Big & Small
GenreChildren's comedy
Musical
Created byKindle Entertainment
Voices ofLenny Henry (UK; Series 1–3)
Todd Doldersum (CAN; Series 1-3)
Jason Hopley (CAN; Series 1-3)
Imelda Staunton (UK; Series 1–2)
Tamsin Heatley (UK; Series 3)
Opening theme"The Big and Small Song" by Lenny Henry (UK)/"The Big and Small Song" by Todd Doldersum & Jason Hopley (CAN)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes78
Production
Executive producerAnne Brogan
ProducersDavid Collier
Shannon Summerling
Running time11 minutes
Production companiesKindle Entertainment
3J's Productions
Sixteen South (series 3)
Studio 100
Original release
NetworkCBeebies (United Kingdom)
Treehouse TV (Canada)
S4C (Welsh)
Release6 October 2008 (2008-10-06) –
7 November 2011 (2011-11-07)

Big & Small is a children's television series aimed at preschoolers following the lives of two very different best friends named Big and Small. Big & Small is a co-production between Kindle Entertainment and 3J's Productions produced in association with the BBC, Treehouse TV, and Studio 100.[1] Three series were aired between 2008 and 2011.

Episode structure

The show starts off with the characters doing various things, such as playing a game, or building an invention. There is then a conflict between the characters that leads to the main plot of the episode. The characters then resolve their conflict before the end of the episode. There is always at least one song per episode, which is filmed in shadowmation.

Characters

Big (right) and Small (left)
  • Big (Lenny Henry), a large and purple bear-like creature who is very friendly and laid-back.
  • Small (Lenny Henry), a small and orange dog-like creature who is very raucous and impulsive.
  • Ruby (Imelda Staunton (series 1-2); Tamsin Heatley (series 3), a pink red-haired mouse who lives in a hole within Big and Small's house. She is generally friendly but tends to lose her temper with Small.
  • Twiba (Imelda Staunton), a light green worm who lives inside an apple in Big and Small's garden. Twiba is an acronym that stands for "The Worm in Big's Apple". She is generally friendly but often acts somewhat pompous. She only appeared in the first two series.
  • The Frogs (unknown voice actor), a pair of hat-wearing frogs who live in the garden pond. One is lime green with a red wool hat, while the other is dark green with a business hat.
  • T-Rex, a light-brown dinosaur plush belonging to Big. T-Rex is Big's favourite toy, but Small is terrified of him.
  • The Fish, a neon-yellow fish who lives in the garden pond.
  • The Gwelf, a mischievous green storybook character. Small believes that the Gwelf is real, but Big isn't so sure. In most episodes, the Gwelf is implied to be some sort of alien.

Broadcasters

In the United Kingdom, Big & Small was shown on CBeebies, BBC1, and BBC2,[2] as well as Cyw in Wales.[3] Treehouse TV aired Big & Small in Canada. In total, over 40 channels worldwide have featured the programme.[3]

Home Media

On March 12, 2009, ITV Global Entertainment secured the UK Home Media rights to the series. Through their ITV DVD label, the company released "We're Big & Small!" on March 30.[4] The UK version contains the first eight episodes of Series 1 as well as three bonus shorts, while the Canadian version released by Treehouse TV omits the shorts and only includes the first five episodes.

Two further DVDs were released in the UK: "Starry, Starry Night", containing episodes 9 to 16 of Series 1, and "The Biggest Story", containing episodes 1 to 5 and episode 16 of Series 3; the former released by ITV Studios, and the latter released by Abbey Home Media. In Canada, Treehouse TV released "Party Time!", containing five assorted episodes from Series 1 and 2.

Episodes

Series overview

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1266 October 20087 November 2008
22619 October 200923 November 2009
32612 September 20117 November 2011

Episode List

Series 1

  1. Something is Missing
  2. A Door for Small
  3. Fish Wish
  4. There's a Space for Small
  5. A Piece of Cake
  6. The Worm in Big's Apple
  7. The Case of the Missing Dinosaur
  8. Stormy Weather
  9. Playing by the Rules
  10. A Sound Idea
  11. Rain Dance
  12. My Friend Fang
  13. Starry Starry Night
  14. Bad Luck Machine
  15. The Big Sneeze
  16. The Mysterious Woods
  17. Surprise, Surprise
  18. The Sleep Toy Thingie
  19. Smashing Tomatoes
  20. Picture Perfect
  21. Twiba's Treasure Hunt
  22. The Case of the Clogs
  23. Twiba Takes Flight
  24. Cabin Fever
  25. Five Minute Sled
  26. The Gwelf In The Garden

Series 2

  1. Tall Small
  2. I Spy a Firefly
  3. Say Cheese
  4. Celery Day
  5. The Singing Gwelf
  6. The Road Not Taken
  7. Party Time
  8. Dream Team
  9. I See, You Saw
  10. The Big Race
  11. Abracadabra
  12. Frog Fight
  13. The Broken Scooter
  14. Blame it on the Drain
  15. Small's Branch
  16. Play Date
  17. The Case of the Missing Kohlrabi
  18. Promises, Promises
  19. Spring Fling
  20. Never Say No
  21. The Book of Big
  22. A Quiet Day
  23. The Missing Biscuit
  24. Thar She Buzzes
  25. The Not So Happy Camper
  26. Big & Small Day

Series 3

  1. Small, Small Let Down Your Hair
  2. Boingo Boys
  3. The Rainbow
  4. The Scare-Small
  5. The Box
  6. The Missing Answer
  7. Millions of Vegetable Soup
  8. Hot and Bothered
  9. A Room of Small's Own
  10. Catch a Fallen Star
  11. Thanks for the Memories
  12. Opposite Day
  13. Fishing for Elephants
  14. The Hiccups
  15. Friends in a Fog
  16. The Biggest Story
  17. A Room With a View
  18. Just What I Wanted
  19. Slippery Slide
  20. A Letter From Furthermost
  21. Balloonatics
  22. An Evening of Delights
  23. The Egg
  24. Gone Fishin'
  25. Hopalong Small
  26. Moon Race

Awards

  • Awarded "Best Writing" at the 2013 KidScreen Awards[5]
  • Awarded "Best Interactive Service" for Big & Small Online at the BAFTA Children's Awards in 2009.[6]
  • Awarded "Best Children's Programme" for the episode "Blame It on the Drain" at the Royal Television Society's Educational Television Awards for 2009. Big & Small was called "A well constructed programme with great warmth, charm and child appeal."[7]

References

  1. ↑ Waller, Ed (29 August 2009). "CBeebies is having a laugh!". C21Media. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "Find out more about Kindle's completed productions". Kindle Entertainment. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Second UK network for Big & Small". C21Media. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "ITV Gets Big and Small DVD Rights".
  5. ↑ "And the 2013 Kidscreen Awards winners are…". Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "Children's Nominations 2009". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on 26 February 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "RTS Programme Awards 2009". Royal Television Society. 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
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