#roobarb and custard

[sunnysynthsunshine]

Future Generations: Small People was a charity programme for Children in Need, put together by the BBC in 1998.

The programme was dedicated to the BBC's vast output of children's programmes and featured five-year-old Scott Chisholm

link to the full advert: BBC - Generations (youtube.com)

[bunnziebobcat]

Fan Art Friday - Roobarb and Custard

This week's #FanArtFriday features Roobarb and Custard from the BBC's animated television series from 1974, and they're remembering their original narrator Richard Briers, who passed away, ten years ago on this day.

Characters © The estates of Grange Calveley and Bob Godfrey

[yestolerancepro]

Just the Job revisiting the Employment Game A Tolerance project extra blog

Introduction

Hello this month of August marks 25 years since me and a group of friends worked on a disability awareness film simply called Tolerance. This article is the first in a special series of blogs to celebrate that milestone.

As part of the 25 birthday celebrations I think its only fair that we revisit The Employment game

So why have I included The Employment game in Tolerance Project history ? Well firstly it shares a number of ideas and themes with the former (1) It treats a serious subject with a degree a humour which should make you smile and think at the same time. (2) it uses TV and film themes as part of its soundtrack.

The Employment Game uses the now classic theme from the Rhubarb and Custard cartoon series, The Tolerance Film took this idea further and in the course of its short 25min run time you can hear  themes from Star Wars, the Good the Bad the Ugly, Officer and a Gentlemen and a few others.

Lastly they both feature a person trying their hardest to get there dream job and succeeding in the end.

It is also part of the Tolerance film history that when the idea of the Tolerance film was first talked about, as co-ordinator of the group, I felt it was important to have some idea about what goes into film making, in order that when we did the real thing some months later, So I wouldn’t be completely lost on location or in a studio set. So I enrolled myself on a Film and TV-making course at Beaumont Street studios and as part of the course, we had to produce a short film – the Employment Game was born. 

The Employment Game was made in about in about 1998 The film runs for just under 10 mins and was directed by me with a script written by myself Rob Martin and Steve Walker it was shot inside Beaumont Street studios with very little set no budget and was shot and completed in just 2 days.

Why was The Employment Game created ?

The Employment Game was created as a result of my frustration at struggling to find a permanent job something which still annoys me to this day, especially as not much has changed sadly. Because people see my wheelchair first and me second, I kept being offered training courses, instead of chances of work, and consequently, I have a CV as long as long as your arm.

This is something which Robert himself complains about bitterly in the finished Tolerance film. Like Robert in the Tolerance film the character in the Employment Game has to deal with a man who is not very sympathetic to his wanting paid employment, and will give him every excuse why he will not employ him in his firm.

The man in question in the Employment Game is played by Rob Martin who plays a Mr Grosenberg like character, who in the Employment Game is minus the squeaky voice. I would bump into Rob again when making the Tolerance film when he was hired to provide the Behind The Scenes photographs  for the production

So What are my memories of The Employment Game?

For the most part they are good and happy ones I am glad it turned it so well it was certainly a good training exercise for when I made the Tolerance film some time later. It was a lot of fun to make watching it again recently you can see that that Myself and Rob Martin are having a laugh doing it . It was very hard keeping a straight face at times I can see myself cracking up.

One of the things I remember about the Employment game is that I was planning to do something else With a Scifi theme Quite rightly the teacher of my class steered me towards doing something easier So I came up with the Employment Game idea instead.

Before filming even got started myself and Rob with the other members of the class nicked a camera and did a short pilot of of my ideas.

Watching the film again I note there are 3 script writers myself Rob Martin and Steve Walker. The reason for this was simple, I originally wrote the script myself but about 2 days before filming the script that I worked hard on went walkies So the three of us had to sit down and do an emergency rewrite.

 I don’t think there was much of a script to speak of in fact I think most of it is ad libbed a lot of Rob Martins lines certainly are his comments about the Spice girls and you wouldn’t get the jobs anyway sound is if they come off the top of his head there was also a nice out take from me about the Spice girls that hit the cutting room floor I won’t go into details but The Employment Game was certainly the happier of my 2 filming experiences.

