Little Robots
British children's television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
British children's television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Little Robots is a British stop-motion animated children's television series, produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Create TV & Film[2] and broadcast on CBeebies. The series was based on the eponymous book by Mike Brownlow in 1999, published by Ragged Bears Publishing.
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Little Robots | |
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Genre | Children's |
Based on | Little Robots by Mike Brownlow |
Voices of | Hayley Carmichael Lenny Henry Jimmy Hibbert Morwenna Banks Martin Clunes Su Pollard Emma Chambers Mike Hayley Mel Giedroyc Sue Perkins |
Opening theme | Little Robots Theme by Lenny Henry (UK) and Maria Darling (US) |
Ending theme | Little Robots Theme (instrumental) |
Composer | Bob Heatlie |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of series | 5[1] |
No. of episodes | 65[1] |
Production | |
Running time | 10 minutes |
Production companies | Cosgrove Hall Films Create TV & Film |
Original release | |
Network | CBeebies |
Release | 7 January 2003 – 20 April 2005 |
The series was originally in development by the motion-picture division of Lego Media, a subsidiary of The Lego Group that produced video games and TV shows based on Lego products and properties.[1] which rebranded to Create TV and Film in 2003.[3]
On 7 October 2001, it was confirmed that the BBC had acquired the UK broadcast rights to the show and that production would start on the series, which would begin to air from January 2003.[4] In December of that year, it was confirmed that BBC Worldwide had acquired worldwide distribution rights to the series, and that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation had purchased the Australian broadcast rights to the series.[5]
In March 2003, BBC Worldwide pre-sold the series to many different broadcasters, including ZDF and KiKA in Germany, TVOntario, SCN and Knowledge Network in Canada, and the NRK in Norway.[6]
The series was redubbed in the United States with voice actors using American accents despite the show already being in English.
Tiny, Stretchy, Sporty, Scary, and Noisy would later appear in The Official BBC Children in Need Medley in 2009.
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 (1) | "One Hundred" | 7 January 2003 | |
When their artificial moon breaks, Tiny enlists the help of the other robots to make a new one. | |||
2 (2) | "Spotty's Clean Machine" | 14 January 2003 | |
Wanting to get all their stuff clean, Spotty tries out Stretchy's new cleaning machine, but it goes out of control. | |||
3 (3) | "Stretchy in a Twist" | 21 January 2003 | |
Trying to do too many things at once, Stretchy gets his neck stuck in a knot. Tiny and Rusty try to help. | |||
4 (4) | "Robot Race Day" | 28 January 2003 | |
The Robots hold a sports day. | |||
5 (5) | "Knock Knock" | 4 February 2003 | |
Sporty and Scary keep getting confused about which home belongs to which of the Sparky twins. Upset that they are always being mistaken for each other the twins decide to put shiny things on their doors to identify which is which. | |||
6 (6) | "The Hiccalots" | 11 February 2003 | |
Sporty bumps into Noisy who gets a bad case of robotic hiccups. Everyone tries different ways to cure her. | |||
7 (7) | "A Friend for Teddy" | 21 January 2003 | |
Rusty is embarrassed when she discovers Spotty's secret affection for her pink fluffy slippers. | |||
8 (8) | "The Sound of Music" | 25 February 2003 | |
Convinced by Tiny that it'll be impossible play five instruments all by herself, Noisy decides to form a band, but Sporty is horrified to discover that Noisy wants him to be the singer. | |||
9 (9) | "Stripy on the Ball" | 4 March 2003 | |
Stripy makes a new ball, but the Sparky Twins steal it. They get trapped and the other robots rescue them. | |||
10 (10) | "Scary Scary" | 11 March 2003 | |
Scary has been trying to frighten the little robots, but is unsuccessful until he accidentally gets covered in his magnetic props. | |||
11 (11) | "Hole in the Sky" | 18 March 2003 | |
Rusty is terrified on finding a hole in the sky above her home. | |||
12 (12) | "Noisy's New Song" | 25 March 2003 | |
The hatch in Stretchy's junkyard is jammed, no-one can unstick it and Noisy has a new song. | |||
13 (13) | "A Bit of Give and Take" | 1 April 2003 | |
Tiny needs some help with the Nut and Bolt Tree. |
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 (14) | "Barking Mad" | 3 October 2003 | |
Messy barks all night at a nonexistent cat, keeping Stretchy awake and ending up losing his bark. | |||
2 (15) | "Tiny Who?" | 10 October 2003 | |
