Wolves, Witches and Giants
Wolves, Witches and Giants, narrated by Spike Milligan, is a children's cartoon series of humorous adaptations of classic fairy tales, featuring a collection of villains including the wily wolf, a wicked witch and an enormous giant. It was written by musician Ed Welch, based on an LP, also performed by Milligan.[1] The Directors and Producers were Simon & Sara Bor of Honeycomb Animation. There were 4 series of 13 episodes and 3 specials produced for ITV from 1995 to 1999. Reruns ran on Discovery Kids (UK) until its defunct in 2007 and later, on CITV from July 2005.
| Wolves, Witches and Giants | |
|---|---|
|  | |
| Genre | Animation Fantasy | 
| Written by | Ed Welch | 
| Directed by | Sara Bor Simon Bor | 
| Narrated by | Spike Milligan | 
| Composer | Ed Welch | 
| Country of origin | United Kingdom | 
| Original language | English | 
| No. of series | 4 | 
| No. of episodes | 53 | 
| Production | |
| Executive producer | John Marsden | 
| Running time | 9 minutes | 
| Production company | Honeycomb Animation | 
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV (CITV) | 
| Original release | 9 October 1995 – 21 October 1998 | 
It included adaptations of many tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.[2]
It was made by the same producers that made the original Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids (and its new series), Tube Mice, Binka, and Funky Valley.[3][4]
Although being based in Medieval times, it has featured some modern equipment, such as the Wily Wolf driving a blue sports car, a tailor playing on a handheld game console, Little Red Riding Hood's bed-ridden grandmother watching an Australian soap on her TV, or the Wicked Witch using a microwave.
All the series was animated in hand-drawn cel animation, but the title sequence itself from the 4th series uses digital-ink-and-paint animation.
Episode list
    
    Series 1
    
- Episode 1 The Wolf and the Seven Kids (9 October 1995) (UK exclusive)[5]
- Episode 2 Hansel and Gretel (10 October 1995)
- Episode 3 The Three Billy Goats Gruff (11 October 1995)[6]
- Episode 4 Little Red Riding Hood (12 October 1995)[7]
- Episode 5 The Sleeping Beauty (13 October 1995)
- Episode 6 The Little Tailor (16 October 1995)
- Episode 7 The Little Red Hen (17 October 1995)
- Episode 8 Rapunzel (18 October 1995)[8]
- Episode 9 Jack and the Beanstalk (19 October 1995)[9]
- Episode 10 The Three Little Pigs (20 October 1995)[10]
- Episode 11 The Witch and the Comb (23 October 1995) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 12 The Giant with the Golden Hair (24 October 1995) (UK exclusive)[11]
- Episode 13 Peter and the Wolf (25 October 1995)[12]
Series  2
    
- Episode 1 Goldilocks (7 October 1996)
- Episode 2 The Little Mermaid (8 October 1996)
- Episode 3 Puss in Boots (9 October 1996)
- Episode 4 The Wolf and the Fox (10 October 1996) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 5 The Witch and the Mill (11 October 1996) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 6 Chicken Lickin (14 October 1996)[13]
- Episode 7 The Giant and the Apprentice (15 October 1996) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 8 Billy's Halloween (16 October 1996) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 9 The Wolf and the Horse (17 October 1996) UK exclusive)
- Episode 10 Sweet and Sour (18 October 1996) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 11 The Snow Queen (21 October 1996)
- Episode 12 Beauty and the Beast (22 October 1996)[14]
- Episode 13 The Little Snow Girl (23 October 1996) (UK exclusive)[15]
Special
    
- Cinderella (25 December 1996)
Series 3
    
- Episode 1 The Emperor New Clothes (6 October 1997)
- Episode 2 Dick Whittington (7 October 1997)
- Episode 3 The Giant who had Nothing at all (8 October 1997) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 4 The Four Musicians of Brum (9 October 1997)
- Episode 5 The Witch Who Stole a Prince (10 October 1997) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 6 Hercules and the Giant (13 October 1997) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 7 The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (14 October 1997) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 8 The Three Wishes (15 October 1997)
- Episode 9 The Giant who Sucked his Thumb (16 October 1997) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 10 Tom Thumb (17 October 1997)
- Episode 11 The Matchbox (20 October 1997) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 12 The Giant Who Put Out the Sun (21 October 1997) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 13 The Frog Prince (22 October 1997)
Special
    
- Snow White (25 December 1997)
Series 4
    
- Episode 1 The Hunchback of Nottingham (5 October 1998) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 2 The Elves and the Shoemaker (6 October 1998)
- Episode 3 The Ugly Duckling (7 October 1998)
- Episode 4 Jack the Giant Killer (8 October 1998) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 5 Princess and the Pea (9 October 1998)
- Episode 6 Babes in the Wood (12 October 1998) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 7 Diamonds and Toads (13 October 1998) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 8 Pinocchio (14 October 1998)
- Episode 9 Snow White and Rose Red (15 October 1998) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 10 Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (16 October 1998)
- Episode 11 Molly and the Giant (19 October 1998) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 12 Tom Tit Tot (20 October 1998) (UK exclusive)
- Episode 13 Aladdin (21 October 1998)
Special
    
- Aladdin (1999, first broadcast on the German channel Pro 7; extended version of Season 4, Episode 13)
References
    
- "Ed Welch". BFI. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016.
- "Toonhound - Wolves Witches and Giants (1995-1999)". www.toonhound.com.
- "Toonhound - Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids (2000 - 2005)". www.toonhound.com.
- "Honeycomb Animation". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021.
- "The Wolf and the Seven Kids (1995)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021.
- "The Three Billy Goats Gruff (1995)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021.
- "Little Red Riding Hood (1995)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021.
- "Rapunzel (1995)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021.
- "Jack and the Beanstalk (1995)". BFI. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021.
- "The Three Little Pigs (1995)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021.
- "The Giant with the Golden Hair (1995)". BFI. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021.
- "Peter and the Wolf (1995)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021.
- "Chicken Licken (1996)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021.
- "Beauty and the Beast (1996)". BFI. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021.
- "The Little Snow Girl (1996)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021.
External links
    
- Toonhound - Wolves, Witches and Giants
- ITV Player - Wolves, Witches and Giants Page
- Wolves, Witches and Giants at IMDb