The Raggy Dolls

"The Raggy Dolls" was a 1980s British cartoon series for children, following the adventures of a motley collection of rejects from a toy factory, who lived in the reject bin.

The series was created by Melvyn Jacobson, and produced for Yorkshire Television from 1986 to 1994. The episodes were written and voiced by Neil Innes, who also wrote and sang the theme song.The first 26 were animated by Roy Evans.

The seven dolls are:
* Back-To-Front, with a backward-facing head.
* Claude, who fell out of a box of dolls to be shipped to France; he speaks with a French accent.
* Dotty, who had paint spilt on her hair and clothing.
* Hi-Fi, "wired up wrong", with a "crackle" to his voice (actually sounds more like a stammer).
* Lucy, with poorly-attached limbs.
* Princess, whose manufacturer ran out of material and used odds and ends to finish her off; her voice is characterised by H-adding.
* Sad Sack, a sample of a design that was deemed too expensive to mass-produce; his appearance is somewhat different from that of the others.

Orchid Productions' managing director Jo Kemp and producer Neil Molyneux asked animator Mark Mason to head a production team to give the show a new look, although retaining the original Roy Evans title sequence. The company made 85 further episodes Clarifyme|date=March 2008. Of these, 65 were produced by Mark Mason, who also provided storyboards, layouts and further character designs, including an eighth Raggy Doll: Raggamuffin, who appeared sporadically. The remaining 20 were produced at Orchid Productions by animator Peter Hale. There was also a scarecrow in a nearby farm who was a friend of the Raggy Dolls called Pumpernickel.

The owner of the factory is Mr Grimes, who falls in love with a woman called Cynthia. Cynthia eventually marries Mr Grimes and the Raggy Dolls are moved from the Reject Bin to live at Mr Grimes' house.

Trivia

* In Great Britain, there were 3 videos from Castle Vision featuring the complete episodes.
* In Australia there were 3 videos from Reel Entertainment featuring the 1993 series.
* It also aired on ABC TV in Australia.
* It also aired on SVT1 in Sweden under the directly translated title "Trasdockorna".
* The character of Mr. Grimes was a visual caricature of Yorkshire TV Producer John Marsden.

Credits

* Created by: Melvyn Jacobson
* Pictures by: Steve Smallman
* Written & Narrated by: Neil Innes
* Storylines: Melvyn Jacobson
* Music: Neil Innes
* Directing Animator: Mark Mason
* Animation: Roy Evans, Peter Hale
* Director for YTV: John Marsden
* Graphic Design: Geoff Brayley
* Dubbing: Keith Quirk
* Dubbing Editor: Ian Mackie
* Rostrum Camera: Paul Allen, Mike Gates, Mark Wright, Anthony Wilson
* Film Editor: Steve Gannon
* Produced by: Joy Whitby

External links

*
* [http://www.toonhound.com/raggydolls.htm Toonhound page on the series]
* [http://www.markmasonanimation.co.uk/raggy_dolls.htm Information about Mark Mason and "The Raggy Dolls"]
* [http://www.80snostalgia.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&req=showcontent&id=101 80sNostalgia - The Raggy Dolls]