The Enchanted World of Brambly Hedge

Last updated

The Enchanted World of Brambly Hedge
GenreChildren's
Created by Jill Barklem
Based on Brambly Hedge book series
Narrated by Robert Lindsay
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJackie Cockle
Running time
  • 25 minutes
Production companies HIT Entertainment
Cosgrove Hall Films (episodes 1-4)
HOT Animation [1] (episodes 5-8)
Original release
Network BBC1
(Children's BBC)
CBeebies
Tiny Pop
Release25 December 1996 (1996-12-25) 
3 January 2000 (2000-01-03)

The Enchanted World of Brambly Hedge is a stop-motion animated series based on the eight Brambly Hedge books by Jill Barklem. The show was produced by HIT Entertainment; in the United States, episodes began airing on the Starz premium channel in 1997. [2]

Contents

Cast

CharacterOriginal UK version [3] US version [4]
Narrator Robert Lindsay James Flinders
Wilfred Toadflax Neil Morrissey Debi Green
Dusty DogwoodJames Flinders
Primrose Woodmouse Charlotte Coleman Deanna Morris
Poppy Eyebright
Basil Jim Broadbent Doug Stone
Ernest Vole
Purslane Saltapple
Mrs Apple June Whitfield Stephanie Wallace
Heather Vole
Thrift Saltapple
Mr Apple Michael Williams James Flinders
Lady Daisy Woodmouse Rosemary Leach B. G. Mills
Old Mrs EyebrightChristine Albers
Lord Woodmouse Anton Rodgers Doug Stone
Crabby Blackjacket
Mr Toadflax Alun Lewis Christy Mathewson
Mrs Toadflax Noreen Kershaw B. G. Mills
Mrs CrustybreadChristine Albers
Additional voices
  • Christy Mathewson
  • B. G. Mills
  • Stephanie Wallace
  • William Wenge

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Winter Story: An Ice Palace Party"25 December 1996 (1996-12-25)
Wilfred is looking forward to the deep snow to ride on his sledge. Better still, when the snow covers the third notch comes the Snow Ball celebration at the Oak Palace. Soon, Basil, Wilfred and Primrose get trapped in one of the snow tunnels. Primrose finds a way out and summons the other mice to help out. After that, everyone celebrates.
2"Spring Story: Wilfred's Special Birthday"31 March 1997 (1997-03-31)
Today is Wilfred's birthday. The mice arrange a surprise picnic at Bluebell Bank and Primrose makes sure that Wilfred doesn't know about it yet. Basil accidentally misplaces Wilfred's picnic hamper. Wilfred recovers the wrong hamper, but luckily, his father gets the correct hamper and Wilfred's birthday celebration begins.
3"Summer Story: An Enchanted Riverside Wedding"25 August 1997 (1997-08-25)
Poppy and Dusty have seen other so often. Dusty wishes to propose to Poppy. Wilfred and Primrose try to bring the couple together. Finally comes the day of the wedding. Unfortunately, Wilfred's blunder causes the wedding raft to drift down the stream, away from the bride, but Wilfred eventually manages to catch the raft and the wedding is saved.
4"Autumn Story: Primrose's Stormy Night"26 October 1997 (1997-10-26)
During the harvest season, Lord Woodmouse and Primrose go picking blackberries, while Wilfred looks for adventure by trying to find a creature called "The Weasel". Primrose and Wilfred get lost as they explore the wilderness, so all the other mice send out a search party. The search party finds Primrose and Wilfred, so they all return home.
5"The Secret Staircase: The Midwinter Festivities"26 December 1998 (1998-12-26)
Midwinter's Day is coming. Primrose and Wilfred are assigned to recite the Midwinter Poem, and they discover a secret staircase concealed in the attic and many old rooms within. They finally stumble down a secret tunnel making it in time for the Midwinter celebrations, but they keep the old rooms a secret.
6"High Hills: Wilfred's Rafting Expedition"2 April 1999 (1999-04-02)
Wilfred joins Mr Apple and the Weavers to the High Hills. Mr Apple and Wilfred do some exploring, getting lost and stuck up ridges, but Wilfred has the essential equipment. Primrose and the Weavers search for them, but Wilfred and Mr Apple reach them by raft.
7"Sea Story: The Adventure to Find More Salt"29 December 1999 (1999-12-29)
Wilfred and Primrose are going with Dusty and Poppy on an expedition to the sea to gather salt at Seagull Rock. After the journey, they meet Perslame and his family. When a storm approaches Primrose rescues Shrimp. When the storm passes, the salt is packed and ready to go.
8"Poppy's Babies: The Construction of a New Home"3 January 2000 (2000-01-03)
Poppy is very busy and overworked looking after her babies. Mr Apple and many other mice help clean and refurbish some his old rooms for the naming ceremony, trying to keep it a secret surprise for Poppy. After a lot of work, the new house is ready for the celebration.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIT Entertainment</span> British-American entertainment company

HIT Entertainment Limited was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turner Laing. Orton alone took over the company in 1989 after learning Henson intended to sell the company to The Walt Disney Company. HIT owned and distributed children's television series such as Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder, Pingu, Barney & Friends, and Angelina Ballerina.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. Originally a Canadian company, it was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

Starz is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lionsgate, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consists of theatrically released motion pictures and first-run original television series. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of Starz Encore, Starz operates six 24-hour, linear multiplex channels; a traditional subscription video on demand service; and a namesake over-the-top streaming platform that both acts as a TV Everywhere offering for Starz's linear television subscribers and is sold directly to streaming-only consumers.

