film adaptation
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
of the children's television series ''
The Wombles
''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycl ...
''. Directed by
Lionel Jeffries
Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...
, it stars
The Wombles
''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycl ...
,
David Tomlinson
David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authori ...
,
Frances de la Tour
Frances J. de Lautour (born 30 July 1944), better known as Frances de la Tour, is an English actress. She is known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the television sitcom ''Rising Damp'' from 1974 until 1978. She is a Tony Award winner and thr ...
, and
Bonnie Langford
Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series ''Just William''. In the 1980s, she played c ...
.
Plot
Based on the BBC children's series, this film charts the adventures of the Wombles, a colony of small litter-picking creatures who live in Wimbledon Common in 1970s London.
Great Uncle Bulgaria Womble recounts the story of how Wombles have always been cleaning up after humans from the very beginning with Adam and Eve, and how Wombles continue to clean up after humans for generations up to the present day all around the world, including the United States, Russia, and India. Only seen by those who believe in them, their work goes largely unnoticed until a young girl, Kim, spots them and their worthwhile purpose. As she invites them to her birthday party, her father is forced to believe as he comes face to face with Orinoco, Tobermory and the others. A public meeting is set to prove to the local population that the Wombles do exist and should be aided in their anti-rubbish campaign. But on the day in question, a storm breaks out over the Common.
At the end, Kim, Wombles and all the children help in cleaning up Wimbledon Common.
Cast
Humans
*
David Tomlinson
David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authori ...
as Roland Frogmorton
*
Frances de la Tour
Frances J. de Lautour (born 30 July 1944), better known as Frances de la Tour, is an English actress. She is known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the television sitcom ''Rising Damp'' from 1974 until 1978. She is a Tony Award winner and thr ...
as Julia Frogmorton, Roland's wife
*
Bonnie Langford
Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series ''Just William''. In the 1980s, she played c ...
as Felicity 'Kim' Frogmorton, Julia & Roland's daughter
*
Bernard Spear
Bernard Spear (11 September 1919 – 9 May 2003) was an English actor.
Early life
Spear was born on 11 September 1919 in Croydon, Surrey, to a Polish-Jewish father and a Russian-Jewish mother. He was educated at Central Federation School in ...
as Arnold Takahashi
*
Yasuko Nagazumi
is a Japanese producer and manager responsible for print advertising campaigns on behalf of clients such as Armani, Donna Karan, Guess?, Pirelli and ''Vogue'' magazine, working with photographers such as Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, Helmut Newt ...
as Doris Takahashi
*
John Junkin
John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy.
Early life
Born in Ealing, Middlesex, the son of a policeman, he and hi ...
as County Surveyor
*
Reg Lye
Reginald Thomas Lye (14 October 1912 – 23 March 1988), was an Australian actor who worked extensively in Australia and England. He was one of the busiest Australian actors of the 1950s, appearing in the majority of locally shot features at th ...
as Assistant Surveyor
Wombles
The Womble characters were portrayed by diminutive actors Kenny Baker as Bungo the drummer, Eileen Baker as Tobermory the keyboardist,
Sadie Corre Sadie may refer to:
People Given name or nickname Women
* Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898–1989), first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the United States and to practice law in Pennsylvania
* Sadie Benning (born 1973), American ...
as Madame Cholet the saxophonist,
Tony Friel
Tony Friel (born in Birkenhead, Wirral, Cheshire, 4 May 1958)Albert Wilkinson as Tomsk the bassist, and
Marcus Powell
''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical film, musical fantasy film, fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is an film adaptation, adaptation of the 1964 novel ''Charlie and the ...
as Orinoco the lead singer. Womble voices were provided by
David Jason
Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector J ...
,
Janet Brown
Janet McLuckie Brown (14 December 192327 May 2011) was a Scottish actress, comedian and impressionist who gained considerable fame in the 1970s and 1980s for her impersonations of Margaret Thatcher. Brown was the wife of Peter Butterworth, who ...
,
Jon Pertwee
John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996) was an English actor, comedian, entertainer, cabaret performer and TV presenter. Born into a theatrical family, he served in the Royal Navy and the Naval Intelligence Division during ...
, John Graham and
Lionel Jeffries
Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...
.
Soundtrack
An accompanying soundtrack was released by CBS featuring a selection of Mike Batt's score cues plus new recordings and remixes of previous Womble songs as featured in the film. No items from this album have ever appeared on any Wombles compilation, but in 2011 the soundtrack was released on CD by the Dramatico label.
# "The Wombling Song (Film Version)"
# "The Creation Of The World (Main Title)"
# "Edinburgh Rock"
# "Introduction From Minuetto Allegretto"
# "Introduction To The Womble Burrow"
# "Wombling White Tie & Tails (Film Version)"
# "Under The Hills And Not Far Away"
# "Madame Cholet"
# "Mr. Roland Frogmorton's Music"
# "Miss Felicity Kim Frogmorton's Music"
# "Frogmorton's Theme"
# "The March Of The Machines"
# " Exercise Is Good For You (Film Version)"
# "The Underground Garden"
# "Count Down And Lift-Off"
# "Womble Of The Universe"
# "The Queen"
Production
''Wombling Free'' was part of a slate of films made in the late 70s by the Rank Organisation, who re-entered the filmmaking arena.
Locations
Most exterior shots were filmed in
Black Park
Black Park is a country park in Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England to the north of the A412 road. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Council, formerly County Council. It has an area of , of which two separate areas totalling have been designated a ...
in
Wexham
Wexham is a civil parish in the county of Buckinghamshire in southern England. It is on the boundary of the unitary authority of Slough, its post town. Wexham Park Hospital is a large hospital on the parish border and Burnham Beeches, a forest t ...
and
Gerrards Cross
Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in south Buckinghamshire, England, separated from the London Borough of Hillingdon at Harefield by Denham, south of Chalfont St Peter and north bordering villages of Fulmer, Hedgerley, Iver Heath and St ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
.
Reception
Philip French
Philip Neville French Order of the British Empire, OBE (28 August 1933 – 27 October 2015) was an English film critic and radio producer. French began his career in journalism in the late 1950s, before eventually becoming a BBC Radio prod ...
, film critic for ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...