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| Noddy | |
|---|---|
| Noddy character | |
 Noddy and Mr. Plod in Noddy's car, as depicted in the 2000s TV productionMake Way for Noddy. | |
| First appearance | Noddy Goes to Toyland |
| Created by | Enid Blyton |
| Voiced by | Denise Bryer (1955–1969; The Adventures Of Noddy andHis Master's Voice) Kathryn Beaumont (1963; Noddy Goes to Toyland) Pat Kerr (1971–1972; audio adaptations of Noddy Wins a Prize/Noddy and the Aeroplane and Noddy Goes To School/Noddy Gets Into Trouble) Richard Briers (1975–1976, Noddy) Susan Sheridan (1992–2000; Noddy's Toyland Adventures) Catherine Disher (1998–2000; US/Canadian version) Martin Skews (2002, Make Way for Noddy) Teresa Gallagher (2009, Noddy in Toyland) Louis Ashbourne Serkis (2016–2020; UK version) Valin Shinyei (2016–2020; US version) Brigitte Lecordier (1992–2020; France) Aleksandra Rojewska (1992–2004; Poland) Yuko Mita (1992–2009; Japan) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Wooden toy |
| Gender | Male |
Noddy is a fictional character created by English children's authorEnid Blyton. He is depicted as a wooden toy with a childlike view of the world. He resides in the fictional setting of Toyland, where he works as ataxi driver. Noddy is known for driving a yellow car with red decals, and is depicted with a variety of supporting toy characters, including Big Ears, abrownie who is Noddy's best friend, and Mr. Plod, the localpoliceman.
Noddy first appeared in a book series published between 1949 and 1963, illustrated by the Dutch artistHarmsen van der Beek from 1949 until his death in 1953,[1][2] after which the work was continued by Mary Brooks, Robert Lee, Robert Tyndall andPeter Wienk. Television shows based on the character have run onBritish television since 1955.
Created byEnid Blyton, Noddy first appeared in theSunday Graphic on 5 June 1949, the same year as Blyton's first daily Noddystrip for the LondonEvening Standard.[1] In November that yearNoddy Goes to Toyland, the first of at least two dozen books in the series, was published. The idea was conceived by one of Blyton's publishers, Sampson, Low, Marston and Company, who in 1949 arranged a meeting between Blyton and the Dutch illustratorHarmsen van der Beek. Despite having to communicate via an interpreter, he provided some initial sketches of how Toyland and its characters would be represented. Four days after the meeting, Blyton sent the text of the first two Noddy books to her publisher, to be forwarded to van der Beek.[3]
The Noddy books became one of Blyton's most successful and best-known series, and were hugely popular in the 1950s.[4] An extensive range of sub-series, spin-offs and strip books was produced throughout the decade, includingNoddy's Library,Noddy's Garage of Books,Noddy's Castle of Books,Noddy's Toy Station of Books andNoddy's Shop of Books.[5]
Noddy continued to be successful in the 1960s; by 1962, 26 million copies ofNoddy had been sold.[1][a] Starting in 1962, the character was named in France called "Oui-Oui", meaning Yes-Yes in French.[citation needed] In 1963, Noddy was featured in the animated short filmNoddy Goes to Toyland, it was produced byArthur Humberstone for Enid Blyton.[6] Blyton concluded several of her long-running series in 1963. Blyton published her last book in the Noddy series,Noddy and the Aeroplane, in February 1964.
By the early 1960s, some 146 different companies were involved in merchandising Noddy alone.[7]Bestime released the Little Noddy Car Game in 1953 and the Little Noddy Leap Frog Game in 1955, and in 1956 American manufacturerParker Brothers released Little Noddy's Taxi Game, a board game which features Noddy driving about town, picking up various characters.[8] Bestime released its Plywood Noddy Jigsaws series in 1957 and a Noddy jigsaw series featuring cards appeared from 1963, with illustrations by Robert Lee. Arrow Games became the chief producer of Noddy jigsaws in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[7]
In 1992 aNoddy television series produced byBBC Worldwide andCosgrove Hall calledNoddy's Toyland Adventures was broadcast on theChildren's BBC.
