Charley Says is a series of short
cut-out animated cartoon
public information film
Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...
s for children, produced by the British government's
Central Office of Information
The Central Office of Information (COI) was the UK government's marketing and communications agency. Its Chief Executive reported to the Minister for the Cabinet Office. It was a non-ministerial department, and became an executive agency and a ...
and broadcast in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in the 1970s and 1980s. Six films were made in 1973.
Overview
Most of the topics dealt with everyday safety issues children face, such as not going off with
strangers or not playing with matches. They featured a little boy called Tony (voiced by the seven-year-old son of one of the neighbours of producer Richard Taylor) and his cat, named Charley, voiced by
Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...
, 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
''Davey and Goliath'' is a Christian clay-animated children's television series, whose central characters were created by Art Clokey, Ruth Clokey, and Dick Sutcliffe, and which was produced first by the United Lutheran Church in America and la ...
'' or
Jiminy Cricket
Jiminy Cricket is the Disney version of the " Talking Cricket" (Italian: ''Il Grillo Parlante''), a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'', which Walt Disney adap ...
of
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
's film ''
Pinocchio
Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
''. When Charley and Tony did the right thing, they were rewarded with something for Tony 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).
Production details
The films were produced by
Richard Taylor Cartoons which also produced ''
Crystal Tipps and Alistair'' and the ''
Protect and Survive
''Protect and Survive'' was a public information campaign on civil defence. Produced by the British government between 1974 and 1980, it intended to advise the public on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack. The campaign compris ...
'' series.
Six films were produced:
Charley – Falling in the Water
References in popular culture
The
electronic dance music group
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...
famously sampled the episode "Mummy Should Know" for their UK 1991 hit single "
Charly
''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...
", which reached number 3 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. The sample was of Charley miaowing and Tony saying, "Charley says, 'always tell your mummy before you go off somewhere'".
In 2005 the ''Charley Says'' series was voted #95 on the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
TV special ''
100 Greatest Cartoons'', and in 2006 was voted the UK's favourite public service advertisement] by readers of the BBC News website.
In 2014 Electrical Safety First (formerly known as the
Electrical Safety Council) launched a brand new ''Charley Says'' film.
[http://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/news-and-campaigns/campaigns/charley-says/] featuring the voice of award-winning comedian and actor
David Walliams
David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little B ...
. This was created to promote staying electrically safe in the home and not overloading power sockets. A second film was also created, on the subject of the dangers of buying counterfeit electrical goods.
Video release
The Charley Says films have been released in the UK (along with other public information films) as both a
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
-video and a two-volume set of
VHS tapes.
References
External links
The National Archives with the 6 Charley Says films to download.Electrical Safety First{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429183707/http://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/news-and-campaigns/campaigns/charley-says/ , date=29 April 2014
1970s animated short films
1980s animated short films
1970s in the United Kingdom
1980s in the United Kingdom
British animated short films
Public information films
Stop-motion animated short films
Fictional cats
1973 films
1970s educational films
1970s British films
British educational films