King Rollo
| King Rollo | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animation |
| Written by | David McKee |
| Narrated by | Ray Brooks |
| Composer | Duncan Lamont |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 5 minutes |
| Production company | King Rollo Films |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 1 October – 24 December 1980 |
King Rollo is a children's character, created by David McKee in 1980. He is the main character in a series of books, animations[1] narrated by Ray Brooks, and a comic strip in the magazine Buttons. Thirteen episodes of the animation were produced in 1980 by McKee's own King Rollo Films, and were originally shown as part of the pre-school 'See-Saw' strand.
Rollo himself is a childlike king who is always in need of advice and assistance from his friends. Among these are The Magician (a father figure); Cook (the king's cook, a mother figure, who was arguably the real ruler of the kingdom); his neighbour and girlfriend, Queen Gwen; King Frank; and Rollo's cat, Hamlet, who was generally portrayed as wiser than Rollo himself.[2]
The animations used the same colourful cut-out paper look as McKee's other works, such as Mr Benn. The 2D animation style saved on production costs.[3] The characters' legs would rotate outwards when walking until they were at right-angles to the sides of their body.[clarification needed]
Episodes
 | This section needs a plot summary. (September 2021) |
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Bread" | 1 October 1980 |
| 2 | "The Playroom" | 8 October 1980 |
| 3 | "The Bath" | 15 October 1980 |
| 4 | "The Dishes" | 22 October 1980 |
| 5 | "The New Shoes" | 29 October 1980 |
| 6 | "The Breakfast" | 5 November 1980 |
| 7 | "The Tree" | 12 November 1980 |
| 8 | "The Comic" | 19 November 1980 |
| 9 | "King Frank" | 26 November 1980 |
| 10 | "The Birthday" | 3 December 1980 |
| 11 | "The Balloons" | 10 December 1980 |
| 12 | "The Search" | 17 December 1980 |
| 13 | "The Dog" | 24 December 1980 |
Books
- King Rollo and the New Shoes (1979)
- King Rollo and the Bread (1979)
- King Rollo and the Birthday (1979)
- King Rollo and the Balloons (1980)
- King Rollo and the Tree (1980)
- King Rollo and the Dishes (1980)
- King Rollo and the Bath (1981)
- King Rollo and King Frank (1981)
- King Rollo and the Search (1981)
- King Rollo and the Playroom (1982)
- King Rollo and the Breakfast (1982)
- King Rollo and the Dog (1982)
- King Rollo and the Mask (1982)
- King Rollo's Letter and Other Stories (1984): collection containing: King Rollo and the Letter; King Rollo and the Bush; King Rollo and the Present; King Rollo and the Tent
- King Rollo's Winter (1986): board book
- King Rollo's Spring (1987): board book
- King Rollo's Summer (1988): board book
- King Rollo's Autumn (1988): board book
- King Rollo and Santa's Beard (1990): also published as King Rollo's Christmas
- King Rollo and the New Stockings (2001)
Collections
- The Adventures of King Rollo (1982): King Rollo and the New Shoes; King Rollo and the Birthday; King Rollo and the Bread; King Rollo and the Tree
- The Further Adventures of King Rollo (1983): King Rollo and the Dishes; King Rollo and the Balloons; King Rollo and King Frank; King Rollo and the Search
- King Rollo's Playroom and Other Stories (1984): King Rollo and the Playroom; King Rollo and the Breakfast; King Rollo and the Dog; King Rollo and the Mask
- The Adventures of King Rollo (2016): collection of separate hardback books containing: King Rollo and the New Shoes; King Rollo and the Bread; King Rollo and the Birthday; King Rollo and King Frank
References
- ^ British Book News. National Book League. 1981. p. 255.
- ^ Reading Time. Children's Book Council of Australia, New South Wales Branch. 1980. p. 24.
- ^ Steemers, Jeanette (2010). Creating preschool television : a story of commerce, creativity and curriculum. Basingstoke, England New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 239. ISBN 9780230274600.
External links
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- Use dmy dates from December 2012
- 1980s British children's television series
- 1980 British television series debuts
- 1980 British television series endings
- British children's animated adventure television series
- Literary characters introduced in 1980
- Characters in British novels of the 20th century
- Animated characters
- Children's television characters
- Fictional kings
- BBC children's television shows
- Television shows based on children's books
- English-language television shows
- 1980s British animated television series
- Children's literature character stubs