Archives for January 2011

Little Human Planet follows the lives of young children from around the world, giving a glimpse to our CBeebies viewers of how their counterparts live wherever they are. It's a celebration of what makes children different and what makes them the same around the world in a colourful and often surprising voyage of discovery.

In this programme we travel to a town in Mongolia to meet six year old Aisana and her eleven year old friend. Aisana is getting prepared by dressing up in a special and beautiful outfit for the yearly Eagle Festival that takes place in the town. This is a colourful and traditional festival of the Kasakh people.

You can find out more about the series on the Grown-ups website https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/about/programmes/littlehumanplanet.shtml

Please check it out and let us know what you think of the show.

Little Human Planet follows the lives of young children from around the world, giving a glimpse to our CBeebies viewers of how their counterparts live wherever they are. It's a celebration of what makes children different and what makes them the same around the world in a colourful and often surprising voyage of discovery.

In this programme we travel to hot Samburuland in Kenya, Africa. Samburuland is home to strikingly adorned Samburu people. However, due to climate and environment, they often wear very little clothing at all. In parched Samburuland, when the rivers disappear, people, animals and wildlife share the life-giving underground resource of water in harmony. The Samburu dig wells and, the lower the water table falls, the deeper a well must be excavated. The Samburu people provide water in wooden troughs for the animals to drink – their camels, their goats and for any animal that might need water.

It is here we meet a five year old boy called Nintujigwa and his dad.It is a typical day in Nintujigwa’s life as we see him and the family use the precious water to have a drink, have a shower and quench the thirst of some animals.

You can find out more about the series on the Grown-ups website https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/about/programmes/littlehumanplanet.shtml

Please check it out and let us know what you think of the show.

Elen

Little Human Planet follows the lives of young children from around the world, giving a glimpse to our CBeebies viewers of how their counterparts live wherever they are. It's a celebration of what makes children different and what makes them the same around the world in a colourful and often surprising voyage of discovery.

During this programme we travel to two very different locations around the world.Firstly, the high Simien mountains of Ethiopia where people live higher than anywhere in Europe or North America. It is on these mountains we get a glimpse into the extraordinary life of six year old Maza. and her family and also see their home made of straw and mud.

We then travel to the freezing coldand Arctic conditions of North Canada to meet six year old Kirima.She is wrapped up warm as she helps and watches her family build an igloo. This programme reflects two six year old girls with two very different lives.

You can find out more about the series on the Grown-ups website https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/about/programmes/littlehumanplanet.shtml

Please check it out and let us know what you think of the show.

Elen

This is the third in CBeebies' innovative and beautiful new series exploring the variety of childhoods across the world. In this programme we travel to a beautiful island called Yap in the western Pacific region of Micronesia. It is here we meet five year old Putin, her big sister and her aunt. The three go for a walk through the nearby bushes and plantations to dig and collect yams. With a basket full of yams collected they return home to prepare and cook them. Putin and her sister sit and sing around an open fire as aunty cooks the yams.

You can find out more about the series on the Grown-ups website https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/about/programmes/littlehumanplanet.shtml

Please check it out and let us know what you think of the show.

Elen

Hi everyone it's Justin here!

I am very excited to announce that Gigglebiz series 2 started yesterday on Cbeebies!

Watch out for our fantastic line-up of new characters including Opera Oliver, Rod and Annette, Keith Fit and Doctor Doctor. It's so thrilling to see the programme we have been working on for months, finally go out on Cbeebies.

We always have a wonderful time filming the show. It's extremely hard work but we have an incredible cast and crew to produce this great programme.

I started coming up with the Gigglebiz characters over 15 years ago and every time a new one pops into my head I write it down on a little pad that I carry.

There's nothing better than seeing a character that started out as just a few scribbles, finally come to life on screen.

Hope you enjoy the new series as much as we did filming it.

All together now…. “na na na na, ho ho ho”. Yes, what else could it be? “Gigglebiz” is back for a second series - yay!! (Well, I hope you’re as excited as we are…..!)

Monday 17th January sees 15 all-singing, all-dancing brand new episodes of Justin and his box of giggle-inducing characters. (And I do mean ‘singing’ - watch out for a new character called ‘Opera Oliver’ later in the series.)

When we learned early last year that there was to be a second series of Gigglebiz, Justin and I sat down over a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit or six to discuss which of the characters from Series One we felt we absolutely had to keep. And Justin was champing at the bit to reel off his ideas for new characters, so we also had a few tough decisions about which characters were going to have a bit of a rest this time.

We both felt very strongly that the show shouldn’t look so different from the first series as to be unrecognisable, but that there should be something new and fresh about it to distinguish it and keep the little ones on their toes and wanting more. Plus, we still wanted it to be a show that the whole family could sit down together and enjoy.

So be prepared to say “ho ho ho and welcome” to Simon Pieman (whom you’ll have met briefly if you caught the Christmas special), Opera Oliver, Rod and Annette (for which we were delighted to secure the talents of the very lovely Anita Dobson as Annette), Doctor Doctor and Keith Fit, to name a few. Plus we welcome back many of the favourites from the first series - Major Boogie, Captain Adorable, Dina Lady (who’s had a bit of a make-over after this TV lark went to her head a bit), Arthur Sleep, The Lost Pirate, Rapids Johnson and, of course, the ever-fragrant Gail Force whose weather-forecasting skills, I’m happy to report, haven’t improved one bit!

