King Rollo History King Rollo is an 80's Children's TV cartoon made by King Rollo Films Ltd. King Rollo Films was setup by David McKee, who also supplied the story and drawings for the show. He was also responsible for creating one of children’s TVs classic characters of all time, Mr Benn. If you look carefully, in one King Rollo episode you can see an Elmer the Elephant toy in the background. This was another character of David McKee’s. Only 13 episodes of King Rollo were made (we thought there were more). It was narrated by Ray Brooks, who also narrated Mr Benn. King Rollo Films Ltd went on to create many other shows, such as Victor and Maria (1981), Towser(1982), Spot (1987), Maisy (1998) and Humf (2008). At the end of each episode, the crew were shown as King Rollo characters. Story At the beginning of each episode King Rollo gets everyone together to have a group photo, setting the timer on the camera, before running round to join the others in shot. King Rollo is a child like king, who looks too young to have a beard. In fact he acts like a child who enjoys playing with his toys and playing games outside with his friends, Queen Gwen and King Frank. At home, we never see his parents, so Cook looks after him like a mother, and unsurprisingly cooks for him. Meanwhile he has a Wizard that can perform magic for him and who also acts like a father figure to him, encouraging him to learn by doing things for himself. King Rollo Characters King Rollo     (voiced by Ray Brooks) King Rollo never seems to sit still, he’s always bouncing around, rather than walking. It’s lucky that his friends come to visit and help get rid of all his excess energy. He likes climbing trees and is very good with his bow and arrow. He looks forward to Wednesday as that’s the day his comic arrives, but once he starts reading it, it’s like no one around him exists. Queen Gwen found this out when she came to visit him, and he ignored her all afternoon! Considering that he is a king, he doesn’t have any security staff, and can just wander around on his own doing anything, such as shopping, the trouble is that he seems to come back with another pair of shoes (he’s addicted to buying them). The only servants that he has is his Cook and Wizard, so he has no choice but to do certain things for himself (like washing and dressing himself). He is a thoughtful King, and when he heard that Cook was ill in bed, he decided to make her breakfast. He may have made a mess of the kitchen, but its the thought that counts. He made sure he made too much breakfast so he could share it with cook (the crafty little devil). When he does meet some of the locals, he likes to show off, especially getting the magician to turn objects into something else. The trouble was that one poor fellow didn’t want his bread turned into something else. King Rollo couldn't understand why, that was until he tasted the bread, it was yummy. King Rollo has many toys and has even stopped Cook from tidying up his room. He says he likes it that way as he might need the things again later in the day. But he soon found out that an untidy room meant that he accidentally kept standing on some of his toy and breaking them, so it forced him to tidy up his play room at last. Queen Gwen     (voiced by Ray Brooks) She is the best friend of King Rollo, who lives just around the corner from him. She comes round most days to have tea with him. Queen Gwen was really happy with the birthday card she received from King Rollo, as he'd made it himself. This was because all the others cards she received from friends were bought from a shop, and they were all the same! So she appreciated the time and effort he spent on it. But she wasn’t happy when she visited King Rollo and he ignored her all afternoon, as he was reading his favourite comic. She decided not to hang around and went off in a huff back home (I don’t blame her). Cook     (voiced by Ray Brooks) She is King Rollo’s Cook, who prepares and cooks all of King Rollo's food. But Cook is rather on the portly side, and looks like she's been eating too much of the food she prepares. Even though she is one of his servants, she loves King Rollo dearly and acts like a mother figure to him. Also she runs his baths and always seems to be tidying up after him. To relax, she likes to knit. She encourages King Rollo to make things rather than buying them, such as a home made birthday card for Queen Gwen. The Magician     (voiced by Ray Brooks) King Rollo can even call on the services of his own wizard! He can be a little forgetful, and takes life steady in the slow lane, but he still is a very powerful wizard. When he’s not keeping an eye on King Rollo, you will find him in his fascinating workshop, full of bottles, potions and where his spells book lives. You won’t hear him saying his magic spells, as all he has to do is think of the spell and it happens. You can tell when this occurs as his hat bounces up and down, and hey presto, the spell is cast. The Magician is very wise and resists King Rollo’s attempts to get him to use his magic to make his own life easier. Instead he insists that he learns how to do things properly, by himself. He does break this rule once in a while, such as the time it was taking too long to wash up the dishes. In the blink of an eye, they were all clean. They didn’t tell Cook they used magic, but she thought they weren’t as quick as her! When needed, he has even been known to put a spell on King Rollo, without him knowing of course. Such as the time Cook wanted him to take a bath. The spell ensured that a toy boat was delivered to him, and off he went, straight into the bath to play with it. The magician also likes to read King Rollo's comic, when he’s not looking. Hamlet     Is Hamlet the cat the real star of the show? He is King Rollo’s inquisitive cat and is always skulking in the background and is always trying to poke his nose in where its not required. He has a knack of hiding in bushes, and has even stolen the ball King Rollo was playing with, as he wants to play with him. He is quite partial to cupcakes. He is an expert tennis player, which surprised King Rollo. He likes to wear the king's crown, when he's not looking. King Rollo is always trying to jump out on him, but he seems to have a sixth sense. He doesn't like King Frank's dog, as it tries to chase him around. He is atistic and can be seen drawing Real star of the show? He's a very good climber he makes it look effortless and helps King Rollo. King Frank     (voiced by Ray Brooks) King Frank was invited round to tea with King Rollo, only because he had no one else to play with at the time. King Rollo wasn’t keen on him, as he thought he was bossy, cheats and was taller than King Rollo. But it seems that when King Rollo got to know him, he wasn't like that at all. He enjoys playing with King Rollo, and telling him lots of things about dogs, such as the names of all the different ones they saw in the park. You see King Frank owns a dalmatian dog and has even shown King Rollo him how to make him beg. He isn’t selfish and ensures that he cleans and feeds the dog, before he can eat. But not everyone likes his dog. Cook was upset when the dog as he left paw prints over her clean floor. Plus when they visited the magician, the dog knocked over many things. He wasn't happy. King Rollo Images (click to enlarge) King Rollo  T-Shirts NONE King Rollo Video Intro King Rollo Episodes Series 1 (1980) 1. The Bread 2. The New Shoes 3. The Dog 4. The Comic 5. The Bath 6. The Breakfast 7. King Frank 8. The Dishes 9. The Balloons 10. The Tree 11. The Birthday 12. The Search 13. The Playroom © JedisParadise.com King Rollo DVDs NONE King Rollo Books Toys & Gifts T-Shirts Bargain DVDs