print

This competition is open to UK residents only.

This list applies to UK streaming services

On rainy days, television isn’t only a parent’s best friend, it’s a lifeline. Let’s be honest, during the seemingly endless school holidays, the TV is also practically a co-parent.

But kids’ TV is undeniably formative: the best shows really stay with us, fondly in our memories, all the way through to adulthood. The best of the best are even still fun to watch as grownups.

Whether you’re looking for a nostalgia hit, some quality family viewing or a bit of headphones-and-bowl-of-sliced-apple alone time for your youngest, we’ve collected up 50 top children’s TV shows from across the UK’s major streaming platforms. (As well as the 50 best British TV dramas and British TV comedies available.) Find a few old classics and plenty of new favourites below…

Adventure Time

Pendleton Ward’s endlessly inventive fantasy cartoon about the...

Peter Firmin, the creator of classic kids characters including Clangers, Bagpuss and Basil Brush, has died aged 89.

Firmin died at his home in Kent, UK, after a short illness. He is survived by his wife Joan and his six daughters as well as a raft of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Firmin, who was born in Essex in 1928, was one half of legendary British production company Smallfilms, along with Oliver Postgate. The pair were responsible for creating kids series including Bagpuss, which aired on the BBC, and The Clangers, which also aired on the British public broadcaster as well as Universal Kids in the U.S. He also created Basil Brush with Ivan Owen.

A spokesman said: “During a career spanning over six decades, Peter worked with great skill in a remarkably wide variety of creative disciplines as a fine artist, craftsman and author.

“Of all his work, he will probably...

Stars: Stéphane Bilodeau, Julie-Anne Côté, Philippe Chabot | Written by Rémy M. Larochelle, Mélissa Hébert | Directed by Rémy M. Larochelle

Following on from my review of Phil Stevens’ blistering Lung, I continue to work my way through the releases being proffered by the fellows at Unearthed Films. This one, I have to say, took me entirely by surprise. I went in to Mecanix totally cold and found myself suitably impressed.

Roaring forth from the hazy days of 2003, Mecanix is the first, and thus far only, feature from Canadian film-maker Remy M. Larochelle. With that thought in mind, it really is a remarkable achievement.

Blending expressionistic stop-motion animation with live action, Mecanix is a glimpse into a twisted engine world in which humans exist in captivity, living in apparent servitude to a race of hideous, bio-mechanical creatures who desperately seek an object called “The Embryo” while one of the last free humans...

The new CBeebies Clangers series is a rare thing: an advert for the wisdom of remaking old childhood properties…

When it was first reported on this site that Smallfilms’ sixties and seventies stop-motion classic children’s series Clangers was next for the remake treatment, the fears of many were wittily summed up by one commenter:

“Surely in this age of self-aware/horribly loud/jitteringly insane Adhd-driven kids’ programming, those in charge of the £s are unlikely to sign off on the kind of gentle, quiet whimsy in which Oliver Postgate specialised, and which made Clangers so magical? Or they’ll insist on introducing a new teenaged son Clanger who has a flying skateboard or something? And who speaks like a marketing hack’s idea of what a teenaged boy speaks like? Or the Iron Chicken will lay exploding eggs?” - StefMo.

The latest in a long line of in-development children’s TV revivals,...

The BBC/Sprout reboot of Oliver Postgate's Clangers will feature Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner…

An interesting one, this. While Michael Palin had already been announced as the Narrator for the Clangers reboot, William Shatner has now also been named.

Michael Palin hasn’t been publically removed from the project, so we’re assuming here that both Palin and Shatner will provide voice-work.

Perhaps, Shatner will appear for the American airings, and Palin for the UK ones? That seems like a bizarre option though.

We’d love to hear them together, with a touch of veteran-actor chemistry contributing to the enjoyment. Only time, or a clarification via press release, will tell.