MoviePlex, stylized as movieplex since 2006, is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Starz Inc. subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment and headquartered at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado. Launched on 1 January 1997 as Plex: Encore 1, its programming consists of recent, as well as older theatrically released motion pictures. It is the sister channel of Starz and Starz Encore.

<i>Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!</i> American Flash-animated television series

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! is an American children's educational Flash animated television series created by Bob Boyle for Nickelodeon. The series was produced by Bolder Media and Starz Media in association with Film Roman, and it was animated by Bardel Entertainment using Toon Boom and Adobe Flash software. Bob Boyle, Susan Miller, and Fred Seibert served as executive producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Marie Jones</span> American actress

Jill Marie Jones is an American actress and former professional dancer and cheerleader. Jones is best known for her role as Antoinette "Toni" Childs-Garrett on the UPN comedy series, Girlfriends (2000–2006). Jones has appeared in a number of films, and had the recurring role as Cynthia Irving on the Fox supernatural series, Sleepy Hollow (2013–15). From 2015 to 2016, she starred as Amanda Fisher in the Starz horror-comedy series, Ash vs Evil Dead.

Jill Barklem was a British writer and illustrator of children's books. Her most famous work is the Brambly Hedge series, published from 1980.

Brambly Hedge is a series of illustrated children's books by Jill Barklem, recounting the adventures of a community of mice who live together in the tranquil surroundings of the English countryside. The writer described Brambly Hedge as a loving and caring society. The tales involve conflict resolution within nature or exploration, and/or the adventures of working together to achieve a common goal. There are no unkind characters or predators.

Kate Harbour is an English voice actress who provides many voices for the television series Bob the Builder, including Wendy, Dizzy, Mrs. Potts, Mrs. Broadbent, Mrs. Percival, and Pilchard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anchor Bay Entertainment</span> American home entertainment and production company

The revived Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company owned by Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz. Anchor Bay Entertainment markets and releases "new release genre films, undiscovered treasures, cult classics, and remastered catalog releases".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HOT Animation</span> British animation studio

HOT Animation was a British animation studio owned by HIT Entertainment that specialised in stop motion animation. The studio was first incorporated in September 1997, and was officially established on 1 April 1998 by Jackie Cockle, Brian Little, and Joe Dembinski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poppy (given name)</span> Name list

Poppy is a feminine given name derived from the name of the flower poppy, itself derived from the Old English popæg and referring to various species of Papaver. The name has been among the one hundred most popular names for girls in England and Wales since 1996 and among the top twenty-five names for girls since 2009. It has also recently risen in popularity in other countries in the English-speaking world, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. The popularity of the name coincides with increased use for girls of other flower names and names inspired by the natural world. Increased awareness of the name has also been attributed to the naming of the children of some celebrities.

Jackie Cockle is a British animator, producer, and director, best known as the co-founder of the stop motion animation studio HOT Animation. She is the creator and creative producer of the pre-school animation Timmy Time, creative producer of Bob the Builder and Brambly Hedge, director of The Wind in the Willows and more. Cockle, a graduate of the Manchester College of Art and Design, has won 3 BAFTA awards: one in the best animation category for Bob the Builder 30 minute special (2002), and two in the pre-school animation for Timmy Time - a production of the Bristol-based Aardman Animations.

<i>Winter Story</i> (Brambly Hedge)

Winter Story is a 1980 children's book, the final of the four seasons of Jill Barklem's Brambly Hedge series. In the book the biggest snowstorm in years leaves enough snow for an ice ball. The Economist review of books described the book as a "(Beatrix) potter through Brambly Hedge", "mousy little tales with beautiful, busy drawings".

Winter Story or A Winter Story may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanne Cole</span> British artist and illustrator

Joanne Cole was a British artist and illustrator. She most notably produced numerous children's books in the 1960s through to the 1980s. She also created artwork and puppets for British TV children's programmes. Together with husband Michael Cole they created Bod.

Jonathan Littman is an American producer who serves as president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television.

<i>Autumn Story</i> (Brambly Hedge)

Autumn Story is a 1980 children's book, the third of the four seasons of Jill Barklem's Brambly Hedge series. In it, the mouse Little Primrose wanders off and finds herself in uncharted territory.

Jocelyn Stevenson is a British-American writer and producer, largely for children's shows. She has received the BAFTA Special Award.

References

  1. "Toonhound - Brambly Hedge (1996-2000)". www.toonhound.com. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  2. O'Hare, Kate (6 April 1997). "Cable networks offer variety of shows for 'Kids and Family Week'" . Buffalo News . Tribune Media Services. p. 24. Retrieved 15 November 2010. 'Brambly Hedge' (7 p.m. Wednesday, Starz): Author Jill Barklem's enchanting 1980 illustrations about the lives of a community of mice who live in Brambly Hedge comes to life.
  3. Brambly Hedge: Classic Collection (DVD). United Kingdom: HIT Entertainment. 2004.
  4. Brambly Hedge: Autumn and Winter Story (VHS). United States: Hallmark Home Entertainment. 1998.