Dinky Di's

Last updated

Dinky Di's
Also known asThe Dinky-Di's: Friends on Freedom's Frontier
Genre Action-adventure
Edutainment
Created byMelvyn Edward Bradford
Written byMelvyn Edward Bradford
Neil Booth
Terry Burstall
Leonard Lee
Peter Merrill
Wayne Moore
Mike Heffernan
Voices of Gennie Nevinson
Ric Melbourne
Lee Perry
Grahame Matters
Tony Bellette
Theme music composerMatthew Sloggett
Opening theme"Friends On Freedom's Frontier" performed by Melvyn Edward Bradford and Bob LaCastra
Composers Pat Aulton
Garry McDonald
Laurie Stone
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producerHugh Cornish
ProducerMelvyn Edward Bradford
EditorsCarlos Alperin
Bob Bladsall
Running time26 minutes
Production companiesPacific Rim Animation
Motion Picture Management Studios Australia
Original release
Network Nine Network
Release6 December 1997 (1997-12-06) –
29 May 1998 (1998-05-29)

Dinky-Di's, also known as The Dinky-Di's: Friends on Freedom's Frontier, is an Australian animated television series that aired on the Nine Network Australia from 6 December 1997 to 29 May 1998. It was created by Melvyn Edward Bradford, produced by Roo Films Brisbane and animated by Pacific Rim Animation. [1] The show taught children about the dangers of having carelessness for the planet and also for animals and plants that live on the earth. A common phrase from the theme song used by fans and the creator of the show was "We show no fear, we show no pain!"

Contents

Premise

The Dinky Di's: Friends on Freedom's Frontier follows a group of anthropomorphic animals who go around the world saving rare and endangered animals and plants, while educating the audience on the importance of environmental preservation. Led by Aussie Roo (a Kangaroo) and Cass Koala (a Koala), this group consists of animals from all over the world who have many different specialties that serve to the Dinky-Di team, and are well organized with a command centre, computer network, and high-tech amphibious vehicles.

The group of rescuers fight against Mephisto, a shadowy eco-terrorist with glowing red eyes who uses a gang of maligned beasts to do his dirty work: Rancid Rodent (a Rat), Hugo Hyena (a Hyena), Ganny Goanna (an Iguana), Serpent Sam (a Dragon), and others. Mephisto's true identity, however, is a true mystery to the Dinky-Di's, and one which, when solved, will be a major step towards slowing damage to the planet. [2] [3]

Voice cast

Episodes

Out of the 26-episode series, only one full episode in English has survived, "Baron of Babel", [3] [6] while the other only full episodes that are known, the first episode "Lost, One Dinky-Di", the second episode "The Compututor", the seventeenth episode "Tapir Caper" and the twenty-fifth episode "Mirage Master", are in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish and Russian, respectively. However, half of the first episode and about seven minutes of "The Bilby Tale" episode also exist in English. At some point on the Kooltube1 website (the website that Mel Bradford had), the episodes "The Bilby Tale", "Straits of Sorrow", "The Howling Crystal" and "Mirage Master" were available to watch. Though the Kooltube1 website is no longer around, there are a few archives still without any new content except images and copyright information. [6] [7]

The following episode list has mostly been translated from Polish, however, so it is known that these following episodes are the names for the English version of the show.

