Clangers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Clangers
Created by	Oliver Postgate
Narrated by	Oliver Postgate (1969–1972, 1974) Michael Palin (2015–present) William Shatner (American version, 2015–present)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	150 (plus four specials)
Production
Running time	10 minutes per episode (1969–1972, 1974) 11 minutes per episode (2015–present)
Production company(s)	Smallfilms (1969–1972, 1974, 2015–present) Coolabi Productions (2015–present) Factory (2015–present) Ingenious Media (2015–present)
Distributor	BBC
Release
Original network	BBC1 (1969–1974) CBeebies (2015–present)
Original release	16 November 1969 (1969-11-16) – present

Clangers is a super cool British stop-motion TV show for kids! It's all about a family of mouse-like creatures who live on a tiny, hollow planet that looks like the Moon. They only speak in a special whistled language. The Clangers love to eat green soup, which comes from the amazing Soup Dragon, and yummy blue string pudding.

The first Clangers shows were on BBC1 from 1969 to 1972. There was even a special episode in 1974! The show became popular again in 2015 with new episodes on CBeebies.

The series was created by a company called Smallfilms. This company was started by Oliver Postgate, who wrote the stories, animated the characters, and narrated the show. Peter Firmin designed the characters and made the models. His wife, Joan Firmin, knitted their clothes. The music, which was often a big part of the stories, was made by Vernon Elliott.

In 2015, a new series started with famous actor Michael Palin (from Monty Python) as the narrator. These new episodes still use stop-motion animation, which means they move the characters tiny bits at a time and take a picture, then put all the pictures together to make it look like they're moving! This is different from other old shows that now use computer animation. Clangers even won a BAFTA award for Best Pre-School Animation in 2015!

Discovering the Clangers' World

How did the Clangers come to be? Their story actually started in some children's books! These books were based on another Smallfilms show called Noggin the Nog.

The Moonmouse Story

In one of these books from 1967, called Noggin and the Moonmouse, a strange mouse-like creature arrived in a spaceship. This creature needed fuel for its ship, and it turned out it needed vinegar and soap-flakes! After getting its fuel, the ship flew off in a cloud of bubbles.

From Book to TV Show

In 1969, when people were very excited about the real Moon landing, the BBC asked Smallfilms to make a new TV show. Oliver Postgate thought it would be fun to set the new series in space, just like the Moon landing! Peter Firmin designed a planet that looked a lot like the Moon.

Postgate took the Moonmouse character from his book and changed it a bit. He removed its tail, and that's how the Clangers were born! They looked a bit like mice or even pink pigs. They wore special clothes that looked like old armor to protect them from space junk. And, of course, they spoke in their unique whistled language!

Life on the Clangers' Planet

Oliver Postgate described The Clangers as a family living peacefully in space. They live on and inside their small, hollow planet.

What Do Clangers Eat?

The Clangers get their food from special places on their planet. They eat Blue String Pudding and Green Soup. The Green Soup comes from volcanic soup wells, and the friendly Soup Dragon helps them get it!

Why Are They Called Clangers?

The name "Clanger" comes from the sound their homes make! Each Clanger home is a crater-like burrow covered with an old metal dustbin lid. These lids protect them from meteorites and space debris. When they open the lids, they make a "clanging" sound!

Adventures and Music

In every episode, the Clangers usually have a problem to solve or a new visitor to meet. Their planet also has special Music Trees that grow notes like fruit! Music is often a big part of their fun and simple adventures.

Oliver Postgate narrated the show in a calm voice. He would describe what the Clangers were doing and even "translate" their whistled conversations for us. He once joked that when the Clangers whistled, they were actually "swearing their little heads off"!

Making the Clangers Show

The first Clangers episodes started on BBC1 in November 1969. There were 26 episodes in total, split into two series. The last episode of the second series aired in November 1972.

A Special Election Episode

There was also a special four-minute episode in 1974 called Vote for Froglet. It was shown on the day of a big election in the UK. In this episode, Oliver Postgate tried to explain how voting works by having the Clangers vote for either the Soup Dragon or a Froglet. The Soup Dragon won, but the Clangers weren't happy with the result! For a long time, people thought this episode was lost, but now you can watch it!

Clangers in Museums

Sadly, the original Mother Clanger puppet was stolen in 1972. But you can still see Major Clanger and the second Mother Clanger puppets on display at the Rupert Bear Museum.

New Clangers in 2015

In 2013, the BBC announced that new Clangers episodes would be made for CBeebies. Michael Palin took over as the narrator, and William Shatner (Captain Kirk from Star Trek!) narrated the American version. These new episodes were a huge hit, with lots of adults watching too because they remembered the original show!

Clangers' Awards

The Clangers show has won many cool awards!

Meet the Clangers Family

The main characters are the Clangers themselves! The girl Clangers wear waistcoats, and the boy Clangers wear brass armor.

