In the Night Garden...

In the Night Garden...
Created by	Anne Wood Andrew Davenport
Developed by	Ragdoll Productions
Starring	Holly Denoon, Rebecca Hyland, Nick Kellington, Andy Wareham, Elisa Laghi, Cameron O'Donovan
Narrated by	Derek Jacobi
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Original release
Network	BBC
Release	March 19, 2007

In the Night Garden is a BBC children's television series, particularly aimed at babies and preschool children. It is produced by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Anne Wood CBE, Ragdoll's creative director, and Andrew Davenport, who also created Teletubbies. The programme is narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi. It is filmed mostly in live action, and features a mix of actors in costumes, plus puppetry and computer animation.

The series was announced in October 2005, and twenty episodes were first broadcast in March 2007. According to the BBC's internal magazine Ariel, more episodes are to be made in May 2007 with broadcasting resuming soon after.

The programme is said by its creators to be designed to both relax as well as entertain its intended audience of one-to-three year olds. One hundred episodes were commissioned by the BBC, with a budget of £14.5 million.

Overview

The programme features colourful characters with unusual names: Upsy Daisy, Igglepiggle, Makka Pakka, the Pontipines, the Wottingers, the Haahoos and three Tombliboos who live in a garden. As well as trees and tropical birds (Tittifers), the garden features a large cast of other creatures for a programme aimed at toddlers. The characters mostly speak short, repetitive phrases in an invented language. The repetition of sound associated with the characters builds up familiarity amongst the target audience. The garden is a colourful, brightly-decorated environment reminiscent of a dream world. Co-creator Anne Wood said:

"We wanted to explore the difference between being asleep and being awake from a child's point of view: the difference between closing your eyes and pretending to be asleep and closing your eyes and sleeping,"

Each episode starts with a child in bed (a different child appears in each episode), while the narrator introduces the episode. The scene cuts to Igglepiggle, in his boat, travelling to the Night Garden. The episodes end with one character receiving a bedtime story, which is generated by the "Magic Roundabout" style gazebo that sits at the centre of the Night Garden. This story is a summary of the plot of the episode. Sometimes the characters all sing and dance together under the gazebo.

Because Igglepiggle is a visitor to the garden, he does not go to sleep, and his goodbye sequence ("Igglepiggle's not in bed!" — "Squeak!" — "Don't worry, Igglepiggle, it's time to go.") rounds off the programme. The Night Garden retreats into the night sky and we see him asleep on his little boat as the programme's closing titles roll. As Igglepiggle is clearly asleep at the beginning and end of the programme it might be inferred that the entire narrative was his dream. Oddly, he takes down the sail of his boat at the beginning in order to travel, a rather Zen like gesture.

In The Night Garden bears a resemblance in title and theme to Maurice Sendak's In the Night Kitchen. They are both about a surreal dream-time world.

Unlike most television programmes aimed at toddlers, In The Night Garden is not primarily intended to be educational. Instead, it is intended to help children relax, and achieve calming relationships with parents. Co-creator Anne Wood stated "We became very aware of the anxiety surrounding the care of young children which manifested itself in all kind of directions – but the one big subject that came up again and again was bedtime. It's the classic time for tension between children who want to stay up and parents who want them to go to bed... so this is a programme about calming things down whereas most children's TV is about gee-ing everything up!"

Characters

Igglepiggle, played by Nick Kellington, is a blue creature similar to a teddy bear. He always carries his red blanket with him, and tends to fall flat on his back when surprised. He arrives at the beginning and leaves the Night Garden at the end of each episode in a boat, for which the blanket doubles as a sail. Igglepiggle has a bell in his left foot, a squeak in his middle, and a rattle in his left hand. His best friend in the garden is Upsy Daisy . He is the only character not to sleep in the Night Garden, apart from one time when he fell asleep on Upsy Daisy's bed. Igglepiggle is clearly not a native of the Garden but a visitor.