The Themes of The Employment Game/ Borrowing a theme from a Children’s classic

After 2 days of filming the Employment Game was then edited by me at Beaumont street studios the only hitch we had was deciding what music to use for the opening and closing titles as with the Tolerance film my CD collection came to the rescue.

After a short search I decided it was down to 2 pieces of music the Gallery theme used on the programme Vision On, a show aimed at the deaf community that was presented by Pat Keysell and Tony Hart which ran on the BBC for 12 series between 6th March 1964 to 11 May 1976.

To learn more about Vision On which just so happens to be celebrating its 60th birthday this year click here Vision On at 60 – celebrating a creative powerhouse that inspired a generation | Radio Times

The music was part of my Childhood as it was also used on the Tony Hart series Take Hart 1977-1983 if you don’t know what I am talking about. You can find the music on You Tube by looking for it under its proper title called Left Bank two written by Wayne Hill and recorded by the Noveltones for De Wolfe music or click here.The Noveltones - Left Bank Two - Vision On Gallery Theme (youtube.com)

After listening to it featured on rough mix of the film I decided it didn’t work. because it was too long and it didn’t suit the comedic tone of the film. so I decided to go with my second choice the theme from Roobarb and Custard.

You can watch the opening titles by clicking here (4) Roobarb - Intro Theme Tune Animated Titles - YouTube

For those who have not seen the show it was an animated series created by Grange Calveley and originally shown on BBC1 just before the evening news. Each cartoon, written by Calveley and directed by Bob Godfrey, was about five minutes long. Thirty episodes were made, and the show was first shown on 21 October 1974. The theme is that of the friendly rivalry between Roobarb, a green dog with an overactive imagination, and Custard, the mischievous laconic pink cat from next door.

The narration of the series was provided by the actor Richard Briers

Photo Captions

Beaumont street studios where the Employment game was shot it closed its doors for the last time  2010

 Me in the job Centre set one of the writers Steve walker is sat next to me in the blue shirt

Rob Martin as the not very helpful Job centre employee

A 20 year old me I play a version of myself in the film not much of a stretch really

Me and my Electric Chair providing the title sequence

Vision on with Pat Keysell and Tony Hart

Roobarb and Custard

 Richard Briers.

Special Thanks to Ian Medley for rescuing the film from VHS

To help the Tolerance Project you can read about us or give us a small donation by clicking on the following link

 or follow us on Twitter @tolerancepro

[nowhereelsetopost]

Underrated Fiction Cats (Part 3)

(In No Particular Order)

1. Zoot Cat from Tom And Jerry 2. Toodles Galore from Tom And Jerry 3. Mr Jim Business from Bob's Burgers 4. Cat Owl from Avatar: The Last Airbender 5. Custard from Strawberry Shortcake (2003) 6. The Box Prince from Adventure Time 7. Jess from the Postman Pat 8. Candy Cat from Peppa Pig 9. Custard from Roobarb & Custard 10. Opal from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

(It wasn't intentional to have two cats on the list called Custard but here we are)

[jasonsutekh]

Roobarb (1974) and Roobarb and Custard Too (2005)

The adventures of a dog and his neighbours as the embark on contest, games, and mischief.

 As with other series of the time it has a primitive entertainment value to it. Some of the puns and visual gags are amusing and a few are even clever. The description of how they say or do things is an enjoyable affectation that is likely to appeal to children and the narrator seems amiable as well as doing the voices in the later series with variety.

 It’s natural that the characters should have their good points and bad points but the outstanding one is Custard who appears objectively bad in nearly every story with consequences being divided equally between him and his victims. Not all the episodes resolve in a meaningful way, occasionally drifting off into disappointing obscurity.

 The design and audio quality improve considerably between the two series since there’s such a long gap but the style is kept the same which is reassuring. There’s also a wider variety of characters, many of which are beneficial to the stories and are given enjoyable accents. The bizarre elements also give it an interesting charm as well as allowing for more engaging aesthetics.

 The theme music is really something atrocious, it’s actually difficult to binge watch too many in a row because of how grating the tune is. It has a lot of similarities to other children’s series made in the same production style, format, and strange stories, like Henry’s Cat (1983), however Roobarb doesn’t quite come out as effective as Henry’s Cat.

