The Dreamstone

Did You Know?

• The pilot episode, The Dream Thief, was produced in 1985 and animated by Mill Valley Animation in Novato, California.
• The series was animated in the Philippines by Fil-Cartoons for series 1 and Moving Images International for series 2–4.

Principal characters

The Land of Dreams is inhabited by the humanoid Noops and the Wuts, defenders who fly on leaves and use staffs to communicate and ward off Zordrak's forces. The Dream Maker, voiced by John Franklyn-Robbins, is a wise elderly wizard who creates and sends dreams. Albert, voiced by Richard Tate, is the Dream Maker's pet dogfish, created when the Dream Maker saw him in a dream and decided to make him real; Albert later became the mascot for Martin Gates' production company. Rufus, voiced by Stuart Lock (and by Christian Bale in the pilot), is the main protagonist, a Noop who daydreams so much he has trouble keeping a job; after being fired from the waxworks, he becomes the Dream Maker's assistant. Amberley, voiced by Nancy Hendry, is Rufus's practical and resourceful best friend, named after Amberley, West Sussex. Pildit, voiced by Derek Wright, is the leader of the Wuts and a trusted ally of the Dream Maker, teaching Rufus and Amberley to fly on leaves. Wildit, voiced by Jacqueline Clarke, is Pildit's grandmother and leader of the Wut Flying Squadron. Spildit, voiced by Ellie Beaven, is Wildit's niece who often gets into trouble and has a friendly rivalry with the Urpneys. Mr. Blossom, voiced by Anthony Jackson, is an elderly Wut and the Dream Maker's gardener.

Soundtrack

The show's music was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, a full-size professional ensemble, and composed by Mike Batt. His score relied heavily on leitmotifs and thematic variations, especially in the two main songs: "Better Than a Dream," tied to the Noops and Wuts, and "War Song of the Urpneys," tied to the Urpneys. For the single and album version of "War Song of the Urpneys," lead vocals came from Ozzy Osbourne, Frank Bruno, and Billy Connolly, though the version heard in the series was mostly sung by Mike Batt himself. Bonnie Tyler recorded a duet with Batt, "Into the Sunset," intended as the show's love song but never used. Joe Brown and Gary Glitter performed "The Vile Brothers Mountain Band," which appeared in the episode "Albert is Fishnapped." The TV version of "Better Than a Dream" had different lyrics than the soundtrack version, and Batt re-recorded the chorus for the ending credits from the latter half of Series 1 through Series 4. Katie Melua released her own version of the song in 2012. The soundtrack was re-released in December 2009 as part of the Mike Batt Music Cube by Dramatico Records, featuring five new orchestral overtures and omitting "The Vile Brothers Mountain Band" due to controversy around Gary Glitter.

Home media releases and online distribution

In the UK, the Video Collection released videos covering all of Series 1 except the episode 'Megattack', and Tring Video UK released several episodes from Series 1. BMG Video UK released one video with four episodes from Series 2. The first two episodes were combined as an opening special with extra footage removed from the 22-minute TV version. Abbey Home Media released the first six episodes on DVD in the UK, now out of print. Australian company Reel Entertainment released six videos featuring the first 12 episodes of Series 3, and Video Distributors International released a video in 1992 with the first three episodes of Series 1. Fisher-Price released a video in the US. Pidax Film released all four series on DVD in Germany with English and German audio in 2018. The first series was available on Amazon Prime in the UK but lacked 'Megattack'; episodes were removed by 2020. iTunes added the first 12 episodes. Monster Entertainment uploaded all 52 episodes to YouTube in late 2018, set most to private in June 2019, and re-uploaded them by January 2020. The series was released on PZAZ TV Worldwide in September 2022.

Merchandise and other media

London Edition published a six-issue comic book series in 1991, with the first issue using screenshots and subsequent issues featuring art by Tim Perkins, adapting episodes such as 'The Dreamstone/Into Viltheed' and 'The Daydream Bubble'. BMI (Print Division) Ltd. released a board game in 1993 containing two games: The Dreamstone Game and Dream Chase, a variant of Snakes and Ladders. Jigsaw puzzles were produced by Waddingtons. In October 2019, Oakbound Studio announced a licensed miniatures range and game to mark the 30th anniversary, funded through Kickstarter and released in July 2021, with a second Kickstarter for Zordrak launching in December 2022 and a third miniatures release planned for 2022.