Make Way for Noddy
Make Way for Noddy, stylized make way for NODDY or also known as simply Noddy, is an animated television series based on the Noddy character by English children's author Enid Blyton. It was broadcast on Channel 5 from 2 September 2002 to 7 April 2006. It features music and songs composed by Steven Bernstein and Julie Bernstein, along with Larry Grossman and Lorraine Feather, with the musical direction done by Sharon Sampson and Terry Sampson.
Premise
The series changed its format in some ways from previous incarnations of Noddy to take advantage of the CGI medium and to appeal to more contemporary audiences, such as Noddy now also being able to fly a plane as part of his taxi duties and making Master Tubby Bear a more believable character. However it largely stuck to what the franchise established prior-hand. In addition to the franchise's characters, Make Way for Noddy also introduced actual children voicing the younger characters of the series.Characters
- Noddy is the protagonist of the series. Noddy is an imaginative wooden boy who lives in Toyland. Although Noddy is characterised as a child, he also serves as the main taxi driver. He sometimes begins nodding uncontrollably, such as after sneezing, and has to physically stop himself from nodding.
- Tessie Bear is a female teddy bear who is Noddy's best friend, always ready to try something new and help everyone she sees.
- Big Ears is a garden gnome who serves as a mentor and father figure to Noddy and the other toys with astute knowledge and a fine sense-of-humour. His catchphrase is "You funny little Noddy!".
- Mr. Plod is Toyland's sole policeman who is persistent for maintaining a certain order, but means quite well and whose catchphrase is "Halt/Stop, in the name of Plod!"
- Dinah Doll is a Toytown shopkeeper and a big sibling support figure to Noddy.
- Bumpy Dog is Tessie Bear's extremely playful but loyal and sensitive dog.
- Sly and Gobbo are two goblins who serve as the series' antagonists. Sly is the more airheaded and curious one, while Gobbo is the more conniving and intelligent of the two members. Gobbo is the dominant of the two, and Sly frequently laments that Gobbo always has all of the fun.
- Mr. Sparks is Toyland's street-smart mechanic.
- Miss Pink Cat is the pessimistic and sophisticated French-accented owner of Toytown's ice cream shop.
- Master Tubby Bear is a young teddy bear whose role was changed from a tricky mummy's boy to a moody but lovable anti-idol kid in this series, though this was clearly done as it lent more to having him involved in stories, this time in noticeable contrast as a boy hero to Noddy.
- Martha Monkey is a stuffed monkey with an energetic but bossy tomboy personality.
- Mr. Jumbo is a mild-mannered stuffed elephant.
- Clockwork Mouse is a perky wind-up toy mouse who is sometimes feeling dwarfed by the other inhabitants of Toyland for his size.
- Mr. Wobblyman is a roly-poly toy who is always diligent about doing the right thing.
- Clockwork Clown is a toy clown who stands on his hands due to having only one foot.
- Mr. Train Driver is a train driver who drives the Toyland Express train.
- The Skittles are a family of orderly bowling pins.
- Harvey and Cecilia are two beetles.
- The Bouncing Balls are the group of balls that are bouncing all over the Toyland, the littlest of them is Tiny Ball.
Guest characters
- Santa Claus is the traditional figure associated with Christmas, who delivers presents to good boys and girls. He appears in "Noddy Saves Christmas".
- Marlo Moon is a man who lives on the moon who catches a cold, and Noddy makes him feel better. He appears in "Noddy and the Magical Moondust".
Unseen
- The Narrator is an unseen voice who reads at the beginning in every episode.
Production
Development
The series was first announced to be in production in October 2000, with 100 11-minute episodes and a feature-length Christmas special announced to be in production for a 2001 delivery. In January 2001, SD Entertainment were announced to be producers on the series and they announced it would be their first project.Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by Steven and Julie Bernstein with additional songs by Larry Grossman and Lorraine Feather, with Terry and Sharon Sampson directing the music and the cast of the TV show Kidsongs performing the theme song and the music video segments for the series.Distribution
On 14 June 2001, BBC Worldwide pre-sold the series to RTP in Portugal. Initially, BBC Worldwide planned to distribute the series internationally until Chorion decided to self-distribute on their own. Portuguese licensing instead went over to Biplano and Editorial Verbo.On 17 December 2001, Chorion announced additional pre-sales, with TVOntario in Canada, Alter Channel in Greece, France 5 in France, Rai YoYo in Italy and Hop! Channel in Israel acquiring the show. BBC Worldwide's Australian branch pre-sold the series to Nickelodeon and TVNZ in Australia and New Zealand respectively. BBC Worldwide also held licensing rights in Indian territories and pre-sold the series to Cartoon Network in 2004.
Channel 5 acquired the UK broadcast rights to the series in the summer of 2002 for a broadcast within the fall schedule. In June 2002, Universal Pictures Video acquired UK video rights to the series from Chorion.
In January 2005, Chorion announced that FUNimation Productions would hold licensing and home video rights to the series in North America.
''Say It with Noddy''
A spin-off interstitial series, Say It with Noddy, aired as part of the main show in the US and as a separate program in the UK. It featured Noddy learning various foreign language words from a robot named Whizz.American version
In 2005, the series premiered in the United States on PBS Kids. As PBS lacks commercials, the series was edited to fit a half-hour, gaining a longer format featuring two twelve minute segments, two interstitial programs, a music video and footage of British television presenter Naomi Wilkinson from Milkshake!PBS acquired US broadcast rights in October 2004. In the US, the series aired from 11 September 2005 to 15 June 2007, with reruns continuing through June 2010, and later reran on NBC and PBS Kids Sprout in the US until September 2015., the series is available to stream on Peacock.