The Raggy Dolls
Encyclopedia
The Raggy Dolls is a 1980s British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 cartoon series
Cartoon series
A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...

 for children, following the adventures of a motley collection of rejects from a toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...

 factory, who live in a reject bin in a toy factory.

Plot

The series is set in Mr. Grimes' Toy Factory where, unless the doll is perfect, it is thrown into the Reject Bin. While unobserved by human eyes, the dolls come to life
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...

 and climb out of the Reject Bin to have adventures. The series was designed to encourage children to think positively about physical handicaps, as well as teaching kindness, tolerance and humility towards others.

Production

The series was produced for Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

 from 3 April 1986 to 20 December 1994. It was created by Melvyn Jacobson, with scripts, narration and music by Neil Innes
Neil Innes
Neil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...

. Yorkshire Television produced the first two series of The Raggy Dolls before awarding the commission to Orchid Productions Limited in 1987. This was the first programme Yorkshire Television commissioned from an independent production company, and Orchid Productions went on to produce over 100 more episodes of the series. The initial animator was Roy Evans
Roy Evans
Roy Evans CBE was a Liverpool football player who eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become team manager.-Career:...

, and consequently (vision only) animation director was Mark Mason, before being replaced by Peter Hale from third series onwards.

The Raggy Dolls holds the record for the longest running children's series of its genre. In celebration of the 50th episode, the producers of the series enlisted self-professed fan, ex-Beatle
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...

, to perform the opening sequence. Harrison agreed and the introduction was used for the remaining episodes.

Sad Sack

A sample of a design that was deemed too expensive to mass-produce; his appearance is somewhat different from that of the others. He is the oldest of the seven Raggy Dolls in the Reject Bin. As his name suggests, he is very gloomy and cynical, but he still values his friendship with the other dolls.

Dotty

Takes a preference to leadership of the group, often acting in a bossy manner. She accidentally had paint spilt on her hair and clothing. Dotty's main catchphrase is: "Good thinking!"

Hi-Fi

Converses with stammer due to him being dropped during testing. It was also stated in episode "The Trouble with Claude" that he was wired incorrectly, hence the stammer.

Lucy

Holds limbs inadequately attached with nylon thread. She tends to act in a shy manner and is easily frightened, but is very kind-hearted and always loyal to her friends. Her bravery was first seen in the episode "Ghosts". She speaks with a Northern
Northern English
Northern English is a group of dialects of the English language. It includes the North East England dialects, which are similar in some respects to Scots....

 accent.

Back-To-Front

A handyman doll with a backward-facing head (as a result of the manufacturer putting his head on the wrong-way round) and a love of mechanics. Always staying calm in a crisis, "No problem!" is Back-To-Front's catchphrase.

Claude

This particular doll was perfect in every way. Unfortunately for him, he fell out of a box of dolls being shipped to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

; he speaks with a French accent. Sometimes alternates between speaking English and French.

Princess

Created out of 'odds and ends' due to lack of material from manufacturer. Voice characterised by H-adding. As proven in the intro, Princess is the youngest of the seven Raggy Dolls.

Ragamuffin

Wandering traveller doll who'd lost his owner and decided to spend his life taking in new sights and experiences. Introduced in the fifth series.

Merchandise

Three videos were released during the early 90s, each featuring a selection of episodes. Four videos were Tempo Pre School Video
Pickwick Video Group
Pickwick Video Group Ltd was a home video division based in the United Kingdom and United States. It was first established in 1982. The company was divided into six video labels:-*Pickwick Video - published children's, sports and drama videos...

 in 4 Learning series, narrated by Neil Innes
Neil Innes
Neil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...

.

The complete first series of The Raggy Dolls was released on DVD on 21 June 2010 through Revelation Films
Revelation Films
Revelation Films is a British distributor of entertainment programmes on DVD.It was perhaps most well known as the company through which as of November 2006, the American anime company FUNimation Entertainment has launched its titles in the United Kingdom on region 2 DVD...

. The complete second series is available after being released on 18 October 2010. The complete third series is avalable after it's release on 7 February 2011, the complete fourth series has been released for availability on 6 June 2011, with the complete fifth series (next in line) to follow in Autumn 2011.

Books

A series of at least 8 books were published in 1990 by both Boxtree Limited (in association with Yorkshire Television Limited) and ABC Enterprises (for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation). The books were written or adapted by Neil Innes and illustrated by Steve Smallman. Titles include:
  • The Hot Air Balloon
  • In Days of Old
  • Moving House
  • The Royal Tour
  • The Stolen Parrot
  • The Tree House
  • A Trip to the Sea
  • We Are Not Amused

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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