''Noddy's Toyland Adventures'' is a British children's television programme that was broadcast from September 1992 until April 1994 and December 1994 (and reran in 2000 on the
Children's BBC block of the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
). The show stars the voices of
Susan Sheridan and
Jimmy Hibbert.
Each episode was written by Julia and Chris Allen respectively during its broadcast run.
Paul K. Joyce composed and performed the show's opening theme.
In North America, episodes were broadcast as part of a full thirty-minute program titled
Noddy. The program featured the original UK animations re-dubbed with North American voices (broadcast in between all new live action segments), while Paul K. Joyce's soundtrack was replaced by a new score by Stacey Hersh, who also scored the live action part of the series. Nashville-based songwriter Dennis Scott composed 99 new songs for the live action segments, including the show's opening theme.
Universal released several of the re-dubbed Noddy animations on VHS (through USA Home Entertainment and PolyGram Video). These videos also featured songs written by Stacey Hersh and co-writer Ari Posner. This new series aired in the UK in 1999, under the title Noddy in Toyland (unrelated to the 2009 series of the same name); the original British soundtrack was used - however the live action segments were unaltered for original cut.
Premise
The show follows the adventures of Noddy, a little wooden doll who lives in Toyland with his red and yellow car, often trying to make
sixpence or getting himself in trouble. Along with his best friends (Big Ears, Mr. Plod and Tessie Bear), they are always ready to lend a hand, especially when he gets tricked by Gobbo and Sly, the wicked Goblins. Each episode mostly ends with Noddy laughing and nodding his head (likely ringing the bell on his hat in the end).
Characters
Main
*
Noddy (voiced by
Susan Sheridan in the original, and
Catherine Disher in the American/Canadian dub) is the
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of the series. Noddy is an imaginative young wooden boy who lives in Toyland.
*
Big Ears (voiced by
Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and
Benedict Campbell in the American/Canadian dub) is a wise, bearded male
brownie who lives in a toadstool house in Toadstool Woods. He serves as a father figure to Noddy, and is the one Noddy usually goes to for advice and support. If Noddy has problems, Big Ears is always happy to help with his astute knowledge and sense-of-humour.
*
Mr. Plod (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Benedict Campbell in the American/Canadian dub) is the Toytown
policeman. Mr. Plod is quite committed to upholding the law, and thinks Toytown cannot live without him. Mr. Plod has a British accent in both the original and American dubbed versions, but in the UK version, Mr. Plod speaks with a
West Country accent. He uses the following catchphrase: "Stop, in the name of the law".
* Tessie Bear (voiced by Susan Sheridan in the original, and
Karen Bernstein
Karen Bernstein is a Canadian talent agent and retired voice actress. She is best known in North America as the original English voice of Sailor Mercury in the Canadian dubbing of the first two seasons of ''Sailor Moon''. She was replaced by L ...
in the American/Canadian dub) is a neutral and clever young female
teddy bear
A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first deca ...
, who is happy trying new things. In the original version, she speaks with an irish accent.
*Dinah Doll (voiced by Susan Sheridan in the original, and Sharon Lee Williams in the American/Canadian dub) is a kind female
china doll, who sells all kinds of everything in the market. Dinah plays an older sibling figure role to both Noddy and Tessie, and the three are always ready to help each other out when a problem arises.
* Bumpy Dog (vocal effects performed by Jimmy Hibbert in both the original and American/Canadian dub) is Noddy's constant companion and Tessie's pet dog. Bumpy is highly excitable and will rush at friends, but is loyal, and has sensitive feelings if scolded by Noddy or anyone else.
* Sly (voiced by Susan Sheridan in the original, and Catherine Disher in the American/Canadian dub) and Gobbo (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and James Rankin in the American/Canadian dub) are the main antagonists of the series. They are goblins who are very mischievous and greedy, and always play horrible tricks on Noddy. Ironically, Gobbo is the more conniving and intelligent one.
* Noddy's Car (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in both the original and American/Canadian dub) is the yellow car with red decals which Noddy drives; it parps its horn and sways on its chassis to indicate emotion.
Recurring
*Mr. Wobbly Man (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Michael Stark in the American dub) is a male
roly-poly toy who is very diligent about things.
* Master Tubby Bear (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Catherine Disher in the American/Canadian dub) is Mr. and Mrs. Tubby Bear's son who is sometimes naughty and mischievous. As a
mummy's boy sort of character, Master Tubby gets easily jealous whenever Noddy receives more attention from his parents than him.
* Clockwork Mouse (voiced by Susan Sheridan in the original, and Michael Stark in the American/Canadian dub) is a toy mouse who often requires winding up. Clockwork is perky and often gets into scrapes as a result from Noddy's misadventures, but the two are generally good friends.
* Mr. Sparks (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Michael Stark in the American/Canadian dub) is Toyland's handyman with a Scottish accent, who has a street-smart personality and can mend anything.
