''Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers'' is an animated musical children's television series and the

Australian Children's Television Foundation The Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) is a national non-profit children's media production and policy hub. The ACTF helps develop children's television policy; distributes and pays for Australian children's television series; ...

's (ACTF's) first joint venture under the Distinctly Australian Program introduced by the Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating. The Director of the ACTF Dr Patricia Edgar selected Peter Viska's character Li'l Elvis to design and co-produce the ACTF's first long-form 26-episode-series animation. As an original concept, not commissioned from overseas or based on an adaption of a classic story, production of the series on this scale was a massive undertaking for the Australian animation industry. With ''Li'l Elvis'', an $11.5 million project, the ACTF opened up a new overseas market in partnership with

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...

and

France Animation The MoonScoop Group was a French animation and production company that created and published animated television series. Its corporate headquarters were located in Paris, France, along with offices in the United Kingdom and the United States. I ...

, a French production company, and Ravensburger, a German distributor, with the financial participation of

Centre national de la cinématographie Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricit ...

. A team of 90 animators and artists worked for 18 months including 39 trainees were employed on the production in support roles.

Plot

The story follows a group of children and their adventures in outback Australia. The title character of the show, Li'l Elvis, who is a ten-year-old boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He has a gift for music, a talent for trouble, and a desire for only one thing: to find out who he really is and be a normal kid again. The opening sequence and music reveal that he was thrown out of a gold Cadillac in a guitar case, hinting that he is the

illegitimate child Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

(in real life, Presley only had one daughter named Lisa Marie). He is raised by foster parents, truck-stop proprietors Grace and Len, who are fervent fans of Presley. As Li'l Elvis is musically talented, singing and playing the guitar, his foster mother is convinced he is the son of Presley. Li'l Elvis and his two friends, Lionel and Janet, form the band "The Truckstoppers", and the show follows their adventures in the outback town of Little Memphis (formerly Wanapoo). Lionel is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

boy who plays the didgeridoo and has a penchant for exclaiming "deadly", while Janet is a

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret rema ...

-wearing

Asian Australian Asian Australians refers to Australians of Asian ancestry, whether full or partial, including naturalised Australians who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants. At the 2021 census, the number of ances ...

girl who plays the drums standing up, similar to

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...

's drummer

Maureen Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...

. The Truckstoppers' recurring enemy is the businessman W.C. Moore, who wants to become their manager to exploit them commercially, turning Little Memphis into a tourist attraction. He is also infatuated with finding deposits of the mysterious mineral Berkonium. He has a Berkonium

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

, which he uses to beat children at the game of marbles, their major recreational activity. He also frequently electrically zaps his hapless limousine driver, Duncan.

Characters

Main

* Li'l Elvis Jones – voiced by Stig Wemyss (

Wendy Stapleton Wendy Anne-Marie Stapleton (born 8 July 1954) is an Australian pop/ rock singer-songwriter, musical theatre performer and television actress and presenter Stapleton has performed as a backing singer, session musician and a solo artist; she fronte ...

provides singing vocals) − Li'l Elvis, who is a ten-year-old boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He has a gift for music, a talent for trouble, and a desire for only one thing: to find out who he really is and be a normal kid again. The opening sequence and music reveal that he was thrown out of a gold Cadillac in a guitar case, hinting that he is the

Kylie Belling Kylie Belling is an Australian stage, film and television actress and voice artist, who has also worked in other occupations. she works as Senior Manager, First Peoples, for ''Creative Victoria''. Biography Belling was born in Melbourne and ...

− Lionel is an

boy who plays the didgeridoo and has a penchant for exclaiming "deadly". He is a friend of Li'l Elvis. Aboriginal actor and musician Tom E Lewis provided Lionel's didgeridoo playing. * Janet Rig – voiced by

Marg Downey Marg Downey (born 5 May 1961) is an Australian comedian and actress best known for her roles in '' The D Generation'', ''Fast Forward'' and '' Full Frontal'' Early life and education Downey grew up in a middle-class Catholic family in the Melb ...

− Janet is a

-wearing

girl who plays the drums standing up, similar to

's drummer

. She is also a friend of Li'l Elvis. * W.C. Moore – voiced by Bill Ten Eyck − W.C. is an antagonistic businessman who wants to become their manager to exploit them commercially, turning Little Memphis into a tourist attraction. He is also infatuated with finding deposits of the mysterious mineral Berkonium. He has a Berkonium

, which he uses to beat children at the game of marbles, their major recreational activity * Duncan – voiced by Michael Veitch − Duncan is a hapless limousine driver. * Grace Jones – voiced by Lynda Gibson − She is the adoptive mother of Li'l Elvis. * Len Jones – voiced by David Cotter − He is the adoptive father of Li'l Elvis.

Minor

* Spike − Spike is a juvenile delinquent who picks on Li'l Elvis and is mostly on Moore's side. * Old Man Viska − Old Man Viska is an elderly European man who runs the local junkyard and is a retired firefighter and miner; he was present for the events that led to the legend of Old Man Izard. * Old Man Izard − Old Man Izard is a European miner who was never found after a cave-in in the mines beneath the town; his ghost is said haunt the now-closed mines.

Episodes

Season 1 (1997)

Season 2 (1998)

* #1 – Kidnapped * #2 – Good Boy, Cruel World * #3 – Space Junk * #4 – RoboPop * #5 – Hopping Mad * #6 – Big Top Brouhaha – Haha * #7 – Billionairiosis * #8 – Cardaholic * #9 – Know All * #10 – The Good, The Bad and the Hanky * #11 – Schmiko * #12 – Minors in the Mine * #13 – The Meanie From Down Under (final episode)