Big Barn Farm
Four young animals explore friendship and farm life.
Big Barn Farm is a British children's comedy show for CBeebies that blends live-action with animation. It follows four young animals on a farm. The Foundation produced it, and Michael Carrington commissioned it for the BBC. Ben Fairman narrated the first series, while Dave Lamb narrated the second.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Children's television series
- Live-action animation
- Comedy
- Creator
- The Foundation
- Ian Carley
- James Kearsley
- Mark Harris
- Voices
- Ben Fairman
- Elly Fairman
- Shelley Longworth
- Kate O'Sullivan
- Carla Mendoncathe
- Mike Winsor
- Gemma Harvey
- Narrator
- Ben Fairman; Dave Lamb
- Executive producers
- Kay Benbow
- Sarah Colclough
- Michael Carrington
- Vanessa Hill
- Beth Stevenson
- Sander Schwartz
- Producer
- Mary Robertson
- Ending theme
- "Big Barn Farm" (Reprise)
- Company
- The Foundation
Facts from the source article.
Setting
The farmyard bunch, made up of Petal the piglet, Gobo the goat, Dash the donkey, and Digger the puppy, live on a farm. Their adventures are shown from their own point of view, focusing on how they feel and the problems they face. Each episode is a standalone story where the four friends get into a small scrape and then work as a team to fix it. There is no ongoing plot connecting one episode to the next. The show is designed to teach young viewers about friendship, the world around them, and how to solve problems. Before an episode, a CBeebies presenter might ask children to sing the fast theme song, which introduces each main character. The longer closing song lists all the animals, including the minor ones.
Characters
Dash, voiced by Ben Fairman, is a young male donkey who is thoughtful, cautious, and kind, but occasionally stubborn. He is wary of new adventures and prefers watching others be brave, though his kind nature leads him to join in. As the tallest of the group, he can see over things, and his catchphrase is "Calm down, calm down." Gobo, voiced by Elly Fairman, is a young goat who is clever, bouncy, and eats a lot, often too quickly, causing him to burp. He thinks about food most of the time and is always happy to nibble. Gobo can be noisy and barges into situations without thinking, and his catchphrase is "Go, go, Gobo!" Petal, voiced by Gemma Harvey, is a female piglet who is cheeky, daring, and considers herself the leader. She is adventurous and brave, often first to investigate, though this sometimes gets her into trouble. Her personality is not girly, and she enjoys splashing in mud. Her catchphrase is "Piglet Power!" Digger, voiced by Shelley Longworth, is a male Labrador Retriever puppy, the youngest of the four. He is eager to prove himself, cute, naive, and willing to please. He has boundless energy and volunteers for adventures but is not very bright and takes time to understand situations. His catchphrase is "I can do that! I can do that!" Other farm characters include Mack the horse, voiced by Michael Winsor, who is the tallest on the farm and friends with the bunch, and Madame the cow, voiced by Kate O'Sullivan, who has a French accent and is helpful to the group.
Production
Big Barn Farm was a production of The Foundation, part of the RDF Media group. The show mixed live-action footage of actual animals with animated sequences. Ian Carley of iCarley Media and James Kearsley of JK Studios handled the visual effects, creating 450 separate shots where the animals appeared to talk. Sarah Colclough served as the executive producer for CBeebies. The set was constructed around a flint stable block and a barn, neither of which belonged to a functioning farm. During filming, the animals either lived on the set itself or in the immediate area. The entire production was shot at Stede Court Estate, located near Maidstone in Kent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created Big Barn Farm?
Big Barn Farm was created by The Foundation, Ian Carley, James Kearsley and Mark Harris.
How many episodes of Big Barn Farm are there?
Big Barn Farm has 40 episodes across 2 seasons.
When did Big Barn Farm first air?
Big Barn Farm first aired on 3 March 2008.
When did Big Barn Farm end?
Big Barn Farm last aired on 4 June 2010.
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