Woodland Animations: Difference between revisions

Woodland Animations was a British BBC animation company, most noted for the production of the animated version of Postman Pat, Gran, Bertha, Charlie Chalk, The Scarecrow and The Adventures Of Parsley, Cosgrove Top Hospital & Samson in the Land of Drawings.

History

• It all began back in 1980 when Ivor Wood & John Cunliffe decided to set up their own production company,

• So they both began in London home of the BBC Television Centre, & then Woodland Animations was born, Wood & Cunliffe began with The Magic Roundabout in where the show had

its third series, then the show remained as both Wood & Cunliffe began with their first own show Postman Pat in which the show's first series of thirteen episodes was produced. In the first part of the first series of the first eight episodes, Wood & Cunliffe build their model of Pat's van with a picture design of a crown on its side so when Royal Mail allowed both Wood & Cunliffe including the rest of the company, the original logo on the side of the model of Pat's van was changed & redesigned with a real proper Royal Mail logo & so the design proved well better than the original, whilst the last 5 episodes of the show's first & original series featured the model of Pat's van carrying the logo which Royal Mail gave at the time,

During the 1981 pilot which featured the first appearances of Postman Pat & his cat Jess It showed about the time how Pat & Jess try to find a toy doll called Sarah-Ann which belonged to a twin sister called Katie of a twin brother called Tom during the day of the pottage twins birthday, however this first & pilot episode won the best BBC Television award of 1981 whilst the rest of the show's first series won every award for the best episode of the original series.

At that time an actor called Ken Barrie became narrator after joining Woodland Animations a year before the company made & produced its first own show Barrie remained the onliest voice actor until 1991

So in 1982 Wood & Cunliffe made & produced there second own show called Gran. A show featured an old lady who is not just an ordinary grandmother & has a grandson called Jim who often visits Gran, The first & pilot episode titled Gran's Old Bones in which it remindeds us all the time how Gran whose bones where getting old, this first & pilot won the best BBC Television award of 1982 & whilst the rest of the series won each & every award of 1982/3 until the 13th & final episode Gran's Good News won the best BBC Television award of 1983, So at that time the final episode of The Magic Roundabout broadcast the same year, The narrator of this show was called Patricia Hayes & the show was also based on a grandmother of two actors called Joanne & Michael Cole who lived at the age of 101.

However Woodland Animations was now proving to be the best BBC Childrens production company across the country, The company was also later based in Leeds, birthplace of Ivor Wood.

In 1985 the company then made & produced show called Fireman Sam which continued to this day, & even a show called Bertha which ran until June 1986, Although the show only repeated on special days at the time.

The first & pilot episode of Bertha, titled Bertha & The Great Painting Job, featured the first appearance of Bertha & all his owners & volunteers, This 1985 pilot won the best BBC Television award of 1985, whilst the also 1985 pilot of Fireman Sam also featured the first appearance of Sam himself the fire crew & his friends, & was titled The Kite it also won the best BBC Television award of 1985 & John Alderton proved to be the best arrator & voice actor at the time,

then the final episode of Bertha titled, Bertha's Birthday Party broadcast & won the best BBC Television award of 1986, however the rest of series also won an award each, including the rest of the first series of Fireman Sam, Bertha was also the fourth own show of Wood & Cunliffe The narrator Roy Kinnear was also voice actor of some characters as well as narration The narrator sadly passed away in 1988 two years after the final episode of Bertha broadcast

By 1987 Wood & Cunliffe Then made their fifth own show called Charlie Chalk. Charlie Chalk was a show based on a story about a clown called Charlie who left the circus & sailed out to sea whilst fishing & sleeping until finding himself on an island caled the Isle of Merrytwit, The first & pilot episode featured the first appearances of Charlie Chalk & his friends, & that 1987 pilot won the best BBC Television award of 1987, whilst the rest of the series of episodes won every award of 1987/8 until the last episode Goodbye, Hello in which it featured the last appearances of charlie chalk & all his friends including Merrytwit, this story showed us the time how the Charlie Chalk character was homesick & thought of going back to return to the circus, but in the end the Charlie Chalk character decided to return & sailed back by sleeping the same from when he did when first appearing in the 1987 pilot, so the last episode really won the best BBC Television award of 1988, and at that time Roy Kinnear narrator of Bertha passed away, Voices O Charlie Chalk where called Michael Williams John Wells & Barbara Leighhunt

