"I do hope my friends will be all right out there..."
 

    It's a chilly Winter's day, and young Robin partakes of Percy the Park Keeper's
    peanut buttter sandwich. He's not worried about the snow that's been predicted.
    Indeed, the other animals appear similarly unconcerned as the snowflakes
    start to fall. The Rabbits are throwing snowballs, Fox is playing an icicle
    xylophone and the Ducks are ice-dancing. Only the Mice are feeling the cold.
    But then, one by one, the others begin to tire of their snowy games. The
    freeze sets in, and the frost bites hard - too hard for one and all, as they are
    driven from their freezing homes. Oh, but where are they to go, on such a
    snowy night?

    "One Snowy Night" was the very first "Percy" book from Nick Butterworth,
    first published in 1989. The story is as simple as can be, but it's so very
    cleverly brought to life by the Grand Slamm team. The fates of the animals
    are juxtaposed with scenes featuring Percy in his park hut, dunking biscuits
    in his cocoa, filling his hot water bottle, brushing his teeth, and snuggling in to
    bed with a good book. One by one the frozen critters come knocking at his
    door, and by the end of the tale he's snuggling up with all of them. There's
    a very sweet coda too, focusing on our young Robin.

    Of course, knowing adults will point out that this is all terribly wrong. Foxes
    eat rabbits, don't they? And that Badger would probably claw Percy to bits.
    Oh, and who would ever dream of going to bed with a mole? But that's not
    big, or clever. This is an unabashed childrens story, told with affection, and
    positively glowing with warmth.

    "One Snowy Night" was first broadcast on Christmas Day 1996, on ITV.
    Grand Slamm produced three more "Percy the Park Keeper" films. And
    after the films came a popular series, too, with the same high standards
    maintained throughout...

   » Geoff Dunbar also directed episodes of The World of Peter Rabbit,
       and Rupert and the Frog Song. He was formerly one half of the Grand
       Slamm Partnership, the forerunner to Grand Slamm Childrens Films.
    
 

     See also

     Percy the Park Keeper: After the Storm
     Percy the Park Keeper: The Rescue Party
     Percy the Park Keeper: The Secret Path
     Percy the Park Keeper

 

     Awards

     1987 Cartoons on the Bay - Silver Pulcinella Award 

 

     Further reading

    One Snowy Night               
     The 1989 hardback picture book by Nick Butterworth...

    Tales from Percy's Park: One Snowy Night               
     The 2003 softback edition...

 

     Percy on DVD

     "One Snowy Night" isn't currently available on UK DVD, but two
      of the other Percy specials are in stores:

     The Secret Path & The Rescue Party
                 Region 2 / double-bill / HIT Ent. / April 2007


     Then there's the tv series:

     Percy the Park Keeper: The Classic Collection
                Region 2 / ten episodes / HIT Ent. / January 2004

     Children's Favourites
                Episodes are also included on several compilation DVDs
                from HIT Entertainment...

 

    a Grand Slamm Children's Film Production
     for HIT Entertainment PLC

     based on the books by Nick Butterworth

     series producer & director Ginger Gibbons

     director:          Geoff Dunbar
    exec prods:     Peter Orton (for HIT)
                          Kate Fawkes (for HIT)
    adaptation:     Nick Butterworth
                          Kate Fawkes,                       
    music:             Bob Heatlie

    Grand Slamm 
    prod man:       Margo Marchant                     
    storyboard:     Nobby Clarke
    backgrounds:  Mike Hill, John Millington, Gunther Herbst
                          Louise Duthie, Monica Herman, Alex Bex,
                          Paul Wright
    head of
     layouts:          David Kenyon
    layout:           Jacques Gauthier, John Cooper,
                         Sue Butterworth, Das Petrou
    Varga Studio
    series prod:    Andras Erkel, Jeno Vass
    anim dir:         Igor Lacin

    sound ed:       Terry Brown
    asst eds:        Jamie Martin, Charlotte Evans
    sound rec:      The Tape Gallery
    sound
     post-prod:      Magmasters
    post prod:      The Moving Picture Company
    production
     consultant:     Mike Robinson
    music
     consultant:     Jim Doyle
    voices:           Jim Broadbent (Percy)
                         Kate Harbour (Owl)
                         Enn Reitel (Squirrel/ badger)
                         David Hart

 

      On the web


      Grand Slamm Childrens Films
      Percy's here, together with Angelina, Kipper and the rest of
      Grand Slamms' animated productions...