Roary the Racing Car
Preschool adventures at Silver Hatch racetrack.
Roary the Racing Car is a British preschool animated television series created by David Jenkins and produced by Chapman Entertainment for Five and Nick Jr., airing from 7 May 2007 to 29 September 2010. The series follows the adventures of Roary and his racing car friends at Silver Hatch racetrack, using a combination of computer-generated imagery and stop motion animation.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Children's television series
- Creator
- David Jenkins
- Developer
- Keith Chapman
- Director
- Tim Harper
- Narrator
- Sir Stirling Moss (UK); Sam Hornish Jr. (US)
- Voices
- Maria Darling
- Tim Whitnall
- Marc Silk
- Dominic Frisby
- Peter Kay (UK)
- Kerry Shale (US)
- Theme music
- Alan Coates and Kim Goody
- Country
- United Kingdom
Facts from the source article.
Overview
The series follows five anthropomorphic racing vehicles—Roary, Maxi, Cici (Zizzy in the US), Drifter (Dragga in the US), and Tin Top—along with the people who work for them: Big Chris the Mechanic, Marsha the Race Marshall, and track owner Mr. Carburettor. The setting is the fictional Silver Hatch circuit, a portmanteau of Silverstone and Brands Hatch. Most action occurs at the pits and workshop, though the cars also lap the track or visit locations like a nearby beach. Races occasionally occupy an entire episode. Each story opens and closes with brief narration, originally by Sir Stirling Moss and in the US version by Sam Hornish Jr.
Characters
Roary, voiced by Maria Darling, is a red British-accented Formula Ford car and Silver Hatch's number 1. He is the primary protagonist, intelligent, friendly, and eager to learn, with a healthy rivalry with Maxi. Roary's best friend and love interest is Cici, and his other best friend is FB. Maxi, voiced by Marc Silk, is a yellow mock Italian-accented Formula One car, number 5. He is hot-tempered, arrogant, and obsessed with winning, often bullying Roary but showing underlying care. Cici (Zizzy in North America), voiced by Maria Darling, is a pink and purple French-accented rally car, number 3. She is bubbly, playful, and has a crush on Roary; she is a hybrid running on oil, solar, and electric energy. Drifter (Dragga in North America), voiced by Marc Silk, is an orange mock Japanese-accented drift car, number 6. He is the most technologically advanced, serene, and rarely angry, with a rocket-powered nitro reserve booster; his best friend is Tin Top.
Production
Roary the Racing Car combines computer-generated imagery and stop motion animation. Cosgrove Hall Films provided stop motion for the first series, while Chapman Entertainment's in-house studio handled the second series, along with its sister show Fifi and the Flowertots. Keith Chapman, creative director of Chapman Entertainment and creator of Bob the Builder, designed and developed the series, with Greg Lynn as executive producer. For the US, HIT Entertainment handled distribution. Theme music was produced by Alan Coates and Kim Goody. For difficult stop-motion scenes, Chapman asked Studio Liddel to provide CGI animation; sets and models were made using photographs of the stop motion models.
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