BBC Children's Christmas Cracker

**BBC Children's Christmas Cracker** is a UK VHS that was originally released by BBC Video on 7th November 1994 and then, it got re-released by BBC Video with a repackaged cover on 6th November 1995 before being re-released again as a “Toys R Us Exclusive” by BBC Video in 1996. It features 6 fun packed adventures with Noddy, Pingu, Barney, The Little Polar Bear and Fireman Sam all together on one Children's BBC Christmas Compilation video.

## Description

6 adventures of special snowy fun with Noddy, Pingu, Barney, The Little Polar Bear and Fireman Sam.

## Episodes

1. Noddy's Toyland Adventures - Noddy and Father Christmas - Father Christmas is coming to Toyland and he's invited all the toys to a special Christmas party in the market square. Trouble is, those horrid goblins are threatening to spoil everything... 1994
2. Pingu - Skiing - Pingu's learning to ski. The only problem is, when your skis are made from an old barrel, anything can happen... 1989
3. Barney the Dog - Barney's Christmas Surprise - It's Christmas Eve at Barney's house and there's tea and mince pies for everyone. There's even a special surprise in store for his gloomy friend Mr Prophet... 1990
4. Pingu - Sledging - Pingu's sledge is just too slow, until one of his friends suggests that he polishes the blades...
5. The Little Polar Bear - The Snow Storm - It has started to snow heavily on the North Pole and little Lars, the Polar Bear, has wandered away from his Mummy and Daddy. How will he find his way home? 1994
6. Fireman Sam - Snow Business - It's a snowy Christmas Eve in Pontypandy and James and Sarah are busy sledging - until they find themselves stranded on some cracking ice... 1988

## Content of Episodes

The content of Noddy and Father Christmas is taken from the original 1994 BBC Video release on BBC 1 and Barney's Christmas Surprise is taken from the original 1993 BBC Video release on Channel Television are their original televised broadcasts.

The content of Pingu Goes Skiing is taken from the original 1991 BBC Video release of Pingu 1: Barrel of Fun (BBCV 4653) on Central Television.

The content of Pingu Goes Sledging is taken from the original 1992 BBC Video release of Pingu 3: Hide and Seek (BBCV 4868) on Central Television.

The content of The Little Polar Bear: The Snow Storm is taken from the original 1994 BBC Video release of The Little Polar Bear: The Ice Floe (BBCV 5386) on BBC 1

and

The content of Fireman Sam: Snow Business is taken from the original 1994 BBC Video release of Fireman Sam: Norman's Tricky Day and Four Other Stories (BBCV 5465) on S4C and LWT (English Dubbed).

## Credits

Here are the credits to the six programmes on this Children's BBC Christmas compilation video of which the credits to the two Pingu episodes shown on this video are credited on the back of the cover, but don't get shown on screen.

#### **Noddy's Toyland Adventures**

##### ***("Noddy and Father Christmas")***

* Based on the stories by Enid Blyton.
* Written by Julia Allen and Chris Allen.
* Voices By: Susan Sheridan and Jimmy Hibbert.
* Music Composed and Performed By: Paul K. Joyce.
* Animated By: Sue Pugh, Paul Couvela, Stuart Sutcliffe and Lloyd Price.
* Puppet Makers: Peter Saunders, Noel Baker, Stuart Sutcliffe, Bridget Smith, Ian MacKinnon, Colin Batty, Marcia Pigeon and Peter Bentley.
* Sets By: Jeff Spain, Rick Kent, Chris Keogh Richard Sykes, Paul Simpson and Pippa Greenwood.
* Costumes and Props: Clare Elliott and Geraldine Corrigan.
* Art Director: Bridget Appleby.
* Assistant Designer: Graham Maiden.
* Model Camera and Lighting: Joe Dembinski.
* Assistant: Alistair Davidson.
* Editors: Zyggy Markiewicz and Jane Hicks.
* Dubbing Editor: Zyggy Markiewicz.
* Dubbing Mixer: John Wood.
* Directed By: Brian Little.
* Executive Producers: Theresa Plummer-Andrews, Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall.
* Producer: Jackie Cockle.
* Produced for BBC Children's International by Cosgrove Hall Films Limited.
* Based on the 'NODDY' books by Enid Blyton.
* © BBC Enterprises 1994.

#### ***Pingu***

##### ***("Pingu Goes Skiing" and "Pingu Goes Sledging")***

* Director and Animator: BBC Video Trickfilmstudio Otmar Gutmann. Copyrights: Programme One/France 3/RTVE/SRG/ZDF/TELEPOOL © EDITOY 1991 and 1995.

