Bagpuss

Surprisingly, considering Bagpuss’s incredible popularity, only 13 episodes were ever made. The TV series was first broadcast on 12 February 1974 and ran to 7 May 1974, and has been frequently repeated ever since. Each programme began in the same way: through a series of sepia photographs, the viewer is told of a little girl named Emily who owned a shop (which didn’t actually sell anything). Emily found lost and broken things and displayed them in the window, so their owners could come and collect them. She would leave the object in front of her favourite stuffed toy, Bagpuss, whose “thinks bubble” became a way to illustrate the stories and mend or explore the objects that Emily had found. In real life Emily is one of Peter’s daughters.

Bafta-winning Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate created beloved characters for children’s television programmes in the pre-CGI animation era using stop-frame animation. Smallfilms became known to the BBC for their reliability and high quality shows and were renowned for being able to produce up to 2 minutes of TV-ready animation a day, far above pre-CGI industry standards.

In November 2014, Peter Firmin was presented with the prestigious Special Award at the British Academy Children’s Awards to recognise the legacy of Smallfilms’.

Along with the original Bagpuss, Peter Firmin generously loaned many of the original film props for long-term display at The Beaney including Noggin the Nog and the Clangers.

Find them all on display in The Smallfilms Gallery, 1st Floor, The Beaney.

Remember these famous lines?

Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss

Old fat furry cat-puss

Wake up and look at this thing that I bring

Wake up, be bright

Be golden and light

Bagpuss, Oh hear what I sing