Upsy Daisy, played by Rebecca Hyland, is similar to a rag doll, and appears to be of Afro-Caribbean origin. She has her own special bed, which can move around the garden; sometimes Upsy Daisy has to catch her bed when it decides to run away. Her catchphrases are "Upsy Daisy" and "Daisy Doo!" Her hair stands on end when excited, and her skirt inflates to a tutu when she dances or pulls the ripcord on her waist. Upsy Daisy has an orange megaphone on a stand and enjoys singing through it, much to the chagrin of the other residents.

Makka Pakka, played by Cameron O'Donovan, is more rounded than Igglepiggle, smaller than any of the other costumed characters, has three spikes on his head (one on the top and two on the sides), and is a creamy colour. He lives in a little cave and likes cleaning things, such as his collection of stacking stones, and sometimes the other characters themselves. Makka Pakka often stacks freshly cleaned stones into piles of three or sometimes more, the trio constructions resembling the protuberances upon his head and body. He sleeps on a stone bed, often cuddling a smooth flat stone. He travels around the Garden pushing his trolley, the Og-Pog. The Og-Pog carries Makka's sponge and soap, his red trumpet, and a bellows-like apparatus called Uff-uff which he uses to dry items after cleaning them. His house is approached by a stone-walled ditch, as his home is set half-buried in the ground. He sometimes seems to be acting as a Groundskeeper to the garden.

The three Tombliboos - Unn (Andy Wareham), Ooo (Holly Denoon), and Eee (Elisa Laghi) - are like dolls dressed in costumes with stripes and spots: red and green (Unn), brown and pink (Ooo), and pink and yellow (Eee). The names Unn, Ooo and Eee reflect phonetically how a young child might say the numbers One, Two, Three, and the Tombliboos always appear in this order by saying their names. They live and sleep in a shared bed in the middle of a bush, in the large spaces between the branches. The Tombliboos enjoy playing the drums and keyboard, which they have in their bush home, although not with any particular musical prowess, and they also enjoy playing with their large stacking cubes. Their trousers (which fall down at random moments) are often seen hanging on the washing line outside their bush home, and they usually take them down from the line and put them on before going on an adventure. They often brush their teeth before bed.

All the above characters are played by actors in costumes.

The Pontipines (red) and Wottingers (blue) are two families of ten tiny creatures (a mother and a father, plus four boys and four girls) similar to peg dolls, who live in adjacent semi-detached houses at the foot of a tree. The Pontipines appear in most episodes, while appearances by the Wottingers are rare. The Pontipines all dress in a very similar fashion to each other, as do the Wottingers. Each family sleeps in one room, their beds next to each other in two rows of five. The Pontipines are able to enter their home by flying down the chimney, as well as through the front door. They have no feet. The Pontipines enter the Pinky Ponk through a different door to all the other characters, and stay on a separate deck. The Pontipines and the Wottingers are animated using stop motion animation. Mrs Pontipine carries a pair of binoculars around her neck at all times, and she uses them to look for her children when they get lost. The Wottinger father figure lacks the bushy moustache of the Pontipine patriarch. Mrs. Wottinger's hat is of a different design to her red counterpart and the families' clothing while similar in design is not identical.

The Haahoos are five large pillow-like creatures of various shapes and colours. They are large inflatables. They float slowly around the garden like puffy pillows, calling a low "mmm!" sound to each other as they meet up to go to sleep in a big pillowy pile. The Haahoos appear dancing at the end of some episodes, and are then seen going to sleep.

The Tittifers are CGI enhanced tropical birds with their own unique songs. When they sing together, they signal that is it time for the the residents to sleep. There are four small blue Tittifers ("Blue Lorikeets"), three larger pink ones ("European hoopoes"), two big green ones ("White-cheeked Turacos") and one multicoloured toucan (either Channel-billed Toucan or White-throated Toucan) with a huge purple beak.

