''Rex the Runt'' is a British
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
stop-motion
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
claymation
Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.
Tra ...
pixilation
Pixilation is a stop motion technique in which live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor beco ...
adult
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
series, primarily consisting of a
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
show and two short films produced by
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay an ...
for
BBC Bristol
The BBC campus, Broadcasting House Bristol, is located on Whiteladies Road, Bristol. The first building to be occupied was 21/23 Whiteladies Road, which was built in 1852 and is a Grade II listed building, with four radio studios. It was formal ...
in association with EVA Entertainment and
Egmont Imagination
The Egmont Group (formerly The Gutenberghus Group) is a Danish media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishing but has over the years evolved to comprise mass me ...
. Its main characters are four
plasticine
Plasticine is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. Though originally a brand name for the British version of the product, it is now applied generically in English as a product categor ...
dogs
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
: Rex, Wendy, Bad Bob and Vince.
Rex was first introduced as a minor character in ''Ident'' (1989), a short film directed by
Richard Goleszowski
Richard Starzak, previously known as Richard "Golly" Goleszowski, is an English animator, screenwriter, and film director.
Life and career
Starzak was born in Suffolk in 1959 and grew up in Ipswich, attending Northgate Grammar School. After co ...
for the ''
Lip Synch
Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals.
Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...
'' series.
During the seven years of development of the characters, Goleszowski produced three pilots, subtitled ''How Dinosaurs Became Extinct'' (1991), ''Dreams'' (1991) and ''North by North Pole'' (1996).
The 1991 pilots were unknown to the Aardman crew at the time, as Goleszowski created them during his free time. Because of this, the series wasn't pitched until the discovery of these shorts a year later, as the team found potential to turn these shorts into a full-fledged series.
Thirteen ten-minute episodes of the series aired over two weeks on
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
from December 1998.
A second thirteen episode series aired from September 2001 on the same channel. As well as the core cast guest voices included
Paul Merton
Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter.
Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and someti ...
,
Morwenna Banks
Tamsin Morwenna Banks (born 20 September 1961) is a British comedy actress, writer and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show '' Absolutely'', and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film ''The Announcemen ...
,
Judith Chalmers
Judith Rosemary Locke Chalmers (born 10 October 1935) is a British television presenter who is best known for presenting the travel programme '' Wish You Were Here...?'' from 1974 to 2003.
Early life
Chalmers was born in Gatley, Cheshire. Her ...
,
Antoine de Caunes
Antoine de Caunes (born 1 December 1953) is a French television presenter, actor, writer and film director. He is the son of two prominent French personalities, television journalist-reporter Georges de Caunes and television announcer Jacqueline ...
,
Bob Holness
Robert Wentworth John Holness (12 November 1928 – 6 January 2012) was a British-South African radio and television presenter and occasional actor. He presented the British version of '' Blockbusters''.
Early life
Holness was born in Vryheid, ...
,
Simon Day
Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show '' The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''Grass''.
Career
Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning ...
,
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', ''Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'.
Early ...
,
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...
,
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...
,
Arthur Smith,
June Whitfield
Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress.
Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...
,
Kathy Burke
Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. She achieved fame with her appearances on sketch shows such as ''French and Saunders'' (1988–1999) and her recurring role as Mag ...
,
Pam Ayres and
Eddie Izzard
Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
Izzard's stand- ...
.
The animation is unusual in that the models are almost two-dimensional and are animated to exaggerate this - they are flattened in appearance and animated on a sheet of glass with the backgrounds behind the sheet. This would be altered in the second series, as the models would become more three-dimensional.
Characters
Main
* Rex, the protagonist — a timid, irritable runt. He is quick-witted and usually comes up with plans to get out of the scrapes the gang finds themselves in. However, he can also annoy the others by being a smart aleck. His favourite superhero is Rocket Raymond. He is the leader of the gang, even having his name, Rex, translating to "King" in Latin.
* Bad Bob is a "big, fat slob", interested in food and TV. His friends, and occasionally even he himself, describe him as a "Big, fat, jelly-wobbly, fat bastard", usually getting cut off towards the end. He is distinguishable by his eye patch, which changes from eye to eye, and often carries around a
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
almost the size of himself. However grumpy he might be, he is intelligent and loyal. Bad Bob is also known to build unique gadgets and inventions out of knick-knacks and everyday household objects, such as using an empty can of beans as a form of time machine as such example.