In January 1996,Trocadero PLC (later known as Chorion Limited) acquired Darrell Waters Ltd., the holding company for the estate of children's authorEnid Blyton for £14.6 million. They soon formed a new subsidiary - Enid Blyton Ltd. to handle all intellectual properties, character brands, and media in Blyton's works, including Noddy.[9]
In 1998, Noddy entered the American market in a television series calledThe Noddy Shop. The series incorporated footage fromNoddy's Toyland Adventures redubbed with American accents. In its first season onPBS, the show was seen by an average of 2.5 million viewers per episode, higher thanSesame Street's average during the same year.[10] ActorJack Nicholson andFriends startLisa Kudrow had their picture taken with Noddy at the Aids Paediatric event in New York in June 1999.[11]
By 1999, 200 million Noddy books had been sold in 27 languages. Noddy is known as Oui Oui in France, Doddi in Iceland, Purzelknirps in Germany and Hilitos in Spain.[11]
A new Noddy television series calledMake Way for Noddy was first announced to be in production in October 2000, with 100 11-minute episodes and a feature-length Christmas special announced to be in production for a 2001 delivery.[12] In January 2001,SD Entertainment were announced to be producers on the series and they announced it would be their first project.[13] In May 2002, the UK'sChannel Five announced that it had commissioned 100 episodes of the series,[14] airing in September of that year.[15] The range of newly developed TV shows at Chorion began to expand internationally, with Noddy becoming the most recognised children's character in France in 2003 and sold to the Chinese market in 2004,[16] and airing in the US onPBS Kids in 2005.[17]
In 2005 a set of 100 new two-minuteTV interstitials were created by Chorion. These interstitials, entitledSay it with Noddy, feature Noddy learning words in a variety of foreign languages. They also introduced Noddy's new friend Whizz from Robot Village, who presses a button on his chest to play recordings of native speakers saying the new foreign words Noddy was to learn. The interstitials were featured on commercial breaks on Five and featured as segments for the American release of the show on PBS and Sprout.
Blyton's granddaughter, Sophie Smallwood, wrote a new Noddy book to celebrate the character's 60th birthday, 46 years after the last book was published;Noddy and the Farmyard Muddle (2009) was illustrated by Robert Tyndall.[18]
A CGI animated series, calledNoddy in Toyland, was made in 2009 by Chorion and produced byBrown Bag Films in Ireland. This series incorporates Whizz from "Say it with Noddy" as a full-time character. Sly and Gobbo's cousins, Sneaky and Stealth, are introduced and usually work alongside them. The full series is available digitally oniTunes.
After financial difficulties, Chorion sold its assets. On 7 March 2012,DreamWorks Classics (formerly Classic Media, now a subsidiary of DreamWorks Animation) purchased the Noddy andOlivia properties.[19][20]Hachette UK purchased the rest ofEnid Blyton's works with the exception ofNoddy on 26 March 2012.[21]
In 2016 a new CGI animated series, namedNoddy, Toyland Detective was produced by French producer/distributorGaumont Animation, in association withDreamWorks Animation Television, and in partnership withFrance Télévisions. It premiered onChannel Five's preschool blockMilkshake! on 18 April 2016.[22][23]
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The first book explains Noddy's origins. He is made by awoodcarver in a toy shop but runs away after the man begins to make a wooden lion, which scares Noddy. As he wanders through the woods naked, penniless, and homeless, he meets Big Ears, a friendlybrownie. Big Ears decides that Noddy is a toy and takes him to live in Toyland. He generously provides Noddy with a set of clothing and a house. While Noddy is quite happy to be a toy, the citizens of Toyland are not sure that he actually is one. They put Noddy on trial and examine whether he is a toy or an ornament. Eventually, Noddy is declared a toy, but still has to convince the court that he is a good toy. The judge accepts that Noddy is good after a doll tells the court that he saved her little girl from a lion, and he is allowed to stay in Toyland. Noddy gets his car in the second book. It is given to him after he helps solve a local mystery.
The other toys can hear him coming by the distinctive "Parp Parp" sound of his car's horn and the jingle of the bell on his blue hat. Often he uses his car to visit all of the places in Toyland. When his taxi business is not doing so well, or when he needs help, Noddy turns to Big Ears. Big Ears will often lend him what he needs. On occasion, Noddy will allow people to make his head nod, in exchange for small items such as his morning milk.
Noddy is kind and honest, but he often gets into trouble, either through his own misunderstandings or because someone, usually one of the naughty goblins Sly or Gobbo, has played a trick on him. He is very childlike in his understanding of the world and often becomes confused as a result. For example, in the first Noddy book, Noddy and Big Ears are building Noddy's house for one. Noddy suggests that they build the roof first, in case it rains. With no understanding of gravity or of the need for roof supports, this is perfectly logical to him. As the series continues, Noddy becomes wiser but without losing his charm and lovable naivety.
