7.2 /10 2 Votes
First episode date 1 October 1979 | 7.4/10 IMDb Composer(s) Ken Leray Final episode date 6 December 1981 Number of seasons 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Written by Original scripts and ideas by:Jeffrey O'Kellywith episode scripts byRichard CarpenterPaul HalasDouglas AdamsJohn LloydLoek Kessels Voices of Peter UstinovOlwen GriffithsJohn Challis Networks Nickelodeon, TVOntario, ITV, Channel 4, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep Similar Alfred J Kwak, Professor Balthazar, Fraggle Rock, Hallo Spencer, Disney's Adventures of the Gu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dr snuggles 10 the wondrous powers of the magic casket
Doctor Snuggles is an animated television series created by Jeffrey O'Kelly based on original artwork by Nick Price, about a friendly and optimistic inventor named Doctor Snuggles who has unusual adventures with his friends. The show featured fantastical scenarios which usually involved Doctor Snuggles inventing something outlandish such as a robot helper or diamond-making machine, and had a variety of supporting characters who were mostly anthropomorphic animals.
Contents
- Dr snuggles 10 the wondrous powers of the magic casket
- Dr snuggles 01 the astounding treacle tree
- Production
- Plot summary
- DVD release
- VHS release
- References
Dr snuggles 01 the astounding treacle tree
Production
The show was a co-production between British and Dutch producers. The animation was split by two studios: Topcraft in Japan (episodes 1-6, 8, plus intro and ending) and DePatie-Freleng (episodes 7 and 9-13) from The United States with some minor differences in animation. All Topcraft episodes (with its unique sound effects) were directed by the prolific Tsuguyuki Kubo, who worked heavily with Rankin/Bass (among others) on a strong majority of their features, movies (The Hobbit and The Last Unicorn), and syndicated series (ThunderCats). English, Dutch, German, Swedish and Spanish language versions exist, among others. In the English-language version the title character was narrated by veteran actor Peter Ustinov, with Olwen Griffiths and John Challis. The show debuted in 1980, and consisted of thirteen half-hour episodes.
The show was based on original artwork by British illustrator Nick Price, original scripts and ideas by Jeffrey O'Kelly, and television scripts for each episode by Richard Carpenter and John Halas. Two episodes (#8 and #12) were written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd, both dealing with ecological issues. Episode 9 was written by Loek Kessels.
In the UK, the show featured as part of the Watch It! strand for children on the ITV network and later got repeated on Channel 4. In Canada, the series aired on TVO. It also aired on the ABC in Australia and ran from 1 March 1982 to 20 September 1991.
The Dutch dubbing was directed by Frans Voordrecht, by with voices by Jules Croiset, Trudy Libosan, Dick Scheffer and Rupert van Woerkom.
A German dubbed version was also produced, starring Walter Jokisch as Doctor Snuggles, produced by the Bavaria Atelier GmbH, that premiered in June 1981.
The Swedish version features John Harryson and the French version Roger Carel as Doctor Snuggles.
Plot summary
See also List of Doctor Snuggles episodesThe show followed the adventures of Doctor Snuggles, a kind old gentleman who lives in a comfortable home with his elderly housekeeper, Miss Nettles. Doctor Snuggles spends most of his time inventing, and throughout the series creates a housekeeping robot (Mathilda), a wormmobile, a machine to restore the colours of the rainbow, a gadget to fight depression, a fire-proof lotion and a time machine, amongst other inventions. He travels by means of a talking pogo-stick/umbrella and a spacecraft made of wood called the Dreamy Boom Boom. Doctor Snuggles also has to deal with the malevolent powers of the crazy magician - Professor Emerald, who is his arch enemy.
DVD release
On 4 July 2005, Firefly Entertainment released Doctor Snuggles on DVD in the UK. The four disc box set, entitled Doctor Snuggles - The Complete Collection, features all thirteen episodes of the series.
VHS release
SWE - (Independent Video) - Vol 3 - Ballongtävlingen, Jättediamanten