Sarah & Duck

Last updated

Sarah & Duck
Sarah & Duck.png
The eponymous main characters, Sarah (left), and Duck (right)
Genre Adventure
Created bySarah Gomes Harris
Tim O'Sullivan
Directed byTim O'Sullivan
Voices ofTasha Lawrence
Lesley Nicol
Andy Nyman
Pete Gallagher
David Carling
Tim O'Sullivan
Narrated by Roger Allam
ComposerTanera Dawkins & Tim O'Sullivan
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes120 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersChris White
Alison Stewart
ProducerJamie Badminton
EditorsGraham Silcock (series 1)
Mark Edwards (series 2)
Michele Chiappa (series 3)
Running time7 minutes
Production companyKarrot Animation
Original release
Network CBeebies
Release18 February 2013 (2013-02-18) 
15 December 2017 (2017-12-15)

Sarah & Duck is a British animated children's television series created by Sarah Gomes Harris and Tim O'Sullivan, [1] and produced by Karrot Animation for the BBC. [2] Though designed as a story-driven animation primarily targeted at 4 to 6 year old children since premiering at the MIPCOM trade show in 2012, [3] the series has a small adult following. [4] [5]

Contents

Sarah & Duck was first broadcast on the UK channel CBeebies on 18 February 2013. [6] A total of 120 episodes have been commissioned, with 40 each for Series 1, 2, and 3. [7] [8] The third series started in October 2016.

Premise

The series follows Sarah, a very kind and polite seven-year-old girl with big eyes, rosy cheeks and a green hat, [9] and her best friend Duck, a mallard. The central theme is the relationship between these two characters and the adventures they have together. CBeebies states that the show has two learning themes: "friendship and imagination" and "problem solving". [10]

Sarah and Duck is an animated series about empathy. Each five-minute story is told with humour and joy, about the friendship of a wide-eyed girl, her pet duck, and their adventures. Sarah and Duck laugh and sing, and play all kinds of games with their friends as they learn to deal with the emotions of childhood.

Episodes

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 4018 February 2013 (2013-02-18)19 December 2013 (2013-12-19)
2 4011 August 2014 (2014-08-11)15 December 2015 (2015-12-15)
3 4018 October 2016 (2016-10-18)15 December 2017 (2017-12-15)

Cast and characters

Main

NameVoice cast [11] About
SarahTasha Lawrence [12] Sarah is a very kind, polite and somewhat eccentric seven year old girl. She is best friends with Duck. She plays the tuba, likes sea cows (manatees), and drinks "lemon water".
DuckN/ADuck is Sarah's quacky, flappy best friend. He has a penchant for eating bread.
Narrator Roger Allam [13] The Narrator talks to Sarah and Duck, asks them questions and gives them suggestions, giving them a more nuanced approach to certain challenges.
Scarf Lady Lesley Nicol [14] Scarf Lady is a forgetful old lady who loves knitting. She lives in a house full of woollen items. She has a talking knitting bag and a pet donkey.
Bag Andy Nyman Bag is Scarf Lady's knitting bag. He corrects Scarf Lady when she gets confused and has a snarky attitude.
DonkeyN/ADonkey is Scarf Lady's pet. He looks sad but isn't really.

Other characters

Production

The series is produced using computer-assisted animation [ broken anchor ] techniques and the Adobe After Effects [15] and CelAction2D [16] packages.

A second series began airing on 11 August 2014.

On 17 June 2015 it was renewed for a third series [17] which aired starting the 18 October 2016 on CBeebies.

Broadcast

BBC Worldwide have secured global distribution and merchandising rights for the new show and airs it to BBC Worldwide's network of channels. [18] On 19 August 2013, Sarah & Duck was first broadcast in the U.S. on Sprout. The first series of Sarah & Duck was also broadcast in Japan (NHK), Norway (NRK), Sweden (SVT), Denmark (DR), Finland (YLE), Germany (KiKa), Portugal (RTP), Iceland (RUV), the Netherlands (NPO), and the Israel (Hop! Channel). [19] In Canada it is broadcast on the Family Jr. channel. [20] In Australia, it is also broadcast on ABC Kids. On 12 February 2016, Sarah & Duck was made available in Mexico on Netflix but left Netflix on 12 August 2018 [21] without ever airing episodes made in 2017–2018. In 2023, the show's Licensing and Merchandise rights reverted to Karrot Entertainment, and 8 new shorts premiered on CBeebies UK.

