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'''''Chuggington''''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Computer animation|computer-animated]] television series for children produced by [[Ludorum plc]] and broadcast on the [[BBC]] children's channel [[CBeebies]]. The series is set in the fictional town of Chuggington, and follows the adventures of three young trainee locomotives (or "chuggers" as they are called in the show). Two are diesels and one (Koko) is electric.
'''''Chuggington''''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Computer animation|computer-animated]] television series for children produced by [[Ludorum plc]] and broadcast in one hundred thirty-seven territories throughout the world including the [[BBC]] children's channel [[CBeebies]]. The series is set in the fictional town of Chuggington, and follows the adventures of three young trainee locomotives (or "chuggers" as they are called in the show). Two are diesels and one (Koko) is electric. These energetic and humorous stories are meant to entertain, but also to help equip children from three to six with the practical social and emotional skills required to understand and thrive in our contemporary society.


== Production ==
== Production ==
Ludorum plc was founded in 2006 by Charlie Caminada and Rob Lawes, who had previously been executives for [[HiT Entertainment]], the distribution company behind ''[[Bob the Builder]]'' and ''[[Thomas and Friends]]''. The core creative team behind ''Chuggington'' consisted of Sarah Ball, a producer/director who had worked on ''Bob the Builder'', and Don Toht who designed the characters and sets.<ref name="kidscreen">Castleman, Lana: [http://www.kidscreen.com/articles/magazine/20090327/qa.html?__b=yes; Q&A: Caminada charts startup's next moves], ''Kidscreen'', March 27, 2009.</ref>
Ludorum plc was founded in 2006 by Dick Rothkopf, Charlie Caminada and Rob Lawes. Rothkopf had previously been the chairman of Learning Curve International, a company which designed and manufactured educational toys. Caminada and Lawes had previously been executives for [[HiT Entertainment]], the distribution company behind ''[[Bob the Builder]]'' and ''[[Thomas and Friends]]''. The core creative team behind ''Chuggington'' consisted of Sarah Ball, a producer/director who had worked on ''Bob the Builder'', and Don Toht who designed the characters and sets.<ref name="kidscreen">Castleman, Lana: [http://www.kidscreen.com/articles/magazine/20090327/qa.html?__b=yes; Q&A: Caminada charts startup's next moves], ''Kidscreen'', March 27, 2009.</ref>


The [[computer animation]] was produced using [[Autodesk Maya]] software.<ref>Bennett, Samuel: [http://www.2009.loginconference.com/session.php?id=98665 The Virtual World of Chuggington: A First Time Director's Post-Mortem], LOGIN Conference, May 13, 2009.</ref>
The [[computer animation]] was produced using [[Autodesk Maya]] software.<ref>Bennett, Samuel: [http://www.2009.loginconference.com/session.php?id=98665 The Virtual World of Chuggington: A First Time Director's Post-Mortem], LOGIN Conference, May 13, 2009.</ref>

Revision as of 16:29, 11 October 2009

Chuggington
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time10 min
Production companyLudorum
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release22 September 2008

Chuggington is a British computer-animated television series for children produced by Ludorum plc and broadcast in one hundred thirty-seven territories throughout the world including the BBC children's channel CBeebies. The series is set in the fictional town of Chuggington, and follows the adventures of three young trainee locomotives (or "chuggers" as they are called in the show). Two are diesels and one (Koko) is electric. These energetic and humorous stories are meant to entertain, but also to help equip children from three to six with the practical social and emotional skills required to understand and thrive in our contemporary society.

Production

Ludorum plc was founded in 2006 by Dick Rothkopf, Charlie Caminada and Rob Lawes. Rothkopf had previously been the chairman of Learning Curve International, a company which designed and manufactured educational toys. Caminada and Lawes had previously been executives for HiT Entertainment, the distribution company behind Bob the Builder and Thomas and Friends. The core creative team behind Chuggington consisted of Sarah Ball, a producer/director who had worked on Bob the Builder, and Don Toht who designed the characters and sets.[1]

The computer animation was produced using Autodesk Maya software.[2]

Broadcast details

The first series of 52 episodes was sold to broadcasters including the BBC, ABC (Australia), TF1 (France) and Super RTL (Germany) in a deal announced in February 2008.[3] A second series of 26 episodes has been purchased by the BBC. Aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 6, the programme debuted on CBeebies in January 2009 in the "Big Fun Time" strand, following an earlier run on BBC2. The show airs on Treehouse TV in Canada, and will debut in the USA on Playhouse Disney. Chuggington made its UK debut as a "soft launch" on BBC Two on 22 September 2008. In January 2009 it was moved to CBeebies, the BBC's childrens televison channel.

Characters

Main article: List of Chuggington characters

The main characters are the "chugger trainees": Koko, Wilson and Brewster, who are learning how to help themselves and the people of Chuggington.

Merchandise

In January 2009 it was announced that RC2 would be producing Chuggington Toys under their Learning Curve brand; these are due to be on the market in 2010.[4] RC2 contributed to half of the series' production budget in exchange for long-term global toy licencing rights.[1]

D. C. Thomson & Co., publishers of The Beano comic, acquired the licence for the Chuggington fan magazine. The first issue was released on 2 April 2009 and contained puzzles, games and stories based in and around Chuggington.

A DVD entitled Chuggington: Let's Ride the Rails was released in March 2009 containing six episodes.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Castleman, Lana: Q&A: Caminada charts startup's next moves, Kidscreen, March 27, 2009.
  2. ^ Bennett, Samuel: The Virtual World of Chuggington: A First Time Director's Post-Mortem, LOGIN Conference, May 13, 2009.
  3. ^ Broadcast Now, BBC gets on board Chuggington, 6 Feb 2008,
  4. ^ Toynews, RC2 signs Chuggington Deal, Accessed 23 Jan 2009
  5. ^ amazon.co.uk
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