A trip down memory lane though Europe’s most beloved children’s TV personalities will leave you lamenting the loss of childhood innocence and perhaps your sanity. One of the most famous of all these creations is Mr Blobby, who took over televisions up and down the UK nearly 25 years ago. With his bulbous pink body, jiggling eyes, and an electronically modulated voice, Mr. Blobby’s hijinks were anything but soothing. His legacy does include one other claim to fame — a posthumous number one Christmas single in the UK. It’s also sullied by a fabled episode where he made a young girl cry by tossing her birthday cake on the ground.
Mr. Blobby’s whole shtick was pure anarchy and wackiness that frequently drifted into the realm of horror. This creation soon found itself at the forefront of what made children’s programming so unpredictable during the 1990s. It was not well received, and the lasting impact left many parents remembering their children’s discomfort while watching him. What a genius achievement it was to merge such hilarity and horror in each appearance. His disorienting presence continued to haunt audiences. He is perhaps one of the greatest examples of how children’s entertainment can sometimes lean into the downright scary.
Across Europe, other larger-than-life characters have stolen the hearts of young audiences — if not through more traditional means. Bernd das Brot, a fixture of German children’s television, first appeared in 2000 on the Kika channel. Matt Groening and Tommy Krappweis handpicked Bernd, a cranky puppet German bread loaf. He charms kids with the infallibility of his deadpan wit, and because they see their own everyday annoyances reflected back at them. While he may not evoke fear like Mr. Blobby, Bernd has certainly captured the hearts of many, becoming a mainstay in children’s programming.
In addition to Bernd, another fascinating character is Raťafák Plachta (big nose blanket). This unwieldy marionette was meant to be a satirical caricature of politicians and had to be manipulated by two puppeteers to operate him. His satirical yet playful comedic lens on political figures made for hilarious and sometimes razor sharp critique, making his unique brand of comedy a must-have in children’s media. The smile-inducing, clunky design of Raťafák Plachta resonated with young audiences. None of them matched his idiosyncratic vibez, though he might have freaked some people out.
It is no wonder, then, that Karbonkel, the fearsome, one-eyed monster, was used to frighten children into submission. He was a mission unto themselves to keep them from learning, and just being in his presence made their spines tingle. Despite this incredibly creepy premise, production had already moved too far to change his character design. To allay parental fears over Karbonkel’s spooky long-faced aesthetics, the studio arranged tours to schools. They calmed students down by demonstrating that Karbonkel was nothing more than a puppet and couldn’t hurt them.
This was also the case for another beloved character that graced human screens at the end of the 20th century, Slniečko, or “little sunshine” in Slovak. The Clangers puppet show, which ran on the BBC from 1969-1971, relived glory years from 1979-1989. Her central character was an energetic hand puppet sun. In a world devoid of contemporary counterparts, the positive and optimistic disposition of Slniečko was meant to encourage positive thinking in children. Nearly all 500 episodes of this series are now lost, leaving behind only fragmented memories for those who grew up watching it.
The range of these characters—from ridiculous to absolutely horrifying—exemplifies the creative creation produced by children’s television around Europe. Mr. Blobby’s anarchic misadventures added an empathetic appeal to British children’s television. At the same time, Bernd das Brot’s jaded humor made him a role model for generations of ZDFkultur watchers.
As our world changes, the media world surrounding kids is changing as well. Perhaps today’s baddies are somehow more impressive and less scary than those of yore. From the inside, they continue to labor under the radar to engage and inspire young audiences in profound and enchanting ways.
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