Clangers

Image: Mother shows Tiny and Small what she put in her memory box, including her very first trowel. Image copyright: Coolabi Productions Ltd, Smallfilms Ltd and Peter Firmin.

The children’s stop-motion animation Clangers was first broadcast on 16 November 1969. It was created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin – with charming music by Vernon Elliott. Radio Times teased “what is the secret of the blue star with metal covers on it?” The covers looked like old dustbin lids and were the doors to the Clangers’ underground home. The Clangers themselves were stout knitted creatures in felt jackets. Mother Clanger, Major Clanger, Small Clanger and Tiny Clanger beguiled viewers of all generations.

The series began soon after the moon landing and Mother Clanger used a US flag - left behind by a visiting astronaut - as a tablecloth. The Clangers shared their world with the Soup Dragon – who provided food from the soup wells – and the Froglets. They were visited by alien life-forms like the Iron Chicken and the musical Hoots. The Clangers communicated in the melodious tones of the swanee whistle, but Postgate provided a gentle narration to make sense of it all.

Postgate and Firmin went on to make Bagpuss after Clangers ended in 1972. Clangers returned to delight a new generation in 2015, made for Cbeebies by a new team that included Postgate’s son, Daniel, as well as Firmin. Michael Palin provided the narration in a style that kept memories of the much loved original alive.