Spotty offers the Sparky Twins an opportunity for mischief when Tiny's memory banks are damaged. | |||
3 (16) | "The Big Bounce" | 17 October 2003 | |
Rusty is looking forward to her bouncing lesson with Sporty, but Spotty rushes in and takes her place. | |||
4 (17) | "Reach for the Sky" | 24 October 2003 | |
Sporty envies the Robo-Birds' ability to fly, and Stretchy has a spot of bother with some magnets. | |||
5 (18) | "Spotty Rules" | 31 October 2003 | |
Spotty decides that the Little Robots should be in her club and follow her commands. | |||
6 (19) | "Not a Drum Was Heard" | 7 November 2003 | |
Spotty cannot bear the din when Noisy practises on his drums and sneaks the drum away. | |||
7 (20) | "Spotty's Big Idea" | 14 November 2003 | |
Spotty decides she wants to be an artist and builds a huge sculpture from junk. But when she tries to add the finishing touch, her creation collapses. Tiny suggests she builds something small instead. | |||
8 (21) | "Seeing Double" | 21 November 2003 | |
Tiny builds a replica of himself to keep the Robo-Birds away from Stripy's plants. | |||
9 (22) | "The Box of Shocks" | 28 November 2003 | |
Noisy is very taken with a box that comes down Stretchy's chute, but the other Little Robots think it could be something dangerous. | |||
10 (23) | "By Myself" | 5 December 2003 | |
Stripy wants to go fishing on his own, but the other Little Robots want to come along. | |||
11 (24) | "Sweet Dreams Scary" | 12 December 2003 | |
Scary is so tired, he falls asleep in the middle of one of his magic tricks. Tiny and Noisy vow to help. | |||
12 (25) | "United" | 19 December 2003 | |
Stripy needs to borrow some oil from Tiny, but how can he do it without spoiling Tiny's surprise present? | |||
13 (26) | "Spotlight on Stretchy" | 26 December 2003 | |
Stretchy takes it to heart when the Sparky Twins tell him that he's no fun, and makes a fool of himself in a desperate attempt to change their minds. |
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 (27) | "Where's Teddy?" | 17 May 2004 | |
Sporty has invented 'botball' which entails kicking a tin can as hard as he can and shouting 'goal!' Stripy doesn't notice the tin can landing on Teddy and panics, thinking his little friend has gone missing. The Little Robots search everywhere but in the end it's Messy who finds him - squashed inside the can. | |||
2 (28) | "Red Alert" | 18 May 2004 | |
An intruder has broken into the Little Robot world, but it is only Tiny's latest invention. | |||
3 (29) | "The Waker-Upper" | 19 May 2004 | |
Tiny oversleeps and doesn't turn the day on, so Stretchy makes him a waker-upper machine. | |||
4 (30) | "Too Speedy Sporty" | 20 May 2004 | |
Sporty is just too fast and causes havoc with his high speeds. | |||
5 (31) | "Bump in the Night" | 21 May 2004 | |
The Sparky Twins ask Scary if they can borrow Flappy to be in their new show. | |||
6 (32) | "The Wind Machine" | 24 May 2004 | |
Tiny makes a wind machine so that Scary's bunting will flutter. | |||
7 (33) | "The Odd Couple" | 25 May 2004 | |
Noisy stays with Stripy while her house is being fixed after an accident. | |||
8 (34) | "Good Sport Sporty" | 26 May 2004 | |
Sporty finishes his chores first, but ends up snowed under when everyone asks him for help finishing theirs. | |||
9 (35) | "Metal Makes Us Special" | 27 May 2004 | |
The Robots celebrate what they are made of with a procession of floats. | |||
10 (36) | "Look Out Spotty" | 28 May 2004 | |
Spotty becomes obsessed with health and safety concerns. | |||
11 (37) | "Down Tools Tiny" | 31 May 2004 | |
Tiny feels unappreciated, so he decides to let the others sort out their own problems. | |||
12 (38) | "Screw Loose Spotty" | 1 June 2004 | |
When Spotty takes a tumble, she loosens a screw and goes into demolition mode. | |||
13 (39) | "Who Did That?" | 2 June 2004 | |
The Sparkies find a box of bits that they turn into vehicles with joysticks. |
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 (40) | "Teddy's Big Day Out" | 1 November 2004 | |
Tiny doesn't want to worry Stripy by telling him his bear is missing. | |||
2 (41) | "Under the Stars" | 2 November 2004 | |
Spotty persuades Rusty to head off into the Wasteland with her to sleep out under the stars. | |||
3 (42) | "Fly Me to the Moon" | 3 November 2004 | |
Scary decides he wants to be more like Flappy the Bat, so he tries to fly to the moon. | |||
4 (43) | "Stripy's Dancing Flowers" | 4 November 2004 | |
The Sparky Twins are up to their usual tricks, causing mayhem and chaos. | |||
5 (44) | "Noisy Knows Noise" | 5 November 2004 | |
Messy hits his head and all of a sudden starts to moo, baa, and meow instead of barking. Meanwhile, Noisy challenges Scary to come up with a noise she doesn't know though she warns him she knows every noise there is. | |||
6 (45) | "The Show Must Go On" | 8 November 2004 | |