Noddy's best friends are Big Ears, Tessie Bear, Bumpy Dog, and the Tubby Bears. Big Ears, who brought Noddy to Toyland, is the most important figure in his life. Whenever he faces serious peril, it tends to be Big Ears who comes to the rescue, one way or another, and it is invariably Big Ears to whom Noddy turns for support and advice. While kind to Noddy, Big Ears has an intimidating presence and voice that makes him feared by goblins. He is capable of facing down wizards with his own spells, and is able to plead Noddy's case toMr. Plod, the local policeman, when Noddy finds himself in legal peril. On rare occasions, however, Big Ears finds himself in trouble, in which case Noddy comes to his aid. Big Ears and Noddy have rarely quarreled seriously. Examples of such quarrels are when Big Ears harshly scolded the very sensitive Tessie Bear for failing to control her dog and when Noddy ran his car into Big Ears's clothes post and then drove away, dragging Big Ears's clean washing behind him.
Tessie is a gentle-hearted, gold bear who often wears a bonnet with flowers and a skirt. She is young like Noddy, and very loving towards all of her friends and neighbours. Bumpy Dog is Tessie's pet. He loves to run up and "bump" people over. Noddy frequently gets annoyed with Bumpy but still likes him. Whenever Noddy threatens Bumpy, Tessie gets upset, and sometimes even begins to cry. The Tubby Bears live next door to Noddy. They are gold and chubby teddy bears. Mr. and Mrs. Tubby Bear frequently help Noddy. It is clear that Mr. and Mrs. Tubby Bear are the superiors of Noddy, as if he were a child. Their first names are never mentioned and Noddy always refers to them as Mr. and Mrs. They have one son, also named Tubby, who is occasionally referred to as Master Tubby. Tubby is naughty and is usually in trouble for breaking rules, being rude, or doing something wrong. Noddy often attempts to scold or punish Tubby, with little result. On one occasion, Tubby gets tired of always being bossed around and being punished and decides to run away to sea. Noddy and Bumpy accidentally join with him. By the end of the journey, Tubby misses his parents and brings them back presents from his trip, as an apology.
Noddy has many run-ins with Mr. Plod. Some are caused by Noddy's lack of understanding of how Toyland works. Other times it is because of a case of mistaken identity, Mr. Plod is generally long-suffering towards Noddy and Noddy likes Mr. Plod and frequently goes out of his way to help him. Mr. Plod often catches the mischief makers on his police bicycle, by blowing his whistle and shouting "Halt in the name of Plod!!" before locking the culprits up in his jail.
 Cover of the first Noddy storyNoddy Goes To Toyland, published in 1949 bySampson Low Illustrated byHarmsen van der Beek | |
Noddy Goes to Toyland Hurrah for Little Noddy Noddy and His Car Here Comes Noddy Again! Well Done Noddy! Noddy Goes to School Noddy at the Seaside Noddy Gets into Trouble Noddy and the Magic Rubber You Funny Little Noddy Noddy Meets Father Christmas Noddy and Tessie Bear Be Brave, Little Noddy! Noddy and the Bumpy-Dog Do Look Out, Noddy You're a Good Friend, Noddy Noddy Has an Adventure Noddy Goes to Sea Noddy and the Bunkey Cheer Up, Little Noddy! Noddy Goes to the Fair Mr. Plod and Little Noddy Noddy and the Tootles Noddy and the Aeroplane | |
| Author | Enid Blyton |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Published | 1949–63 |
| No. of books | 24 |
Early Noddy books have becomecollectibles, along with other Blytons. The total number is hard to count: theNoddy Library (Sampson Low) of two dozen titles, which became theNew Noddy Library when revised, was just part of a big production in the 1950s, withBig Noddy Books of larger format, and strip books. There were numerous spin-offs, also. Widely differing estimates can be found.[26]
The 24 original Noddy books by Enid Blyton were published between 1949 and 1963. Harmsen Van der Beek illustrated the first 7 Noddy books. After Beek's death in 1953 the original style was maintained by illustrators Robert Tyndall, Peter Wienk, Mary Brooks and Robert Lee.
Sales of Noddy books are large, with an estimated 600,000 annual sales in France alone, and growing popularity in India and Portugal, a large market for Blyton books. The Noddy character was formerly owned byChorion, who sold the rights on toDreamWorks Classics (a part ofDreamWorks Animation which now a subsidiary ofNBCUniversal) in 2012.
(Only 24 in the set)
Separate Book:Noddy and Big-Ears (1952)
On 17 November 2008, it was announced that Enid Blyton's granddaughter, Sophie Smallwood, was to write a new Noddy book to celebrate the character's 60th birthday.Noddy and the Farmyard Muddle (2009) was illustrated by Robert Tyndall, who has drawn the characters in the Noddy books since 1953,[18] ever since the death of the original illustrator,Harmsen van der Beek.