Sandy Wax, head honcho of American pre-school network Sprout (who are co-producing the show with the BBC) said that Shatner would bring "humour and wink" to the show, while the fact his voice “felt comfortable in outer space” was a bonus.

Awards also included the youngest-ever winner of a Bafta.

The Lego Movie won Best Feature Film at the Bafta Children’s Awards in London last night (Nov 23).

The Warner Bros. film, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, beat competition from Disney’s Frozen and Maleficent as well as Dreamworks’ How To Train Your Dragon 2.

However, Frozen took the top film prize in the Bafta Kids’ vote, based on more than 200,000 votes from children aged 7-14.

The ceremony, held at London’s Roundhouse, also saw nine-year-old Cherry Campbell become the youngest Bafta winner ever, winning Best Performer for her title role in kids drama series Katie Morag.

The show, about a feisty young girl who lives on a Scottish island with her family, also won the award for Best Drama.

Campbell was seven when she started making Katie Morag, based on the books of Mairi Hedderwick.

For the first time, Cartoon Network...

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts said Tuesday that Peter Firmin, TV illustrator, puppet maker and co-creator of such popular U.K. kids TV programs as The Clangers and Bagpuss, will receive its Special Award at this year’s British Academy Children’s Awards. The event will take place on Nov. 23 at The Roundhouse in Camden, London. Read more BAFTA to Honor 'Alien,' 'Blade Runner' Editor Terry Rawlings The Special Award recognizes an individual’s outstanding contribution to children’s media and the entertainment industry. The award will be presented by Bernard Cribbins with a special introduction by Monty Python member

read more...

BAFTA has announced that Peter Firmin will receive its Special Award.

The television illustrator and puppet maker is credited as one of the co-creators of The Clangers, Bagpuss and Noggin the Nog.

The 85-year-old will be presented with the accolade at this year's British Academy Children's Awards, held on November 23 at The Roundhouse in Camden, London, presented by Bernard Cribbins.

The Chairman of BAFTA's Children's Committee Harvey Elliott said: "Peter Firmin helped lay the foundations for the industry we see today, all from his small barn in Blean.

"His legacy is delighting and enchanting a whole new generation with the upcoming remake of family favourite The Clangers. Over the past 50 years, Peter's work has thrilled, entertained and inspired generations of filmmakers and animators and he is more than deserving of the Special Award at this year's British Academy Children's Awards."

Firmin added: "I'm delighted to receive this Special Award from BAFTA.

Michael Palin will help resurrect The Clangers in new series…

Heart-warming news here for Brits with nostalgic feelings towards Clangers - the moon-set, whistling-heavy, charmingly-puppety TV show is back for a new series.

Taking over voicing duties in the stead of the show’s late co-creator Oliver Postgate will be Monty Python legend Michael Palin.

Oliver Postgate’s son Daniel Postgate will produce the show alongside his father’s former colleague, and fellow Clangers co-creator, Peter Firmin.

Firmin enthused that “Michael Palin was my first and favourite choice, so of course I'm absolutely delighted.”

“Among other things, he's been a warm and charming guide for us all in his extensive travels around this world, “added Firmin, “so it seems wonderfully appropriate that he should pack his bags once more, go off across the starry expanse of space and do the same for the world of the Clangers."

The new series,...

How likely is the current crop of kids' TV reboots, from Danger Mouse to The Clangers, Morph and more, to harm your childhood memories?

Feature

The period June 9th to 15th 2014 was an unpleasant raid on the collective VHS cassette memory of our youth. Not only did Eric Hill, the creator of Spot the Dog, pass away, but so too did Casey Kasem, who for forty years had been the voice of Scooby-Doo's snack wingman Shaggy. Francis Matthews, the stiff upper lip behind Captain Scarlet's stiff puppet lip, departed to be with a different angel squadron. And before that Earth lost Rik Mayall, who performed the best Jackanory ever. Sorry Prince Charles. He did.

So if you felt a part of your formative years had suddenly melted away like a Funny Feet ice cream abandoned on a see-saw, then that's perfectly normal. It's always sad and strangely personal...

