Get Squiggling
 |
| Get Squiggling | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's |
| Created by | Jo Killingley |
| Directed by | Adrian Hedley |
| Voices of | Janet James John Hasler Teresa Gallagher |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 50 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Jo Killingley (series producer) Tracy Nampala (producer) Sarah Colclough (for CBeebies) |
| Running time | 15 minutes |
| Production company | Dot To Dot Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBeebies |
| Release | 11 February 2008 – 30 July 2010 |
Get Squiggling is a British children's television series created and produced by Jo Killingley at Dot To Dot Productions, directed by Adrian Hedley, and broadcast on CBeebies and BBC Two in the UK.[1][2]
Format
[edit]The programme begins with a theme song. The lead character is Squiglet, a monster who speaks directly to the audience. The programme itself teaches preschool-aged children how to draw, as well as basic colours and shapes.[3] The audience is encouraged to use drawing as a method of triggering imagination and as a means to progress the story. Each episode begins with him against a plain white background, which is gradually filled by the characters that he draws, like animals, objects, and landscapes, using his squiggle sticks and Squiggle Pad. There are seven different lines (loopy, round, straight, curved, bumpy, wavy and zig-zag) that Squiglet uses to draw. The main character is then animated by Squiglet saying the magic words, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Let's make our squiggles come alive!" and they join the story. All other content in the show is animated based on his drawings. If the main character encounters a problem, Squiglet draws an object to help them solve the problem. If a problem cannot be solved, the Squiggle Pad gives them a clue to the problem with a short, live-action video. While most episodes end with a song related to the episode, summing up the preceding story, some episodes starting with "Spaceman" end with an epilogue that what happened to the episode, summing up the same preceding story as before. Each episode ends with Squiglet saying "Thanks for all your squiggles, it's time to go now but come back to get squiggling soon. Keep on squiggling." and everybody says "Bye." before the end credits start to roll over.
Cast
[edit]John Hasler as all male characters.
Teresa Gallagher as all female characters.
Janet James as Squiglet.
Development
[edit]The series originated from a simple squiggle Jo Killingley drew while on a beach in Cornwall, which inspired the concept of a preschool programme centred on drawing and imagination. The project was commissioned by CBeebies controller Michael Carrington in November 2006 and was developed under the working title Scribble It before being renamed Get Squiggling!.[4][5]
The series was produced in association with animation studio Blue Zoo, combining live-action with animation. Episodes were storyboarded before filming, with the character Squiglet performed against a green screen and composited into animated environments during post-production. The production team carried out extensive tests on costume design and filming techniques to ensure the felt-covered character could be integrated convincingly into the animated world.[4]
Educational consultant Brian Neish worked with the production team to develop the programme's drawing-based learning objectives. Each episode focused on a different type of line, such as straight, curved, loopy or zigzag, encouraging preschool viewers to practise basic drawing skills as the story unfolded. During filming at Enfys Studios in Cardiff, director Adrian Hedley devised practical methods to help the live-action performers interact with animated characters that would be added later in post-production.[4]
One of the programme's principal technical challenges was creating the illusion of drawings appearing in real time. Blue Zoo achieved this by filming oversized crayons tracing pre-drawn pencil lines on tracing paper before digitally animating the artwork. Principal photography concluded in May 2007, with post-production continuing until the series premiered on CBeebies on 11 February 2008.[4]
Episodes
[edit]Series 1 (2008)