The Ninky Nonk is a train of five differently sized and shaped carriages. In comparison to the trees and other flora of the forest, it is clearly quite small, but the main characters can easily fit inside it. When it stops or starts, the seat-belted passengers jerk sharply in their seats. The accompanying loud klaxons warn everyone inside. The Ninky Nonk can drive up and down trees and upside-down along branches. The Ninky Nonk seems to stop and go on its own and, like the other characters, "goes to sleep". Exterior shots of travelling are of a toy-sized train, while interiors and static exterior shots are done on sets or life-sized models.

The Pinky Ponk is an airship, speckled with many fins. The characters often use it to travel around the forest. Judging by the farty noises it makes whilst travelling it runs on some sort of gas, although it produces no visible emissions other than the "Pinky Ponk juice" which is dispensed in "sippi cups". Like the Ninky Nonk, the Pinky Ponk is likely a sentient machine. Exterior shots are chroma keyed model shots, while interior ones are produced on a set.

Episode List

Series	Part	Title	Description
1	1	Makka Pakka Washes Faces	Makka Pakka visits all the inhabitants of the garden to wash their faces including the teeny tiny Pontipines.
1	2	The Tombliboos' Waving Game	The Tombliboos wave to everybody as they fly through the garden in the Pinky Ponk. They wave to Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka and the Haahoos
1	3	Everybody All Aboard the Ninky Nonk	Everybody goes for a ride in the Ninky Nonk. Makka Pakka gets left behind but he cleans it.
1	4	The Prettiest Flower	Upsy Daisy wants to look at all the pretty flowers in the garden. Igglepiggle takes Upsy Daisy on the Ninky Nonk to show her the prettiest flower
1	5	Makka Pakka's Trumpet Makes a Funny Noise	The Pontipines count to three and Makka Pakka's trumpet is making a funny noise. A blue stone was in it. He gives it to Upsy Daisy.
1	6	The Pontipines in Upsy Daisy's Bed	The Pontipines count up to five and go for a very long walk around the garden. They go in Upsy Daisy's bed and Upsy Daisy sends them flying back to their house.
1	7	Who's Next on the Pinky Ponk	The Tombliboos decide to ride in the Pinky Ponk, but no-one notices the Pontipines arrive.
1	8	Igglepiggle's Blanket in Makka Pakka's Ditch	Igglepiggle has lost his blanket. Upsy Daisy helps him look for it. Makka Pakka finds it outside his cave.
1	9	The Ninky Nonk Wants a Kiss	Upsy Daisy kisses everything in the garden, including a tree, a Daisy, Igglepiggle, the Tune Bridge and Makka Pakka. In the end she kisses the Ninky Nonk.
1	10	Too Loud Tombliboos Nice and Quiet	The Tombliboos are practicing their music so loudly it can be heard all over the garden.
1	11	Makka Pakka Gets Lost	Makka Pakka sets off through the garden looking for stones but he loses his way. But the Pinky Ponk guides him home.
1	12	Jumping for Everybody	The Pontipines count to six. Upsy Daisy shows Igglepiggle how to jump. Everyone (Not the Wottingers) go jumping
1	13	Hiding in Flowerpots	The Pontipines play hide and seek. The children hide in the big flowerpot.
1	14	The Pinky Ponk gets stuck in a tree	The Pinky Ponk gets stuck in a tree and tips up. Everybody slides up one end. Igglepiggle, Upsy Dasisy, Makka Pakka, the Tombliboos and the Pontipines are on. They get it out.
1	15	The Tombliboos' Tower of Five	The Tombliboos are inside their bush, building with their very own bricks.
1	16	Igglepiggle's Mucky Patch	Igglepiggle falls down flat and gets a muddy patch on his tummy. It goes on his blanket and Upsy Daisy and their Ninky Nonk carriage. Makka Pakka cleans them.
1	17	Funny Noise Coming From the Pinky Ponk	The Tombliboos are riding in the Pinky Ponk, enjoying their Pinky Ponk Juice. They drink in a funny way which can be heard all over the garden.
1	18	Special Megaphone	Upsy Daisy sets up her own special megaphone to sing, but she can't make herself heard.
1	19	The Tombliboos Clean Their Teeth	The Tombliboos run all over the inside of their bush looking for their toothbrushes. Makka Pakka washes his face.
