1 9 7 1 – 1 9 7 2 (UK)
26 x 15 minute episodes
Written and narrated by Eric Thompson (the driving force and voices behind the original Magic Roundabout) The Magic Ball was the first production from animation wizards Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, who would go on to create such masterpieces as Danger Mouse, Count Duckula and Chorlton And The Wheelies.
First broadcast on ITV in the early 1970s it became a hit with the public, winning two silver medals at the Venice Film Festival of Children’s Films and a silver Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival.
A little boy called Sam lives in a seaside town called Haythornethwaite. Sam spends much of his time in his Aunt Mill’s antiques shop, from where his amazing journeys begin.
In distant places and strange new worlds, he encounters a host of characters in need of assistance – from bored, lonely giants to stranded spacemen and shipwrecked sailors to bees with a fear of flying.
With the help of the magic ball, he is always able to conjure up a solution.
