______________________________________________________________________
‘Adios amigos….
…and
keep smiling!’
______________________________________________________________________
‘Hola!’ and welcome to the little Mexican
border town of Santa Flamingo, the
bright and busy desert home of Little
Juan and his best friend Pedro Gonzales,
Juan’s Mama, Maria Consuela Tequilla Chiquita,
Little Pepita Consuela Tequilla Chiquita,
Tanto the friendly tarantula spider, El Gelato the ice-cream seller,
Leonardo de Sombrero the pizza delivery boy,
Senior Calculo the Bank Manager,
and Senora Fedorra. Life
in this rustic town of ramshackle stores and haciendas
would be just idyllic without the continued
attentions of ‘nasty’ Don Fandango.
Who will rid them of this spiteful bully
who cheats at egg and spoon races and
steals birthday cakes and custard pies? – The
townsfolk can’t help, but
Little Juan knows who to call…
El Nombre is a masked hero in black, a
legend, a star. When summoned
he swings in to frame to rout the bad
guy, free the spider, retrieve the
escaped bird, find the missing birthday
cake, foil the egg and spoon cheat,
and – oh! – so much more besides. He’s
part Errol Flynn, part Zorro, all
Ground Squirrel and the townsfolk simply
adore him…
And you know what? – So does The Hound. El
Nombre is a fantastic fun
series from Ealing Animation and former
children’s tv presenter Christopher
Lillicrap. It’s a hoot. It’s beautifully
designed and animated, the voices are
terrific, the title tune instantly memorable.
This gentle pastiche of a thousand
western movie clichés is as complete
and as thorough as
you could wish for.
In fact, the only thing you’re left wishing
for is more episodes. Only one
season of 13 x 5minute episodes have so
far seen the heat of the midday
sun….
But fear not, El Nombre fans! – Our masked
hero is actually on TV a whole
lot more often. That’s because the series
has its origins as part of the BBC’s
educational schedules. Lots of new interstitial
animation is included
in episodes of ‘Numbertime’ the schools
program all about numbers and
mathematics. These shorts only run to
about 1min duration but they’re
often great fun, with El Nombre regularly
heard to say: ‘Juan more time, Juan!’…
A collection of these interstitials are
included on the BBC’s recent El Nombre
video release. In ‘Learn Your Numbers With
Little Juan’ we witness El Nombre
from above as he ‘walks’ a number in the desert
dust. The watching youngsters
call out ‘Again!’ and El Nombre repeats his
‘heroic’ action. The animation
runs in front of each episode so you always
know which one you’re watching.
But you really shouldn’t be put off by the
‘schools’ accent, El Nombre is perfect
anytime viewing for Schoolkids and Big Kids
alike…
El Nombre – What a hombre!…
The opening credits to the series include
a fab tracking shot taking us through
Santa Flamingo, from the railway station
into the heart of town. Look out for
poor Leonardo de Sombrero as he loses
control of his moped and
crashes into a barn!…
When El Nombre is ‘summoned’ he swings
into frame on his whip from
out of nowhere, rounds up the business
of the day, and swings away again
just as heroically – just like a real
hero should…
El Nombre’s very fond of corny rhyming
couplets, but the townsfolk don’t
mind, they’re simply in awe of their hero
– cheesy limericks and all…
Listen to those voices. That’s Janet ‘Blue
Peter’ Ellis and Sophie ‘Dr Who’
Aldred you can hear on the soundtrack.
Like Chris Lillicrap, Janet and
Sophie are two enduring, popular presenters
of children’s TV shows…
Now listen to Tanto. When he moves he
sounds like a balloon being
squeezed and rubbed – brilliant!…
Speaking of Tanto, look out for Don Fandango
disguised as the spider
in The Phantom Tanto – ridiculous!
The showdown in the The Great Custard
Pie Fight is pure Leone. Watch for
Don Fandango, felled by custard
pies with just his right leg twitching…
______________________________________________________________________
El Nombre series episodes…
Where’s That Spider? Match
Of The Day
Free As A Bird The
Ghost Of Santa Flamingo
Sports Day
The Great Escape
The Phantom Tanto When
The Balloon Goes Up
The Great Custard Pie Fight The
Missing Birthday Cake
______________________________________________________________________
an Ealing Animation production
for BBC World-wide
El Nombre and friends of Santa Flamingo
______________________________________________________________________
‘Adios amigos….
