Mr Benn
Mr Benn was created by David Mckee. Thirteen episodes,
each lasting 15 minutes were made and first shown on the
BBC in 1971 and was filmed by 'Zephyr Film Productions'.
The programmes were narrated by the actor Ray Brooks
and the catchy theme tune to Mr Benn was written by Don
Warren.
The animation wasn't fantastic, as most of the time the
camera panned across the drawings of David McKee and
Ian Lawless and only the bare minimum was animated. But
this didn't spoil the show, instead it enhanced it, as it was
backed up with fantastic stories and story telling. The
animation of Mr Benn walking is legendary, as it makes
most people smile to themselves.
So popular has Mr
Benn become in the history of Children's TV, that in
2004, Nickelodeon commissioned King Rollo films
to make a special one off episode of Mr Benn. This
episode was based on David McKee's latest Mr
Benn Book.
Some things were different, but the charm and feel of
the episode was the same, they even had Ray Brooks
do the narration again. Lets hope there are more to
come!
Story
Each episode followed the exploits of Mr Benn, a bowler-hatted chap, who lived at number 52
Festive Road, London and made regular trips to his local costume shop. Once in the shop, 'as if
by magic' the shopkeeper would appear and suggest a costume for Mr Benn to try on.
After changing, Mr Benn would walk out of the 'other door' where he would find himself in a
different world appropriate to his costume. There Mr Benn would have an adventure and help
solve a problem. Once his adventure was over the shopkeeper would mysteriously re-appear and
show him back to the changing room. Back at number 52 Festive Road, Mr Benn would invariably
find that he had a souvenir of his adventure.
Mr Benn
Mr Benn lived in a terraced house (at 52 Festive Road) and even
dressed in his suit and bowler hat at weekends (maybe he didn't earn a
lot of money to buy more clothes?).
I feel that in the real world, Mr Benn didn't have the most exciting life
and didn't make the difference to others. But when he was invited to a
Fancy Dress party, he had to hire a costume and he came across his
local Fancy Dress Shop. This was the day his life would change and he
could at last be someone and make the difference (he never did go to the Fancy Dress party -
he'd had too much adventure in a day).
When he walked through the other changing room door, into an adventure, he used all his
knowledge and skill to help the people he came across:
When he was a Knight, he helped a Dragon, after he was banished when a match seller framed
him for some fires. He decided to go and tell the King the truth.
When he was a Hunters assistant, he did everything in his power to stop him shooting animals, by
saying that the animals were too small for such a great hunter.
He plotted against the hunter by hatching a plan with the largest of all the animals - the Elephants.
When he was a cook, he hatched a plan to get Princess Annabella to eat. He invited all the poor
children from the area, to a banquet at the palace. Here they ate loads, and offered the Princess
some food, which she ate.
As mentioned earlier, Mr Benn always came back with a souvenir, so don't be surprised to find his
house clogged up with them.
The Shopkeeper
The shopkeeper was a strange person. Well, do you know anyone in
London that wears a Fez (please no emails to tell me about your Fez
wearing friend!).
He ran the Fancy Dress Shop down a back lane. This shop must have
been one of the more classier Fancy Dress shops, as all his costumes
looked so authentic, compared to some of the opposition. But he did
have an advantage with the costumes, as he could go back or forward
in time to get the original ones.
In his shop, he used to appear out of thin air (as if by magic), which didn't seem to frighten Mr Benn at all? I would have thought the shopkeeper would
have kept quiet about his magic powers and the ability to travel to other places in time. Maybe he didn't expect Mr Benn to go through the other door
and maybe he is the only other person to know this secret...who knows? But he seemed very happy to allow Mr Benn to have a magical adventure
and amazingly enough, not pay to hire a costume outfit.
He would again appear at the end of Mr Benn's adventure, disguised as some one else and would try to usher him through a door, which would lead
back to his shop.
Flashback
Episodes
Series 1 (1971)
1. Red Knight
2. Hunter
3. Cook
4. Caveman
5. Balloonist
6. Zoo Keeper
7. Diver
8. Wizard
9. Cowboy
10. Clown
11. Magic Carpet
12. Spaceman
13. Pirate
Specials
1. Gladiator (2004)
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Gallery
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