Penny Crayon
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''Penny Crayon'' is a 1989 British
children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...
that tells the adventures of a very intellectual and well-meaning (but occasionally mischievous)
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...
-
girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...
from
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
who loves to
draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anything ...
, and her escapades accompanied by her best friend, Dennis. Using the magic crayons that she always carries with her, she brings everything that she ever draws to life, to either help them on their adventures or to get them out of tricky situations, and usually creating a world of chaos until it is either erased or washed away. The origins of Penny's crayons was never explained or hinted at in the series; however series creator Peter Maddocks released a prequel story, along with an adaptation of the episode 'Dickens of a Mess', in digital format in 2012, which told the story of how Penny came to have her magic crayons.


Characters

*Penny Crayon is a highly intelligent and resourceful schoolgirl, with a Northern accent and who loves drawing. She has magic crayons and pencils that can draw on any surface including brick walls, cave interiors and even the inside of a whale's mouth. She is voiced by comedy actress
Su Pollard Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English actress and singer. Her career has spanned over 45 years; she is most famous for her role in the sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!''. She also appeared in '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and ''Oh, Doctor Beec ...
, whose face Penny visually resembles. *Dennis Pillbeam (his surname is never given on-screen but is mentioned in literature accompanying the series) is Penny's best friend, an excitable, good-natured simple boy who can often be heard praising Penny's cleverness or bravery. He was the only other regular character in the series, voiced by
Peter Hawkins Peter John Hawkins (3 April 1924 – 8 July 2006) was a British actor. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the most sought-after voice artists for radio and television, becoming a regular face and voice around the Soho-based cir ...
, who had also done voice-work for Maddocks Animation's previous television series.


Origin and production

''Penny Crayon'' was produced for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in the United Kingdom. first broadcast weekly as part of
Children's BBC BBC Children's and Education is the BBC division responsible for media content for children in the UK. Since the launch of specially dedicated television channels in 2002, the services have been marketed under two brands. CBBC (short for Chil ...
on BBC One from 14 September 1989. It was made by Maddocks Animation, which had previously produced ''
Jimbo and the Jet-Set ''Jimbo and the Jet-Set'' (often shortened to simply ''Jimbo'') is a British animation, animated cartoon series centered on the eponymous Jimbo, an anthropomorphic aeroplane. The series, created by Peter Maddocks and produced by Maddocks Cartoon ...
'' and ''
The Family-Ness ''The Family-Ness'' is a British cartoon series first produced in 1983. It was originally broadcast on BBC One from 5 October 1984 to 5 April 1985, with repeats airing throughout most of the 90s and early 00s, eventually ending with a short run ...
'', and utilized much of the same production staff, as well as featuring the vocal talents of
Peter Hawkins Peter John Hawkins (3 April 1924 – 8 July 2006) was a British actor. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the most sought-after voice artists for radio and television, becoming a regular face and voice around the Soho-based cir ...
in all three series. Twelve episodes were produced in a single production run, although spread across two separate broadcast runs in 1989 and 1990 respectively. The series was subsequently repeated a number of times, airing into the early 2000s and was also later repeated on
GMTV2 GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast, ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national ITV (TV network), Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the Unit ...
with
Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...
. ''Penny Crayon'' had first appeared read as a story in an early episode of ''
Playdays ''Playdays'' (known as ''Playbus'' until December 1989) is a British pre-school television programme which ran from 1988 to 1997 on CBBC. The show was the successor to '' Play School'' and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational p ...
'' (broadcast at that time under its original title of ''Playbus'', and before the show's rotation of stories featuring recurring characters had fully set in place). In that story, not animated but read out over static images drawn by
Peter Maddocks Peter Maddocks (born 1 April 1928) is an English cartoonist. He has contributed to many of the United Kingdom's leading daily and Sunday national papers with cartoon series such as ''Four D. Jones'' in the Daily Express in the late 1950s and ea ...
, when a
school trip A field trip or excursion is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment. When done for students, as it happens in several school systems, it is also known as school trip in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and ...
to the
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...
is rained off, Penny tries to entertain her disappointed classmates stuck inside school by drawing zoo animals on the walls of the school hall (including a
Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...
), which come to life and cause havoc around the school. When she and Dennis can't catch them to erase them, she eventually draws a huge cage to put them all in, thus allowing her to rub them out. This early version of Penny had darker hair – she was given blonde hair in the following series to match that of Su Pollard, and both her and Dennis' appearance was modified for the subsequent series. One of Dennis' lines ("Mum will be furious when we get home and she hears about this!") suggests that Penny and Dennis might be siblings, though this was never mentioned in the series. The story was one of several submitted by independent writers for the new daily series, and although a selection of rotating story characters was soon picked for ''Playbus'', it was well-enough received that then-Head of Children's Programmes Anna Home recommended that Hawkins might develop it as a series. Due to the original ''Penny Crayon'' story appearing on ''Playbus'', some episode guides to the series erroneously list thirteen episodes.


Episodes


Home releases

In 1989 and 1990, Parkfield Publishing released two video cassettes with four episodes on each one. In 1992, TeleVideo (A division of Direct Entertainment Group) released three videos with four episodes on each tape. In 1994, Carlton Home Entertainment released a single video with only four episodes. Several book adaptations and a 1990
annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook ** Literary annual * Annual plant * Annual report * Annual giving * Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco * Annuals (b ...
were also released.


References


External links


Toonhound
* {{IMDb title, id=0380941, title=Penny Crayon 1980s British animated television series 1990s British animated television series BBC children's television shows Fictional artists Fictional people from Manchester 1989 British television series debuts 1990 British television series endings 1980s British children's television series 1990s British children's television series English-language television shows British children's animated adventure television series British children's animated fantasy television series Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in London