DVD Releases

Release No.Release NameEpisodesNumber and durationR2 release date
1Lots of Shallots and other storiesLots of Shallots, Sarah Duck & the Penguin, Cheer Up Donkey, Cake Bake, Scarf Lady's House, Robot Juice, Bouncy Ball, Rainbow Lemon, Sit Shop, Kite Flight70 mins17 February 2014 [22]
2Doubles and other storiesDoubles, Umbrella and the Rain, Big Shop, Woollen Music, Fairground, Sarah Gets a Cold, Ribbon Sisters, Stargazing, Coloured Light, Strawberry Souffle70 mins8 September 2014 [23]
3Balloon Race and other storiesBalloon Race, Camera, Tapping Shoes, Fireworks Dance, Fancy Park, Pipe Conductor, Slow Quest, World Bread Day, Pond Princess, Puncture Pump [24] 70 mins16 February 2015 [25]
4Petal Light Picking and other storiesPetal Light Picking, Bobsleigh, Plate Fog, Scared of Stairs, Moon Paint, The Play, Bread Bike, Bug's Button Bank, No More Wool, Octogon Club [26] 70 mins19 October 2015 [27]
5Cloud Tower and other storiesCloud Tower, Outside Outside, Umbrella Bubbles, Sound Jumble, The Mouse's Birthday, Tortoise Snooze, Fast Slow Bungalow, Bags of Bags, Ribbon Fall, Garden Gaming [28] 70 mins15 February 2016 [29]
6Duck Hotel and other storiesDuck Hotel, Origami Overload, Shallot Circus, Toy Tidy, Plate Escape, The Big Sleepover, Paisley Sea, Duck's Quack, Rainbow's Niece, Decorating Donkey [30] 70 mins16 May 2016 [31]
7Beach Break and other storiesBeach Break, Parasol Show, Extra Bounce, Cake Relocate, Lost Librarian, Scooter Stand Still, Music Fixer, Wool on Wheels, Lemon Cafe, Star Renovation [32] 70 mins25 July 2016 [33]
8Duck Flies and other storiesDuck Flies, Seacow Snowtrail, Woolly Memories, Bubble Bumbling, Toggle Tangle, Tummy Talk, Moon's Exhibition, Pond Prose, The Art of Pink, Bug Bop [34] 70 mins17 October 2016 [35]
9Train Fudge and other storiesTrain Fudge, Picture Planes, Hat Fuss, Dewy Morning, Sticker Swap, Magic Panic, Birthday Buoy, Alarm Clock, Twang Ball, Auto Cat [36] 70 mins20 February 2017 [36]
10Constable Quack and other storiesConstable Quack, Fluff Bread, Moonbow, Bench Blocked, Planetarium Aquarium, Shallot Boat, Cake Decorate, Balloon Barnacles, Basking Shark, Old Toys [37] 70 mins2 October 2017 [38]
11Brolly Bus and other storiesBrolly Bus, Rainbow Race, Hair Cut, Arcade Dance Off, Mars as Moon, Donkey Jump, Castle Scribbling, Haber Dasher, Cloud Jam, Pillow Fill [39] 70 mins12 February 2018 [40]
12Snowball Skate and other storiesSnowball Skate, Mountain Mints, Comet's Coming, Perimeter Pals, Hedge Opera, Boo Night, Park Trimming, Whatsathingy, Cinema Scoot, Ribbon Alvida [41] 73 mins8 October 2018 [42]

Reception

A pilot for Sarah & Duck was first aired at the Cartoon Forum 2010 [43] where it was warmly received. The series was an immediate hit in the UK, and the first four episodes were the most popular pre-school programmes of their week on the BBC catch-up TV service, iPlayer. [44]

The first episode 'Lots of Shallots' was part of the official selection for the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. [45]

In October 2013 Sarah & Duck was nominated for the British Academy Children's Award for Pre-School Animation. [46] The award went to Timmy Time .

