Hattytown Tales facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hattytown Tales |
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Some residents of Hattytown
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Genre | Children's television |
Created by | Keith Chatfield |
Written by | Keith Chatfield |
Directed by | Ivor Wood |
Voices of | Keith Chatfield |
Narrated by | Keith Chatfield |
Country of origin | England |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 3 |
No. of episodes | 39 |
Production | |
Running time | 10 minutes |
Production company(s) | FilmFair |
Release | |
Original network | ATV |
Audio format | Monaural |
Original release | 1969 | – 1973
Hattytown Tales is a 39-episode stop motion children's television series produced by FilmFair for Thames Television. It aired in the United Kingdom between 1969 and 1973. Creator and writer Keith Chatfield narrated the series, and Ivor Wood directed it. Books were published by World Distributors and it was featured in the Playland Comic (offshoot of Pippin) published by Polystyle Publications and in children's annuals for 10 years.
The residents of Hattytown were anthropomorphic hats. The style of hat each character was indicated its ethnicity, attitude, and role in Hattytown society. For instance, Bobby, the constable, resembles the hat of a constable. Buildings in the town are also hat-shaped; each building's form suggests either its primary function or resident.
The main character, Sancho, is a Mexican sombrero with legs and eyes. Carrots, his best friend, is a donkey with a carrot dangling in front of his face. In one episode, an angry bird makes its nest in Sancho's car. Every time the Hattytown residents try to move the bird, it snaps at them. At the end of the episode, the car door opens to reveal a nest of eggs that eventually hatch.
Episodes
Series 1 (1969)
- Mr Wimple's Breakfast Rolls
- Bobby's Flower Garden
- Carrot's Carrot
- King Ethelbert
- Milko's Day Off
- Simon's Magnifying Glass
- Going Fishing
- The Statue
- Sancho's Camera
- Posty's Old Boots
- You Cannot Please Everyone
- Wash Day
- The King's Portrait
Series 2 (1970)
- Saving Time
- Up and Away
- Creatures of Outer Space
- Almost Magic
- The Pillar Box
- The Royal Hattytown Guards
- Friendship
- The Picnic
- The Cannon
- Carrots for the Mayor
- Too Much of a Good Thing
- Hiccup Buns
- Bookworms
Series 3 (1973)
- Bobby's Security Patrol
- Mr. Bun the Master Baker
- The Walking Pillar Box
- The Fete
- A Note for the Milkman
- Sneezy Cheese
- Mrs. Bagwash and the King
- The Secret Tunnel
- It Pays to Advertise
- The Auction
- The Telephone Box
- A Taxi for Hire
- Mustafer the Hedgehog
International broadcast
In the United States, Hattytown Tales was also often featured during the television programme Pinwheel (which was widely broadcast on the U.S. television network Nickelodeon during the 1980s).