Wombling Free

Plot

Based on the popular BBC children’s series, this film charts the adventures of the Wombles, a colony of small litter-picking creatures who live in Wimbledon Common in 1970s' London, England. The film begins with Great Uncle Bulgaria Womble telling the story of how Wombles have always been cleaning up after humans from the very beginning with Adam and Eve, and how Wombles continue to clean up after humans for generations up to the present day all around the world, including the United States, Russia, and India. Only seen by those who believe in them, their work goes largely unnoticed until a young girl, Kim, spots them and their worthwhile purpose. As she invites them to her birthday party, her father is forced to believe as he comes face to face with Orinoco, Tobermory and the rest. A public meeting is set to prove to the local population that the Wombles do exist and should be aided in their anti-rubbish campaign. But on the day in question, a storm breaks out over the Common.

At the end, Kim, Wombles, and all the kids helped them cleaning up from Wimbledon Common.

Humans

Wombles

The Womble characters were portrayed by dwarf actors Kenny Baker as Bungo, Eileen Baker as Tobermory, Sadie Corre as Mrs. Cholet, Tony Friel as Womble, John Lummiss as MacWomble, Jack Purvis as Great Uncle Bulgaria, Albert Wilkinson as Tomsk, and Marcus Powell as Orinoco. Womble voices were provided by David Jason, Janet Brown, Jon Pertwee, John Graham and Lionel Jeffries.

Songs

The songs were written and composed by Mike Batt and Chris Spedding along with other collaborators. Some of the songs had previously been released by Batt's novelty band The Wombles, several becoming Top 10 hits.

1. "The Creation Of The World"
2. "The Womble Burrow"
3. "Magic Cricket (Part 1)"
4. "Mr Roland Frogmorton's Music"
5. "Miss Felicity Kim Frogmorton's Music"
6. "Exercise Is Good For You (Laziness Is Not)"
7. "Magic Cricket (Part 2)"
8. "Minuetto Allegretto"
9. "Magic Cricket (Part 3)"
10. "Miss Felicity Kim Frogmorton's Music"
11. "Great Uncle Bulgaria's March"
12. "Edinburgh Rock"
13. "The Underground Garden (Part 1)"
14. "Miss Felicity Kim Frogmorton's Music"
15. "The Queen"
16. "The March Of The Machines"
17. "Madame Cholet"*
18. "The Underground Garden (Part 2)"
19. "Magic Cricket (Part 4)"
20. "Under The Hills And Not Far Away"
21. "Great Uncle Bulgaria's March (Reprise)"
22. "Wombling White Tie And Tails"*
23. "Under The Hills And Not Far Away (Reprise 1)"
24. "Edinburgh Rock (Reprise)"
25. "Under The Hills And Not Far Away (Reprise 2)"
26. "Count Down And Lift-Off"
27. "Womble Of The Universe"
28. "Frogmorton's Theme (schmaltzy high fidelity background)"
29. "Exercise Is Good For You (Laziness Is Not) (reprise)"
30. "The Wombling Song"*

A soundtrack album was released in 1978. *

Scenes

1. "The Wombles Of Wimbledon" - 5:43
2. "Off To Work" - 6:10
3. "Talking To A Human Being" - 5:22
4. "You And Your Imaginary Friend" - 10:41
5. "The Wrong Common" - 6:17
6. "Blooming And Growing" - 7:49
7. "Thanks For Tea" - 8:36
8. "What A Splendid Car" - 11:47
9. "Wombling Overland Airways" - 9:49 (13:30 in full film)
10. "A Meeting And A Party" - 10:45
11. "Keep Britain Tidy" - 5:03
12. "Wombling Free" - 4:24

All scenes were released on CD in 1995.

Locations

Most exterior shots were filmed in Black Park in Wexham and Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.

Reception

The film critic from the Observer called the film "abysmal".