 SmallfilmsSMALLFILMS, the production company that was formed in 1958 by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, was responsible for creating a multitude of small films for children’s television during the 1960s and 70s. Their films became a staple of children’s television during a period when the programmes seem to have been less manic and more user-friendly than many of the ones we see today. The stories are exciting without the need for gratuitous violence. The situations portrayed are real and relevant to life, informative and often moving as well as hilarious in concept. They are presented in a careful way that is, by today’s standards, a leisurely, almost ruminative pace, but with a lightness of touch, a powerful imaginative wit and a richness of material that has been recognised as unique and memorable and has given them a permanent place in the folk memory of the television age. The children who watched those films are now grown up and suddenly, during the last couple of years, it has become clear that today’s young parents are longing to see the films that delighted them when they were young and to show them their own children. The advent of the video has made it possible for this to happen. Videos of Ivor the Engine, the Clangers and Noggin the Nog have been produced and these have triggered off a strong revival of interest in the stories and characters. New books and audio-tapes of Noggin the Nog are being produced. Books on Clangers are in the pipeline and cable and satellite television are asking to show the films. There has also been a spate of enquiries from advertising firms wishing to 'use' Clangers to advertise their incongruous wares.
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