Magic Adventures of Mumfie

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Magic Adventures of Mumfie
Created by Britt Allcroft
Narrated by Patrick Breen
Music by Larry Grossman
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes79 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerBritt Allcroft
Running time10 minutes
Production companies The Britt Allcroft Company
Quality Family Entertainment
Original release
Network ITV (Children's ITV) (season 1)
Fox Family Channel (seasons 2-3)
Release22 September 1994 (1994-09-22) 
6 October 1998 (1998-10-06)

Magic Adventures of Mumfie (full on-screen title: Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie) is a British animated children's television series and movie, inspired by the Mumfie books written and illustrated by Katharine Tozer (1907-1943). The initial 1994 season of the series, spanning one continuous storyline, has a music score containing more than 20 songs. The series was created by Britt Allcroft (the creator of Thomas & Friends and its US debut, Shining Time Station ), produced by The Britt Allcroft Company (later renamed to Gullane Entertainment, now owned by Mattel Television) and Quality Family Entertainment, narrated by American actor Patrick Breen and directed by John Laurence Collins. Mumfie was first seen in the United States on the Fox Kids Network from 1995 to 1996, as part of The Fox Cubhouse . [1] The second and third seasons debuted on the Fox Family Channel. 79 episodes were produced. [2] The worldwide rights have reverted back to Britt Allcroft.

Contents

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 13September 22, 1994December 15, 1994
Specials 2December 23, 1995September 8, 1996
2 26August 24, 1998September 8, 1998
3 40September 9, 1998October 6, 1998

Characters

Production

Katharine Tozer's original Mumfie novels are:

The books were first adapted for television as Here Comes Mumfie, a series using live-action puppetry, between 1975 and 1976 and broadcast on Independent Television (ITV) in the United Kingdom. Allcroft's newly created version, with an original musical score featuring 26 Broadway style songs, was broadcast on the Children's ITV block of UK's ITV network in 1994 and has since been broadcast in other countries, including the United States (on Fox Kids and the Fox Family Channel), Canada, Australia, France, Scandinavia, Finland, Germany, Japan, and Israel.

The screen library consists of Series 1 (originally a 13x10 minute serial, later edited into the movie length epic story Mumfie's Quest), the Holiday Special Mumfie's White Christmas and Series 2 totaling 62 individual story episodes. In 1999, the show was placed under the Bridgefilms joint-venture with Sooty International Limited. [3] [4] and remained as such as The Britt Allcroft Company rebranded as Gullane Entertainment in 2000 and the purchase by HIT Entertainment in 2002. HIT placed Bridgefilms up for sale in October 2007 [5] and Britt Allcroft re-acquired the series in March 2008, [6] Her family-owned business, Britt Allcroft Productions LLV, recently announced a home entertainment distribution deal for the Mumfie screen library with Lionsgate for the U.S., U.K, and many other parts of the world. They also had a partnership with United Talent Agency to handle all licensing for the Mumfie brand worldwide.

Prospective reboot

In May 2014, Britt Allcroft stated that she had begun production on a reboot of Mumfie. [7] In July 2015, it was revealed that the kids' division of Zodiak Entertainment, which was behind shows such as Zack & Quack and Totally Spies! , had begun development of the show, with Britt Allcroft Productions. [8]

In 2020, the series was announced to premiere in 2021, and would be animated by Italian animation studio Animoka. The series, which is now set on an island named Flutterstone, has new designs for pre-existing characters from the original series to make them look more in line with Tozer's books (including Mumfie being shorter, with a smaller trunk and ears and actual hands and Pinkey now having a flower near her left ear) as well as new characters such as a jellyfish named Jelly Bean (who, due to the new setting, replaces Scarecrow as a central character) and a crocodile named King Kaleb (to whom the Black Cat is now the advisor of). [9] In 2022, it was announced that the series had been pre-sold to many networks overseas, including the original broadcaster, ITV. [10]

Home media

VHS releases

#VHS nameRelease dateEpisode story
1The Beginning of Things24 October 1994Includes: "The Beginning of Things", "A Whale of Discovery", "Pinky's Mysterious Island",
and "Definitely Danger".
2The Queen of Night7 November 1994Includes: "The Queen of Night", "Bottom of the Ocean Blues" and "Sea of Surprises".

Even though a third release was advertised at the end of the second release, it never was released.

DVD releases

#DVD nameRelease dateEpisode story
1Mumfie's Quest: The Movie28 July 2014Includes: "Mumfie's Quest: The Movie"
2Mumfie's White Christmas3 November 2014Includes: Mumfie's White Christmas, Bristle's Holiday, Reindeers Keep Dropping on My Head, and Pinkey's First Winter.

Critical reception

During its original run, Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie received positive reviews from critics. The Chicago Tribune called the show "a moving work of art", [11] while the New York Daily News described the show as "gentle, smart and beautifully animated".[ citation needed ]

Video game

An edutainment game based on animated series of same name, was released for the Sega Pico in 1995 and was developed and published by Konami [ citation needed ].

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References

  1. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. pp. 106–107. ISBN   978-0823083152 . Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  2. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 179. ISBN   9781476672939.
  3. "Sooty prepares to sweep the world". BBC News. 21 December 1999.
  4. "Britt Allcroft picks up Sooty". Kidscreen.com. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  5. "Hit Entertainment has put the rights to kids' TV puppet Sooty up for sale". The Guardian . 4 October 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. Bates, Jim (19 March 2008). "Children's Television Pioneer Britt Allcroft Reacquires Mumfie - "Special Little Elephant with a Great Big Heart" Returning Home". Businesswire.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  7. Tilton, Sarah (21 May 2014). "House of the Day: Love at First Sight in Santa Monica". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2022..
  8. "Zodiak Kids, Britt Allcroft to redevelop Mumfie". Kidscreen. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  9. "Zodiak Kids Secures Commission for New 'Mumfie' Series". Animation Magazine. 24 November 2020.
  10. "Mumfie Secures a Herd of Sales". Banijay.com. 15 June 2022.
  11. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-09-06-9509060003-story.html%5B%5D