...and then spend a little time at Save Kids TV
Production of children's TV in the UK has been going through a rough time recently, and the muddy grey cloud of economic gloom hasn't helped either. Look closely at a lot of the shows around at the moment, are they really UK produced shows? There are a lot of obviously imported shows from the US and abroad, but there are a lot of kids shows that may look like they come from the UK, but are actually produced abroad. Just because the voices sound like they come from the UK, don't assume that all the animation or the animation production company comes from the UK.
Where are the UK made children's programmes and animation that ooze and smell of the UK? I'm ashamed to say that you won't find many, or any on the UK tv channels.
I love animation, and I love creating stories for our children. In the past UK TV company executives had the confidence to let creative programme makers get on with what they were good at. There was trust, and there was a feeling that it was important to reflect our little UK world to our children to make them feel more like a part of it. The daft things, the eccentricities of life on our little island, the weird little things we do here that no-one else in the world does. Not the big bland pan global beige stuff that saturate our screens.
Culturally significant children's animation shows are much more important to developing a sense of connection and belonging to your home country than most people realise.
Our view of the world and how we fit in is shaped by the things we're exposed to as a child, even more so now with today's children and the broadcast media they're exposed to. There's nothing wrong with viewing the big wide world, but it matters that a child knows the feel and smell of it's own doorstep. Children's TV in the UK should be the secure home doorstep from which they can look out on the world. UK Children's TV made wholly by UK programme makers is vital to our children's understanding of who they are.
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