By Martin McCauley
Roary the Racing Car is a proud new addition to the venerable tradition of children's television shows designed to teach young children a valuable lesson in each installment; and like other successful members of this selective genera Roary the Racing Car makes use of a celebrity voice, Peter Kay, to bring one of the main characters to life; both on screen and in children's hearts. Peter Kay is also responsible for singing the Roary the Racing Car theme song played at the top of each show. Though not well known in the US Peter Kay is a hugely successful comedian in the UK with a career spanning more than a few years. In the same tradition as Ringo Starr lending his voice to the Thomas the Tank Engine series Peter Kay gives Roary the Racing Car a sense of longevity and high minded class that takes the series from ordinary Saturday morning fodder to a place much more fitting.
Roary the Racing Car also makes use of the timeless effect of stop motion photography. Over the years stop motion photography as a science and technique has advanced to the point where it can rival some of the best CGI work in terms of clarity and smoothness; and Roary the Racing Car is pretty much at the top of the game. It is easy to see the enormous work put in to each and every episode; the fluid camera work, the detailed models, and the high quality voice work all mesh in to something far greater than the sum of its parts. Because stop motion photography is seen as a timeless technique it is cleat that Roary the Racing Car will be with us for quite some time to come. No one can say weather it will have the longevity of Thomas the Tank Engine, but drawing parallels between the two is definitely easy.
The moral stories of Roary the Racing Car also lend to its timelessness factor. Like a goof fable or fairy tale the plot lines of each Roary the Racing Car episode revolve around an issue of honor or morality lending credence to the "do the right thing" mantra in a way that a parents speech to a young child never could. An additional benefit to this do the right thing message, beyond making the content timeless, is that it makes parents feel better about letting their children watch television.
With all of these stars aligning it is little wonder that Roary the Racing Car is the runaway hit that it is today. Still though there was always the chance that this show might never have made it; children's television is no different from any other form of television, and there is always the chance that a fickle audience will turn on a dime finding new and more entertaining content to watch. The nail in the coffin of success for Roary the Racing Car however was its master captain Ken Chapman. Chapman is responsible for the success of not only Thomas the Tank Engine, but also Bob the Builder. Clearly he has the formula worked out well enough that Roary the Racing Car can reap the benefits.
Although Roary the Racing Car seemed like a sure fire hit to all involved there were problems along the way, television shows are expensive to produce, and the special blend of stop action filming and CGI work was even more expensive than normal, the cost of creating one episode approached $1 million dollars. Clearly this was a problem because few networks could afford to pay millions per episode for a children's TV show, even one that had all the marks of success.
Fortunately for Roary the Racing Car and its soon to be devoted fans Chapman had an idea and more than a little perseverance. By marketing the show both in the UK and in the US he could generate revenues from two networks instead of just one. Additionally (though this is now common) the product sales from Roary the Racing Car toys and accessories would help to offset the cost of television production. When you consider the size of the market for children's branded toys and accessories it is hard to believe that this idea met with some resistance. Before Roary the Racing Car hit the airwaves Bob the Builder was one of the highest selling toys at Christmas time ever.
Roary the Racing Car has driven his way in to the hearts and minds of a generation spanning the globe, we can all be pleased that children are turning to this bright red car and receiving messages about equality, respect, and love. With people like Ken Chapman at the reigns we can be sure that at least a small segment of children's television is out there doing some good.
Roary the Racing Car is a proud new addition to the venerable tradition of children's television shows designed to teach young children a valuable lesson in each installment; and like other successful members of this selective genera Roary the Racing Car makes use of a celebrity voice, Peter Kay, to bring one of the main characters to life; both on screen and in children's hearts. Peter Kay is also responsible for singing the Roary the Racing Car theme song played at the top of each show. Though not well known in the US Peter Kay is a hugely successful comedian in the UK with a career spanning more than a few years. In the same tradition as Ringo Starr lending his voice to the Thomas the Tank Engine series Peter Kay gives Roary the Racing Car a sense of longevity and high minded class that takes the series from ordinary Saturday morning fodder to a place much more fitting.
Roary the Racing Car also makes use of the timeless effect of stop motion photography. Over the years stop motion photography as a science and technique has advanced to the point where it can rival some of the best CGI work in terms of clarity and smoothness; and Roary the Racing Car is pretty much at the top of the game. It is easy to see the enormous work put in to each and every episode; the fluid camera work, the detailed models, and the high quality voice work all mesh in to something far greater than the sum of its parts. Because stop motion photography is seen as a timeless technique it is cleat that Roary the Racing Car will be with us for quite some time to come. No one can say weather it will have the longevity of Thomas the Tank Engine, but drawing parallels between the two is definitely easy.
The moral stories of Roary the Racing Car also lend to its timelessness factor. Like a goof fable or fairy tale the plot lines of each Roary the Racing Car episode revolve around an issue of honor or morality lending credence to the "do the right thing" mantra in a way that a parents speech to a young child never could. An additional benefit to this do the right thing message, beyond making the content timeless, is that it makes parents feel better about letting their children watch television.
With all of these stars aligning it is little wonder that Roary the Racing Car is the runaway hit that it is today. Still though there was always the chance that this show might never have made it; children's television is no different from any other form of television, and there is always the chance that a fickle audience will turn on a dime finding new and more entertaining content to watch. The nail in the coffin of success for Roary the Racing Car however was its master captain Ken Chapman. Chapman is responsible for the success of not only Thomas the Tank Engine, but also Bob the Builder. Clearly he has the formula worked out well enough that Roary the Racing Car can reap the benefits.
Although Roary the Racing Car seemed like a sure fire hit to all involved there were problems along the way, television shows are expensive to produce, and the special blend of stop action filming and CGI work was even more expensive than normal, the cost of creating one episode approached $1 million dollars. Clearly this was a problem because few networks could afford to pay millions per episode for a children's TV show, even one that had all the marks of success.
Fortunately for Roary the Racing Car and its soon to be devoted fans Chapman had an idea and more than a little perseverance. By marketing the show both in the UK and in the US he could generate revenues from two networks instead of just one. Additionally (though this is now common) the product sales from Roary the Racing Car toys and accessories would help to offset the cost of television production. When you consider the size of the market for children's branded toys and accessories it is hard to believe that this idea met with some resistance. Before Roary the Racing Car hit the airwaves Bob the Builder was one of the highest selling toys at Christmas time ever.
Roary the Racing Car has driven his way in to the hearts and minds of a generation spanning the globe, we can all be pleased that children are turning to this bright red car and receiving messages about equality, respect, and love. With people like Ken Chapman at the reigns we can be sure that at least a small segment of children's television is out there doing some good.
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