The Adventures Of Twizzle
| The Adventures of Twizzle | |
|---|---|
The Adventures of Twizzle title screenshot
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| Also known as | ''Twizzle'' |
| Genre |
Adventure Children's Fantasy |
| Created by | Roberta Leigh |
| Written by | Roberta Leigh |
| Directed by | Gerry Anderson |
| Voices of | Denise Bryer Nancy Nevinson |
| Narrated by | Nancy Nevinson |
| Composer(s) | Leslie Clair, arranged by Barry Gray |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Gerry Anderson Roberta Leigh |
| Cinematography | Arthur Provis |
| Editor(s) | David Elliott |
| Camera setup | Single |
| Running time | 13 mins approx. per episode |
| Production company(s) |
AP Films Banty Books |
| Distributor | Associated-Rediffusion |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV Network |
| Picture format | Black and white |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original release | 13 November 1957 – 10 June 1959 |
The Adventures of Twizzle is the first television show produced by AP Films and specifically Gerry Anderson, after being approached by author Roberta Leigh (who also co-produced with Anderson) and her colleague Suzanne Warner. Sources vary as to who directed the series. In addition to his production duties, Anderson also directed the episodes with photography by Arthur Provis, Anderson's founding partner at AP Films. The music for the songs was written by Leslie Clair (a pseudonym for Leslie Solley) and scored by Barry Gray. Art direction was by Reg Hill and special effects were by Derek Meddings, all of whom would become long-time collaborators of Anderson. Twizzle, and all the puppets for the 52 episodes, were made by Joy Laurey. There were two Twizzle puppets made for filming, one for conventional shots and the second for stunt shots when Twizzle's arms and legs became longer, a trick that relied on a system of curtain rings and puppet strings pulled inside the puppets' arms and legs.
Twizzle has the ability to extend (or "twizzle") his legs and arms; he wears a pixie-like hat and has a cat companion known as "Footso". "Twizzle" was voiced by Nancy Nevinson who also narrated the series. Denise Bryer did Footso and the other voices.
The series follows Twizzle's adventures as he uses his abilities to get out of trouble. A total of 52 episodes were made in black and white, although only the first, Twizzle and Footso, is believed to still exist. It was included as an additional feature on the boxed set of the series of Space Patrol released in 2003.
Twizzle's legs looked suspiciously like drinking straws with lines around them in a swirling pattern and undoubtedly the figure was pushed up from below while the straw-like legs were twisted around to give the "Twizzle" effect. Twizzle originally lived in a toy shop and was nearly sold to a naughty girl named Sally Cross but he hides and escapes in the night before the child returns the following day to buy him. He hides in a dog kennel where he finds Footso who has run away from home.
Twizzle proved useful in a fire by saving a child on a high window when no ladder was available for which he was given a racing car as a reward but after crashing it he swapped it for a breakdown truck which he uses for rescuing toys. Footso had large feet which sometimes trip him up, hence his name. Later came Jiffy the Broomstick Man (a cross between a broom made of twigs and a man who could sweep the floor on his own) who Twizzle and Footso rescued from the clutches of a stereotypical evil witch (who had threatened to burn him) when he flew up the chimney to escape her. The witch returned in a later episode and there was another narrow escape by all. Jiffy could fly by lying horizontal and would fly other people out of trouble. Twizzle and Footso built Straytown where stray toys (misfits) could live and lived in a cabin there. This theme was later carried over to Torchy the Battery Boy. Both ideas bear a resemblance to Peter Pan and Neverneverland.
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