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No-one tells a story like Jackanory
C91Èȱ¬ today unveils the new-look Jackanory, which is set to burst onto screens at the end of November.
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Academy and Bafta Award-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley narrates The Magician of Samarkand, a thrilling adventure set in the exotic location of the Orient; while John Sessions reads Muddle Earth, a hilarious and tongue-in-cheek homage to the Lord of the Rings.
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The stunning new CGI techniques allow the storytellers to enter a magical animated world and interact with the characters. Ìý
"The original idea was to bring a picture book to life literally in and around its storyteller," says Producer/Director Nick Willing, who is best known for his work directing feature films Photographing Fairies in 1997 and the Emmy Award-winning Alice in Wonderland in 2000.
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"I had a lot of fun involving the storyteller in the story in different ways, constantly trying to surprise the audience, popping in and out of the scene," says Nick.
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"The narrator is sometimes like a puppet master and even argues with his own characters.
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"When I started out as a director, I always dreamt that there would come a day when we could literally draw an imaginary world and have an actor move about in it; that's where we are now. It's amazing, isn't it?" Ìý
The visuals for both stories are being produced by a new C91Èȱ¬ animation team that has been brought in especially to develop one of C91Èȱ¬'s most ambitious projects to date.
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The Magician of Samarkand is a lavish mixture of beautiful animation and hand-painted illustrations, inspired by Victorian illustrators.
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With a totally different look and feel, Muddle Earth is brought to life with CGI animation and live action.
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Both stories use actors and animated characters.
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Notes to Editors
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Muddle Earth by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
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Life is about to change beyond recognition for an ordinary schoolboy on ordinary earth - Joe Jefferson - and his dog, Henry.
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Viewers enter a world of ogres and goblins, batbirds and pink stinky hogs, a floating lake and exploding gas frogs.
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Joe has been summoned to Muddle Earth by a wizard, Randalf the Wise, who thinks he is a warrior-hero.
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Muddle Earth is also home to an ogre, Norbert the Not-Very-Big and Veronica, a sarcastic budgie. Ìý
The Magician of Samarkand by Alan Temperley
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Anahita is the beautiful daughter of the town's shoemaker, who spurns the advances of the evil magician Zohak Ali.
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Stung by her rejection, Zohak Ali casts a spell on Anahita and she is driven from the city.
Determined to fight back, will Anahita be brave enough to overcome the dark powers of the Magician of Samarkand?
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About Jackanory
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Jackanory returns as two specials to be broadcast towards the end of the year on C91Èȱ¬ and 91Èȱ¬ ONE.
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CBeebies will run a series of Jackanory Juniors daily.
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Executive producer for Jackanory is Cas Lester; executive producer for Jackanory Junior is Kay Benbow.
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Muddle Earth and Magician of Samarkand are published by MacMillan Children's Books. Ìý
HH2/Picture Publicity
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