[edit]| Episode | Title[6] | Aired[6] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Snowman" | 11 February 2008 |
| 2 | "Pirate" | 12 February 2008 |
| 3 | "Caterpillar" | 13 February 2008 |
| 4 | "Hippo" | 14 February 2008 |
| 5 | "Spider" | 15 February 2008 |
| 6 | "Hedgehog" | 18 February 2008 |
| 7 | "Three Little Pigs" | 19 February 2008 |
| 8 | "Spaceman" | 20 February 2008 |
| 9 | "Lamb" | 21 February 2008 |
| 10 | "Knight" | 22 February 2008 |
| 11 | "Photographer" | 25 February 2008 |
| 12 | "Cowboy" | 26 February 2008 |
| 13 | "Bloodhound" | 27 February 2008 |
| 14 | "Monster" | 28 February 2008 |
| 15 | "Fairy" | 29 February 2008 |
| 16 | "Elephant" | 3 March 2008 |
| 17 | "Scarecrow" | 4 March 2008 |
| 18 | "Tortoise & Hare" | 5 March 2008 |
| 19 | "Giant" | 6 March 2008 |
| 20 | "Crab" | 7 March 2008 |
| 21 | "Robot" | 10 March 2008 |
| 22 | "Frog Prince" | 11 March 2008 |
| 23 | "Hyena" | 12 March 2008 |
| 24 | "Bee" | 13 March 2008 |
| 25 | "Penguin" | 14 March 2008 |
Series 2 (2010)
[edit]| Episode | Title[7] | Aired[7] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Monkey" | 14 June 2010 |
| 2 | "Cinderella" | 15 June 2010 |
| 3 | "Troll" | 16 June 2010 |
| 4 | "Mouse" | 17 June 2010 |
| 5 | "Old Mother Hubbard" | 18 June 2010 |
| 6 | "Cow" | 21 June 2010 |
| 7 | "Dinosaur" | 22 June 2010 |
| 8 | "Cat" | 23 June 2010 |
| 9 | "Gnome" | 24 June 2010 |
| 10 | "Magician" | 25 June 2010 |
| 11 | "Bat" | 28 June 2010 |
| 12 | "Squirrel" | 29 June 2010 |
| 13 | "Polar Bear" | 30 June 2010 |
| 14 | "Wizard" | 1 July 2010 |
| 15 | "Chef" | 2 July 2010 |
| 16 | "Ostrich" | 19 July 2010 |
| 17 | "Rhino" | 20 July 2010 |
| 18 | "Humpty Dumpty" | 21 July 2010 |
| 19 | "Old King Cole" | 22 July 2010 |
| 20 | "Koala" | 23 July 2010 |
| 21 | "Goldilocks" | 26 July 2010 |
| 22 | "Jack and the Beanstalk" | 27 July 2010 |
| 23 | "Magpie" | 28 July 2010 |
| 24 | "Rapunzel" | 29 July 2010 |
| 25 | "Kangaroo" | 30 July 2010 |
Get Squiggling Letters
[edit]On February 7, 2013, CBeebies commissioned a 26-episode spin-off to the series that focused on the letters of the alphabet.[8] As with the original, Beyond Distribution handled worldwide distribution to the spin-off.[9]
Home media releases
[edit]BBC Worldwide (2 Entertain) originally intended to release DVDs of the series in the United Kingdom, as hinted through a promo video featuring footage from the show, but the distributor never did any.
Abbey Home Media released a DVD in February 2011 called "Animal Magic", which includes many animal-related episodes, with six from the second series and three from the first series.[10]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Get Squiggling Credits". BFI Film Database. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.[dead link]
- ↑ "Get Squiggling Episodes by date: November 2012". BBC. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ↑ "Get Squiggling! For Grownups". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 "Broadcast Now - On location: Get Squiggling!". www.broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "BBC - Press Office - BBC Worldwide announce global rights deals for two new children's shows". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- 1 2 "Get Squiggling Series 1 Episode Guide". BBC. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- 1 2 "Get Squiggling Series 2 Episode Guide". BBC. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ↑ "CBeebies commissions Get Squiggling spin-off".
- ↑ "Beyond takes two Dot to Dot series to MIP".
- ↑ "Get Squiggling". Amazon UK.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
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- 2000s British children's television series
- 2000s preschool education television series
- 2008 British television series debuts
- 2008 English-language television series debuts
- 2010 British television series endings
- 2010 English-language television series endings
- 2010s British children's television series
- 2010s preschool education television series
- British preschool education television series
- British television series with live action and animation
- British television shows featuring puppetry
- CBeebies
- English-language British television shows
- Television shows based on fairy tales
- Works based on nursery rhymes