• Granny Clanger: She's the oldest Clanger and loves to knit. She sometimes falls asleep! She's Major Clanger's mom.
• Major Clanger: He's the dad and head of the family. He tries to make sure everything is just right on their planet, but he can be a bit grumpy. He wears brass armor. Michael Palin, the narrator, says Major Clanger is one of his favorite characters!
• Mother Clanger: She's the mom to Tiny and Small Clanger. She often makes and serves the Clangers' soup or Blue String Pudding. Her favorite thing to do is gardening. She wears a red waistcoat.
• Small Clanger: He's the son of Mother and Major Clanger, and Tiny Clanger's older brother. Small Clanger is very curious and loves to invent things. Sometimes his inventions cause a bit of chaos! He's often the main character in episodes because he's the most adventurous. He wears brass armor in the old show and a blue waistcoat in the new one.
• Tiny Clanger: She's the youngest of the family, daughter to Mother and Major Clanger, and Small Clanger's younger sister. Tiny Clanger is kind and gentle. She often tries to talk peacefully with new visitors. She wears a red waistcoat in the old show and a pink one in the new series.

Other Friends on the Planet

The Clangers share their planet with many other interesting creatures!

• The Soup Dragon: She's a friendly female creature who loves Green Soup. She lives in the soup wells. When the Clangers need soup, they tap on what looks like small volcanoes, and she slides the lid back to fill their jug.
• Baby Soup Dragon: He's the Soup Dragon's son. He appeared when the Soup Dragon became broody and couldn't make soup. Tiny Clanger called the Iron Chicken for help, and they worked together to help the Soup Dragon hatch her baby!
• Froglets: These are three small, orange aliens with long, stalk-like legs and big eyes. They travel around in a top hat! In the new series, they can change colors.
• The Cloud: This is a cotton-wool cloud that floats over the planet. It releases musical raindrops! In the new series, it can even change its shape.
• The Music Trees: These two small trees are always on the Clangers' planet. The Clangers politely ask the trees for musical notes, and the trees release them onto the ground.
• The Glow Buzzers: These are like lightbulb creatures that live in hives around the Clangers' caves. They make "Glow Honey."
• The Iron Chicken: She's a "bird" made of scrap metal (like Meccano pieces!). She lives in a nest made of metallic junk that orbits the planet.
• The Iron Chick: This is the Iron Chicken's baby, who appeared in some episodes.
• Sky Moos: These are large, blue, flying cow-like creatures. They are always hungry, which can sometimes be helpful!
• The Singing Flowers: A pair of singing flowers introduced in the 2015 series who are friends with Tiny Clanger.

Visitors from Space

Sometimes, other characters visit the Clangers' planet for just one or two episodes.

• Hoots: Small, horn-like creatures with three legs that make trumpet sounds.
• A Spaceman: An astronaut who came to collect rocks. He got quite a fright when he met Tiny Clanger and even fell into a soup well!
• Lunar Rover: A space vehicle that landed on the planet and accidentally destroyed something the Clangers were building.
• Eggbots: Egg-shaped robots that make musical sounds.
• Metal Caterpillar: A metallic caterpillar that hatched from a metal egg. It loved to eat metal!
• Wols: Colorful metal owls that fly by spinning.
• The Tin Bird: A bird made of tin that visited the planet looking for a place to build a nest.

Sounds and Music of the Clangers

The sounds in Clangers are very special! Vernon Elliott created the music based on drawings from Oliver Postgate. They recorded the music in a village hall, and sometimes you can even hear birds singing in the background of the recordings!

The Famous Whistles

The Clangers' unique whistles, made with swanee whistles, are super famous! The creators said that the Clangers don't actually make sounds in space. Instead, they communicate using a special kind of "nuclear magnetic resonance," which was then turned into whistles for us to hear. These whistles followed a script written in English.

Oliver Postgate, the narrator, once told a funny story. The BBC was worried about some "bad words" Major Clanger whistled in an episode. Postgate explained that the Clangers were just whistling, and if people had "nice minds," they'd think "Oh dear, the silly thing’s not working properly." But if you listen closely, Major Clanger might be whistling something a bit cheeky!

John Du Prez, who also wrote music for Monty Python, composed the music for the 2015 series.

Clangers in Other Countries

The original Clangers show wasn't shown in many countries outside the UK because it didn't need extra money from international sales. But some countries did show it!

• In Norway, it was called Romlingane.
• In Sweden, it was called Rymdlarna.
• In Czechoslovakia, it was called Rámusíci.

The new 2015 series has been shown in many more places! It got funding from Sprout in the US, and has been sold to other broadcasters like the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In the US, William Shatner narrates the show. It's also shown in Belgium on the channel Ketnet.

Music Album

Clangers: Original Television Music
Soundtrack album by Vernon Elliott & Oliver Postgate
Released	2001
Recorded	1969–1971
Genre	Classical, Children's music
Length	47:00
Label	Trunk Records

In 2001, a special album was released with music and sounds from the original Clangers show. It was put together by Jonny Trunk using many musical pieces Oliver Postgate had saved. Postgate even added a part of a "Clangers Opera" he had written!

Images for kids

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  Clangers and Iron Chicken puppets at the V&A Museum of Childhood in 2016

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  A charity collector dressed as a Clanger in 2010

Clangers at BBC Programmes

• - the original series
• - the revived series