The Magic Roundabout
The Magic Roundabout is an English-language children's television programme that ran from 1965 to 1977. It used the footage of the French stop motion animation show Le Manège enchanté but with completely different scripts and characters.
| The Magic Roundabout | |
|---|---|
Characters from the original Magic Roundabout | |
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Created by | Serge Danot |
| Based on | Le Manège enchanté by Serge Danot |
| Written by | Eric Thompson |
| Narrated by | |
| Theme music composer | Alain Legrand |
| Country of origin |
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| No. of episodes | 441 |
| Production | |
| Animator | Ivor Wood |
| Running time |
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| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | BBC 1 |
| Release | 18 October 1965 – 25 January 1977 |
| Network | Channel 4 |
| Release | March 1992 – September 1993 |
The French series, created by Serge Danot with the help of Ivor Wood and Wood's French wife, Josiane, was broadcast from 1964 to 1974 on ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française). The BBC originally rejected translating the series because it was "charming... but difficult to dub into English", but later produced a version of the series using the French footage with new English-language scripts unrelated to the original storylines. This version, written and told by Eric Thompson, was broadcast in 441 five-minute episodes between 18 October 1965 and 25 January 1977. It proved a great success and attained cult status, and when in October 1966 it was moved from the slot just before the evening news to an earlier children's viewing time, adult viewers complained to the BBC.
A new version is being made by Method Animation, targeted for 2024, that will try to "find a balance between the French and English contexts".