XPost: rec.arts.tv.uk.misc
Personally I always thought it was a bit of a weird show ... although
the "toys come to life when humans not around" theme did do pretty well
for a later famous franchise: "Toy Story" (not that there is any
connection between the two that I know of). :-)
BBC TV children's favourite "Bagpuss" is 50
-------------------------------------------
Bagpuss, the most magical, saggy, old, cloth cat in the
whole wide world, is 50.
The children's show first aired on 12 February 1974 and
featured its co-creator's daughter, Emily.
Made by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate, Bagpuss lived
in a shop that was a home for lost property.
"It makes me feel very old because he's 50 and obviously
I was about seven when they took the photographs," Emily,
now 58, said.
The stop motion animation had been filmed in Mr Firmin's
barn in Blean, just outside Canterbury, Kent.
"He's stood the test of time; he's still a favourite.
I think my father would be so proud that he's still as
popular as when he first came out," Emily, an artist,
said.
Despite only 13 episodes ever being made, the programme
remained a much-loved watch down the generations and was
voted the all-time favourite children's programme in 1999.
Bagpuss would come to life after Emily left the animals
alone, with the film then changing from sepia to colour.
And when Bagpuss awoke, so did his friends: Professor
Yaffle the woodpecker bookend, Gabriel the toad and
Madeleine the rag doll, as well as the musical mice on
their magical mouse organ.
Together they inspected whatever item Emily had left them.
Gabriel and Madeleine - voiced by John Faulkner and Sandra
Kerr - provided songs and stories, although the mice often
sang too.
Today, Bagpuss is on show at The Beaney House of Art &
Knowledge in Canterbury.
"Each episode had a different storyline and covered so much
and [they were] slightly educational as well. It is amazing
that he's so popular," Emily added.
"My sister remembers coming home from school and the fabric
was laid out all over our garden on the lawn for [my father]
to cut the pieces out.
"It was very much the norm seeing films made at my home, it
didn't seem odd. It was amazing, a very big,
family-orientated production."
Mr Firmin, from Harwich, Essex, also masterminded Ivor the
Engine and The Clangers with Mr Postgate, and won a Bafta for
"a lifetime's achievement in delighting children" in 2014.
He was awarded an honorary degree at the University of Essex
in 2015 and died in 2018.
<
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-68257883>
The History of Bagpuss
<
https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/february/bagpuss/>
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