8 /10 1 Votes
Country of origin United Kingdom Editor(s) Robert Copeland First episode date 12 September 1988 Program creator Terry Brain | 8.1/10 IMDb Producer(s) John Howson Running time 5 minutes Final episode date 7 December 1987 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Created by Charles MillsTerry Brain Written by Charles MillsTerry BrainSteve Box Similar The Trap Door, The Family‑Ness, Pigeon Street, Penny Crayon, Bertha | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stoppit and Tidyup is a British children's animated cartoon series that was originally broadcast by the BBC in 1988. The series was created by Charles Mills and Terry Brain, the duo behind CMTB Animation, who had previously created a claymation called The Trap Door. Apart from the main characters Stoppit, a red ball of fluff with arms and legs, and Tidyup, a necktie-wearing purple creature shaped like a bowling pin, the supporting characters include Comb Your Hair, Wash Your Face, Hurry Up, Go and Play, poor little Calm Down, nasty little Not Now, the two bees, BeeHave and BeeQuiet, sleepy old Go to Bed, Don't Do That, Take Care, Eat Your Greens, Clean Your Teeth, and the big, bad I Said No; not to mention Say Please And Say Thank You. There are also extra characters called Naughties and Sit Downs, and they all live in the mythical land of Do As You're Told. Each episode was five minutes in length. The series was partly funded by The Tidy Britain Group, a Wigan-based organisation whose aim was to reduce the amount of unsolicited rubbish in and around the United Kingdom.
Contents
Stoppit and tidyup episode 2 eat your greens
General information
The short-running series is about cartoon characters who live in the land of Do As You're Told, which is a strange and colourful place whose inhabitants are named after orders directed at children by their parents. The episodes in which these characters appear are named after their character; only one series of thirteen episodes was produced. Stoppit, Tidyup and their friends were cel-animated, unlike its stop-motion predecessor. The third hand in CMTB Animation was animator Steve Box, who has since had independent success via Aardman Animations, animating Wallace and Gromit's penguin nemesis Feathers McGraw for The Wrong Trousers and directing the BAFTA-winning short film Stage Fright. Both he and Terry Brain were also key animators for Aardman's first feature film, Chicken Run.
The series follows the exploits of the frequently immature Stoppit and the hard-done-by Tidyup in their native land, which is filled with giant gherkins. None of the characters actually speak decipherable words as such. Instead they gabble, grunt, squeak, and hum whilst series narrator Terry Wogan unravels the tale for viewers. (There is one character who does not have an episode named after him — Not Now, who is I Said No's pet).
The storylines are notable for their random, abstract nature, and the fact that an episode will frequently end without any moral message at all. For example, in the twelfth episode, Clean Your Teeth, snow falls in the middle of summer, and Stoppit is left behind on his own while Tidyup and Clean Your Teeth play on sledges at the end, even though he loves the snow.
There were also twelve tie-in books published by Price Stern Sloan Ltd, and an illustrated annual was released in 1989. All thirteen episodes were released on VHS by the BBC (Cat No. BBCV 4207) in that same year, but this is now out of print. All thirteen episodes were later rereleased on DVD by Right Entertainment in 2004.
Credits