* Miss Pink Cat (voiced by Susan Sheridan in the original, and
Lynne Griffin in the American/Canadian dub) is a French/Southern 'young adult' female cat who is fussy and neat and has no patience for foolishness, even her own.
* Mr. Jumbo (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Michael Stark in the American/Canadian dub) is a mild-mannered male elephant who is friends with Clockwork Mouse.
* The Skittles are a family of three
bowling pin
Bowling pins (historically also known as skittles or kegels) are upright elongated solids of rotation with a flat base for setting, usually made of wood (esp. maple) standing between 9 and 16 inches (23 and 41cm) tall. Some have interior voids to ...
s consisting of Mrs. Sally Skittle and her many children of various sizes. They like being knocked down.
* Martha Monkey (voiced by Susan Sheridan in the original, and Lynne Griffin in the American/Canadian dub) is a young mischievous monkey girl who is very silly and bossy and is always making rude remarks. She has a similar older sibling figure position to Noddy with Dinah Doll, but is considerably more careless.
* Clockwork Clown (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Benedict Campbell in the American/Canadian dub) is an Italian toy clown who does amazing tricks.
* Mr. Train Driver (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Michael Stark in the American/Canadian dub) is a train driver who drives the Toyland Express train.
Minor
* Mr. Tubby Bear (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Benedict Campbell in the American/Canadian dub) is Noddy's next-door neighbour. His first name is John.
* Mrs. Tubby Bear (voiced by Susan Sheridan and
Fiona Reid in the American/Canadian dub) is Noddy's next-door neighbour. Her first name is Fiona. It is clear that she, like Mr. Tubby Bear, are the superiors of Noddy, as John always refers to them as "Mr. and Mrs. Tubby Bear" and they regard Noddy like another son, helping Noddy grow in confidence.
* Mr. Milko (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Michael Stark in the American/Canadian dub) is Toyland's local milkman. Milko sometimes can be gloomy and sad, but Noddy's bell on his hat always cheers him up.
* Sammy Sailor (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Michael Stark in the American/Canadian dub) is the local Scottish harbour sailor.
* Bert Monkey (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) is a youngish monkey with a tail that is very naughty and has a mind of its own, often stealing objects all by itself. While it's heavily implied that this character is the same character as Bunkey, this is never confirmed within the series.
* Mr. Noah (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Michael Stark in the American dub) lives on the ark with Mrs. Noah and the animals, obviously based on the
bible story
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
.
* Mrs. Noah (voiced by Susan Sheridan in the original, and Fiona Reid in the American/Canadian dub) lives on the ark with Mr. Noah and the animals.
* Mr. Straw (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in the original, and Michael Stark in the American/Canadian dub) lives on the farm with Mrs. Straw and the farm animals.
* Mrs. Straw (voiced by Susan Sheridan in the original) lives on the farm with Mr. Straw and the farm animals.
* Lord Giraffe (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert in both the original and American/Canadian dub) lives on the ark with Mr. and Mrs. Noah and the other animals.
* Lady Giraffe (voiced by Susan Sheridan in both the original and American/Canadian dub) lives on the ark with Mr. and Mrs. Noah and the other animals.
Episodes
Please note; only a few episodes had their titles Americanised. This was for a US video release. The rest were left unchanged.
Series 1 (1992)
Series 2 (1994)
Series 3 (1994)
Christmas Special (1994)
Series 4 (2000)
*Series 1 and 4 episodes share the title "Noddy and the Goblins": the former opens with "It had been a busy day in Toyland", while the latter opens with "It was a quiet morning in Toyland".
Home media
In 2020, the series began streaming on
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...
's
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
and
Apple TV
Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...
. , apart from a complete series release that came out in 2009 exclusively to France and only one official DVD was released: a 1999 release of
Noddy in Toyland with three episodes ("Noddy Lends A Hand", "Noddy Meets Some Silly Hens" and "Noddy and His Unhappy Car").
VHS releases in the United Kingdom
VHS releases in the United States
In the US, a few VHS Tapes were released by
PolyGram Video/
USA Home Entertainment using the US Dub from
Noddy, and two exclusive songs.
References
External links
The Unofficial Noddy site
{{Noddy
BBC children's television shows
Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
British children's animated adventure television series
British children's animated comedy television series
British stop-motion animated television series
British television shows based on children's books
1992 British television series debuts
2000 British television series endings
1990s British animated television series
1990s British children's television series
2000s British animated television series
2000s British children's television series
1990s preschool education television series
2000s preschool education television series
Animated preschool education television series
British preschool education television series
Animated television series about children
British English-language television shows
Adaptations of works by Enid Blyton
Television series by Universal Television
DreamWorks Classics
Television series by Cosgrove Hall Films
Television series about sentient toys
CBeebies
BBC animated television series
Noddy (character)