As always, we love to receive your feedback, particularly when you pass on to us the comments from your children, so do make use of the various ways of contacting us. On this I can very definitely say I DON’T agree with Captain Adorable when he says, “Please, don’t thank us, it’s…… what we do!”

Daracoa stilt village, Rio Negro river that flows in the Amazon, Brazil. Carlos Eduardo (4yrs old) and friends playing on a log on the river

It is here we meet a mischievous four year old boy called Carlos Eduardo.It is the dry season (between September and December) and during this season it is a life full of fun, socialising, play and relaxation.We see him build sand castles with his grandma. The clanging of a makeshift bell sends Carlos Eduardo and his friends off to school. During the lesson a colourful pet parrot suddenly flies into the classroom as he roams freely around, much to the amusement of Carlos as he plays with his feathered friend.At the end of the day, Carlos relaxes by splashing in the banks of the river - a typical day in the life of Carlos Eduardo.

In this programme we travel to the busy and oldest-known city in sub-Saharan Africa – Djenne in Mali. Since there is no readily available stone or wood on the edge of the Sahara, the city has been built from what the environment has provided, namely mud and straw. It is here in this city we meet a busy four year old boy called Mama Kayentan and his dad. They both walk with their empty baskets to the dry river bed to collect mud. After collecting the mud they walk home with their baskets full of mud on their heads.It’s amazing to see how resourceful they are as they mix the mud with straw to give the mud strength and texture in order and use it to help mend the wall of their home..

When I heard that the major landmark BBC 1 series, Human Planet was being made, my brain immediately started working overtime. If the Human Planet team would be filming humans in far flung and remote locations around the world, they were bound to be meeting children too during their journeys? Wow, what a great opportunity for a children’s preschool version to be made at the same time for CBeebies! 

As a mum to a CBeebies viewer myself, I was excited and passionate at the prospect of creating something really special for the BBC’s youngest and in my opinion, most important viewers, to open their minds to the wider cultures and environments around the world. 

Little Human Planet can be considered as the little sister series to Human Planet. It consists of 16 x 5 mins programmes that will be broadcast during the same period as the main series.

Each programme follows a typical activity in the life of a child from around the world – a glimpse to a CBeebies viewer of how their counterparts live, wherever they may be. It explores the everyday lives of amazing children in amazing locations, in a colourful and often surprising voyage of discovery.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to pack my passport to film the sequences. This was done by the brilliant Human Planet location teams. However we worked very closely together to ensure the footage and content was suitable for our CBeebies audience Naturally, this proved difficult in certain locations where few clothes, if any are worn and health and safety wasn’t given a second thought! I was never sure what I was going to get, only crossing my fingers they would meet some children and film some magic moments.

But I soon discovered I needn’t have worried. Over a period of a year and a half, each time a team came back with special Little Human Planet labelled footage it was like the anticipation and excitement of opening Christmas present. Who would I meet this time? Could it be Dua, a six-year-old girl who lives in a tree house in a jungle in Papua or mischievous four-year-old, Carlos Eduardo, who lives on the flooded banks of the Rio Negro? Or how about four-year-old Shoree helping her dad build a ger home in Mongolia, or three-year-old Edjongon, who walks long distances each day to collect water from a well in Mali? 

Even though I have never met these fascinating characters, I feel as if I have.. And though the children’s experiences, circumstances and environments differ hugely, I learnt that at heart children are all the same and their smiles are universal.

I am honoured, grateful and proud to be a tiny part of the Human Planet family and I hope that you and your child will enjoy them too. Please let us know what you think.

Elen Rhys, Little Human Planet producer

As Programme Executive for CBeebies, I count myself very lucky to be able to work on many great shows and I'm particularly excited about a very special new series, LITTLE CHARLEY BEAR.

I'm confident that both girls and boys are going to love Charley - he's funny, playful and sometimes mischievous as he goes on adventures, discovering the world around him.

We all know children love to role play and hopefully Charley will encourage and inspire them to use their imaginations and have fun. So whether they want to be an astronaut, a racing driver, or even a pop star, Charley and his friends will take them on a journey beyond their wildest dreams.

The show has been a labour of love for a lot of people - but I think the passion and dedication won through in the end! We've used the latest high-end 3D graphics, whilst still retaining all the traditional values of a classic childrens' show. We're also very lucky to have the multi-talented James Corden on board as the narrator (he truly has the most infectious laugh I've ever heard!) CBeebies viewers are in for a treat!

As a little extra for all you CBeebies Grown-ups, we have a fantastic little film of James talking about all the fun we had making it - enjoy!

Well... I'm off now to grab my cardboard box as I fancy being a train driver today! I hope you and your children enjoy watching Charley and do let us know what you think.

YOU'VE GOTTA LOVE THAT BEAR!

Mandy x