Charlie Chalk

***Charlie Chalk*** is a British stop motion animation series produced in 1987 in the United Kingdom by Woodland Animations, who also produced the children's television programmes *Postman Pat*, *Gran* and *Bertha*.

## Synopsis

The series tells the story of Charlie Chalk - a jolly clown who, after falling asleep whilst fishing out at sea, ends up on a strange island
 by the name of Merrytwit (as explained in the title sequence before
each episode). Characters had to be aware of coconuts which constantly
fell from the trees on the island.

The pilot episode of the series (entitled 'Shipwrecked Charlie')
finds Charlie having just landed on Merrytwit, and after making friends
with some of its inhabitants, decides to stay and build a home there.
The following episodes follow Charlie and his new friends on various
adventures on the island.

## Main characters

* **Charlie Chalk**: A good natured and friendly peaceful clown,

 he was out on a fishing trip, when he ended up on Merrytwit Island. In
the theme tune, he is described as having "a funny way of walking and a
wacky way of chalking". He was voiced by Michael Williams.
 His 'funny way of walking' is demonstrated when on occasion he tumbles
in an acrobatic circus-style through frames, around obstacles, or just
to show folks how happy he is. He also has the ability to do magic tricks.

* **Captain Mildred**: The boss, who loves to see everyone hard at

work and has the practice of listing things that have to be done: "a: do
 this; b: do that" etc. She lives on the beached ship *Buttercup*.

* **Mary the Hover Fairy**: An old fairy

 who often proves useful due to her ability to cast spells, provided her
 magic wand, Houdini, has not wandered off again. She is getting old, so
 has decided to settle down on Merrytwit. She now lives on *Buttercup*, serving as Mildred's first mate.

* **Lewis T. Duck**: A small duck with a short temper. He is full

of ideas, and believes them to be the best, so is quick to inform people
 that he is "always right". He can be quite friendly but lacks patience.
 The 'T' stands for 'The'.

* **Arnold the Elephant**: A pink elephant,

 who is quite jolly, but also very clumsy, much to the annoyance of
Lewis, who always seems to be on the receiving end of Arnold's bouts of
clumsiness.

* **Edward**: A monkey who spends his time sleeping and has quite a dislike for work.
* **Trader Jones**: Trader is the island's odd job man. Not only

does he drive a bike which acts as a taxi and a means of transporting
goods, he also owns a general supplies store on the island: 'if you want
 it, he's got it.' He never accepts money, he only trades e.g. a supply
of bananas may cost a day's beachcombing.

* **Bert**: A giant monster, discovered by Charlie, Arnold and Lewis in *The Mountain that Moaned* episode. He lives inside a cave, and whilst an extremely friendly monster, he is quite lacking in intelligence.
* **Litterbug**: A tiny little bug who is kept busy tidying up

litter around the island. He often complains about the amount of litter,
 but does not realise there would be far less litter if his sack did not
 have a hole in it. Being so tiny, he is not always noticed, a fact
which further frustrates him.

## Episodes

The series consisted of 13 original episodes, as listed below:

## Merchandise

* Charlie Chalk - The Complete Collection features all 13 episodes and

 is currently available in the UK on a single DVD release. It was made
by Right Entertainment plc in 2005.

* In 1994, Redrock Records

 released a Charlie Chalk LP. It included the several incidental songs
played on the show and the full Charlie Chalk theme song which includes
some previously unheard lyrics.

* A new Charlie Chalk CD has been developed in America.
* The UK based restaurant chain Brewers Fayre originally used Charlie Chalk as their mascot.
* *Charlie Chalk Fun Factory* was a play area for little kids, found in large Pubs across the United Kingdom, now only found around Aberdeen.

## Trivia

* The show aired on ABC TV in Australia. (1 April 1991 – 7 October 1994)

## Starring

* Michael Williams as Charlie Chalk, additional voices
* Barbara Leigh-Hunt as Captain Mildred and Mary the Hover Fairy
* John Wells as Lewis T Duck, additional voices
* Ken Barrie as Song vocals

## UK VHS releases

All 13 episodes were released on three BBC Videos in the UK between 1988 and 1991.

 *Charlie Chalk - The Mountain That Moaned* (BBCV 4427)
 *Charlie Chalk - Mildred's Day Off* (BBCV 4636)

In 1995, a WHSmith Exclusive Children's Video by Tempo Video/Abbey Home Entertainment was released in store.

Also in 1995, two 'Tempo Kids Club' videos (each with two stories on
each tape) in the Abbey Home Entertainment series were released.

 *Charlie Chalk - Coconut Harvest* (986725)

In 1999 The Contender Group released two videos under the 'Nippers' children's video label.

 *The Adventures of Charlie Chalk* (NIP11085)

## Repeats

Charlie Chalk has been repeated on BBC1 and BBC2 from 1989 - 2001, CBBC on Choice have also repeated Charlie Chalk, premiering from Day 1 on Monday 29th November 1999 - Friday 31st December 1999 at 9.45am. It was only returned on Choosy Bits under viewer's request from 2001/02 and hasn't been repeated since then and didn't get broadcast on CBeebies unlike Postman Pat and Brum.