1	20	Makka Pakka Under Igglepiggle's Blanket	Igglepiggle goes dancing. Igglepiggle's blanket has landed on Makka Pakka and seems to be running about by itself.
1	21	Pontipine Children in the Tombliboos' Trousers	The Pontipines go for a long walk to the Tombliboo house, where the children play a game. They go in the Tombliboos' trousers but they get stuck in Tombliboo Eee's.
1	22	Upsy Daisy's Big Loud Sing Song	Upsy Daisy chooses to sing through her megaphone, and the Pontipines cover their ears. Makka Pakka joins in playing his trumpet.
1	23	Playing Hiding with Makka Pakka	The Tombliboos have discovered a new game - hiding in the garden. Where have they gone?
1	24	The Ball	A ball bounces around the garden visiting one character after another.
1	25	Where is the Pinky Ponk Going?	Everyone in the Night Garden boards the Pinky Ponk for a very special journey. They go to see an Olly Bolly Dob Dob flower grow high above the garden.
1	26	Igglepiggle Looks For Upsy Daisy and Follows Her Bed	Igglepiggle drops his blanket. When he comes back to the Tune Bridge Upsy Daisy was gone.Igglepiggle cannot find her, but then he spots her bed and follows it to her. He finds her.
1	27	Wave to the Wottingers	The Pontipines set out on a walk, but everywhere they go the Wottingers get there first.
1	28	Runaway Og-Pog	Makka Pakka's Og-pog runs away by itself.
1	29	Upsy Daisy, Igglepiggle, the Bed & the Ball	While Upsy Daisy plays with a ball, Igglepiggle decides to go to sleep in her bed.
1	30	Tombliboo Ooo Drinks Everybody Else's Pinky Ponk Juice	Everyone is riding on the Pinky Ponk, but Tombliboo Ooo is more interested in drinking.
1	31	Looking for Each Other	Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisy are best friends, but Igglepiggle can't find her.
1	32	High and Low	The Tombliboos explore inside their house, which is full of interesting spaces.
1	33	Tombliboos Have a Very Busy Day	The Tombliboos spend all day riding on the Pinky Ponk and exploring the garden.
1	34	Quick Pontipines! Catch the Ninky Nonk	Everyone goes for a ride on the Ninky Nonk. Each time someone goes on the Pontipines get left behind. But finally they get on.
1	35	The Pontipines Find Igglepiggle's Blanket	Igglepiggle is dancing in the garden when he loses his blanket. It is on the Pontipines' house.
1	36	Igglepiggle's Accident	Igglepiggle trips over and scatters the stones which Makka Pakka has tidied. He goes on the Pinky Ponk to see Makka Pakka. Makka Pakka tidies them once again.
1	37	Upsy Daisy Kisses Everything	Upsy Daisy loves the garden so much that she frequently kisses everything around her. She makes things happy. She and Igglepiggle kisses each other.
1	38	Following	The Tombliboos are playing inside their house, but Tombliboo Eee can't decide what to do.
1	39	Look What the Ball Did!	The ball is bouncing all over the garden, knocking things over.
1	40	The Tombliboos and the Pontipine children Build an Arch	Inside the Tombliboo house the Tombliboos build an arch out of their bricks. The Pontipines go for a walk and the children build an arch out of stones.
1	41	Makka Pakka's Stone Concert	Makka Pakka discovers he can make musical notes by tapping different stones.
1	42	Hurry Up Tombliboos	The Tombliboos are in their house when Makka Pakka comes to call.
1	43	Wake Up Igglepiggle	Igglepiggle tucks up in Upsy Daisy's bed. When she returns he has to jump out quickly.
1	44	Washing the Haahoos	The smallest Pontipines and biggest Haahoos get clean when Makka Pakka washes their faces.
1	45	Where's Upsy Daisy Gone?	Upsy Daisy teaches Igglepiggle how to play hiding.
1	46	Over and Under	Everyone is riding on the Pinky Ponk when the Ding Dong alarm goes.
1	47	Upsy Daisy's Tiring Walk	Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisy go for a very long walk.
1	48	Makka Pakka's Present	Makka Pakka makes a pile of six stones.
1	49	Igglepiggle Goes Visiting	Igglepiggle can't find the Pontipines because they are so very small.
1	50	Tombliboo Trousers	The Tombliboos are having fun in the garden, but their trousers keep falling down.
1	51	Where's your Uff-Uff Makka Pakka?	Makka Pakka is washing the ball when his uff-uff is blown away
1	52	Dinner In The Ninky Nonk	The Pontipines decide to have their dinner on the Ninky Nonk.
