Nellie the Elephant (TV series)

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Nellie the Elephant
Genre Children's television
Created byTerry Ward
Written byBernie Kay
Richard Everett
Directed byTerry Ward
Voices of Lulu [1]
Tony Robinson
Narrated byTony Robinson
Theme music composer Ralph Butler
Peter Hart
Opening theme"Nellie the Elephant" performed by Lulu
Ending themeNellie the Elephant" performed by Lulu
ComposerJohn Hyde (incidental music)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes30
Production
ProducerTerry Ward
Production locationUK
EditorMorgan Daniels Ltd
Running time5 minutes
Production companies FilmFair
101 Film Productions Limited
Flicks Films
Original release
Network ITV
Release8 January (1990-1-8) –
19 December 1990 (1990-12-19)

Nellie the Elephant is a British children's animated television series created by Terry Ward on behalf of FilmFair, Flicks Films and 101 Film Productions Limited in the United Kingdom that ran from 8 January to 19 December 1990. The series featured Lulu as the voice of Nellie, with Tony Robinson providing other voices and also narrating the show. [2] A comic-book annual was released in 1990 in an attempt to further advertise the series, but the annual failed to attract a wide audience.

Contents

Plot

Based on the famous children's song, "Nellie the Elephant", the series revolves around a pink elephant named Nellie who is returning to her home in Mandalay after escaping from the circus. Throughout the series, she meets new characters and sometimes returns to the same places in her quest to return home, though curiously, all of her travels are within the United Kingdom.

Another recurring character is a Dick Dastardly-like ringmaster keen to recapture Nellie at all costs and return her to the circus, but is continuously foiled by Nellie and her friends.

Characters

Episodes

Series 1 (1990)

Series 2 (1990)

Broadcast

Nellie the Elephant first aired on ITV on 8 January 1990 starting off with the first 14 episodes of the first series and then with a second series on 5 September of the same year beginning with the next thirteen episodes and the last three from 8 January to 19 December 1990 both as part of Children's ITV.

Home media releases

VHS

Though incredibly rare, the entire series, after airing on ITV, was released onto VHS in 1990, 1991, and 1992 by Tempo Video. Among these include:

Episodes contained:
  • "Nellie and the Ghost"
  • "Nellie Visits a Farm"
  • "Nellie Goes to Sea"
  • "Nellie on a Snowy Day"
  • "Nellie at the Seaside"
  • "Nellie's Raincoat"
  • "Nellie the Theatre Star"
  • "Nellie and the Haunted House"
  • "Nellie Rescues Mrs Maple's Moggy"
Episodes contained:
  • "Nellie and the Whale"
  • "Nellie Takes the Train"
  • "Nellie Goes Apple Picking"
  • "Nellie at the Park Disco"
  • "Nellie at the Olympics"

  • "Nellie at the Big Store"
  • "Nellie at the Funfair"
  • "Nellie Takes a Jumbo Jet"
  • "Nellie and the Burning Barn"

NOTE: it got re-released in 1999 by Channel 5 video (distributed by Polygram Filmed Entertainment (UK) Ltd) as 9 Fantastic Adventures (0518363) and re-released again in 2002 by Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd as Nellie and the Whale and other stories (9068453)

Episodes contained:
  • "Nellie and the Flying Saucer"
  • "Nellie and the Ghost"
  • "Nellie and the Whale"
  • "Nellie Goes to Peanut Junction"
  • "Nellie on a Snowy Day"
  • "Nellie Goes Apple Picking"
  • "Nellie Goes Ballooning"
  • "Nellie and the Haunted House"
  • "Nellie Takes a Jumbo Jet"
  • "Nellie Goes to Sea"
  • "Nellie at the Olympics"
  • "Nellie Goes Time Travelling"
Episodes contained:
  • "Nellie Goes to the Moon"
  • "Nellie at the Library"
  • "Nellie Goes to Peanut Junction"
  • "Nellie Visits a Farm"
  • "Nellie at the Park Disco"

Australia

VHS TitleRelease DateEpisodes
Nellie the Elephant – Nellie and the Whale (101006)14 June 1999Nellie and the Ghost, Nellie Visits a Farm, Nellie Goes to Sea, Nellie on a Snowy Day, Nellie at the Seaside, Nellie's Raincoat and Nellie and the Whale
Nellie the Elephant – Nellie Goes Apple Picking (102004)8 May 2000Nellie on an Ocean Cruise, Nellie Goes Apple Picking, Nellie at the Olympics, Nellie Goes to Peanut Junction and Nellie the Ski Champion
Nellie the Elephant – Nellie Goes Time Travelling (102005)14 March 2001Nellie Takes the Train, Nellie and the Mystery Tour, Nellie at the Big Store and Nellie Goes Time Travelling

DVDs

In 2006 and 2007 two DVDs of Nellie the Elephant were released by Abbey Home Media (as part of its 'Tempo TV Classics' range), with ten episodes each on the DVDs.

Episodes contained:
  • "Nellie and the Ghost"
  • "Nellie Visits a Farm"
  • "Nellie Goes to Sea"
  • "Nellie on a Snowy Day"
  • "Nellie Goes to the Seaside"

  • "Nellie's Raincoat"
  • "Nellie and the Whale"
  • "Nellie and the Burning Barn"
  • "Nellie Takes a Jumbo Jet"
  • "Nellie the Theatre Star"
Episodes contained:
  • "Nellie and the Haunted House"
  • "Nellie at the Park Disco"
  • "Nellie at the Funfair"
  • "Nellie Rescues Mrs Maple's Moggy"

  • "Nellie Goes Ballooning"
  • "Nellie Goes to the Moon"
  • "Nellie Goes Swimming"
  • "Nellie and the Flying Saucer"
  • "Nellie and the Brass Band"

  • "Nellie Joins the Team"

See also

References

  1. ↑ "She's an unstoppable star ... even if she can't make her mind up on her accent". The Herald. 3 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Nellie the Elephant (Toy Dolls) | Jon Kutner".
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