* Wendy is the only female housemate, distinguishable by her eyelashes, pink colour, noticeably hemispheric breasts, and wears a red (or starting with series 2, pink) bow on her head. She is cynical, sarcastic, and fiercely independent. Wendy provides solutions to problems albeit in a distant or non-caring way. She speaks in a Mancunian accent.
* Vince is the pet of the household, although all four are dogs. He is distinguished by his prominent buckteeth and mismatched eyes. He speaks in single words or short disjointed phrases, his favourites being "Spaghetti", "Tuesday", "Jam", and "Trousers". Vince suffers from "Random
Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
Disease", causing him to randomly blurt out snatches of opera. While he appears to be unintelligent, he occasionally shows great ingenuity, for example by building an elaborate
Heath Robinson
William Heath Robinson (31 May 1872 – 13 September 1944) was an English cartoonist, illustrator and artist, best known for drawings of whimsically elaborate machines to achieve simple objectives.
In the UK, the term "Heath Robinson cont ...
machine designed to kill a mouse. The other members of the gang often respond to Vince's random outbursts by irritably telling him to "shut it". Vince often has a habit of copying what others have said, sometimes even if they have just said it in their minds, which Bad Bob finds really annoying.
Others
Many one-off and recurring characters in Rex The Runt are voiced by various well-known UK celebrities. These include:
* Doctor Dogg is a medical
doctor
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
. Moustachioed, complacent and greedy, he's an opportunistic money-grabber, whose habitual charge for any treatment is "ten
quid" - regardless of whether the cure works or does more harm than good. He isn't above using the main characters in
medical research
Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scientif ...
. Voiced by
Paul Merton
Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter.
Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and someti ...
.
* Arthur Dustcart, another semi-regular character, who first makes an appearance in the last episode of the first series, but appears quite frequently in the second. He is an ugly but experienced
dustman
A waste collector, also known as a garbageman, garbage collector, trashman (in the US), binman or (rarely) dustman (in the UK), is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and dispose of municipal solid waste (refuse) and r ...
, sporting sleepy mismatched eyes, a
neckerchief
A neckerchief (from ''neck'' (n.) + ''kerchief''), sometimes called a necker, kerchief or scarf, is a type of neckwear associated with those working or living outdoors, including farm labourers, cowboys and sailors. It is most commonly still seen ...
, a pair of dirty
underpants
Underpants are underwear worn on the lower body.
In British English the term is often shortened to pants and refers to men’s clothing only.
Types of underpants
Long underpants
Long underpants are the bottom half of a style of two-piece unde ...
and a large nose with prominent
nasal hair
Nasal hair or nose hair, is the hair in the human nose. Adult humans have hair in the nostrils. Nasal hair functions include filtering foreign particles from entering the nasal cavity, and collecting moisture. In support of the first function, the ...
. Despite his grotesque appearance and smell, he and Wendy get on rather well, much to the annoyance of Rex. He becomes a friend of the household when he helps find Rex after he was turned into spaghetti. Voiced by
Arthur Smith.
* Mrs. Bloomers, head of Kumfy Kennels. Treats dogs with care, until she put Vince in the kennel and he ate a chihuahua. Voiced by
Morwenna Banks
Tamsin Morwenna Banks (born 20 September 1961) is a British comedy actress, writer and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show '' Absolutely'', and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film ''The Announcemen ...
.
* Judith Poodle, hostess of a holiday program. Usually ends her sentences with "Ruff!". Voiced by
Judith Chalmers
Judith Rosemary Locke Chalmers (born 10 October 1935) is a British television presenter who is best known for presenting the travel programme '' Wish You Were Here...?'' from 1974 to 2003.
Early life
Chalmers was born in Gatley, Cheshire. Her ...
.
* Mr. Formal, the Runts' bank manager, until Bad Bob brought his gun and made him think they were bank robbers. Voiced by
Bob Holness
Robert Wentworth John Holness (12 November 1928 – 6 January 2012) was a British-South African radio and television presenter and occasional actor. He presented the British version of '' Blockbusters''.