1	53	Igglepiggle's Tiddle	A mysterious jet of water, a tiddle, appears suddenly next to Igglepiggle.
1	54	Tombliboo Eee Gets Lost	Tombliboo Eee becomes separated from the other two Tombliboos, Unn and Ooo.
1	55	Shshsh! Upsy Daisy's having a rest	Upsy Daisy wants to rest in her bed but is disturbed by one character after another.
2	56	Slow Down Everybody	The Tombliboos are playing their music so fast that everybody does everything very fast.
2	57	Be Careful Tombliboos!	Travelling in the Pinky Ponk, the Tombliboos are drinking their Pinky Ponk juice.
2	58	Iggle Piggles Noisy Day	Everything in the garden is so noisy that Igglepiggle moves away to find a quiet place.
2	59	The Pontipine Children on the Roof	The Pontipines are riding the Ninky Nonk but Mr and Mrs Pontipine can’t find the children.
2	60	Dancing day	Upsy Daisy dances with everything and everyone.
2	61	The Tombliboos swap Trousers	The Tombliboos' trousers get mixed up all over the place.
2	62	Kicking the Ball	Upsy Daisy is the best at kicking the ball.
2	63	Where are the Tombliboo's Toothbrushes?	Where are the Tombliboo's Toothbrushes? Everything is getting lost.
2	64	The Pontipines' Picnic	Pontipines are looking for the perfect place to have a picnic.
2	65	Upsy Daisy's Funny Bed	After waking Upsy Daisy, Igglepiggle goes with her for a walk in the garden.
2	66	Upsy Daisy's Special Stone	Upsy Daisy gives her special stone to Igglepiggle to look after.
2	67	Makka Pakka's Piles of Three	Makka Pakka is making piles of stones, but he needs another one to make three piles.
2	68	Running About	Everybody is running about in the garden so much that Makka Pakka can't wash faces. After a lot of fun and chasing, they all come together and Makka Pakka succeeds in his task.
2	69	Trousers on the Ninky Nonk	The Tombliboos and Makka Pakka take a ride on the Ninky Nonk. What a Bumpy Ride! Hold onto your trousers Tombliboos! The Tombliboos trousers fly off and whiz around the Ninky Nonk. The Tombliboos forget their trousers and leave them behind. The Tombliboos have to go home without their trousers! Here comes Makka Pakka and he's got a present for the Tombliboos.
2	70	Where are the Wottingers	After having their faces washed by Makka Pakka, the Pontipines go to meet the Wottingers. The Wottingers are not in, where could they be? The Pontipines go looking for them around the garden. Here comes the Ninky Nonk, and who is riding on it? Everybody joins in the dance at the Gazebo.
2	71	Windy Day in the Garden	Upsy Daisy and Igglepiggle are going for a walk in the garden and it is a very windy day. The trees are blowing side to side. Igglepiggle's blanket gets blown up and up into the air, where will it land - look out Upsy Daisy! The Tombliboos are outside their house and now their trousers have been blown off the line! All round the garden and onto the roof of their house.
2	72	Tombliboo Ooo Brings the Ball Indoors	The Tombliboos are playing inside when they hear something outdoors. It's the ball. Ooo collects the ball and brings it inside. The Tombliboos play with the ball indoors until it flies out the window. Look out Makka Pakka! Makka Pakka loves the ball.
2	73	What a Funny Ninky Nonk	The Tombliboos take a ride on the Ninky Nonk; it goes past Igglepiggle, then Upsy Daisy and then Makka Pakka. It goes up and down the trees and round and round the branches. Everybody tries to catch the Ninky Nonk even the teeny tiny Pontipines. At last everyone can get on board for a Ninky Nonk ride with the Tombliboos.
2	74	Mr Pontipine's Moustache Flies Away	The Pontipines count to three. The Pontipines are eating their Pontipine dinner when Mr Pontipine's moustache files off! First it gets stuck on the chimney, then the bridge and then the Gazebo! Quick, follow the moustache Pontipines. Mr Pontipine's moustache eventually ends up stuck to the Pinky Ponk's propeller.
2	75	Make Up Your Mind Upsy Daisy	Upsy Daisy is singing in the garden when the ball bounces along and comes to a rest beside her. Upsy Daisy can't make up her mind whether to sing or play with the ball. Here comes the Ninky Nonk and now here comes the Pinky Ponk. Upsy Daisy can't make up her mind whether to ride the Ninky Nonk or the Pinky Ponk!

