Muzzy in Gondoland
Encyclopedia
Muzzy in Gondoland is an animated film first created by the BBC
in 1986 as a way of teaching English
as a second language. Sometime afterwards, Early Advantage acquired the rights to Muzzy and translated it into Spanish
, French
, German
, and Italian
in order to teach these languages as seconds. The English version of Muzzy features the voices of Willie Rushton
, Miriam Margolyes
, Susan Sheridan
, Derek Griffiths
, Jack May
and Benjamin Whitrow
. It is unknown, however, who plays whom in the various dubbed versions of the film.
A sequel, Muzzy Comes Back
was released in 1989.
), Bob (Derek Griffiths
), the King (Willie Rushton
), the Queen (Miriam Margolyes
), Princess Sylvia (Susan Sheridan
) and Corvax (Derek Griffiths
) and their personalities. It is not until later that the actual story gets going. When it does, Bob the Gardener is sweeping the garden, when Corvax the evil scientist, calls him over to count how many trees there are. He counts and there are 10 in all, then Bob counts how many bushes there are which there are also 10, but this time he counts them two by two, instead of one by one. Corvax then commands him to count how many flowers there are, he says he doesn't know but starts counting. By the time he reaches 108, the beautiful Princess Sylvia decides to elope
as the two of them are in love. However, Corvax also loves Sylvia, and when he sees her elope with the gardener, he immediately rushes to inform the King and Queen of Gondoland about what has happened. Furious, the King decides they should track the two down by helicopter and catch them. So they do, and when they catch Bob and Sylvia, the latter is taken back to the palace while the gardener is taken to jail by the King's soldiers. In jail, Bob meets Muzzy, the titular furry greenish-blue extraterrestrial who informs him that he has been jailed for eating parking meters in the town square. (He eats metallic and other indigestible objects
, with his favourite food being clock
s.)
Meanwhile, back at the palace, Sylvia is getting ready to go to bed, when Corvax tries flirting with her, but she is clearly unimpressed. Crushed and sad, Corvax decides to duplicate the princess on his computer
after Sylvia goes to bed. However, as it turns out the duplicate hates him just as much as the original Sylvia. Frustrated Corvax bangs the computer causing it to explode (but still work as revealed later) and produce five more duplicates who roam around the palace. (The first 6 Sylvia clones wear different-colored dresses, such as yellow, blue, black and white, brown, red, and green)
Bob, realising Muzzy's unusual diet, gets Muzzy to eat the bars to the prison cell, and the two prisoners jump out the window and are free. They head back to the palace. When Bob and Muzzy return to the palace, they find the real Sylvia in the garden doing her exercises. She tells them to wait in the tool shed for her to come to them with food for Bob and clocks for Muzzy at 7:00 p.m.
Back in the computer lab, Corvax has fixed the computer (or so he thinks) and proceeds to set the computer to vacuum up the six duplicates of Sylvia. Unfortunately, in the process, as opposed to getting rid of the clones, the computer simply makes more! Before long, hundreds of duplicates are swarming the palace.
Down on the ground floor, the King notices that the Sylvia duplicates are coming from upstairs, where he decides to go to investigate further. Seeing that Corvax can't stop the computer, the King decides to fix it himself. He pulls a plug attached to the computer, only to be sucked up inside it instead. The infinite duplication is stopped. Not knowing how to save the King, Corvax decides to escape by helicopter. Seeing him do so, Bob chases after him.
While this is going on, Sylvia, Muzzy and the Queen decide to rescue the King, although Muzzy does most of the work, by rearranging the computer programs Corvax installed and then sending the King out. Bob then returns with Corvax, and the latter is taken away. Bob and Sylvia are reunited, and the King eventually approves their union.
Afterwards, Muzzy manages to send all of the Sylvia duplicates back into the computer. Bob and Sylvia then get married, and Muzzy leaves Gondoland in his spaceship.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1986 as a way of teaching English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as a second language. Sometime afterwards, Early Advantage acquired the rights to Muzzy and translated it into Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
in order to teach these languages as seconds. The English version of Muzzy features the voices of Willie Rushton
Willie Rushton
William George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine.- School and army :William George Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in the family home at Scarsdale Villas,...
, Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...
, Susan Sheridan
Susan Sheridan
Susan Sheridan is a British actress. Her voice acting roles include Noddy in the Cosgrove Hall/BBC Television series Noddy's Toyland Adventures, Trillian in the radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Princess Eilonwy in the animated film The Black Cauldron.She has also provided...
, Derek Griffiths
Derek Griffiths
Derek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama.- Career :...
, Jack May
Jack May
Jack May was an English actor. Born in Henley-on-Thames, he was educated at Forest School, Walthamstow and after war service with the Royal Indian Navy in India was offered a place at RADA, but he instead went to Merton College, Oxford...
and Benjamin Whitrow
Benjamin Whitrow
Benjamin "Ben" Whitrow is a British actor. He attended the Dragon School, Tonbridge School, and RADA. Whitrow was also part of the King's Dragoon Guards from 1956 to 1958. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1981...
. It is unknown, however, who plays whom in the various dubbed versions of the film.
A sequel, Muzzy Comes Back
Muzzy Comes Back
Muzzy Comes Back is a sequel to the animated TV film, Muzzy in Gondoland created by the BBC in 1989 as a way of teaching English as a second language.-Plot:...
was released in 1989.
Plot
The first part of the film simply introduces Muzzy (Jack MayJack May
Jack May was an English actor. Born in Henley-on-Thames, he was educated at Forest School, Walthamstow and after war service with the Royal Indian Navy in India was offered a place at RADA, but he instead went to Merton College, Oxford...
), Bob (Derek Griffiths
Derek Griffiths
Derek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama.- Career :...
), the King (Willie Rushton
Willie Rushton
William George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine.- School and army :William George Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in the family home at Scarsdale Villas,...
), the Queen (Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...
), Princess Sylvia (Susan Sheridan
Susan Sheridan
Susan Sheridan is a British actress. Her voice acting roles include Noddy in the Cosgrove Hall/BBC Television series Noddy's Toyland Adventures, Trillian in the radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Princess Eilonwy in the animated film The Black Cauldron.She has also provided...
) and Corvax (Derek Griffiths
Derek Griffiths
Derek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama.- Career :...
) and their personalities. It is not until later that the actual story gets going. When it does, Bob the Gardener is sweeping the garden, when Corvax the evil scientist, calls him over to count how many trees there are. He counts and there are 10 in all, then Bob counts how many bushes there are which there are also 10, but this time he counts them two by two, instead of one by one. Corvax then commands him to count how many flowers there are, he says he doesn't know but starts counting. By the time he reaches 108, the beautiful Princess Sylvia decides to elope
Elope
To elope, most literally, merely means to run away with a girl and to not come back to the point of origination. More specifically, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving hurried flight away from one's place of residence together...
as the two of them are in love. However, Corvax also loves Sylvia, and when he sees her elope with the gardener, he immediately rushes to inform the King and Queen of Gondoland about what has happened. Furious, the King decides they should track the two down by helicopter and catch them. So they do, and when they catch Bob and Sylvia, the latter is taken back to the palace while the gardener is taken to jail by the King's soldiers. In jail, Bob meets Muzzy, the titular furry greenish-blue extraterrestrial who informs him that he has been jailed for eating parking meters in the town square. (He eats metallic and other indigestible objects
Michel Lotito
Michel Lotito was a French entertainer, born in Grenoble, famous for deliberately consuming indigestible objects. He came to be known as Monsieur Mangetout ....
, with his favourite food being clock
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
s.)
