Nellie the Elephant (TV series)

Nellie the Elephant was a British children's cartoon series created by Terry Ward on behalf of FilmFair, Flicks Films and 101 Film Productions Limited in the United Kingdom that ran from 8 January 1990 to 21 January 1991. The series featured Lulu as the voice of Nellie, with Tony Robinson as the narrator. A comic-book annual was released in 1991 in an attempt to further advertise the series, but the annual failed to attract a wide audience.

Plot

Based on the famous children's song, "Nellie the Elephant", the series revolves around a pink elephant named Nellie who is returning to her home in Mandalay after escaping from the circus. Throughout the series, she meets new characters and sometimes returns to the same places in her quest to return home, though curiously, all of her travels are within the United Kingdom.

Another recurring character is a Dick Dastardly-like Ringmaster keen to recapture Nellie at all costs and return her to the circus, but is continuously foiled by Nellie and her friends.

Recurring characters

• Nellie - A pink elephant with a fondness for currant buns, Nellie escaped from the circus in an effort to return to Mandalay at all costs, travelling by train, taxi, bus, coach, plane and ship. Keen to help, Nellie is proud of her home and will stand up for her rights if need be.
• Captain Jack - A sea-captain from the fictitious Oyster Bay, Captain Jack is the captain of a small tug-boat, and is accompanied by his one-eyed parrot, Nelson.
• Mr. Mack and Mr. Tosh - A play on Mackintosh and perhaps a reference to the Goofy Gophers, Mr. Mack and Mr. Tosh are two tailors who share a shop that Nellie constantly returns to.
• The Ringmaster - A Dick Dastardly sort of villain, the Ringmaster is the owner of the Circus Nellie escaped from, but his villainous traits and reasons for recapturing Nellie are never expanded on in any great detail.
• Farmer Styles
• Sergeant Boot
• Captain Match

The Bluebells

Episodes

• Nellie and the Ghost (8 January 1990)
• Nellie Visits a Farm (15 January 1990)
• Nellie Goes to Sea (22 January 1990)
• Nellie on a Snowy Day (29 January 1990)
• Nellie at the Seaside (5 February 1990)
• Nellie's Raincoat (12 February 1990)
• Nellie and the Whale (19 February 1990)
• Nellie and the Burning Farm (26 February 1990)
• Nellie Takes a Jumbo Jet (5 March 1990)
• Nellie the Theatre Star (12 March 1990)
• Nellie and the Haunted House (19 March 1990)
• Nellie and the Park Disco (26 March 1990)
• Nellie at the Fun Fair (2 April 1990)
• Nellie Rescues Mrs Maple's Moggy (9 April 1990)
• Nellie Goes Ballooning (5 September 1990)
• Nellie Goes to the Moon (12 September 1990)
• Nellie Goes Swimming (19 September 1990)
• Nellie and the Flying Saucer (26 September 1990)
• Nellie and the Brass Band (10 October 1990)
• Nellie Joins the Team (24 October 1990)
• Nellie Visits a Library (31 October 1990)
• Nellie on an Ocean Cruise (7 November 1990)
• Nellie Goes Apple Picking (21 November 1990)
• Nellie at the Olympics (28 November 1990)
• Nellie Goes to Peanut Junction (5 December 1990)
• Nellie the Ski Champion (12 December 1990)
• Nellie Takes the Train (19 December 1990)
• Nellie and the Mystery Tour (7 January 1991)
• Nellie at the Big Store (14 January 1991)
• Nellie Goes Time Travelling (21 January 1991)

Videos

Though incredibly rare, the entire series, after airing on ITV, was released onto VHS in 1990, 1991, & 1992 by Tempo Video. Among these include:

• Nellie the Elephant: 9 Fun Packed Adventures (93742) - Released: 1990

Episodes contained: Nellie and the Ghost, Nellie Visits a Farm, Nellie Goes to Sea, Nellie on a Snowy Day, Nellie at the Seaside, Nellie's Raincoat, Nellie the Theatre Star, Nellie and the Haunted House, Nellie Rescues Mrs Maple's Moggy

• Nellie the Elephant 2: 9 Further Adventures (94182) - Released: 1990

Episodes contained: Nellie and the Whale, Nellie Takes the Train, Nellie Goes Apple Picking, Nellie at the Park Disco, Nellie at the Olympics, Nellie at the Big Store, Nellie at the Funfair, Nellie Takes a Jumbo Jet, Nellie and the Burning Barn

NOTE: it got re-released in 1999 by Channel 5 video (distributed by Polygram Filmed Entertainment (UK) Ltd) as 9 Fantastic Adventures (0518363) and re-released again in 2002 by Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd as Nellie and the Whale and other stories (9068453)

• Nellie the Elephant: Special Edition (95012) - Released: 1991

Episodes contained: Nellie and the Flying Saucer, Nellie and the Ghost, Nellie and the Whale, Nellie Goes to Peanut Junction, Nellie on a Snowy Day, Nellie Goes Apple Picking, Nellie Goes Ballooning, Nellie and the Haunted House, Nellie Takes a Jumbo Jet, Nellie Goes to Sea, Nellie at the Olympics, Nellie Goes Time Travelling

• Nellie the Elephant: Nellie Goes to the Moon (95242) - Released: 1991

Episodes contained: Nellie Goes to the Moon, Nellie at the Library, Nellie Goes to Peanut Junction, Nellie Visits a Farm, Nellie at the Park Disco

• Nellie the Elephant: Nellie on an Ocean Cruise - Released: 1992

DVDs

In 2006 and 2007 two DVDs of Nellie the Elephant were released by Abbey Home Media (in its 'Tempo TV Classics' range) with ten episodes each on the DVDs.

• Nellie the Elephant: Nellie and the Ghost (AHEDVD3161) - Released: 2006

Episodes contained: Nellie and the Ghost, Nellie Visits A Farm, Nellie Goes to Sea, Nellie on a Snowy Day, Nellie Goes to the Seaside, Nellie's Raincoat, Nellie and the Whale, Nellie and the Burning Barn, Nellie Takes A Jumbo Jet, Nellie the Theatre Star

• Nellie the Elephant: Nellie and the Haunted House (AHEDVD3216) - Released: 2007

Episodes contained: Nellie and the Haunted House, Nellie at the Park Disco, Nellie at the Funfair, Nellie Rescues Mrs Maple's Moggy, Nellie Goes Ballooning, Nellie Goes to the Moon, Nellie Goes Swimming, Nellie and the Flying Saucer, Nellie and the Brass Band, Nellie Joins the Team.

See also

• Junglies - Another short-lived series by Ward also created for ITV.

External links

• Nellie the Elephant on IMDb
• Toonhound
• Nellie The Elephant at the Big Cartoon DataBase