"It's high time you left home and learned
     the Nine Rules of Badness!" 
 

    Little Wolf is a bad, bad boy. He does terrible things like brushing his teeth,
    combing his hair and going to bed early without anyone even having to growled
    at him. It simply won't do, so his distraught father and mother decide to send him
    to Cunning College, where dwells the growliest, greediest wolf of all: Uncle Bigbad.
    Maybe he can instill the Nine Rules of Badness is their boy and earn the lad a
    Silver Bad Badge, just like his father, or better yet a shiny gold one...

    Little Wolf's adventures bring him in to contact with a conniving fox called Mr Twister,
    who's after Bigbad's hidden gold, Little Red Riding Hood, a Woodcutter, a jolly party
    of Scouts and great growling Uncle Bigbad himself who's full of angry mischief and
    menace. As he learns the Nine Rules of Badness from Uncle Bigbad, Little Wolf
    notes them down in his exercise book, which he titles "The Book of Badness".
    But those same rules appear to be open to his Uncle's own manipulation and
    interpretation. In the end, Bigbad meets an untimely death-by-baked-beans,
    Mr Twister is sent packing and Little Wolf transforms Cunning College into a
    rather splendid Adventure Academy for young folk everywhere to learn proper
    manners and all-round good sportsmanship - what, ho!

        

    This is a snappy, sprightly toon special adapted from the books by Ian Whybrow.
    There's a dark Dahl-ian presence to Uncle Bigbad, who's forever throwing his
    arms above his snapping head and jaws, and he's voiced brilliantly by Sir Michael
    Gambon who is obviously reveling in his bad behaviour. Bigbad curses like a
    trooper, only the rude words are filtered out so that we have things that are
    "blinkin', blunkin' brilliant!" or "a flippin', floppin' lie!". More language games appear
    when he demands that Little Wolf fetch him something "lip-smackerous" to eat
    from the forest. But our keen young fellow only returns with three tins of "bean-bangs".
    It's all very much in keeping with the style of the books, which detail Little Wolf's
    letters home, with their spelling and punctuation errors.  An accordion-led musical
    score adds to the tricksy spirit of the piece.

    Little Wolf, Bigbad and friends are based upon artwork by artist Tony Ross,
    who also illustrated the original works. Tony's a prolific author in his own right,
    of course, and many folks will recall his jolly doggie creation Towser. Ian
    Whybrow's other works include a series of stories starring young Harry, such
    as "Harry and the Dinosaurs" (also now an animated series).

    "Little Wolf's Book of Badness" premiered on Channel 4 on Christmas Eve 2002
    at 3.45pm. The film's success has now given birth to a follow-on series.
    Producers Lupus Films are putting together 52 x 11min episodes of "Little
    Wolf's Adventure Academy". The new stories follow Little Wolf and friends
    as they teach various woodland critters how to be daring and adventurous,
    and well-behaved with it...

 

    
      Litte Wolf books

      Stories by Ian Whybrow, with illustrations
      by Tony Ross.

     1995 - Little Wolf's Book of Badness
     1997 - Little Wolf's Diary of Daring Deeds
     1998 - Little Wolf's Haunted Hall for Small Horrors
     2000 - Little Wolf's Postbag
     2000 - Little Wolf, Forest Detective
     2001 - Little Wolf's College for Clues and Cunning
     2002 - Little Wolf's Handy Book of Poems
     2002 - Little Wolf's Big Book of Spooks and Clues
     2002 - Little Wolf, Pack Leader
     2004 - Little Wolf, Terror of the Shivery Sea
     2005 - Little Wolf & Smellbreff's Badness for Beginners

      » Little Wolf at Amazon.co.uk

 

 
       based on the books by Ian Whybrow
     
      producer:             Ruth Fielding
      exec-prods:         Camilla Deakin, Anders Mastrup
      assoc producer:    Steve Walsh
      production mans: Trine Heidegaard, Helen Kelsey
      line producer:       Christine Thaarup
      creative dir:         Karsten Kiilerich
      anim director:      Martin Skav
      script:                 Andrew Brenner
      music:                 Ben Lee Delisle
      voice director:     Andrew Morgan   
      charac design:     Tony Ross
      voices:                Alex Pownall (Little Wolf)
                                Sir Michael Gambon (Uncle Bigbad)
                                David Thewlis (Mr Twister)
                                Kevin Whately (Akela)
                                Richard Hope (Dad / Woodcutter)
                                Lucy Whybrow (Mum)
                                Angela Laverick (Red Riding Hood / Piggies)
                                Stuart McKenzie (Dave)
                                Greg Chillin (Sanjay)
                                Matthew Gillespie (Smellybreff)

 

      On the web


       Lupus Films  
       Info here on Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding's production company.
       Little Wolf is here alongside their other productions, old and new...