Early life
Holness was born in Vryheid, ...
.
* Melting Blob Man, a three-year-old, but very smart slime creature who warned the Runts about the black hole.
* Constable Funnyname, a police dog who arrests Wendy in "The Trials of Wendy". Voiced by
Simon Day
Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show '' The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''Grass''.
Career
Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning ...
.
* Judge Pikelet, elderly judge in "The Trials of Wendy". Voiced by
June Whitfield
Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress.
Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...
* Kylie Mandlebrotska, Rex's old math teacher, until she fell into the black hole. Voiced by
Kathy Burke
Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. She achieved fame with her appearances on sketch shows such as ''French and Saunders'' (1988–1999) and her recurring role as Mag ...
.
* Easter Island Aliens, three space aliens from the planet Thribb, where the people look like the
Moai
Moai or moʻai ( ; es, moái; rap, moʻai, , statue) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, Rapa Nui in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main mo ...
statues from Easter Island. Voiced by
Eddie Izzard
Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
Izzard's stand- ...
.
* Morris the One-Gloved Mouse, invaded Rex's kitchen in "Mouse In Me Kitchen". Voiced by
Phil Jupitus.
* Osvaldo Halitosis, a moustached
Morph
Morph may refer to:
Biology
* Morph (zoology), a visual or behavioral difference between organisms of distinct populations in a species
* Muller's morphs, a classification scheme for genetic mutations
* "-morph", a suffix commonly used in tax ...
in "Patio", voiced by
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...
.
* Mr Chittock, angry neighbour to Rex, after the gang went into his house and drank his beer. Voiced by veteran alternative comedian
Stephen Frost
Stephen Frederick Eustace Frost (born 28 December 1955) is an English actor and comedian.
Early life
Frost was born in Redruth, Cornwall, and is the son of the abstract artist Terry Frost and brother of painter Anthony Frost.
Career Work w ...
.
* Johnny Saveloy, a teenage sausage who was really very old but was kept in a state of artificial youth due to the Church of Chemicology. Voiced by
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', ''Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'.
Early ...
.
* Stinky Basil, a smarmy French talent-spotter. Voiced by
Antoine De Caunes
Antoine de Caunes (born 1 December 1953) is a French television presenter, actor, writer and film director. He is the son of two prominent French personalities, television journalist-reporter Georges de Caunes and television announcer Jacqueline ...
, known best in the UK for presenting 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 ...
late-night adult entertainment show ''
Eurotrash''.
* Wayne The Zebra. Voiced by
Bobby Ball
Robert Harper (28 January 1944 – 28 October 2020), known professionally as Bobby Ball, was a British comic, actor, singer and television host. He was best known as a member of the comic double act Cannon and Ball, with Tommy Cannon (Thomas ...
.
* Tiddles The Destroyer. A mean fighting cat, long known to the gang, who despises Bad Bob. Voiced by
Tommy Cannon
Thomas Derbyshire (born 27 June 1938), known professionally as Tommy Cannon, is an English comic, actor and singer. He is best known as the straight man of the comic double act Cannon and Ball, until Bobby Ball's death in 2020, in TV programme ...
.
* The Happy Rabbits, a band who may sing beautifully but are really cranky and will not let anybody stand in their way.
* Awards announcer in "Wendy's New Hair Do" and Handsome Rex in "Wendy's Hot Date", voiced by
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...
.
References to other Aardman productions
Several episodes of ''Rex the Runt'' contain inside references to other projects created by Aardman Animations:
*In the episode "Adventures on Telly Part I", Wallace (from the ''
Wallace and Gromit
''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series c ...
'' series) is washing the windows on Rex's house, until Bad Bob pushes his ladder over (in the film ''
A Close Shave
''Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave'' is a 1995 British stop-motion animated short film co-written and directed by Nick Park and produced by Aardman Animations with Wallace and Gromit Ltd., BBC Bristol and BBC Children's International. It is ...
'', Wallace operates a window washing business).
*
Pib and Pog, two of Aardman's lesser known creations, are present in the spectator gallery during the courtroom scene from "The Trials of Wendy" and are also present in the audience watching Rex's band in "Stinky's Search for a Star".