In the 1990s and early 2000s TV series adaptation, as well as a new series of books, Noddy has been updated, with the originalGolliwog characters replaced by other sorts of toys. For example, Mr. Golly who ran the Toyland garage was replaced by Frenchman Monsieur Polly in the 1975 series, and, during the1992–2000 series, by Mr. Sparks. Dinah Doll, a black female character, was added to the franchise by then.
Noddy first appeared on stage at the 2660-seatStoll Theatre inKingsway, London, in 1954. The very large cast were all children or teenagers, mostly from theItalia Conti acting school. There was a full theatre orchestra. The finale was a scene at the "Faraway Tree", with many of the children dressed as fairies, flying on wires. It ran for several years, but the Stoll was knocked down and replaced by an office block in the late 1950s.[28] ThePeacock Theatre was built in the basement of the new building, but Noddy did not return.
In 1993, a stage production of Noddy opened at theNew Wimbledon Theatre, followed by a long UK national tour, including a Christmas season in London at theLyric Theatre, Hammersmith, and was released onhome video in 1994. The production was presented by Clarion Productions. The production was written and directed byDavid Wood with scene and costume designs by Susie Calcutt. The original cast includedEric Potts as Big Ears andKaren Briffett as Noddy. The show was very well received among critics, audiences and evenEnid Blyton's daughterGillian Baverstock.David Wood adapted a successful sequel to the play entitled "Noddy and the Tootle" which opened at theWimbledon Theatre and endured on a long UK National Tour in 1995–1996.Karen Briffett reprised her role as Noddy and Big Ears was played byJonathan Broxholme. This production was too presented by Clarion Productions.
In 2004, A live show called "Noddy Live!" took a live tour around the UK from 21 December 2004 until 5 March 2005, and returned on 21 December until 29 December in the same year.
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There was a spoof page of "Noddy-ana" inHot Rod magazine (U.K.), in about 1976–1978; Noddy had ahot rod, and Big Ears smoked, and was very disrespectful to Mr. Plod.
In the bookSeven Deadly Wonders byMatthew Reilly, a character is nicknamed Noddy, while his best friend's nickname is Big Ears.
IDW'sThe Transformers introduced the character of "Tappet", a robot who is based on Noddy visually and clearly transforms into Noddy's classic car.
The puppet of Big Ears from the 1955–1963 Noddy television series appeared as a member of the "Puppet Government" inThe Goodies episode "The Goodies Rule – O.K.?".
In Alan Moore's seriesThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Toyland is a real nation located in theArctic Circle. The King and Queen of Toyland areFrankenstein's Monster and Olympia, the automaton fromThe Tales of Hoffmann.
Noddy, Big Ears and PC Plod are referred to in theTwo Ronnies crossword sketch whereRonnie Corbett thinks their names are "Roddy, Big Ears, and PC Plop!"
In an episode ofLast of the Summer Wine, all of the characters are dressed up as fairy tale characters for a parade. Smiler is dressed as Noddy complete with a smaller version of his car in order to tow abouncy castle with the rest of the characters on it, but it deflated while they were taking part.
Like many of Blyton's works, Noddy has been subject to criticism. In a scathing article published inEncounter in 1958, the journalistColin Welch described Noddy as an "unnaturally priggish ... sanctimonious ... witless, spiritless, snivelling, sneaking doll."[29]
Jamaica Kincaid considers the Noddy books to be "deeply racist" because of the blonde children and the blackgolliwogs.[30] A number of older publications of Noddy books feature golliwogs, sometimes as heroes but often as a villain[31] or as naughty individuals.[32]
Noddy being associated with small children's reading has led to "Noddy" being sometimes used as an adjective meaning "petty or trivial" (compare with "Mickey Mouse"), for example, incomputer programming: "Thissimultaneous linear equationsubroutine crashes out on the Noddy case when n = 1, but otherwise it works." or "Remember to check all the Noddy cases."
In the United Kingdom, the word "plod" became a slang term to describe a police officer, or the police service, after the character Mr. Plod.[33] For example, somebody could say, "I'm not having a good morning, I was driving to work and got pulled over by the plod for driving too fast." TheMinistry of Defence Police is also nicknamed "MOD Plod".[34][35]
In 2014, a plaque recording Enid Blyton's time as a Beaconsfield resident from 1938 until her death in 1968 was unveiled in the town hall gardens, next to small iron figures of Noddy and Big Ears.[36]
