Ludwig (1977)

Ludwig was a surreal 1977 British-made children's cartoon animation about a magical egg-shaped gemstone who lived in a forest. Twenty-five 5-minute episodes were made. The programme was produced by father and son team, Mirek and Peter Lang. Peter went on to animate Pigeon Street. Mirek and Peter wrote the stories with Jane Tann and Susan Kodicek. The scripts were edited by Michael Cole. Peter did the artwork.The music was arranged and played by Paul Reade. Jon Glover provided the voice of the birdwatcher. Mirek and Peter shared the animation, with Mirek doing about 80%. Peter writes: "In the late seventies I made the series, Ludwig, for the BBC with my father, Mirek Lang. It was shown in the highly prized afternoon pre-news slot a number of times and those who still remember it seem to recall it with a befuddled fondness. It also did quite well abroad. I wrote and illustrated the "Ludwig 1979 Annual", SBN 7235 0476 8 and designed 4 x jigsaw puzzles for Ravensburger. An excellent soundtrack album, played and arranged by Paul Reade and friends was released." "The series was shot on 16mm film, on a wind up Bolex camera in a spare bedroom in our flat in Buckland Crescent, Swiss Cottage, London NW3."