Episode list
Episode number#Episode nameWritten byOriginal air dateEpisode status
01"Lost, One Dinky-Di"Mel Bradford6 December 1997Found in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese and Polish dubs/Partially Lost
02"The Compututor"Neil Booth13 December 1997Found in Brazilian Portuguese dub
03"The Mystery of the Land of Olgas"20 December 1997Lost
04"The Bilby Tale"Mel Bradford27 December 1997Partially Found
05Currently unknown3 January 1998Lost
06"Good Wood"10 January 1998Lost
07"Prince of Deception"17 January 1998Lost
08Currently unknown24 January 1998Lost
09Currently unknown31 January 1998Lost
10"Dolphin Escardion"7 February 1998Lost
11"Crustaceans in Danger"14 February 1998Lost
12"Baron of Babel"Neil Booth21 February 1998Found
13"Snail's Pace"28 February 1998Lost
14"Losers Have No Choice"6 March 1998Lost
15"In Defense of Forest Chanterelles"13 March 1998Lost
16"Return of Yak"20 March 1998Lost
17"Tapir Caper"Wayne Moore and Terry Burstall27 March 1998Found in Russian dub
18"Black Chamber"3 April 1998Lost
19"Sea Below the Sea, Below the Sea"10 April 1998Lost
20"Mysterious Shroomland"17 April 1998Lost
21"Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow"24 April 1998Lost
22"Expedition to Pedra Blanca"1 May 1998Lost
23"Java Lava"8 May 1998Lost
24"Cranes to the Rescue"15 May 1998Lost
25"Mirage Master"Mike Heffernan22 May 1998Found in Russian dub
26"Small Hippo, Big Bust"29 May 1998Lost

There is uncertainty of where the episodes "Straits of Sorrow" and "The Howling Crystal" go on the list of episodes.

Other names for the show

When it aired in Poland, the series' title was Grupa specjalna Eko. In Italy, the show was known as Parola d'ordine: arriviamo! The show is also known to have aired in the Arab world, Brazil, Korea, Portugal and Russia.

Production

The series was created by Melvyn Edward Bradford, produced by Roo Films Brisbane from December 1989 to 1993, and distributed by Motion Picture Management Studios Australia. Originally scheduled to be completed by 1992, it experienced a series of lawsuits and legal battles during production and was delayed, before eventually airing in Italy in 1995, and Australia in 1997. [8] [9] [10] The series was animated by Pacific Rim Animation. The theme song, "Friends On Freedom's Frontier", and the episodes' songs, such as "Cross The Line (Start, Don't Stop" and "Don't Look Back", were composed and produced by Matthew Sloggett, with lyrics by Bradford and Bob LaCastra, while the soundtrack was composed by Garry McDonald and Laurie Stone and mixed at Grevillea Studios. The voices were recorded at Sunshine Studios, provided by Gennie Nevinson, Ric Melbourne, Lee Perry, Grahame Matters, and Tony Bellette. [10] [4] [5]

A 93-minute direct-to-video compilation film titled Mephisto's Web was commissioned in the first half of 1993 and completed in February-March 1994, but was never released, with the accounting firm, Krampel Newman & Partners Pty Ltd, cheating Bradford out of his money. [10]

Revival attempts

In the late 2000s, four revivals of the series were attempted; a series of Flash-animated shorts named The Dinky-Di's 2, a graphic novel, a stop motion pilot and an animated sequel. The Dinky-Di's 2 was a continuation of the original series, where the Dinky-Di's were to face a new villain, Maraudo, and his holographic alien henchmen. The series would have also had a robot named DDRobo, who would do some very amazing things in the Dinky-Dis' High-Tech Control Room. [6]

Bradford was planning on giving the series a DVD release, but died of a cerebral aneurysm at his computer desk in the town of Coolangatta near the border of Queensland and New South Wales on 4 November 2010. His service took place in Parkwood, Queensland on 23 November 2010.

Credits list

This link has the list of credits on the episode at the end. [11]

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References

  1. ↑ "The Dinky-Di's". Screen Australia. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "Andrew Trimmer Portfolio" . Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Baron of Babel Episode". YouTube . Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Voice Actor". Gennie Nevinson. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Tony Bellette". BrisVO. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "KoolTube1". Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "KoolTube1". Archived from the original on 28 February 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  8. ↑ "Motion Picture Management Limited v Bradford [1993] QSC 87". Supreme Court of Queensland . 5 April 1993.
  9. ↑ "Motion Picture Management Limited v Bradford [1993] QSC 87" (PDF). Supreme Court of Queensland . 6 April 1993.
  10. 1 2 3 "Krampel Newman Partners Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2003] FCA 123". Federal Court of Australia . 2003.
  11. ↑ "Polish Dub/Credits". YouTube . Retrieved 22 February 2023.
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