Brum (TV series)


Brum is a British children's television series about the adventures of a small, radio controlled vintage car.
Set in Birmingham, England and produced by Ragdoll Productions, Brum was first broadcast in 1991 and the last live action series was broadcast in 2002. It was initially directed, written and produced by Anne Wood and initially narrated by Toyah Willcox. The show was first aired on BBC One, as well as airing on satellite and pay television where it was screened on TCC and Living, and also aired in the United States on Discovery Family, in Australia on ABC, Max, Nickelodeon, ABC Kids and ABC2, in Brunei on RTB, in India on Pogo, in Indonesia on antv, in Singapore on Kids Central, in South Africa on SABC2 and CBeebies, in Kenya on KBC, in New Zealand on TV2 and TV3, in Namibia on NBC, in Zimbabwe on ZTV, in Ireland on RTÉ, in Germany on BFBS and SSVC Television, in the Netherlands on Nederland 3, in Bangladesh on BTV, in Malaysia on TV3 and in the Emirates on Dubai 33. It also aired on the now-defunct children's channel, KPC "Kids Pick Cartoons". A new CGI-animated series, aimed at young pre-school children, was produced in 2016.

Plot and setting

Brum is the story of a small replica car who ventures out into Big Town when his owner isn't looking, and gets up to all manner of adventures. Each episode begins and ends in the same way, with Brum leaving the other cars in the motor museum when the owner's back is turned and heading out to explore Big Town, before eventually returning to his place. Each series has had its own background music. From series 1-2 the introduction music was the same but in series 2 they used different instruments. From Series 3-5 the music became jazzy and a new Title sequence was Directed by Nigel P. Harris.
The car can express himself in various mechanical ways including opening and closing his doors and bonnet, bobbing his suspension, and flashing and swivelling. The actors in Brum do not speak – mime and off-screen narration help propel the story. It was therefore easy to prepare episodes for airing in other countries, and the series has been broadcast in many parts of the world and in many languages.
The stories are set in the city of Birmingham, England, since in addition to its onomatopoeic nature of a car engine revving, Brum is a common colloquial name for Birmingham. Although later series make no direct mention of Birmingham, calling it simply Big Town, many of the city's streets and landmarks can be seen in each episode.
The show was written by a range of writers. Anne Wood primarily wrote all the first series, while the second was written by Tom Poole, Dirk Campbell, Andrew Davenport and Morgan Hall. The last two series were written by Nigel P. Harris and the existing Ragdoll team.
The car itself – a half-scale replica of a late-1920s Austin 7 Chummy convertible – was designed and built by Rex Garrod. It is now housed at the Cotswold Motoring Museum in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, which is also where the opening and closing sequences of the programme were filmed.

Characters

1990s

Series 1 (1991)

February 2016 saw the release of a rebooted Brum, made by the current owners of the franchise DHX Media. The show now takes place in a white world instead of the Big Town and features new friends for Brum. The first episode, "Brum's Car Wash Adventure", premiered on 4 March 2016 via the official Brum YouTube channel. A total of 25 CGI episodes were produced, with a second series currently airing.
Another series, this time animated using Toon Boom Harmony Animation called "Brum & Friends" premiered on the channel in September 2017.

Kiddie ride

A coin operated kiddie ride of Brum was made by Amutec Ltd. 3 versions were made in the years 2004, 2005 and 2006.