Jellikins (also refereed to as Jellabies in some parts of Europe and Australia) was a UK based television animation series that aired globally on multiple networks (GMTV for the UK, FOX for US, ABC for Australia and Treehouse and Nick Jr in Canada etc.) Its target audience is children in the age of 2–6 years old.
Format[]
The program was created using computer-generated imagery (CGI) animation. The show was narrated by Rik Mayall. The Jellies are jelly made bears that live in the Jolly Jelly World, (made of jelly) which is the magical land at the end of the rainbow, where their main job is to make rainbows. (for which they have a machine called the Jellyscope, a computer/teleporter/rainbow generator which is constantly monitoring weather conditions around the world) Although each Jelly has its own vehicle to drive around in, their main use of travelling long distances around Jolly Jelly World is on the "Jelly train", a train that only consists of a cab (no actual locomotive) and one passenger car. The show debuted in 1998 and ended in 2003 through two series.
The Jellibies have the same format with the only difference being that they are people as opposed to being bears.
Behind the Scenes[]
Brothers Jonny and Mikel Lewis of Malvern, UK designed and created the world using 3D Studio Max software. It was loosely based on Jelly Babies sweets. Originating from humble beginnings in a dusty basement in Malvern and made on a home PC, it was signed up by a small editing house, Optical Image nr Birmingham, UK, commissioned by GMTV and then in many other countries around the world. It was the first British fully 3D computer animated series to make it on to television.
With Optical Image sealing sponsorship from a confectionery company, Jonny Lewis directed a group of animators to make the series, with Mikel Lewis focusing on design. Other animators who made considerable input were Meena Kamurai Pai, Andrew Lindsay, Richard, Andy Day, Ian Friend, Harjit Birdi, making each episode between them in a matter of days to meet a tight schedule. Editing was done by Ralph Tittley (also a director), Paul Perrins and Jason Bills. During the production of the many episodes, Jonny Lewis (the original designer/director of animation) left due to conflicting aims between him and the management. The company finished the production but did not then go on to successfully produce another show that made it to TV, in spite of several more attempts. Songs written and composed by Vo Fletcher.
Characters[]
Each of the 6 Jellies represent the colours of the rainbow. Strum, who lives at the train station, is purple, and is the musical Jelly that plays the saxophone; Bouncey, who lives in a bumper car, is yellow, Denny, who lives in a boat on the jelly-lake, is blue, Pepper, who lives in a tree house, is red, the twins Amber and Coral, (which they are orange and pink, respectively). Amber lives in a hot air balloon and Coral lives in a house made out of building blocks and toys which she can modify her house as she pleases, and finally Duffy the green Dragon, the only non-Jellaby character in the entire show, lives in the Jelly Caves.
Series[]
Series 1[]
Main Article: Series 1
Consisted of 84 episodes and began in 1998 and ended in 2000.
Series 2[]
Main Article: Series 2
Consisted of 12 episodes and began in 2002 and ended in 2003.
Mercidise[]
Main Article: List of Jellikins Merchandise
Due to the popularity of the show, there was a range of merchandise released along side the show, consisting of VHS tapes, teddy bears and musical releases in the form of CDs.