''The Blobs'' was an animated television series based on the books by

DC Thomson DC Thomson is a media company based in Dundee, Scotland. Founded by David Couper Thomson in 1905, it is best known for publishing ''The Dundee Courier'', '' The Evening Telegraph'' and '' The Sunday Post'' newspapers, and the comics ''Oor W ...

, published in 1980. It tells the story of a community of colourful paint-splash characters who live in Paintbox Land. The 26-episode series, narrated originally by

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...

, was produced in 1996 by

Siriol Animation Calon (Welsh for 'heart') is the trading name of Mount Stuart Media Ltd., a British animation television production company based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, which primarily produced animation series in Welsh for S4C. The company was f ...

in Wales, in association with DC Thomson & Co., Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C) and

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is th ...

(now ''STV Central''). The series was purchased by

TV Ontario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario E ...

in 1999, and was re-voiced by Julie Zwillich for the North American market. A Welsh-language version was also produced for S4C, entitled ''Y Blobs''.

Content

and Julie Zwillich (US only) narrate the show in their own voices and affect different voices for all the characters. The blobs usually have a problem to solve that involves helping others, learning not to be afraid, getting lost, etc. They can change their shapes at will. Paintbox Land is ruled by a king, Royal Blue, and is bothered by a pesky witch, Inky Black. The show's animation style stays true to the books by DC Thomson. The animation pre-production was prepared by Siriol Scotland and the animation production itself completed at Siriol Production's main animation studios in

Mount Stuart Square Mount Stuart Square is a residential and commercial square in Cardiff, Wales. It is located in the Butetown area of the city. Originally developed in the late 1800s as a residential location for nearby dock workers, it quickly became a centre f ...

, Bute Town (now Cardiff Bay),

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Wales, UK.

Characters

* Fizzy Orange * Puppy Purple * Grumbly Green * Royal Blue * Princess Powder Blue * Sailor Blue * Constable Blue * Mousy Brown * Piggy Pink * Primrose Yellow * Inky Black * Ghostly White * Chocolate Brown * Poppy Red * Rainbow Blob * Grubby Grey * Giant Blob * Floury White * Canary Yellow * Spotty Blob * Vincent van Blob * The Blob Cats * Olive Green * Ringmaster Blob * Butterfly Blob * Other Blobs

Episodes

# The Purple Puppy-Cat # Poppy Red Pops Up # The Everlasting Rainbow # Where's Canary Yellow # Inky's Party Trick # Untidy Piggy Pink # Birthday Blues # Fizzy Orange's Missing Fizz # Cheese Sweet Cheese # The Homeless Giant # Ghostly White's Ghastly Night # A Change For Grubby Grey # Hats Off For Grumbly Green # Seasick Sailor Blue # Hide 'n' Spook # Ghostly White's Hiccupy Haunting # A Welcome for Chocolate Brown # A Race for Royal Blue # Singer of the Year # Inky's New Broomstick # Sneezy Princess Powder Blue # Have You Seen Olive Green # Puppy Purple's Very Silly Day # Rock A Bye Grumbly # Unhappy Spotty Blob # Floury White's Enormous Loaf

Credits

* Voices: Jane Horrocks, Guy Marsden (additional voices) (UK), Julie Zwillich (Canada/USA) * Based on the Books Published by: D.C. Thomson * Produced by: Robin Lyons * Directed by: Wayne Thomas * Written by: Lucy Daniel, John Gatehouse, Jillian Brett, Roger Planer, Robin Lyons, Andrew Offiler * Story Editor: Andrew Offiler * Music: Chris Stuart * Title Song Vocals: Sally Ann Marsh * Storyboards: Andrew Janes, Adrian Jenkins, Marietta Sheard, Wayne Thomas * Layouts: Thomas Bailey, Samuel Bailey, Andy Janes, Adrian Jenkins, Wayne Thomas * Animation: Simon Bradbury, Robert Brown, Marc Burnell, Robin Bans, Rachel Bevan Baker, Steve Hayne, Mike Coles, Gary Hurst, Nigel Davies, David Seath, Peter Gambier, Helen Comloquoy, Ken Hayes, Hanne Nielsen, Anja Heisener, Lisa Hill, Andy Janes, Walter McRory, Steve John, Marc Lewis, Gareth Reid, Roger Phillips, Sam Twigge, Nicola Marlborough, Mads Pedersen, Simon Williams, Karen Heywood, Joe McCaffery, Les Orton, Phil Owen, Phil Parker, Mike Price, William Tapp, Theresa Whatley * Additional Design: Marcos Morgan * Colour Models: Timothy Francis, Michael Hill, Emily Phillips, Inez Stoodley * Painters: Leah Jones, Emily Phillips, Nicola Stockford, Samantha Yates * Assistants & Inbetweeners: Antonia Ardolino, Marcus Burnell, Glynn Davies, Anja Heisener, Marcus Lewis, Phillip Owen, Suzanne Paton * Animo Supervisor: Martyn Yates * Scanning: Leonardo Harrison * Vectors: Leah Jones, Thomas Pettith * Compositors: Timothy Francis, Leah Jones, Thomas Pettith, Martyn Yates * Live Action Shoot: Enfys Ltd with thanks to Stella Lyons * Video Editing: Derwen * Voice Recording: Saunders & Gordon * Tracklaying & Sound Mix: The Sound Works, Cardiff * Track Breakdown: Harley Jones * Production Secretaries: Teresa Clarke, Julia Stenner * Production Accountancy: Christian Mortimer, John Price * Production Runners: Arwel Owen, Daniel McCauley, Emily Phillips * Production Manager: Maryanne Pollinger * Studio Manager: Lynne Stockford * Assistant Director: Mike Price * Executive Producers: Meirion Davies, Walter Fearn, Sandy Ross * A Scottish Television Enterprises / Taytel Limited co-production for ITV, in association with S4C * © DC Thomson & Co. Ltd / Siriol Productions 1996/1997

External links

*
''The Blobs''
at Toonhound.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Blobs, The 1990s British children's television series 1997 British television series debuts 1997 British television series endings British children's animated television shows British preschool education television series ITV children's television shows S4C original programming Television shows produced by Scottish Television TVO original programming DC Thomson Comics characters British television shows based on children's books English-language television shows 1990s British animated television series Animated preschool education television series 1990s preschool education television series