Complete with a CGI makeover, The Wombles will be returning to our screens via Dramatico Animation Ltd in 2015, with a series of 52 x 11 minute episodes scheduled to be aired on Channel 5’s Milkshake slot.
The Wombles were originally created by Elizabeth Beresford in six novels first published in the UK between 1968 and 1976, and the BBC ran two stop-motion series of The Wombles between 1973 and 1975. In 1995 Cinar produced a stop-motion series of the show for ITV, and it has now been picked up for a return in 2015 with the belief of Mike Batt (who wrote the music for the TV series/pop group and is now the co-executive producer of the show) that “there are audiences of new children and international audiences who missed The Wombles the first time around and will be thrilled to see the brilliant high quality animation and new musical productions we shall be mounting”.
Adding to what Mike Batt has said of The Wombles’ return, Genevieve Dexter of Serious Lunch, co-executive producer of the show, had the following to say:
Many people have attempted to bring back classic properties, and failed. What sets The Wombles apart is that they were ahead of their time, as the first recycling enthusiasts and with the extra dimension of the band which brought them to a family arena. The rights have now been regrouped and adapted for 21st century tastes and media consumption, although the relevance of the original themes holds strong and the messages therein are perhaps even more widely accepted today.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
