The Complete Flumps (DVD)

I know many of the you out there may not remember this kids show that I remember watching as a small child on Sunday mornings around about the time that Bagpuss was on. Like Bagpuss there were only 13 episodes made but it seemed like many more than that back then. Repeats didn't seem to matter so much as they were only on once a week and children's tv wasn't available so much as it is now. We were lucky to have a couple of hours a day and so I think ...
...hats or bows depending on the character. They had small movable arms and legs and waddled a bit when they walked.

The Background

The series made in 1976 was created by Julie Holder as well as writing it. It was produced by David Yates using the stop motion technique which is a long painstaking process which means moving each character slightly and taking a shot before moving them slightly again. This same process is ... more

I know many of the you out there may not remember this kids show that I remember watching as a small child on Sunday mornings around about the time that Bagpuss was on. Like Bagpuss there were only 13 episodes made but it seemed like many more than that back then. Repeats didn't seem to matter so much as they were only on once a week and children's tv wasn't available so much as it is now. We were lucky to have a couple of hours a day and so I think we treasured it more.

The Flumps were a family of fluffy balls with eyes, noses and mouths or moustaches stuck on with various hats or bows depending on the character. They had small movable arms and legs and waddled a bit when they walked.

The Background

The series made in 1976 was created by Julie Holder as well as writing it. It was produced by David Yates using the stop motion technique which is a long painstaking process which means moving each character slightly and taking a shot before moving them slightly again. This same process is used a lot by Aardman Animations for their creations such as Wallace and Gromit and Creature Comforts. David Yates was responsible for producing Bod the year before and went on to produce Pigeon street in 1977, 2 other children's classics of the 70's.

The characters were made to look like a typical working class family which made the best use of items around them to help them have fun. They all had Yorkshire accents which were the product of Gay Soper who narrated the series as well as providing the voices for the characters and singing the songs.

Meet the Flumps

Father Flump - The daddy of the family always wore a red woolly hat and loved inventing things. His nose like the other 2 adults was a bright red - something which apparantly changes from pink as you get older in Flumpland.

Mother Flump - Always wears a yellow printed headscarf tied a bit like Hilda Ogden for those who remember early Corrie. Like all of us women out there she was constantly doing chores such as cooking or cleaning but she also had the important job in each episode of reading the children a story from the special book she has.

Grandfather Flump - Was famous for playing his Flumpet which sounded a bit like a trumpet but looked somewhat like a horn too. He loved sleeping underneath his newspaper which moved as he snored. His flat cap was well suited to his character. He also had a habit of waking up just as tea and cakes were served up.

Perkin Flump - He was the eldest of the 3 children and was always getting into mischief. He can be easily spotted by his bright yellow woolly hat with a blue rim.

Posie Flump - She was the only female of the children and was the middle child. Her bright blue bow in her hair matches her eyes perfectly. Although she looks very girly she can be a bit of a tomboy at times whilst playing with her brothers.

Pootle Flump - The baby of the family, he often gets his words mixed up and is seen wearing a white woolly hat with a fluffy bobble on top.

The Episodes

Secrets - In this first story everyone tells Posie to keep their secrets by telling her to keep them under her hat. This confuses her as she only has a bow and no hat and so gets very worried that all the secrets will get lost. Pootle helps her find a hat but she gets upset when it blows away until the rest of the family explain what is meant by the saying.

The Cloud - Perkin can be very grumpy at times and is shocked to find that his mood has caused a dark cloud to appear over his head. No matter what he tries to do he can't get it to disappear and it starts to make Posie and Pootle feel sad too. Happiness is restored when Grandfather blows a carrot out of his flumpet which has been earlier put there by Perkin and everyone laughs out loud.

The Magnet - When Pootle is to blame for the house being in a mess his mother makes him a pocket to carry things around in. This is a great idea until his father gives him a magnet to put in it. When he helps his mother lay the table the cutlery sticks to him and out in the garden he gets stuck with all the metal objects out there. Tired he falls asleep and is found later on by Posie and Perkin who see that some of the items stuck to him are things that had been previously lost. He becomes the hero of the day.