*In the episode "Johnny Saveloy's Undoing", two of the jars containing the chemical essences of various stars are labelled "
Wallace
Wallace may refer to:
People
* Clan Wallace in Scotland
* Wallace (given name)
* Wallace (surname)
* Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back
* Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...
" and "
Gromit
''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series c ...
". Another jar on the top shelf reads "
Nick Park
Nicholas Wulstan Park (born 6 December 1958) is a British animator who created ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Creature Comforts'', ''Chicken Run'', ''Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of ...
".
*The exorcist called upon in "Patio" is actually
Morph
Morph may refer to:
Biology
* Morph (zoology), a visual or behavioral difference between organisms of distinct populations in a species
* Muller's morphs, a classification scheme for genetic mutations
* "-morph", a suffix commonly used in tax ...
, a character from an Aardman children's show, wearing a trench coat, hat, and large moustache.
*There are two references in the episode "Wayne the Zebra": A ''
Chicken Run
''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Pathé and Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman’s first feature-length film and DreamWorks Animation's fourth film, it was directed by Pe ...
''-style chicken is rejected during the auditions (with Bad Bob making a comment regarding the recent popularity of chickens, referring to the film's success), and Bad Bob consults the Aardman book ''Cracking Animation'' (, published in the US as ''Creating 3-D Animation'').
*The episode entitled "A Crap Day Out" may be a pun on the Wallace and Gromit short film ''
A Grand Day Out
''A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit'', later marketed as ''A Grand Day Out'', is a 1989 British stop-motion animated short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature fil ...
''.
*Both Wallace from Wallace and Gromit and Rex live on streets that sound similar to their names: whereas Wallace and Gromit live on "West Wallaby Street", it can be seen from the various post that arrives for the household that Rex and company live at "7, Marsupial Way, Rexford"
* In the 2003 animated TV series ''
Creature Comforts
''Creature Comforts'' is a British adult stop-motion comedy mockumentary franchise originating in a 1989 British humorous animated short film of the same name. The film matched animated zoo animals with a soundtrack of people talking about th ...
'': in the episode ''Is Anyone Out There?'' A blue alien wears a T-shirt with Vince on it.
* In the 2006 film ''
Flushed Away
''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and W ...
'': young rat named Maximillian "Shocky" Malone wears a green T-shirt with Rex on it.
* in the 2015 film ''
Shaun the Sheep Movie
''Shaun the Sheep Movie'' is a 2015 stop-motion animated adventure comedy film based on the 2007 British television series ''Shaun the Sheep'', created by Nick Park, in turn a spin-off of the ''Wallace and Gromit'' film, ''A Close Shave'' (1995). ...
'': Vince is one of the photographed animals marked as 'contained' by Trumper.
Episode list
Series 1 (1998 – 1999)
Series 2 (2001)
Series 2 was aired between 23 September 2001 to 16 December 2001 (except 2 December) on late nights. Each episode was then repeated the following Sunday, after
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
on
BBC 2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
. However, episode 11 was aired on BBC4.
Cast
Main cast
*Andrew Franks as Rex (series 1)
*Colin Rote as Rex (series 2)
*Kevin Wrench as Bad Bob (series 1)
*Andy Jeffers as Bad Bob (series 2)
*Elisabeth Hadley as Wendy
*
Steve Box
Steven "Steve" Royston Box (born 23 January 1967) is an English animator and director who works for Aardman Animations.
His early work in animation included the popular British claymation television series ''The Trap Door'' for Bristol-based a ...
as Vince
*
Paul Merton
Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter.
Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and someti ...
as Doctor Dogg
*
Arthur Smith as Arthur Dustcart
Guest stars
These include:
*
Morwenna Banks
Tamsin Morwenna Banks (born 20 September 1961) is a British comedy actress, writer and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show '' Absolutely'', and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film ''The Announcemen ...
as Mrs. Bloomers & Voice ("A Holiday in Vince") ("Adventures on Telly Part 1")
*
Judith Chalmers
Judith Rosemary Locke Chalmers (born 10 October 1935) is a British television presenter who is best known for presenting the travel programme '' Wish You Were Here...?'' from 1974 to 2003.