Meanwhile, back at the palace, Sylvia is getting ready to go to bed, when Corvax tries flirting with her, but she is clearly unimpressed. Crushed and sad, Corvax decides to duplicate the princess on his computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
after Sylvia goes to bed. However, as it turns out the duplicate hates him just as much as the original Sylvia. Frustrated Corvax bangs the computer causing it to explode (but still work as revealed later) and produce five more duplicates who roam around the palace. (The first 6 Sylvia clones wear different-colored dresses, such as yellow, blue, black and white, brown, red, and green)
Bob, realising Muzzy's unusual diet, gets Muzzy to eat the bars to the prison cell, and the two prisoners jump out the window and are free. They head back to the palace. When Bob and Muzzy return to the palace, they find the real Sylvia in the garden doing her exercises. She tells them to wait in the tool shed for her to come to them with food for Bob and clocks for Muzzy at 7:00 p.m.
Back in the computer lab, Corvax has fixed the computer (or so he thinks) and proceeds to set the computer to vacuum up the six duplicates of Sylvia. Unfortunately, in the process, as opposed to getting rid of the clones, the computer simply makes more! Before long, hundreds of duplicates are swarming the palace.
Down on the ground floor, the King notices that the Sylvia duplicates are coming from upstairs, where he decides to go to investigate further. Seeing that Corvax can't stop the computer, the King decides to fix it himself. He pulls a plug attached to the computer, only to be sucked up inside it instead. The infinite duplication is stopped. Not knowing how to save the King, Corvax decides to escape by helicopter. Seeing him do so, Bob chases after him.
While this is going on, Sylvia, Muzzy and the Queen decide to rescue the King, although Muzzy does most of the work, by rearranging the computer programs Corvax installed and then sending the King out. Bob then returns with Corvax, and the latter is taken away. Bob and Sylvia are reunited, and the King eventually approves their union.
Afterwards, Muzzy manages to send all of the Sylvia duplicates back into the computer. Bob and Sylvia then get married, and Muzzy leaves Gondoland in his spaceship.
Characters
- Muzzy - a furry greenish blue extraterrestrial - played by Jack MayJack MayJack May was an English actor. Born in Henley-on-Thames, he was educated at Forest School, Walthamstow and after war service with the Royal Indian Navy in India was offered a place at RADA, but he instead went to Merton College, Oxford...
- The King - a lionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
- played by Willie RushtonWillie RushtonWilliam George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine.- School and army :William George Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in the family home at Scarsdale Villas,... - The Queen - a possumPossumA possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
- played by Miriam MargolyesMiriam MargolyesMiriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:... - Princess Sylvia - a poodlePoodleThe Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
- played by Susan SheridanSusan SheridanSusan Sheridan is a British actress. Her voice acting roles include Noddy in the Cosgrove Hall/BBC Television series Noddy's Toyland Adventures, Trillian in the radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Princess Eilonwy in the animated film The Black Cauldron.She has also provided... - Bob - a mouseMouseA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
- played by Derek GriffithsDerek GriffithsDerek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama.- Career :... - Corvax - a green goblinGoblinA goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...
- played by Derek GriffithsDerek GriffithsDerek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama.- Career :... - Norman - a humanHumanHumans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
- played by Benjamin WhitrowBenjamin WhitrowBenjamin "Ben" Whitrow is a British actor. He attended the Dragon School, Tonbridge School, and RADA. Whitrow was also part of the King's Dragoon Guards from 1956 to 1958. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1981... - Corvax's catCatThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
- played by Susan SheridanSusan SheridanSusan Sheridan is a British actress. Her voice acting roles include Noddy in the Cosgrove Hall/BBC Television series Noddy's Toyland Adventures, Trillian in the radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Princess Eilonwy in the animated film The Black Cauldron.She has also provided... - The Trader - a kangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
- played by Derek GriffithsDerek GriffithsDerek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama.- Career :...
Credits
- Directed by: Richard Taylor
- Executive Producer: Joe Hambrook
- Original English Scripts: Wendy Harris, Joe Hambrook, Richard Taylor
- Spanish version: Juan Antonio Ollero
- French version: Elizabeth Gruninger
- German version: Claudia Eilers
- Italian version: Arturo Tosi
- Animation: Richard Taylor Cartoon Films Ltd.
- Additional Animation: Jollification Pty.
- Music by: Peter Shade
- Produced by Richard Taylor Cartoon Films for BBC English by Television