Get Your Skates On - Father Flump decides it will be useful to make some roller skates for the family and grandfather finds one useful to move around his very heavy flumpet. The 2 older children get a pair each and there is a lot of fun as they try to learn how to skate. Pootle is too young though and Father makes him a little cart instead.

Moon Shot - After seeing a picture of a rocket in Mother's book the young Flumps decide to make one themselves out of cardboard boxes and tubes. When Pootle falls asleep he dreams of going to the moon in Flumpollo Number 1 and having a picnic there.

Balloons - When Pootle sees his brother and sister with balloons he wants blow up his own balloon but doesn't have the puff for it. He tries using Grandfather's flumpet but it blows too hard and the balloon bursts. When Father gives him another balloon and a pump he tries again only to drift upwards and the others have to devise a way to get him down.

Keep Fit - The Flumps decide to do a bit of exercising in this episode and this varies from standing on their heads to lifting weights which is a bit much for Grandfather. They all have to have a nap when they get too tired and Grandfather dreams of being a champion.

Something Different - Like all children the young Flumps are easily bored and wish they could do something exciting and new. They are then told stories of when the adults were young and who they wanted to be like but after contemplating on their answers the young 'uns decide they are better off the way they are.

Lend a Hand - Pootle decides to help everyone out and starts with Mother in the kitchen as she is baking before moving on to help Grandfather polish his flumpet. He soons gets tired though after helping Posie with her wool and Perkin in the garden who is planting out. Help is at hand though in the form of the jam tarts he helped Mother make.

Quiet Please - This is one I can relate to. Mother Flump has a bit of a sore head with all the noise that everyone is making and although the family tell her to rest, no sooner than she is sat putting her feet up trying to sleep than someone wakens her up again. They decide to quietly look at a book in the other room and learn about animal noises whilst Mother gets the nap she needs.

Grandfather's Birthday - When no one gives him any cards or gifts Grandfather is sure that his family have forgotten his birthday but after feeling sorry for himself he is pleasantly surprised to find that they have been arranging a party for him.

What a Carrot - When the plants in the garden refuse to grow it's up to good old Mother's book to find out that they have blight and a potion is concocted to help them get better. A carrot then grows a few weeks later and it ends up like the enormous turnip with all the family helping to pull it out of the ground.

Where's Grandfather - A lost property box is created by Mother who keeps finding lots of the children's things lying around. Grandfather loses his glasses (which are on his head all the time) and Father loses his voice and needs medicine. Then after a while it is discovered that Grandfather has become lost and the gang set out to find him in time for tea.

When I saw this dvd I couldn't resist buying it especially since it was selling for £5 at the time. Each episode is 15 minutes long including the title sequence and the credits so you get a whopping 195 minutes worth of Flumps which can be a bit much in one session for the average child but for an addict like me, was fantastic.

My favourites episode has to be The Cloud. I think the way Perkin sulks around with the dark shadow over him is perfect for describing any little child like this and many a parent will associate with this behaviour. I have told my son that he had better be careful or he will end up with a cloud too.

The Carrot is my closely following second choice from this series as it is hilarious to watch these puffs of fluff wrap their arms round each other to pull the carrot out of the ground in a slightly different version of a classic tale.

The one thing that does get annoying is the parp parp of the theme tune for every episode and that can grate after a while of watching.

My bloke is a bit younger than me and hadn't heard of them before but I was soon getting him hooked as he was a firm fan of the likes of Bagpuss and other greats from that era. The kids aren't quite so enthralled by this one as I am but my son loves watching a couple of episodes at a time and thinks Pootle is hilarious when he pronounces words wrongly.

The dvd itself doesn't have any special features but you can choose either a specific episode or whether to play all. As you go along the list of episodes which scroll across the screen, you are treated to a little something relating to that particular one told by one of the Flumps themselves.

Even without the special features though this is a great buy for anyone who loves to relive past childhood with younger members of the family who are more used to CGI effects. Personally I think a campaign should be started for the BBC to bring these back on to our screens as part of a nostalgia series so that many more youngsters can share in the magic of these wonderful shows. 

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