Wombling Free

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Wombling Free
Wombling Free.jpg
Directed by Lionel Jeffries
Written by Lionel Jeffries
Produced byIan Shand
Starring The Wombles
David Tomlinson
Frances de la Tour
Bonnie Langford
Narrated by Lionel Jeffries
Cinematography Alan Hume
Edited by Peter Tanner
Music by Mike Batt
Chris Spedding
Distributed by The Rank Organisation
Release date
  • 17th December 1977 (17th December 1977)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Wombling Free is a 1977 British film adaptation of the children's television series The Wombles . [1] Directed by Lionel Jeffries, it stars The Wombles, David Tomlinson, Frances de la Tour, and Bonnie Langford.

Contents

According to critic Noel Crown, "Wombling Free might have appeared a safe investment, given the popularity of the books, TV series, novelty pop group, and associated merchandise, but was universally received with hostility." [2]

Plot

Based on the BBC children's series, this film charts the adventures of the Wombles, a colony of small litter-picking creatures who live in Wimbledon Common in 1970s London.

Great Uncle Bulgaria Womble recounts the story of how Wombles have always been cleaning up after humans from the very beginning with Adam and Eve, and how Wombles continue to clean up after humans for generations up to the present day all around the world, including the United States, Russia, and India. Only seen by those who believe in them, their work goes largely unnoticed until a young girl, Kim, spots them and their worthwhile purpose. As she invites them to her birthday party, her father is forced to believe as he comes face to face with Orinoco, Tobermory and the others. A public meeting is set to prove to the local population that the Wombles do exist and should be aided in their anti-rubbish campaign. But on the day in question, a storm breaks out over the Common.

At the end, Kim, Wombles and all the children help in cleaning up Wimbledon Common.

Cast

Humans

Wombles

Actors

  • Kenny Baker as Bungo the drummer
  • Eileen Baker as Tobermory the keyboardist
  • Sadie Corre as Madame Cholet the saxophonist
  • Tony Friel as Wellington the lead guitarist
  • John Lummiss as MacWomble the rhythm guitarist
  • Jack Purvis as Great Uncle Bulgaria the violinist and music director
  • Albert Wilkinson as Tomsk the bassist
  • Marcus Powell as Orinoco the lead singer.

Voices

Production

Lionel Jeffries was hired to write the script and direct. [3]

Filming took place in July to August 1977. [4] Most exterior shots were filmed in Black Park in Wexham and Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. Studio work was done at Pinewood.

Wombling Free was part of a slate of films released in the late 70s through the Rank Organisation, who re-entered the filmmaking arena. [5]

Soundtrack

An accompanying soundtrack was released by CBS featuring a selection of Mike Batt's score cues plus new recordings and remixes of previous Womble songs as featured in the film. No items from this album have ever appeared on any Wombles compilation, but in 2011 the soundtrack was released on CD by the Dramatico label.

  1. "The Wombling Song (Film Version)"
  2. "The Creation Of The World (Main Title)"
  3. "Edinburgh Rock"
  4. "Introduction From Minuetto Allegretto"
  5. "Introduction To The Womble Burrow"
  6. "Wombling White Tie & Tails (Film Version)"
  7. "Under The Hills And Not Far Away"
  8. "Madame Cholet"
  9. "Mr. Roland Frogmorton's Music"
  10. "Miss Felicity Kim Frogmorton's Music"
  11. "Frogmorton's Theme"
  12. "The March Of The Machines"
  13. "Exercise Is Good For You (Film Version)"
  14. "The Underground Garden"
  15. "Count Down And Lift-Off"
  16. "Womble Of The Universe"
  17. "The Queen"

Reception

The film was released in theatres in Easter 1978. The Evening Post called it "a super little job". [6] The Daily Telegraph called it "a very long 96 minutes indeed." [7] "All too slack, too coy and too late" wrote The Sunday Telegraph'. [8]

Sight and Sound wrote "Saddled with instantly forgettable songs, a flabby plot, and a bromidic human family cut to the Disney pattern, the Wombles of Wimbledon make a sadly inauspicious big screen debut." [9]

References

  1. ↑ "WOMBLING FREE". Monthly Film Bulletin. 45 (528). London: 99. 1 January 1978.
  2. ↑ Brown, Noel (2015). "The Railway Children and other stores: Lionel Jeffries and British family films in the 1970s". Family films in global cinema : the world beyond Disney. I.B. Tauris. p. 131.
  3. ↑ "Wombling free". Midweek. 31 August 1977. p. 2.
  4. ↑ "Crucial battle". Harrow Observer. 15 July 1977. p. 9.
  5. ↑ Perry, Simon (Summer 1980). "FINANCE FOR LOCAL TALENT". Sight and Sound. 49 (3). London: 144.
  6. ↑ "Good clean fun". Evening Post. 18 March 1978. p. 10.
  7. ↑ "Submarine adventure". The Daily Telegraph. 21 July 1978. p. 13.
  8. ↑ "Families on velvet". Sunday Telegraph. 23 July 1978. p. 14.
  9. ↑ "Film guide". Sight and Sound. October 1978. p. 268.
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