''Wolves, Witches and Giants'', narrated by

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

, is a

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

cartoon series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...

of humorous

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

s of classic

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

s, featuring a collection of

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. '' Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a charact ...

s including the wily wolf, a wicked witch and an enormous giant. It was written by

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

Ed Welch, based on an LP, also performed by Milligan. The Directors and Producers were Simon & Sara Bor of

Honeycomb Animation Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids (often nicknamed ''Grizzly Tales'') is the generic trademarked title for a series of award-winning children's books by British author Jamie Rix which were later adapted into an animated television series of the s ...

. There were 4 series of 13 episodes and 3 specials produced for ITV from 1995 to 1999. Reruns ran on Discovery Kids (UK) until its defunct in 2007 and later, on

CITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...

from July 2005. It included adaptations of many tales such as ''

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Bro ...

'', ''

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

'', ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

'', ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'', and ''

The Three Billy Goats Gruff "Three Billy Goats Gruff" ( no, De tre bukkene Bruse) is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their ''Norske Folkeeventyr'', first published between 1841 and 1844. It has an Aarne-Thompson type of 122 ...

''. It was made by the same producers that made the original '' Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids'' (and its new series), ''

Tube Mice ''Tube Mice'' is a British children's animated series for television produced in 1988 about the adventures of mice who dwell in the tunnels of the London Underground, the railway system locally referred to as 'the tube'. The real life mice themsel ...

'', '' Binka'', and ''Funky Valley''. Although being based in

Medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, it has featured some modern equipment, such as the Wily Wolf driving a blue

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

, a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

playing on a

handheld game console A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the co ...

, Little Red Riding Hood's bed-ridden grandmother watching an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are us ...

on her TV, or the Wicked Witch using a

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ra ...

. All the series was animated in hand-drawn cel animation, but the title sequence itself from the 4th series uses digital-ink-and-paint animation.

Episode list

Series 1

* Episode 1 The Wolf and the Seven Kids (9 October 1995) (UK exclusive) * Episode 2

(10 October 1995) * Episode 3

(11 October 1995) * Episode 4

(12 October 1995) * Episode 5 The Sleeping Beauty (13 October 1995) * Episode 6 The Little Tailor (16 October 1995) * Episode 7

The Little Red Hen ''The Little Red Hen'' is an American fable first collected by Mary Mapes Dodge in '' St. Nicholas Magazine'' in 1874. The story is meant to teach children the importance of hard work and personal initiative. The story A hen living on a farm fin ...

(17 October 1995) * Episode 8

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of '' Persinet ...

(18 October 1995) * Episode 9

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Co ...

(19 October 1995) * Episode 10

The Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house t ...

(20 October 1995) * Episode 11 The Witch and the Comb (23 October 1995) (UK exclusive) * Episode 12 The Giant with the Golden Hair (24 October 1995) (UK exclusive) * Episode 13

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и Bолк, r="Pétya i volk", p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk, links=no) Op. 67, a "symphonic fairy tale for children", is a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a children's s ...

(25 October 1995)

Series 2

* Episode 1

Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest hom ...

(7 October 1996) * Episode 2

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...

(8 October 1996) * Episode 3

Puss in Boots "Puss in Boots" ( it, Il gatto con gli stivali) is an Italian fairy tale, later spread throughout the rest of Europe, about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for ...

(9 October 1996) * Episode 4

The Wolf and the Fox "The Wolf and the Fox" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. The story involves a greedy, gluttonous wolf living with a fox. The wolf makes the fox do all his work and threatens to eat him if he doesn't otherwise comply. The ...

(10 October 1996) (UK exclusive) * Episode 5 The Witch and the Mill (11 October 1996) (UK exclusive) * Episode 6 Chicken Lickin (14 October 1996) * Episode 7 The Giant and the Apprentice (15 October 1996) (UK exclusive) * Episode 8 Billy's Halloween (16 October 1996) (UK exclusive) * Episode 9 The Wolf and the Horse (17 October 1996) UK exclusive) * Episode 10 Sweet and Sour (18 October 1996) (UK exclusive) * Episode 11

The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" ( da, Snedronningen) is an original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection'' (''Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Samli ...

