The Adventures of Blinky Bill
The Adventures of Blinky Bill is an Australian animated television series based on Dorothy Wall's books about Blinky Bill. The series is produced by the Yoram Gross[1] companies: Yoram Gross Film Studio (from 1993 to 1995) and Yoram Gross-EM.TV (from 2004 to 2005), with the main co-production of EM.TV and WDR. All three seasons of the series and the TV movie were animated overseas by Colorland Animation Productions Co., Ltd. in Hong Kong. Set in Greenpatch, a fictional Australian bushland town, the series presents stories through the activities and misadventures of Blinky Bill, as well as his family and friends.[2]
| The Adventures of Blinky Bill | |
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 Title card | |
| Genre | |
| Based on | The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill, by Dorothy Wall |
| Written by |
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| Directed by | Yoram Gross (Season 1–2) David Evans (Season 3) Guy Gross (TV movie) |
| Voices of |
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| Theme music composer | Guy Gross |
| Opening theme | "Hey, Hey, Blinky Bill" performed by Keith Scott (Season 1) and Ric Herbert (Season 2–3) |
| Ending theme |
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| Composers |
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| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 78 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 26 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Release | |
| Original network |
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| Picture format | PAL (576i) |
| Original release | 1 January 1993 – 5 July 2004 |
| External links | |
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Series
Season 1
In the first season of The Adventures of Blinky Bill (1993, 26 episodes), Blinky Bill and his friends rebuild the buildings and the community in Greenpatch, following its destruction by humans. They also come to terms with their new neighbours, the ill-famed Dingo family. The season first aired on ABC Television in 1993. Yoram Gross (with his first studios Yoram Gross Film Studio) co-produced the first series with: EM.Entertainment (Germany), WDR/ARD (Germany), ABC (Australia), and BBC (UK). It is the series closest to the original book in character and setting.
Season 2
In this season, also known as Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Excursion (1995, 26 episodes), Blinky Bill and his friends become lost while on a school excursion in the bush. Finding their way home across different parts of Australia, they have many adventures helping out other animals in need, including a crocodile, penguins and farm and circus animals.
The second season was a Yoram Gross Film Studio co-production with EM.Entertainment, WDR/ARD and VIDEAL of Germany, as well as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was aired on ABC Television in Australia.
Season 3
In season 3, Blinky Bill’s Extraordinary Balloon Adventure, also known as Blinky Bill's Around the World Adventures, (2004, 26 episodes), Blinky Bill, Nutsy, and Flap travel around the world in a hot air balloon that takes them on exciting adventures being chased by two humans named Basil and Cyril who are the Circus Bros. The animals he rescued were: Slippery, Leo, Ling-Ling, Tico the greedy toucan, Yoyo, and Penelope (who originally works for the Circus Bros.). They went to Antarctica, the African Plains, China, the Amazon Rainforest, India and Paris.
The season aired on 10 June 2004 on the Seven Network. The third series was a Yoram Gross-EM.TV co-production with EM.TV (Germany), WDR (Germany), ABC (Australia), and Wavery (Netherlands).
Spin-off
Two spin-off pilot episodes, Flap's Family and Flap's Island, both following the story of supporting character Flap, were developed by Yoram Gross with the assistance of the Australian Film Commission and the New South Wales Film and Television Office in 1996, but both were not picked up.
Blinky Bill's White Christmas
In 2005 a television movie entitled Blinky Bill’s White Christmas was produced by Yoram Gross-EM.TV,[3] with the co-production of WDR (Germany). The telemovie first aired on the Seven Network on 24 December 2005. Its theme song, "Christmas in Australia", was performed by Christine Anu.[4]
In the Philippines, the special was aired across two parts on GMA Network on 1 and 2 December 2020.[5]
Films
Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala
In 1992, Blinky Bill on this original animated film Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala by Yoram Gross Film Studio since the Dot and the Kangaroo film series. Greenpatch was destroyed by the two Lumberjacks named Harry and Joe so the bushland animal groups are to find some places the caves so Blinky Bill has to go find his mother along with some friends Nutsy, Flap, Splodge, Marcia with some sing-along songs on the film along with the animated characters on the live-action backgrounds.
Blinky Bill the Movie
In 2015, Blinky Bill returns on this new CGI animation produced by Flying Bark Productions, Assemblage Entertainment and Telegael, and distributed by StudioCanal. Blinky Bill is a koala with a big imagination. An adventurer at heart, he dreams of leaving the little town of Green Patch and following in his explorer father's footsteps. Mr Bill went missing in the Outback sometime ago and Blinky is the only one who believes his father is still alive. When Blinky discovers a mysterious marker that hints at his Dad's whereabouts, he embarks on a journey that takes him beyond the boundary of Green Patch and into the wild and dangerous Outback. He quickly makes friends with Nutsy, a zoo koala, and Jacko, a nervous frill-necked lizard. Pursued relentlessly by a vengeful feral cat who has a personal score to settle with Blinky, the trio must learn to work together if they ever want to survive the rugged Australian landscape and find Blinky's father!
Video games
In 1997, Forest Interactive and Roadshow Interactive created an edutainment software called "Blinky Bill's Ghost Cave" based on the episode of the same name.[6]
In 1999, Forest Interactive and Roadshow Interactive created an edutainment software called "Blinky Bill and the Magician" based on the episode of the same name.
Forest Interactive and Tribe Interactive created three activity edutainment software CDs titled "Play & Learn with Blinky Bill". The first CD was for preschool users, the second CD was for kindergarten users and the third CD was for first graders.
Music
In 1994, Blinky Bill and Friends Singing Songs Based on the TV Series with narration by Paul Lyneham on the ABC Music.
In 1999, Blinky and the rest of Greenpatch group on these Christmas songs in Blinky Bill and his "Extraordinary" Christmas Sing-Along!.
In 2002, Blinky Bill along with Don Spencer in Don and Blinky's Outback Adventure: The Lost Cooee.
Characters
Broadcasting history
- Australia
- ABC (1994-2002)
- Seven Network (2004-2005)
- Fox Kids
- ABC Kids (2001-2003)
- ABC2 (2010-2014)
- ABC 4 Kids (2011-2014)
Forest industry controversy
The theme of the first series carried a strong anti-woodchip message, with the second line saying "Save us from that woodchip mill", together with scenes of forest destruction. There were also obvious environmental messages in most episodes. Some forest industry groups lobbied the ABC arguing that the opening scene showed illegal wood chipping, which was not fair to the timber industry. In the following two series, these song lyrics and the opening credits sequence were different (the line in the theme became "You'll never catch him standing still"), reflecting the change in storylines and locations.[7]
Reception
The Adventures of Blinky Bill received generally positive reviews. It received an average rating of 6.6/10 on IMDB based on 318 reviews.[8]
References
- "Marsupial Madness: The Success of Yoram Gross". Animation News Network. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 62. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 30. ISBN 9781476672939.
- "Xmas TV battle hots up". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 December 2005. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- "Naghahangad ang lahat ng 'di malilimutang Pasko sa pangalawang linggo ng 'Christmas Cartoon Festival Presents'". GMA Network. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- "Blinky Bill's Ghost Cave - Review". Rosemary Young. 1998. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- Blinky Bill’s Fire Brigade (1992) curator's notes on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online
- "User ratings for "The Adventures of Blinky Bill"". IMDB. 25 April 2016.
External links
- The Adventures of Blinky Bill at TV.com
- The Adventures of Blinky Bill at Big Cartoon Database
- Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Adventures at Big Cartoon Database
- Blinky Bill's White Christmas at Oz Movies