Starhill Ponies

Star Hill Ponies is a British children's stop-motion animation series co-produced by Mike Young Productions and Bumper Films for S4C.[1] It was the last production by Bumper Films before they shut down in February 2002. The voice actors are Josie Lawrence and Andrew Sachs.[2]

Starhill Ponies
Developed byMike Young
Liz Young
Written byMaria Jones
Pamela Hickey
Dennys McCoy
Directed byJohn Walker
Voices ofJosie Lawrence
Andrew Sachs
Country of originUnited States
United Kingdom
Original languagesEnglish
Welsh
No. of series2
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producersMeirion Davies
Theresa Plummer-Andrews (series 1)
Anne Miles (series 2)
Producers
  • Liz Young
  • Associate producer:
    Ian Frampton
EditorWil Oswald
Running time10 minutes
Production companiesMike Young Productions
Bumper Films
Release
Original networkCBeebies (United Kingdom)
S4C (Wales)
Original release1998 (1998) –
2002 (2002)

Plot

The series follows a young girl named Baz who dreams of nothing more than finding a best friend. Her wish comes true when two roaming Welsh Mountain ponies Molly and Dylan, show up at her farm with Shetland pony Scruffy. Their playful frolics change her life forever.

Production

Starhill Ponies is co-produced by Mike Young Productions in Los Angeles, California, United States and Bumper Films in Wales, United Kingdom for S4C and BBC. It is Bumper Films' only TV series co-produced in the United Kingdom and North America. The series is distributed in the United Kingdom by S4C International and BBC Worldwide and worldwide by Taffy Entertainment.

Characters

Ponies
  • Dylan - the big brown Welsh Mountain pony, with a black mane.
  • Molly - the dapple grey Mountain pony, with a grey mane.
  • Scruffy - is the podgy brown Shetland, with a long straw-coloured mane. His hobbies are eating and being naughty.

Humans
  • Beatrice "Baz" Watkins -
  • Will Watkins - Baz's father.
  • Kath Watkins - Baz's mother.
  • Thomas - Baz's best friend.
  • Mrs Horace Morris - the snobbish landlady who can't stand ponies.
  • Jim -
  • Ambrose Higgins - the half-witted beach shop owner.
  • Lottie - the mobile shop owner. Only appears in Series 2.
  • Nick - the blacksmith. Only appears in Series 2.

Episodes

Series 1 (1998-99)
# Title Summary Recording Date Broadcast Date
1Birthday Tea2 November 19987 April 1999
2Scruffy Pays the Price9 November 199814 April 1999
3The Outing16 November 199821 April 1999
4Nicked Knickers23 November 199828 April 1999
5Kidnapped30 November 19985 May 1999
6Scruffy Helps Out7 December 199911 May 1999
7Art for Scruffy's Sake14 December 199819 May 1999
8Circus Tricks21 December 199826 May 1999
9Surfin' Sea Horse28 December 19982 June 1999
10High Tea, High Jinks4 January 199911 August 1999
11Dylan for the Cup11 January 199914 July 1999
12Lost18 January 199921 July 1999
13Bugged25 January 19994 August 1999

Series 2 (2002)
  1. Just Desserts
  2. Apple Pie
  3. Hide and Seek
  4. Nothing to be Afraid Of
  5. Mrs. HM's Parade
  6. Tall Tales
  7. The Mystery of Missing Ethel
  8. A Fine Mess
  9. Scarypony Scarecrow
  10. Thomas Riding High
  11. The Unlucky Horseshoe
  12. The Way Home
  13. All I Want for Christmas

Home media

VHS Releases

In 1999, one single video of the show was by BBC Worldwide Ltd with five episodes from the first series on it.

VHS video title Year of release Episodes
Star Hill Ponies:
Nicked Knickers and
Other Stories
(BBCV 6772)		 4 May 1999
  • "Nicked Knickers"
  • "The Outing"
  • "Art for Scruffy's Sake"
  • "Surfin' Sea Horse"
  • "Kidnapped"

DVD Releases

In 2006, the series was released on three DVDs by Blackhorse Entertainment.

DVD video title Year of release Episodes
Star Hill Ponies:
Scruffy Helps Out and
Seven Other Fantastic Episodes
(S4C)		 10 April 2006
  • "Scruffy Helps Out"
  • "Art for Scruffy's Sake"
  • "The Outing"
  • "Birthday Tea"

  • "Circus Tricks"
  • "Scruffy Pays the Price"
  • "High Tea, High-Jinks"

  • "Nicked Knickers"
Star Hill Ponies:
Mrs HM's Parade and
Seven Other Fantasic Episodes
(S4C004)		 5 June 2006
  • "Mrs HM's Parade"
  • "Tall Tales"
  • "The Mystery of the Missing Ethel"

  • "Nothing to be Afraid of"
  • "Scarepony Scarecrow"
  • "Just Desserts"
  • "Apple Pie"

  • "Hide 'n' Seek"
Star Hill Ponies:
Dylan for the Cup
and Other Great Stories
(S4C)		 11 September 2006
  • "Dylan for the Cup"
  • "Kidnapped"
  • "Surfin' Sea Horse"
  • "Lost"
  • "Bugged"

  • "A Fine Mess"
  • "Thomas Riding High"
  • "The Unlucky Horseshoe"

  • "The Way Home"
  • "All I Want for Christmas"

References
  1. "S4C commissioning editor for children's programmes Meirion Davies has given Bumper Films and LA-based Mike Young Productions the green light for a second series of Star Hill Ponies, a stop-frame puppe". Broadcast.
  2. "Star Hill Ponies (1998)". www.toonhound.com.


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