subject: Noddy - From Simple Beginnings To Present Day Media Icon [print this page] For many people on the American side of the Atlantic, the name of Noddy means absolutely nothing, but for the majority of kids of a certain age in the UK, he was THE children's television and story book character. Making it's debut on British television in nineteen fifty four and carrying on in the same format up to the 70s, it was a established favorite for children between two and eight years of age.
Its obvious that children of today have a substantially more acute and grown up view of the world they live in, but the values implicit in in this old series have stood the test of time, it appears. In the first place intended as a children's picture story book authored by Enid Blyton, the most recent version 'Make Way For Noddy' is in 3D and seen in over one hundred different countries around the world.
The action is inevitably accompanied by lots of fun and laughter focused around the Noddy characters, and the underlying motives are always really positive, an important factor for children. The series is never negative, or depressing. Everything is possible with a good heart - this is the message. Of course, even in Noddy, we have the odd characters that are slightly tainted, like the naughty goblins Sly and Gobbo - wonderful names for bad goblins.
The first concept of Noddy the simple wooden toy has transformed bit by bit through the years since he was created, but the change during recent years have been quite marked. Our world has changed significantly since nineteen fifty four, when Noddy first came to Toy Town, and kid's habits have changed as well. This is forever a challenge for traditional ways of telling a story, Noddy games have been created to cater for these new ways that children play.
How to retain those important core constructive elements, put them into a modern setting and entertain a new audience used to spectacular and fast visual effects in their entertainment? Naturally, it helps if the basic idea is truly lasting - Noddy has proved this beyond any doubt at all after seventy years of popularity.
For some time, Noddy characters only existed in the books put together by Enid Blyton, until TV began gain popularity in the nineteen fifties. Parents and broadcasters quickly realized that television was an ideal way to keep young kids happy, but in an interesting, fun and educational way. Noddy was ideal for this idea. It was mild, every one had a good time, and nothing really bad ever happened in Toy Town.
In general, the short stories had a little social message at the end. For example, if someone attempted to trick another, he would be found out and shame would be his punishment. Most misdemeanors were the result of misunderstandings, and once Mr Plod the policemen explained what the problem was, everything was OK.