Then after the show came to a conclusion, Woodland Animations then produced & reproduced Huxley Pig & won both the best BBC Television Awards of 1988 & 1989 Then The Adventures Of Parsley based on The Herbs from the 1970s, & Won the same as well,

So By 1990 Woodland Aniamtions including Ivor Wood & John Cunliffe celebrated the company's 10th birthday & anniversary & in September of that year at the time W,A, Won the best BBC Television & 10th Anniversary Awards of 1990, & Fireman Sam returned with a second series & a Christmas Special

So A later in 1991 Postman Pat finally returned for his show's 10th Anniversary, so two 1991 specials where produced & featured some new characters, & a BBC actress called Carole Boyd joined the company & voiced the female characters except The Granny Dryden character still voiced by Ken Barrie Noth the shows tele specials won the best BBC Award Of 1991, & Three & a half years later another 2 specials where made & produced during the show's 13th birthday, & both those specials won the best BBC Award of 1994, & 2 & a half years later / after a third series of fireman sam broadcast in the same year / between 1996 & 1997 a second series was finally produced, & each episode of the second series won both the best BBC Awards of 1996 & 1997 & then the show once again remained hold, by 2001 a show called Samson in the land of drawings was made during the 20th anniversary of Postman Pat although the 2001 20th anniversary specials where made & produced but where never broadcast, then in 2002, Woodland Animations won both the Golden Jubilee & BBC Television Academy awards for being the best company during the Queen's golden jubilee & both Ivor Wood & John Cunliffe where awarded by the Queen of Buckingham Palace for the best shows of the 1980s & 90s & for Re - Repeating them again, Then By Christmas 2003 W,A, Joined hands with Cosgrove Hall productions & Right Entertainment including Children's BBC & Postman Pat revived for a christmas special includign a special episode about how a train called The Greendale Rocket was founded by the village school children & there teacher, both won the best BBC Television & revival awards of 2003/4 & a third series was finally produced in autumn of 2004 just after another special was released on home video in April of that time before,

Sadly on October 13, 2004, Ivor Wood died & passed away so his body is buried at a church yard in Leeds & [[John Cunliffe remained the only co - founder to this day & now & again lives with his wife in Ilkley, Yorkshire

Then by Christmas 2005 a fourth series was made & produced whilst the show celebrated its 25th anniversary in early 2006 & by once again b early / late Christmas of 2006 a fifth series was produced & aired n 2007,

So however the company still proves popular to this day & still continues to work on Postman Pat with the two or three other companies Cosgrove Hall, Right Entertainment & Childrens BBC Productions,

Shows

• Postman Pat 1981 - present / five series seven specials & 3 christmas specials / although one never seen or featured. / with BBC Television, Childrens BBC, Cosgrove Hall Productions & Right Entertainment

• Gran 1982–1983 one series / with BBC Television & Childrens BBC /

• Bertha (TV series) 1984–1985 one series / with BBC Television & Childrens BBC

• Fireman Sam 1985/6 - present / four series & 2 christmas specials / with BBC Television, Childrens BBC & Hit Entertainment

• The Scarecrow (TV series) 1986–1987 one series / with BBC Television

• Cosgrove Top Hospital 1986 - present one series / with BBC Television & Children BBC

• Charlie Chalk 1987–1988 one series / With BBC Television & Childrens BBC

• Hairy Jeremy 1993 - 1994 / one series / with childrens bbc

• Nursery Rhymes (TV series) 1995–1996 two series / with with BBC Television, Childrens BBC, Cosgrove Hall Films & Entertainment Rights

• Samson in the Land of Drawings 2001–2002 two series & 4/5 specials / with BBC Television & Childrens BBC /