“The
Old Man had been around a long time,
and thought he knew about everything –
But he didn’t!”
The Old Man of Lochnagar is a jolly Scottish
fellow with a big bushy white beard
and a penchant for baths. But the world
keeps intruding upon his warm water
wallowing, so he’s set off to a cave half-way
up the nearest Munro, where he
can pipe the good stuff from a babbling
stream and fill his tub till his heart’s
content. Only, unbeknownst to the Old Man,
his cumbersome plumbing has
intruded upon the home of the piskie-like
Gorms. These miniature folks live
beneath the ground, where they make, paint
and plant all the flowers of Scotland
– planting them from the bottom up, wouldn’t
you know. Now, as coincidence
has it, the Gorm King has just invented a bagpipe-like
musical contraption he’s
calling a Shrunkler. And this Shrunkler shrinks
plants down to seeds when it’s
played, which means the Gorms will now be able
to save themselves a heap
of time and trouble when they’re working.
They can plant these seeds and get
them to grow brighter and bushier than ever
with just a few drops of water.
But the Old Man of Lochnagar’s big brassy bath
pipe is thrusting into the
middle of their Gormpire, and pretty soon
they’re
engulfed by a wild wave
of waste water that washes the Shrunkler
away, and the Gorn King’s
children with it…
“I’m
just an old man – I wanted a bath! –
No one likes a dirty old man!”
This sploshy tale has Royal connections, don’t
you know. It was written
by His Royal Highness, Prince Charles,
the Prince of Wales and it’s based
upon a story he told his princely young
brothers, Andrew and Edward
to amuse them during a voyage on H.M.Y
Britannia. The
Old Man of
Lochnagar (Picture Puffin)
features
illustrations by
architect, painter and
author Sir Hugh Casson (1910-1999) and it was
first published in 1980 in
aid of The Prince’s Trust charity. The
Old Man lives in a cave close to the
corrie loch of Lochnagar, a mountain which
overlooks the royal estate
at Balmoral.
Produced by the Dave Edwards Studio, in
Wales (!), this adaptation
eschews Sir Hugh’s watercolour figures
in favour of Siriol-type cartoon
characters and the story is truncated to fulfil
the needs of its half-hour
commission. If you’re looking for a highlight,
this viewer welcomed the
Old Man’s shrunkling scene, which includes
some great extreme poses.
The film makers have also championed
that Royal connection by having
Prince Charles appear on screen within a pair
of live-action bookends.
The Prince recalls the story to a goggle-eyed
collection of children who’ve
assembled in his stately home. He isn’t
the most natural of storytellers,
but it’s all for charity, folks, and the
story’s inner theme of natural harmony
is something that’s close to Charlie’s
heart, so the film gets a pass for having
its heart in the right place. And at the end
we’re left with a hint that this
Tall Tale may not be quite as tall and
made-up as the kids orignially think…
By
Royal Appointment
Prince Charles isn’t the first Royal to enter
animated realms, of course.
The Duchess of York previously introduced
us to Budgie, the sprightly
helicopter. And if you want on-screen
cameos, you’ll recall the Queen played
a sizable role in the story of The
BFG. Queen Victoria also played some Great
games with Bob Godfrey and Isembard Kingdom
Brunel, and recently, she
teamed up with Aardman Animation to tackle
the nefariouas Pirate Captain
and his mottled, motley crew in “The
Pirates! an Adventure with Scientists”.
The Legend of Lochnagar 1993 British animated film featuring the Old Man of Lochnagar
“The
Old Man had been around a long time,
and thought he knew about everything –
But he didn’t!”
The Old Man of Lochnagar is a jolly Scottish
fellow with a big bushy white beard
and a penchant for baths. But the world
keeps intruding upon his warm water
wallowing, so he’s set off to a cave half-way
up the nearest Munro, where he
can pipe the good stuff from a babbling
stream and fill his tub till his heart’s
content. Only, unbeknownst to the Old Man,
his cumbersome plumbing has
intruded upon the home of the piskie-like
Gorms. These miniature folks live
beneath the ground, where they make, paint
and plant all the flowers of Scotland
– planting them from the bottom up, wouldn’t
you know. Now, as coincidence
has it, the Gorm King has just invented a bagpipe-like
musical contraption he’s
calling a Shrunkler. And this Shrunkler shrinks
plants down to seeds when it’s
played, which means the Gorms will now be able
to save themselves a heap
of time and trouble when they’re working.
They can plant these seeds and get
them to grow brighter and bushier than ever
with just a few drops of water.
But the Old Man of Lochnagar’s big brassy bath
pipe is thrusting into the
middle of their Gormpire, and pretty soon
they’re
engulfed by a wild wave
of waste water that washes the Shrunkler
away, and the Gorn King’s
children with it…
“I’m
just an old man – I wanted a bath! –
No one likes a dirty old man!”
This sploshy tale has Royal connections, don’t
you know. It was written
by His Royal Highness, Prince Charles,
the Prince of Wales and it’s based
upon a story he told his princely young
brothers, Andrew and Edward
to amuse them during a voyage on H.M.Y
Britannia. The
Old Man of
Lochnagar (Picture Puffin)
features
illustrations by
architect, painter and
author Sir Hugh Casson (1910-1999) and it was
first published in 1980 in
aid of The Prince’s Trust charity. The
Old Man lives in a cave close to the
corrie loch of Lochnagar, a mountain which
overlooks the royal estate
at Balmoral.
Produced by the Dave Edwards Studio, in
Wales (!), this adaptation
eschews Sir Hugh’s watercolour figures
in favour of Siriol-type cartoon
characters and the story is truncated to fulfil
the needs of its half-hour
commission. If you’re looking for a highlight,
this viewer welcomed the
Old Man’s shrunkling scene, which includes
some great extreme poses.
The film makers have also championed
that Royal connection by having
Prince Charles appear on screen within a pair
of live-action bookends.
The Prince recalls the story to a goggle-eyed
collection of children who’ve
assembled in his stately home. He isn’t
the most natural of storytellers,
but it’s all for charity, folks, and the
story’s inner theme of natural harmony
is something that’s close to Charlie’s
heart, so the film gets a pass for having
its heart in the right place. And at the end
we’re left with a hint that this
Tall Tale may not be quite as tall and
made-up as the kids orignially think…
By
Royal Appointment
Prince Charles isn’t the first Royal to enter
animated realms, of course.
The Duchess of York previously introduced
us to Budgie, the sprightly
helicopter. And if you want on-screen
cameos, you’ll recall the Queen played
a sizable role in the story of The
BFG. Queen Victoria also played some Great
games with Bob Godfrey and Isembard Kingdom
Brunel, and recently, she
teamed up with Aardman Animation to tackle
the nefariouas Pirate Captain
and his mottled, motley crew in “The
Pirates! an Adventure with Scientists”.