Early life
Chalmers was born in Gatley, Cheshire. Her ...
as Judith Poodle ("A Holiday in Vince", "The Trials of Wendy")
*
Bob Holness
Robert Wentworth John Holness (12 November 1928 – 6 January 2012) was a British-South African radio and television presenter and occasional actor. He presented the British version of '' Blockbusters''.
Early life
Holness was born in Vryheid, ...
as Mr. Formal ("Adventures on Telly, Part I")
*
Eddie Izzard
Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
Izzard's stand- ...
as Melting Blob Man ("Adventures on Telly, Part III"), and Easter Island Head Aliens ("Easter Island")
*
Kathy Burke
Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. She achieved fame with her appearances on sketch shows such as ''French and Saunders'' (1988–1999) and her recurring role as Mag ...
as Kylie Mandelbrotska ("Adventures on Telly, Part III", "Rocket Raymond", "Wendy's New Hair Do")
*
Antoine de Caunes
Antoine de Caunes (born 1 December 1953) is a French television presenter, actor, writer and film director. He is the son of two prominent French personalities, television journalist-reporter Georges de Caunes and television announcer Jacqueline ...
as Stinky Basil ("Too Many Dogs", "Stinky's Search for a Star", "Bob's International Hiccup Centre"), and French Delegate ("Bob's International Hiccup Centre")
*
June Whitfield
Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress.
Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...
as Judge Pikelet ("The Trials of Wendy")
*
Simon Day
Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show '' The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''Grass''.
Career
Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning ...
as Constable Funnyname ("The Trials of Wendy", "Stinky's Search for a Star", "Bob Joins a Gang")
*
Pam Ayres as Aunty Brenda ("Under the Duvet", "Slim Bob")
*
Stanley Unwin as Mr. Wangle, Accountant to the Stars ("Johnny Saveloy's Undoing")
*
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', ''Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'.
Early ...
as Johnny Saveloy ("Johnny Saveloy's Undoing", "The City Shrinkers")
*
Tommy Cannon
Thomas Derbyshire (born 27 June 1938), known professionally as Tommy Cannon, is an English comic, actor and singer. He is best known as the straight man of the comic double act Cannon and Ball, until Bobby Ball's death in 2020, in TV programme ...
as Tiddles the Destroyer ("Mouse in Me Kitchen")
*
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...
as Osvaldo Halitosis ("Patio") and the Plants ("A Crap Day Out")
*
Bobby Ball
Robert Harper (28 January 1944 – 28 October 2020), known professionally as Bobby Ball, was a British comic, actor, singer and television host. He was best known as a member of the comic double act Cannon and Ball, with Tommy Cannon (Thomas ...
as Wayne ("Wayne the Zebra")
*
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is an English stand-up and improv comedian, actor, performance poet, cartoonist and podcaster. Jupitus was a team captain on all but one BBC Two-broadcast episode of music quiz ''N ...
as Morris the One-Gloved Mouse ("Mouse in Me Kitchen"), The Ants ("Patio") and Sergeant Major ("Private Wendy")
*
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...
as Handsome Rex ("Wendy's Hot Date") and Awards Announcer ("Wendy's New Hairdo")
*
Loyd Grossman
Loyd Daniel Gilman Grossman (born 16 September 1950) is an American-British author, broadcaster and cultural campaigner who has mainly worked in the United Kingdom. He is well known for presenting the BBC programme ''MasterChef'' from 1990 to 20 ...
as himself ("The Art of Cooking")
Production
As previously mentioned, ''Rex the Runt'' consisted mainly of two short films that were entirely animated by
Richard Goleszowski
Richard Starzak, previously known as Richard "Golly" Goleszowski, is an English animator, screenwriter, and film director.
Life and career
Starzak was born in Suffolk in 1959 and grew up in Ipswich, attending Northgate Grammar School. After co ...
during his free time. The animation from these shorts were very crude and bizarre, and featured different designs for the gang. At the time, the team at Aardman had never known about these films, and didn't discovered them until a year later, as they found potential to turn these shorts into a series.
