Noddy

If destruction and murder are what you're looking for, Noddy's your man. He knows how to bring blood and death to any innocent Enid Blyton story, or Brown Bag when they've ruined his life - so look out, Bing creators, 'cause Noddy's bursting through the door. INSTANT JINGLE BELL CHAOS!

Stories Of Rotten Rascals: A Grizzly Review

 

Stories of Rotten Rascals: Contains 30 classic tales by Enid Blyton
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Did not like it.
Too difficult to read in my opinion anyway.
Plus, it is a charming old fashioned rip off of the Grizzly Tales books.
Rather prefer reading Grizzly Tales than this.

View all my reviews

A Letter To Dreamworks About Noddy

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to formally express my disappointment with Noddy: Toyland Detective and the direction taken with the Noddy franchise since its transition to full CGI beginning with Noddy in Toyland in 2009.

As a long-time admirer of Noddy and Enid Blyton’s original creation, I found the 2009 CGI series deeply frustrating. The shift to full CGI resulted in the characters losing much of their charm, warmth, and individuality. Their personalities felt flattened and exaggerated into broad parodies of themselves, rather than the gentle, character-driven figures they once were. At times, the tone and execution even reminded me of some of the less well-received Cosgrove Hall–produced Postman Pat episodes, where familiar characters felt oddly altered and out of place.

Since DreamWorks, alongside Brown Bag Films, acquired Noddy, the series has become fast-paced, overstimulating, and formulaic. Noddy himself has been reduced to a one-note “mystery solver” who does little else. This narrow focus strips away the everyday curiosity, kindness, and whimsical Toyland adventures that defined the original source material. As a result, Noddy: Toyland Detective feels fundamentally disconnected from what Noddy was always meant to be.

I strongly believe Noddy works best as a gentle, imaginative series, not as an American-styled, high-energy CGI production. In my view, this approach has permanently damaged the spirit of Noddy and his world. I sincerely wish the BBC would one day produce a new Noddy series, created entirely in stop-motion, with no CGI at all, returning to the tactile, storybook feel that suits the character so well.

More broadly, I feel that fast-paced CGI has harmed several classic children’s programmes. I would welcome seeing Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder, and Thomas & Friends returned to their original hand-crafted or hand-drawn roots, where storytelling, atmosphere, and character came first.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I hope you will consider the concerns of long-time fans who value the heritage, tone, and artistry of these beloved characters.

Hutchinson's Encyclopedias - What Do I Use Them For?

It's grand.

It's big.

It's beautiful.

It's the one and only Hutchinson's Encyclopedia.

BLUEY: But what do you use them for anyway?

Well, Bluey, I was first given a copy by one of my support workers in 2023, and at first I didn't want anything to do with it for a whole year, because when I was negative and anxious I found it rather boring. However, one day while I was in my den and watching Team America: World Police, thinking of something to do for the day, I saw the Hutchinson's Encyclopedia and thought, "Oh wow, maybe I could use that. It has lots of space for writing in."

So why use an ordinary notebook for writing in when you've got plenty of spaces in the biggest books of all? Well, it gives me time to contemplate about all my ideas and write down all the lists that life forces me to write. I've written down about 1,000 lists so far (too many to count, but, whatever), some of which will help me outline my ideas for my stories - even if some of them are plotless!

My excitement surrounding these large-as-life coffee table like books encouraged me to find out more about Hutchinson's, and there, I noticed a wide range of other encyclopedias, too, ranging from an Encyclopedia Of Britain to ones released by Weetabix during 1999. I bought the 2001 encyclopedia and the British one from eBay, and guess what? I enjoyed them so much! So much so that I'm gonna get some more.

And today, I have brought the Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary. I don't know whether it will be either bigger or smaller than the 2001 encyclopedia or the British encyclopedia, but rest assured the book will be pocket-sized.

Speaking of Britain, the things featured in the British Encyclopedia include Absolutely Fabulous, Enid Blyton, Alice In Wonderland, Animal Farm, Watership Down, Doctor Who and Blue Peter....but no Thunderbirds. Aaaawww no. But what I can tell you is that Thunderbirds did appear as part of The Best Of British and The Best Of TV & Movies, and I'm looking to find that Thunderbirds card in TBOB soon!