King Rollo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids King Rollo |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Animation |
| Written by | David McKee |
| Narrated by | Ray Brooks |
| Composer(s) | Duncan Lamont |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 5 minutes |
| Production company(s) | King Rollo Films |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC1 |
| Original release | 1 October – 24 December 1980 |
King Rollo is a fun children's character created by David McKee in 1980. He stars in a series of popular books and an animated TV show. The show was narrated by Ray Brooks and even appeared as a comic strip in a magazine called Buttons.
Thirteen episodes of the animated series were made in 1980. They were produced by McKee's own company, King Rollo Films. The show first appeared on BBC1 as part of the 'See-Saw' program for young children. Each episode was about five minutes long.
Meet King Rollo and His Friends
King Rollo is the main character of these stories. He is a king, but he acts a bit like a child. He often needs help and advice from his friends.
His friends include:
- The Magician: He is like a wise father figure to Rollo.
- Cook: She is the king's cook and acts like a mother figure. Some people think she was the real boss of the kingdom!
- Queen Gwen: She is Rollo's neighbor and girlfriend.
- King Frank: Another king who is a friend.
- Hamlet: This is Rollo's cat. Hamlet is often shown as being smarter than King Rollo himself.
How the Animation Was Made
The animated series used a special style called cut-out animation. This means the characters looked like they were made from colorful paper cut-outs. This style was also used in other works by David McKee, like the popular show Mr Benn.
A funny detail about the animation was how the characters walked. Their legs would spin outwards until they were at a right angle to their bodies.
Episode Guide
The King Rollo animated series had 13 episodes. Each one showed a new adventure or problem that King Rollo faced.
Here is a list of all the episodes and when they first aired:
- The Bread (1 October 1980)
- The Playroom (8 October 1980)
- The Bath (15 October 1980)
- The Dishes (22 October 1980)
- The New Shoes (29 October 1980)
- The Breakfast (5 November 1980)
- The Tree (12 November 1980)
- The Comic (19 November 1980)
- King Frank (26 November 1980)
- The Birthday (3 December 1980)
- The Balloons (10 December 1980)
- The Search (17 December 1980)
- The Dog (24 December 1980)