(21 October 1996) * Episode 12

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

(22 October 1996) * Episode 13 The Little Snow Girl (23 October 1996) (UK exclusive)

Special

(25 December 1996)

Series 3

* Episode 1 The Emperor New Clothes (6 October 1997) * Episode 2

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale '' Dic ...

(7 October 1997) * Episode 3 The Giant who had Nothing at all (8 October 1997) (UK exclusive) * Episode 4 The Four Musicians of Brum (9 October 1997) * Episode 5 The Witch Who Stole a Prince (10 October 1997) (UK exclusive) * Episode 6 Hercules and the Giant (13 October 1997) (UK exclusive) * Episode 7

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing A wolf in sheep's clothing is an idiom of Biblical origin used to describe those playing a role contrary to their real character with whom contact is dangerous, particularly false teachers. Much later, the idiom has been applied by zoologists to v ...

(14 October 1997) (UK exclusive) * Episode 8 The Three Wishes (15 October 1997) * Episode 9 The Giant who Sucked his Thumb (16 October 1997) (UK exclusive) * Episode 10

Tom Thumb Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tan ...

(17 October 1997) * Episode 11 The Matchbox (20 October 1997) (UK exclusive) * Episode 12 The Giant Who Put Out the Sun (21 October 1997) (UK exclusive) * Episode 13

The Frog Prince "The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (german: Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 1). ...

(22 October 1997)

Special

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...

(25 December 1997)

Series 4

* Episode 1 The Hunchback of Nottingham (5 October 1998) (UK exclusive) * Episode 2 The Elves and the Shoemaker (6 October 1998) * Episode 3

The Ugly Duckling "The Ugly Duckling" ( da, Den grimme ælling) is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. First Collection'' ...

(7 October 1998) * Episode 4

Jack the Giant Killer "Jack the Giant Killer" is a Cornish fairy tale and legend about a young adult who slays a number of bad giants during King Arthur's reign. The tale is characterised by violence, gore and blood-letting. Giants are prominent in Cornish folklor ...

(8 October 1998) (UK exclusive) * Episode 5

Princess and the Pea "The Princess and the Pea" ( da, "Prinsessen paa Ærten"; direct translation: "The Princess on the Pea") is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a young woman whose royal ancestry is established by a test of her sensitivity. Th ...

(9 October 1998) * Episode 6

Babes in the Wood Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents en ...

(12 October 1998) (UK exclusive) * Episode 7

Diamonds and Toads Diamonds and Toads or Toads and Diamonds is a French fairy tale by Charles Perrault, and titled by him "Les Fées" or "The Fairies". Andrew Lang included it in ''The Blue Fairy Book''. It was illustrated by Laura Valentine in ''Aunt Louisa's nurs ...

(13 October 1998) (UK exclusive) * Episode 8

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...

(14 October 1998) * Episode 9

Snow White and Rose Red "Snow-White and Rose-Red" (german: Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot) is a German fairy tale. The best-known version is the one collected by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 161). An older, somewhat shorter version, "The Ungrateful Dwarf", was written by Caroli ...

(15 October 1998) (UK exclusive) * Episode 10

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard ...

(16 October 1998) * Episode 11 Molly and the Giant (19 October 1998) (UK exclusive) * Episode 12

Tom Tit Tot "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a g ...

(20 October 1998) (UK exclusive) * Episode 13

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

(21 October 1998)

Special

(1999, first broadcast on the German channel Pro 7; extended version of Season 4, Episode 13)

References

External links

Toonhound - Wolves, Witches and Giants

ITV Player - Wolves, Witches and Giants Page
* {{Honeycomb Animation 1995 British television series debuts 1999 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series British children's animated fantasy television series ITV children's television shows Television series by ITV Studios Television shows based on fairy tales English-language television shows 1990s British animated television series