Source: BBC Programmes

Like every other show on CBeebies, the same episodes are shown all day.

Until 1 April 2008 the Show aired on the CBeebies channel Mon-Fri at 10:30am, 1:30pm and 6:25pm in the bedtime hour, and on Sat and Sun at only 6:25pm.. Since that change of schedule a petition was been set up asking for the programme to be re-instated to its normal slot as many parents and children are unhappy about the programme being moved.

After showing repeats only in an earlier timeslot, the show returned to the Bedtime Hour at 6:25 as of 30th August 2008, and will be showing new episodes (beginning with "Slow Down Everybody" on 1st September 2008).

In 2007 the show won the Children's BAFTA for 'Pre-School live action'.

Merchandising

In the Night Garden merchandising, DVDs, Igglepiggle dolls and other ways of 'extending the experience' were due to arrive in the shops in the summer of 2007. The show's makers, Ragdoll Productions, signed a deal to make the toy producer Hasbro a global partner long before the show hit the screens." As promised, merchandise arrived in British high streets and supermarkets in July 2007, including small Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka stuffed toys and a small Ninky Nonk train with detachable carriages. In addition, wheeled toy licensee MV Sports & Leisure Limited produced the Iggle Piggle Tri Scooter and Iggle Piggle Trike with Upsy Daisy and Og Pog scooters and trikes to follow in early 2008. Also, Play-doh has made some dough that comes packaged with an Igglepiggle-shaped cut-out.

Five DVDs have been released: "Who's Here?", "Hello Igglepiggle!", "Hello Upsy Daisy!", "Hello Makka Pakka!" and "Hello Tombliboos!". Each DVD features five episodes, the latter four having episodes relating to the character the DVD is based on.

In the Spring/Summer 2008 edition of the Argos catalogue, many new toys arrived, including Roll along characters, Talking Cuddly Makka Pakka, Ninky Nonk Pop-up tent and more.

External links

• CBeebies - In the Night Garden at bbc.co.uk
• In the Night Garden for grown-ups at bbc.co.uk
• Official website for parents
• BBC CBeebies 5th anniversary press release feature on ITNG
• Ragdoll - production company