Scary wants to put on a show and goes on a search for a glamorous assistant. | |||
7 (46) | "On Balance" | 9 November 2004 | |
Tiny's metal measurer is used as a see-saw by the Sparky twins, much to Spotty's distress. | |||
8 (47) | "Wheels are Fun" | 10 November 2004 | |
Tiny's new invention causes much excitement amongst the Little Robots. | |||
9 (48) | "Small Shiny Metal Things" | 11 November 2004 | |
Rusty's collection of small shiny metal things is disappearing piece by piece. | |||
10 (49) | "Swings and Roundabouts" | 12 November 2004 | |
Scary wants the other little robots to entertain him for a change. | |||
11 (50) | "Amazing Scary" | 15 November 2004 | |
Scary builds a maze and the Little Robots can't wait to have a go at exploring it. | |||
12 (51) | "Repeat After Me" | 16 November 2004 | |
Stripy speeds up but the others decide he was better being slow. | |||
13 (52) | "Sparkle Day" | 17 November 2004 | |
It's Sparkle Day - a special event. Everyone loves it except Rusty, who is too shy to sparkle. |
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 (53) | "Sporty the Hero" | 4 April 2005 | |
Rusty gives Sporty a medal, saying he is her hero. Sporty would like to be a hero, but he isn't sure how. | |||
2 (54) | "Stretchy's Yard Guard" | 5 April 2005 | |
Stretchy's good intentions backfire when his yard guard turns on him. | |||
3 (55) | "The Bedtime Badbot" | 6 April 2005 | |
The Sparky Twins dress up as an electronic bogeyman called the Bedtime Badbot, after Scary tells them and other robots about it. | |||
4 (56) | "Not Just Junk" | 7 April 2005 | |
Stretchy gives away all his junk. Unsurprisingly, he then misses it. | |||
5 (57) | "Sporty Makes a Mess" | 8 April 2005 | |
Sporty overdoes things and makes a real mess. | |||
6 (58) | "Nut and Bolt Cracker Suite" | 11 April 2005 | |
Spotty gets a bad case of stage fright on the Stage. | |||
7 (59) | "Sparkies' Big Night Out" | 12 April 2005 | |
The Sparky twins have a great plan to make up for all the mischief they have caused. | |||
8 (60) | "Tunnel Trouble" | 13 April 2005 | |
The Sparky twins are up to their usual tricks. | |||
9 (61) | "Beautiful and New" | 14 April 2005 | |
Noisy is having trouble finding a new noise. | |||
10 (62) | "Stargazing" | 15 April 2005 | |
Tiny loves stargazing and decides he would rather have longer nights and shorter days. | |||
11 (63) | "Water Water Everywhere" | 18 April 2005 | |
Water comes through the roof of Little Robot world, and with Stretchy and Stripy's help, the Little Robots escape in an ark. | |||
12 (64) | "Scaredy Bot Goes Boing" | 19 April 2005 | |
Scary wants to frighten some Little Robots with his new ride. | |||
13 (65) | "The Tingaling Thing" | 20 April 2005 | |
It is Robofest time, so the robots get their dancing shoes on. |
BBC Worldwide distributes the series, and licensed it in over 60 countries. In the U.S., Little Robots was part of Cartoon Network's Tickle-U programming block and premiered 2 years after it aired in the UK, in 2005, the Cartoon Network version used American voice actors and was also released on DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. It also aired on TVOKids in Ontario, Canada from 2003 to 2005 with the original UK dub, on Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney (now Disney Junior) in Asia from 2006 to 2007 with the US dub[citation needed], on Okto in Singapore, and on Nick Jr. in Australia (formerly for a short time on Nickelodeon). The BBC website lists further customers: Germany (ZDF and KiKa), Canada (TVOntario, SCN and The Knowledge Network), Norway (NRK), Finland (YLE), Denmark (TV2), Iceland (RUV), Italy (RAI 2), Portugal (RTP and Canal Panda), Malta (MEBC), Russia (RTR Kultura and Carousel) and South Africa (SABC), Mexico (Discovery Kids), Slovenia (TV Slovenia), Japan (NHK and Disney Junior).[7] The series has also aired in several other countries such as Australia (ABC, ABC Kids, ABC1 and ABC2), New Zealand (TV2), Ireland (RTÉ2, where it aired as part of its children's television strand The Den), The Bahamas (ZNS-TV), Hong Kong (ATV World), Poland (CBeebies), Greece (NERIT), Middle East and North Africa (Spacetoon and Basmah).
In 2003−2004 a number of construction toy sets based on the TV series were released by Lego Explore. In this theme were introduced new elements, including pieces for character minifigures. Each of the sets consist only one minifigure, except sets 7439 "Stretchy's Junk Yard" (Stretchy, Sporty) and 7441 "Tiny & Friends" (Tiny, Stretchy, and exclusive minifigures of Noisy and Messy). Also made were character plush toys. Most of the sets had limited release and were available only for online shopping in countries where the TV series was screened.[8]
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