Wombling Free

Did You Know?

• Most exterior shots were filmed in Black Park in Wexham and Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.
• The film was part of a slate of late-1970s releases from the Rank Organisation, which had re-entered filmmaking.

Plot

The film follows the Wombles, a colony of small litter-picking creatures living on Wimbledon Common in 1970s London. Great Uncle Bulgaria recounts how Wombles have cleaned up after humans since Adam and Eve, continuing worldwide in places such as the United States, Russia, and India. Only visible to believers, they go unnoticed until a girl named Kim spots them. She invites them to her birthday party, forcing her father to believe after meeting Orinoco and Tobermory. A public meeting is arranged to prove the Wombles exist and support their anti-rubbish campaign, but a storm intervenes. Eventually, Kim, the Wombles, and the children clean up the Common.

Soundtrack

CBS released an accompanying soundtrack featuring Mike Batt's score cues along with new recordings and remixes of previous Womble songs used in the film. The Dramatico label issued the soundtrack on CD in 2011. Tracks include 'The Wombling Song (Film Version)', 'The Creation Of The World (Main Title)', 'Edinburgh Rock', 'Wombling White Tie & Tails (Film Version)', and 'The Queen'.

Reception

Originally scheduled for Christmas 1977, the film was delayed to Easter 1978 to avoid competition. The Evening Post called it 'a super little job', while The Daily Telegraph described it as 'a very long 96 minutes indeed'. The Sunday Telegraph wrote 'All too slack, too coy and too late'. Sight and Sound commented on 'instantly forgettable songs, a flabby plot, and a bromidic human family cut to the Disney pattern'. Filmink noted it was 'not very good' but might appeal to young children.