The Gingerbread Man (TV series)

The Gingerbread Man
Genre	Children's television series
Created by	David Wood
Written by	David Wood
Directed by	Martin Pullen
Creative director(s)	Alan Murphy (art director)
Voices of	Andrew Sachs Jacqueline Clarke
Narrated by	Anton Rodgers
Theme music composer	David Wood
Composer(s)	Peter Pontzen David Wood
Country of origin	England
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer(s)	David Yates
Producer(s)	Kathy Swain
Editor(s)	Andi Sloss
Camera setup	Simon Paul
Running time	10 minutes per episode (approx.)
Production company(s)	FilmFair Central Independent Television
Distributor	Abbey Home Media (Region 2 DVD-Video)
Release
Original network	ITV
Picture format	PAL (576i)
Original release	24 April 1992[1] – 1992

The Gingerbread Man is a stop motion animated children's television series about a gingerbread man and his friends, who come to life in their kitchen home when the Big Ones are asleep.^[2]

The series was written by David Wood, adapted from his two-act musical play The Gingerbread Man, which premiered in 1976 at the Towngate Theatre in Basildon, Essex, and went on to great international success.^[3] The play is inspired by "The Gingerbread Man", a 19th-century fairy tale.

The screen adaptation was co-produced by FilmFair and Central Independent Television in 1991, and broadcast on ITV in 1992. Andrew Sachs voiced the roles of the Gingerbread Man, Mr Salt the Sailor, and Herr Von Cuckoo. Jacqueline Clarke voiced Miss Pepper.

Characters

• The Gingerbread Man [title character]
• Miss Pepper
• Mr Salt
• Herr Von Cuckoo
• Sleek The Mouse
• The Old Tea Bag
• The Big Ones - Never seen.

Episodes

1. "The Arrival"
2. "Herr Von Cuckoo's Cuckoo"
3. "Sleek the Mouse"
4. "Hide and Squeak"
5. "Poison"
6. "Party"
7. "A Pinch of Salt"
8. "Locked Clock"
9. "Weekend Break"
10. "Old Tea Bag in Danger"
11. "While the Cat's Away"
12. "It's Not Fair"
13. "The Gingerbread Ghost"

VHS Releases

In the United Kingdom, the entire TV series was first published on two VHS tapes on 1 September 1992, recommended by Polygram Video and distributed by Channel 5.^[4] Various animation compilations on VHS included single episodes. Polygram Video published the entire series on one VHS tape on 24 April 1995.

DVD Releases

After including a portion of the series on its VHS animation compilation All Together Now (2001), Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the entire series on one Region 2 DVD titled The Gingerbread Man (12 April 2004), again recommended by Polygram Video and distributed by Channel 5. Abbey Home Media re-released the first 6 episodes on DVD on 27 March 2006,^[5] and the remaining seven episodes on a second DVD on 26 March 2007.^[6] Apparently, 3 DVD and VHS releases were (and still are) available in the UK.

Notes

1. "The Gingerbread Man". BFI Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
2. Diamond, Frazer. "The Gingerbread Man". Toonhound. Frazer Diamond. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
3. "The Gingerbread Man". David Wood: The National Children's Dramatist. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
4. "The Gingerbread Man". Copyright Encyclopedia. Advameg, Inc. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
5. "The Gingerbread Man: The Arrival". bva.org.uk. The British Video Association. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
6. "The Gingerbread Man: A Pinch of Salt". bva.org.uk. The British Video Association. Retrieved 6 January 2013.

External links

• The Gingerbread Man at the Internet Movie Database