In January 2014 Sarah & Duck was nominated in the pre-school category of the British Animation Awards. [47]

In November 2014, with a second nomination, Sarah & Duck won the British Academy Children's Award for Pre-School Animation. [48]

In February 2017, it was tied in the Kidscreen Award for best animated series with Doc McStuffins . [49]

Stage version

A live stage production called "Sarah and Duck's Big Top Birthday" was performed by Millenium Entertainment International beginning May 2018 [50] and ending in 2023. [51]


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References

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  2. "Sarah & Duck CBeebies latest hit!". Skwigly. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
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  7. Charlotte Scarborough. "Sarah & Duck Series Two commissioned by BBC Worldwide for CBeebies international network" . Retrieved 3 May 2013.
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  12. "Mid Sussex Times - Haywards Heath's Tasha voices new CBeebies animation". 14 February 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013. Seven-year-old schoolgirl Tasha Lawrence is getting ready for vocal stardom as she breathes life into the lead character of Sarah from brand new CBeebies' animation Sarah & Duck... It features the adventures of a seven year old girl, Sarah.
  13. "BBC - Media Centre - Roger Allam and Lesley Nicol provide voice talent as Sarah & Duck waddles onto CBeebies" . Retrieved 25 March 2013.
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  22. @Sarah_and_Duck (17 February 2014). "Our 1st UK DVD is out today! Grab one at BBC Shop and Sainsburys !" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  23. @Sarah_and_Duck (8 September 2014). "Our new DVD (Vol. 2) is out today!Amazon (£5.00)- BBC Shop (£5.99)-" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  24. @Sarah_and_Duck (16 February 2015). "Check out our new DVD's Packaging (UK)- out now!Amazon UK -BBC Shop -" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  25. @Sarah_and_Duck (16 February 2015). "Our new 'Balloon Race' DVD is out today, including our @BAFTA winning episode 'Pipe Conductor!' Have you got yours?" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  26. "Sarah & Duck: Petal Light Picking and Other Stories - HMV" . Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  27. @Sarah_and_Duck (19 October 2015). "Our 4th DVD is out now, meaning UK fans can now own all of 'Sarah & Duck Series One' on DVD!" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  28. @Sarah_and_Duck (18 February 2016). "Our latest DVD is back in stock at @BBCShop Grab your copy of 'Cloud Tower' for just £5.99!" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  29. @Sarah_and_Duck (15 February 2016). "Hurrah, It's New DVD Day!! Grab your copy right now from Amazon for £6.99>" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  30. @Sarah_and_Duck (13 May 2016). "Unboxing! This is out in UK on Monday & includes some of our most requested eps!Order here:" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  31. @Sarah_and_Duck (9 May 2016). "Our Duck Hotel UK DVD is out next week! Pre-order yours for release day- £5.99 at this link>" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  32. @Sarah_and_Duck (27 July 2016). "Here's the packaging for our new 'Beach Break' DVD - £4.99 on Amazon at time of writing!!" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  33. @Sarah_and_Duck (25 July 2016). "It's New DVD day - Grab your copy of the very summery 'Beach Break' now!" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  34. @Sarah_and_Duck (17 October 2016). "It's new DVD day! Have you got yours yet?Amazon :HMV :" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  35. @Sarah_and_Duck (17 October 2016). "It's new DVD day! Have you got yours yet?Amazon :HMV :" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  36. 1 2 @Sarah_and_Duck (20 February 2017). "Look what just arrived at Sarah & Duck HQ - our 9th DVD. Out today! (Order: Amazon UK or HM…" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2017 via Twitter.
  37. "Sarah & Duck: Constable Quack and Other Stories - HMV" . Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  38. @Sarah_and_Duck (2 October 2017). "Our 10th DVD is out now and you can purchase your copy just here:" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 November 2017 via Twitter.
  39. "Sarah & Duck: Brolly Bus and Other Stories - HMV". 12 February 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  40. @Sarah_and_Duck (5 February 2018). "Here's your complete look at the packaging for our new 'Brolly Bus' DVD! Pre-order before next Monday's release dat…" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 October 2018 via Twitter.
  41. "Sarah & Duck: Snowball Skate and Other Stories - HMV". 8 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
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  49. "And the 2017 Kidscreen Awards winners are..."
  50. @KingGeorgesHall (13 February 2018). "Join @Sarah_and_Duck and a host of your favorite friends including The Ribbon Sisters, The Shallots, Flamingo & Joh…" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  51. "Tour Dates".