| AdminHistory | Roobarb was a British animated children's television programme. The series was originally broadcast in 1974 on the BBC1 channel just before the six o'clock evening news. The animation style is recognisable by its rough style using marker pens. This created an effect termed as 'boiling', which gives the impression that the pictures are constantly moving giving an overall energetic effect.
Grange Calveley states that the character Roobarb was based on his own dog, a Welsh Border Collie. Bob Godfrey claims that he decided to make him green because green was the colour of money. The character of the rounded pink cat named Custard was based on a huge cat that lived next door to Calveley. Bob Godfrey described Roobarb as 'The Holy Fool' and Custard as 'The Devil's Advocate'.
Godfrey writes that the hardest work on Roobarb was getting the idea accepted. Calveley had approached various studios with his idea, but had little success. Finally, he approached Bob Godfrey, who was 'feeling like a change' from producing commercials. Together they presented the idea to the BBC, and a series was commissioned. Within 11 months, Grange Calveley conceived, wrote, and drew 30 five minute stories for the BBC, writing the episodes as they were being produced. The narration was done by Richard Briers, and the music by Johnny Hawksworth. The series was first broadcast on 21st October 1974.
A new series consisting of 39 episodes was written and broadcast on Channel Five in 2005, also written by Grange Calveley and narrated by Richard Briers. However, this series was produced by Adam Sharp and Bernadette O'Riordan for A&Btv, and directed by Jason Tammemagi. The animation was completed by Monster Animation & Design. Computer animation was used, but the boiling effect was maintained.
Credits:
Written by Grange Calveley
Narrated by Richard Briers
Music by Johnny Hawksworth
Directed by Bob Godfrey
Production Manager Hester Coblentz
Production Assistant Terry Moesker
Produced by Bob Godfrey's Movie Emporium
Further Sources:
http://www.grangecalveley.com/
http://www.roobarbandcustard.tv/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roobarb |