Chorlton and the Wheelies
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Chorlton and the Wheelies was a British children's animated television series that ran between 1976 and 1979.
It was created by Cosgrove Hall films and named after the location of the studio, Chorlton-cum-Hardy in Manchester (in fact, Chorlton gets his name in the series because the legend "Made in Chorlton-cum-Hardy" is found written on the inside of his egg).
Synopsis
The series takes place in "Wheelie World", which is inhabited principally by the "wheelies", a race of anthropomorphic creatures who locomote by means of wheels. They have three wheels each: two large ones at the front, and a smaller centred one at the back. The wheels are replaceable, and suitable wheels grow on vegetation found in Wheelie World.
The wheelie society is in conflict with Fenella the Kettle Witch, who lives in Wheelie World but separately from the wheelies, in an oversized kettle. She has magical capabilities, including a form of teleportation which is her main mode of transport, and enchanted assistants including a talking book which advises her on magic spells. Fenella hates happiness, and uses her powers primarily to make the wheelies unhappy.
The wheelies have adopted into their society a "happiness dragon", Chorlton, who appears in Wheelie World at the very beginning of the series. Chorlton is perpetually good-natured and perpetually clueless. He fails to perceive Fenella as a villain. Nevertheless, his presence negates the unhappiness magic, so the wheelies treat him as a hero.
Plots are extremely simple, mainly revolve around Fenella's schemes to make the wheelies unhappy and Chorlton's accidental rectification of everything that goes wrong. Around these events, the characters' simple and exaggerated personalities are on show.
The characters include:
- Chorlton the Happiness Dragon - where he goes happiness follows
- Fenella the Kettle Witch - who does not like anyone to enjoy themselves
- Zoomer - a wheelie, notable for his speed of locomotion
External links
- Chorlton and the Wheelies (http://www.chorltonandthewheelies.co.uk)