The show was originally going to be on
Saturday Zoo
''Saturday Zoo'' is a British alternative comedy and chat show series, featuring an eclectic mix of stand-up acts, interviews and music. Hosted by Jonathan Ross, it ran for 13 episodes, beginning in January 1993, on Channel 4.
Production
The ...
as short 2-minute comedy skits for the show, the main idea being that it was "like a cartoon strip". Soon after, the
BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...
got interested in the series. From here, the episodes slowly got longer, until the 10-minute episodes that it eventually used.
With help from the crew, a third pilot (North by North Pole) was produced as a pitch for the BBC in 1996, this time with much smoother animation and a plotline that would later define how the series was going to be. Parts of this pilot were incorporated into the episode "The Adventures On Telly, Part 2" due to the footage being expensive to reshoot. Unfortunately, other than a screenshot of the title card, the full pilot has yet to be released to the public as it is lost media.
The production of Series 1 began around early 1998. It was produced at Wetherell Place, Aardman's smallest studio space. The production office was on-site. A storyboard artist continually sketched boards for episodes to be shot later in the schedule, and there was a model-shop attached to the studio (where the models and props would be made). The unusual animation technique was laying the characters on top of a sheet of glass with the backgrounds behind the sheet (with the backgrounds being below the sheet, to show depth) angled away from the animators at 45 degrees. At any point, two to three episodes could be in production at any time, with each episode taking around four to six weeks to make. Some scenes, such as most of "''The Adventures On Telly, Part 3''" were filmed in front of a blue-screen to show a different background, such as space. The animation of Series 1 took 10 months, then went into post-production, and finally aired in December 1998.
The models did not use armatures due to of the strange form of animation, making them much easier to move around.
Underdog
Underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...
is an advertising character (voiced by
Joe Pasquale
Joseph Ellis Pasquale (born 20 August 1961) is an English comedian, actor and television presenter.
He won the fourth series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' in 2004 and participated in the eighth series of ''Dancing on Ice'' ...
), first appearing in 2010, animated by Aardman Animations, in the same style as the Rex the Runt figures, but wearing bandages, promoting the
personal injury
Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. In common law jurisdictions the term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit in which the person bringing the suit (t ...
claims company
National Accident Helpline
National Accident Helpline is a UK-based personal injury company providing personal injury claims advice, service and support to consumers who have suffered a no-fault accident.
National Accident Helpline is part of the NAHL Group PLC and is r ...
.
Underdog also has a friend named Cindy (who is an obvious reference to Wendy)
Reception
On
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
, Rex the Runt received a rating of 7.9/10 from 367 users.
Merchandise
''Rex the Runt'' was eventually popular enough to have its own merchandise. Some known items of merchandise include:
*''Rex the Runt's Rainy Day Companion'', a book written by Kevin Wrench and Andrew Franks
*Five ''Rex the Runt'' plushies, the characters being Rex, Wendy, Bad Bob, Vince and also Vince wearing his chicken bib and holding cutlery (as he is seen in ''Carbonara)''
*Several DVDs released in different countries (with a few episodes from Season 2 being featured on "Aardman's Darkside", a DVD containing some of Aardman's "darker" material)
*A bag in the shape of Vince
*Limited edition ''Rex the Runt''-themed "
Starburst Juicy Gums"
*A T-shirt with the logo and main cast on it
*A video game named ''Rex the Runt: Lost Marbles'', based on the episode "A Holiday in Vince", in which Rex, Wendy and Bad Bob must go inside Vince's body to collect marbles and cure his "Random Pavarotti Disease".
*Several toys exclusive to South Korea such as a figurine of Wendy and a keychain of Rex wearing a crown.
Cancelled content
There were many things that never came into existence for the series, due to it ending so quickly. There were plans for the following:
* Series 3 and beyond
* More backstory for the characters, including an implied history between Wendy and Bad Bob
* 30-minute episodes
* A feature film
References
External links
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rex The Runt
1998 British television series debuts
2001 British television series endings
1990s British adult animated television series
2000s British adult animated television series
British adult animated comedy television series
Aardman Animations
BBC Television shows
British stop-motion animated television series
British television series with live action and animation
Television series by Aardman Animations
Animated television series about dogs
Clay animation television series