''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 and France Animation, a French production company, and Ravensburger, a German distributor, with the financial participation of Centre national de la cinématographie. 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 The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

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 of Elvis Presley (in real life, Presley only had one daughter named

Lisa Marie Lisa Marie or Lisa-Marie may refer to: People *Lisa Marie (actress) (born 1968), American model and actress * Lisa-Marie Long, British television presenter and actress * Lisa Marie Nowak, a United States naval officer and former NASA astronaut * Lis ...

). 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 boy who plays the

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

and has a penchant for exclaiming "deadly", while Janet is a beret-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 A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

standing up, similar to The Velvet Underground'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, 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 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 illegitimate child of Elvis Presley (in real life, Presley only had one daughter named

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 Indigenous Australian boy who plays the

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 − Janet is a beret-wearing

girl who plays the

standing up, similar to The Velvet Underground'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 marble, 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 Lynda Jane Wiseman "Gibbo" Gibson (21 March 1956 – 2 January 2004) was an Australian comedian and actress.

− 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)