Feature Louisa Mellor 15 Oct 2013 - 08:11

The Clangers are coming back to children's television with a brand new stop-motion series in 2015...

In the wake of those nine unseen-for-forty-five-years Doctor Who episodes reappearing, another sixties BBC classic is making its return to modern television. Clangers, which debuted on the Beeb in 1969, is being revived for a new series in 2015.

CBeebies and a group of international partners are co-producing the new series, announced to have a budget of £5 million. That'll buy you a lot of pink knitting wool.

CGI-phobics can rest assured, because the newly revived space mice-oids are to be rendered in old-fashioned stop-motion animation, with original co-creator Peter Firmin and Daniel Postgate (son of Firmin's late collaborator, Oliver Postgate) executive producing, working on design and writing storylines and scripts.

The puppet makers are to be Mackinnon and Saunders, the same company that worked on Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox,...

Berberian Sound Studio is a twist on 70s horror movies, but without a drop of gore on screen. The film's director explains how he tried to create a spell with sound

Peter Strickland, a slight, olive-skinned man of 39, speaks with the accent of London commuter towns. "What's interesting about sound," he says, "is that to do it properly, it's the one part of a film that still needs a human touch. So even now you have sound effects of people doing terrible things to vegetables. And meat." The smile fades. "Although I'm vegetarian, so I didn't want to get involved with that."

In a small cubicle at a film company office, Strickland is discussing his second movie as writer-director, Berberian Sound Studio – about a mousy English sound engineer uneasily employed on a seedy 70s Italian horror flick. His own manner is closest to that of a science teacher with a varied life outside the classroom,...

Jason Manford, Oliver Postgate and a whole lot of movies lead this week's TV round-up...

Geek Week TV: saving clicking finger tendons and remote batteries since 2009

In the run up to what's proving to be an Easter TV week to remember, there's a couple of promising shows to enjoy now, before the sugar shock sets in and the geeklets near you start bouncing off all available surfaces.

Comedy Rocks With Jason Manford airs tonight, Friday March 26th at 9:00pm on ITV1. It's billed as a variety show, but don't let that scare you off as the scales seem heavily tipped in the comedic direction with standup comic John Bishop and Jo Brand lined up alongside the music and other acts. We're quite happy to spend time with Mr Manford outside of his 8 Out Of 10 Cats team captain duties and are booking our spot on the settee early.

Then on Wednesday,...

Animator Oliver Postgate, the creator of British children's TV show Bagpuss, has died at the age of 83.

Postgate was responsible for a string of iconic kids shows from the 1950s to the 1980s; including Ivor the Engine and Noggin the Nog, but he was most famous for The Clangers, a family of pink knitted aliens who spoke in whistles, and Bagpuss, a saggy pink cloth cat.

Postgate, a cousin of actress Angela Lansbury, died at a nursing home in Broadstairs, England on Monday, according to his partner Naomi Linnell.

He is survived by several children from his marriage to ex-wife Prudence Myers.

Bagpuss creator Oliver Postgate has passed away, aged 83. Postgate's other TV work included Noggin The Nog, Ivor The Engine and The Clangers. He died at a nursing home in Broadstairs, Kent on Monday. His shows were created by his own company Smallfilms, which he developed with puppeteer Peter Firmin. The duo began the company in a disused cowshed in Kent. Postgate famously narrated all his Smallfilms programmes (more)...

Coolabi acquires UK indie licensing agency Licensing By Design, which gives Coolabi licensing and merchandising rights to properties including the kid-aimed Bagpuss, The Clangers and Ivor the Engine. We can look forward to merchandising programs for all three series, which were created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, which all continue to air. Fran Huxley, Managing Director, Licensing By Design will serve as a consultant on a part-time basis for Coolabi. Thomson Financial reports Coolabi purchased Licensing By Design in a deal worth about Us $660,000.

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