…and
keep smiling!’
______________________________________________________________________
‘Hola!’ and welcome to the little Mexican
border town of Santa Flamingo, the
bright and busy desert home of Little
Juan and his best friend Pedro Gonzales,
Juan’s Mama, Maria Consuela Tequilla Chiquita,
Little Pepita Consuela Tequilla Chiquita,
Tanto the friendly tarantula spider, El Gelato the ice-cream seller,
Leonardo de Sombrero the pizza delivery boy,
Senior Calculo the Bank Manager,
and Senora Fedorra. Life
in this rustic town of ramshackle stores and haciendas
would be just idyllic without the continued
attentions of ‘nasty’ Don Fandango.
Who will rid them of this spiteful bully
who cheats at egg and spoon races and
steals birthday cakes and custard pies? – The
townsfolk can’t help, but
Little Juan knows who to call…
El Nombre is a masked hero in black, a
legend, a star. When summoned
he swings in to frame to rout the bad
guy, free the spider, retrieve the
escaped bird, find the missing birthday
cake, foil the egg and spoon cheat,
and – oh! – so much more besides. He’s
part Errol Flynn, part Zorro, all
Ground Squirrel and the townsfolk simply
adore him…
And you know what? – So does The Hound. El
Nombre is a fantastic fun
series from Ealing Animation and former
children’s tv presenter Christopher
Lillicrap. It’s a hoot. It’s beautifully
designed and animated, the voices are
terrific, the title tune instantly memorable.
This gentle pastiche of a thousand
western movie clichés is as complete
and as thorough as
you could wish for.
In fact, the only thing you’re left wishing
for is more episodes. Only one
season of 13 x 5minute episodes have so
far seen the heat of the midday
sun….
But fear not, El Nombre fans! – Our masked
hero is actually on TV a whole
lot more often. That’s because the series
has its origins as part of the BBC’s
educational schedules. Lots of new interstitial
animation is included
in episodes of ‘Numbertime’ the schools
program all about numbers and
mathematics. These shorts only run to
about 1min duration but they’re
often great fun, with El Nombre regularly
heard to say: ‘Juan more time, Juan!’…
A collection of these interstitials are
included on the BBC’s recent El Nombre
video release. In ‘Learn Your Numbers With
Little Juan’ we witness El Nombre
from above as he ‘walks’ a number in the desert
dust. The watching youngsters
call out ‘Again!’ and El Nombre repeats his
‘heroic’ action. The animation
runs in front of each episode so you always
know which one you’re watching.
But you really shouldn’t be put off by the
‘schools’ accent, El Nombre is perfect
anytime viewing for Schoolkids and Big Kids
alike…
El Nombre – What a hombre!…
The opening credits to the series include
a fab tracking shot taking us through
Santa Flamingo, from the railway station
into the heart of town. Look out for
poor Leonardo de Sombrero as he loses
control of his moped and
crashes into a barn!…
When El Nombre is ‘summoned’ he swings
into frame on his whip from
out of nowhere, rounds up the business
of the day, and swings away again
just as heroically – just like a real
hero should…
El Nombre’s very fond of corny rhyming
couplets, but the townsfolk don’t
mind, they’re simply in awe of their hero
– cheesy limericks and all…
Listen to those voices. That’s Janet ‘Blue
Peter’ Ellis and Sophie ‘Dr Who’
Aldred you can hear on the soundtrack.
Like Chris Lillicrap, Janet and
Sophie are two enduring, popular presenters
of children’s TV shows…
Now listen to Tanto. When he moves he
sounds like a balloon being
squeezed and rubbed – brilliant!…
Speaking of Tanto, look out for Don Fandango
disguised as the spider
in The Phantom Tanto – ridiculous!
The showdown in the The Great Custard
Pie Fight is pure Leone. Watch for
Don Fandango, felled by custard
pies with just his right leg twitching…
______________________________________________________________________
El Nombre series episodes…
Where’s That Spider? Match
Of The Day
Free As A Bird The
Ghost Of Santa Flamingo
Sports Day
The Great Escape
The Phantom Tanto When
The Balloon Goes Up
The Great Custard Pie Fight The
Missing Birthday Cake
______________________________________________________________________
an Ealing Animation production
for BBC World-wide