 Roobarb: 3/10 -This one’s bad but there’s some good in it, just there-

 Roobarb and Custard Too: 4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-

 -The animators drew each image with marker pens to give the effect of the picture wobbling.

[r0zeclawz]

your icon and art style always makes me think of the roobarb and custard theme song somehow :3

i just looked that up and thats SUCH a fucking compliment holy shit..... i look just like that dog in real life :)

[ladyaislinn]

His father, Bill, an Australian animator (who worked on "Yellow Submarine" and "Roobarb And Custard") was not the greatest role model: " He was a bumbler with change falling out of his pockets and holes in his trousers. An artist who would forget to provide the things that were necessary but would turn up with presents." He married three times, and separated from Sewell's mother Jo early on, leaving her to support Rufus and his brother Caspar with pub jobs and a vegetable delivery round. "We would live on what was left over. I remember it being, like, slightly rotting artichokes with everything for a week."

In the late seventies, Bill took to wearing kaftans and following the Maharishi Yogi. And when Rufus was 10, he died. He had always told the family that he was an only child, but then came a letter from an Australian sister, who had spotted the Sewell features when she saw Rufus in a film and made the connection. "Suddenly I've got an auntie Sydney who is married to a de-frocked priest, and about five cousins, who all look so much like me and my brother. They've all got these green eyes." the guardian, 1997

[iconuk01]

From 1974, the unique animation style of "Roobarb" a kids cartoon show that was shown just before the early evening news (and thus became popular with adults too).

The marker-style animation with it's constant juddering (apparently called "boiling" by animators) added extra energy.

Richard Briers voiced all the characters, including the endlessly eager and well meaning (if sometimes a bit smug) Roobarb and his rival, the sarcastic pink cat next door named Custard.

[pastedpast]

Blondie - Pretty Baby. Live in Glasgow, 1979.

Incense and peppermints. Acid pink and turquoise. Roobarb and Custard.

[k00293433]

22/11/23

I did some more research into the style of animation I’d like to do. I wanted to focus on making the animation childlike and very makeshift. I looked at animations such as Roobarb and Custard, Roly Mo and Bagpuss. These types of animations instil a great sense of nostalgia in me and this is the kind of feeling I want to demonstrate in my own work.

I was particularly inspired by Roobarb and Custard for my animation mainly because the series is animated in a deliberately rough style, using marker pens and a very sketchy drawing technique, so that the pictures are constantly "shaking".

[writteninscarlet]

Custard! (Whilst Marlene is obviously Roobarb. Or is it the other way around? xD) ;; @marlenexalraune

give my muse a nickname / pet name ;; accepting

;; wha—?! She’s clearly Roobarb!

Lmao. I think they go back and forth. Marlene is the Custard to Wanda’s Roobarb and the fact Marlene would call her Custard is proof of this fact! Either way, totally a joke they laugh about together. Wanda absolutely accepts these names

[buairr]

It a happy thing in my life to know that there's still Rocko and Roobarb and Custard that I haven't seen yet.

[1five1two]

[claydisarray]

Trying out SCULPEY SOUFFLÉ Polymer Clay for SixFanArts | Studio Vlog

[nowhereelsetopost]

Underrated Fiction Dogs (Part 2)

(In No Particular Order)

1. Dusty from Stardew Valley 2. Winona from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic 3. Pupcake from Strawberry Shortcake 4. Danny Dog from Peppa Pig 5. Kipper from Kipper (by Mick Inkpen) 6. Tavern Dog from Over The Garden Wall 7. Hairy Maclary from Hairy Maclary (by Linley Dodd) 8. Roobarb from Roobarb & Custard 9. Spot from Spot (by Eric Hill) 10. Taffy from Barbie Life In The Dreamhouse

[mybeerandme]

Another #funky find from my last trip to #Edinburgh a #Fierce investor seller #limitededision realese. #Roobarb and #custard #dessertale. I think this will be my last experiment for a while. Going back to the good ald IPAs and #Caskales. . . . #Edinburghcity #Fierce #fiercebrewery #scotish #scottishlife #greyfriars #graveyard #greyfriarsbobby #edinburghview #sctoishbeer #beercan #Scotland (at Greyfriars Kirk) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuE5bM6gMaq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ik79qk293ucs