#### **Barney the Dog**

##### ***("Barney's Christmas Surprise")***

* From an original idea by: Shirley-Ann Lewis.
* Characters Created By: Lisa Kopper.
* Written By: Peter Bonnici.
* Directed By: Reg Lodge.
* Produced By: John Coates.
* With The Voices of: Tim Brooke-Taylor, Harry Enfield, Jan Ravens and Enn Reitel.
* Music Written and Arranged By: Colin Frechter.
* Music Produced By: Martin Wyatt.
* Storyboards By: Reg Lodge and Lorraine Marshall.
* Backgrounds: Lorraine Marshall and Milly McMillan.
* Production Co-Ordinator: Ian McCue.
* Animation: Stephen Weston, Roger Mainwood, Richard Villeneuve, Joanne Harrison, Joan Freestone, Arthur Butten and Reg Lodge.
* Assistant Animation: Isabel Radage, Ian McCall, Shelley MacIntosh, Margaret Allen, Elaine Koo and Debbie Lilly.
* Colour By: Technicolour.
* Recorded and Dubbed At: John Woods Studios.
* Editor: Taylor Grant.
* Assistant Editor: Mark Edwards.
* Colourists: Maggie Butten, Jamie Lynch, Dee Lodge, Chrissy Coates and Ivon Goodrun.
* Xeroxing At: Brian Stevens Animation Ltd.
* Cameraman: Roger Chandler.
* Executive Producer: David Hamilton.
* Associate Producer: Claire Derry.
* Produced By: BBC Video for Programme One.
* © 1990.

#### **The Little Polar Bear**

##### ***("The Snow Storm")***

* Based on The Little Polar Bear Books By: Hans De Beer.
* Design: Hans De Beer and Theo Kerp.
* Script: Birgit Quastenberg, Josef Schnelle and Hans De Beer.
* Animation: Sinan Güngör.
* Music: Manfred Schoof.
* Voices: Sue Sheridan and Jimmy Hibbert.
* Executive Producer: Siegmund Grewenig.
* Director: Theo Kerp.
* Sound: Robert Ash for Kick Production.
* English Version Produced For: BBC Television.
* Executive Producer: Theresa Plummer-Andrews.
* BBC
* A BBC Video In Commission For: Channel 1 Ostankino/France 2/RTVE/WDR. A Co-Production With: SWF, SRG.
* © 1995.

#### **Fireman Sam**

##### ***("Snow Business")***

* Told by John Alderton.
* Characters Created By: Rob Lee.
* Original Idea: Dave Gingell and Dave Jones.
* Assisted By: Mike Young.
* Storylines: Rob Lee.
* Script: Nia Ceidiog.
* Sets By: Beverley Knowlden and Linda Thodesen.
* Vehicles By: Brian Anderson.
* Puppets By: Ian Frampton and Alison Johnston.
* Engineering Consultant: Mel Grigg.
* Assistant Animator: Brian Anderson.
* Edited By: William Oswald and Jane Murrell.
* Sound By: John Cross and Steve Stockford.
* Music By: Ben Heneghan and Ian Lawson.
* Lyrics By: Robin Lyons.
* Sung By: Maldwyn Pope.
* Produced and Directed By: Ian Frampton and John Walker.
* Production by Bumper Films Ltd for S4C and Prism Art and Design Limited with thanks to the Fire Service.
* © S4C 1988.

## Facts

* This Children's BBC Christmas Compilation video contains a special half an hour episode of Noddy's Toyland Adventures which was made by Cosgrove Hall before it made its television on BBC Video debut on BBC1 on Christmas Day 1994 and also contains an exclusive episode of Barney which is the very first episode of the series and also the only episode of the series to have never been released on video on Channel Television before!

## Trivia

* Children's BBC Christmas Cracker was originally released by BBC Video in 1994 where the packaging contained a dark blue cover with the logo in red, blue and yellow, the 1992-1994 Children's BBC Video logo on the top of the spine and the original catalogue number BBCV 5399 on the bottom of the spine with the copyright saying BBC Enterprises Ltd 1994 on the back of the cover, the label and the end of the video with the video tape master containing the 1991-1997 BBC Video ident at the start and end of the video.
* Then, one year later in 1995, BBC Video re-released Children's BBC Christmas Cracker with a slightly repackaged cover, where the majority of the cover mostly remained the same as the original 1994 release except for a few differences where the cover is now light blue and the logo is now in white, green and red with the top of the spine containing the 1995-1997 Children's BBC Video logo and the back of the cover contains BBC Worldwide Ltd 1995 as the copyright and it would also get re-released again in 1996 as a "Toys R Us Exclusive" with the cover still containing the 1995 repackaging except for two small differences where the catalogue number is updated to BBCV 5858 and the copyright is updated to BBC Worldwide Ltd 1996 on the label but despite this, the 1995 and 1996 re-releases remain completely unchanged from the original 1994 release as they keep the original 1994 video tape master and the 1994 copyright stamp as BBC Video were still using the 1991-1997 ident at the time.

## Opening (Original 1994 release)

1. BBC Video Tracking Control Warning (1991-1997)
2. BBC Video Copyright Warning (1991-1997) (1991-1995 Version)
3. 1991-1997 BBC Video Ident (Opening Version)
4. BBC Children's Christmas Cracker Title Card
5. Noddy's Toyland Adventures Opening Titles (Short Version)
6. Start of Noddy and Father Christmas (1994)

## Closing (Original 1994 release)

1. End of Fireman Sam: Snow Business (1988)
2. Fireman Sam Closing Credits (Snow Business Version)
3. Bumper Films Ident with 1988 Copyright Stamp
4. 1991-1997 BBC Video Ident (Closing Version with 1994 Copyright Stamp)
5. BBC Video Copyright Warning (1991-1997) (1991-1995 Version) (Still)