''Star Hill Ponies'' is a British children's

stop-motion animation Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

series produced by

Bumper Films Bumper Films, Inc. was a children's stop motion animation studio based in Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom. They were best known for producing the original series of ''Fireman Sam,'' which aired from 1987 to 1994 in the UK. They also produced '' J ...

and co-produced by Mike Young Productions for

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

. It was the last production by Bumper Films before they shut down in February 2002. The voice actors are

Josie Lawrence Josie Lawrence (born Wendy Lawrence; 6 June 1959) is an English actress and comedian. She is best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' and as Manda Best in ...

and

Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Spanish waite ...

Plot

The series follows a young girl named Baz who dreams of nothing more than finding a best friend. Her wish comes true when two roaming Welsh Mountain ponies Molly and Dylan, show up at her farm with Shetland pony Scruffy. Their playful frolics change her life forever.

Production

Starhill Ponies is co-produced by Mike Young Productions in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and Bumper Films in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

, England for S4C and BBC. It is Bumper Films' only television series co-produced in the United Kingdom and North America. The series is distributed in the United Kingdom by S4C International and BBC Worldwide and worldwide by Taffy Entertainment.

Characters

Ponies

* Dylan - the big brown Welsh Mountain pony, with a black mane. * Molly - the dapple grey Mountain pony, with a grey mane. * Scruffy - the podgy chestnut

Shetland pony The Shetland pony or Sheltie is a Scottish breed of pony originating in the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland. It may stand up to at the withers. It has a heavy coat and short legs, is strong for its size, and is used for riding, dr ...

, with a long straw-coloured mane. His hobbies are eating and being naughty.

Humans

* Beatrice "Baz" Watkins - * Will Watkins - Baz's father. * Kath Watkins - Baz's mother. * Thomas - Baz's best friend. * Mrs Horace Morris - the snobbish landlady who can't stand ponies. * Jim - the local odd job man and good friend of Molly. * Ambrose Higgins - the half-witted beach shop owner. * Lottie - the mobile shop owner. Only appears in Series 2. * Nick - the blacksmith. Only appears in Series 2.

Episodes

Series 1 (1998-99)

Series 2 (2002)

# Just Desserts # Apple Pie # Hide and Seek # Nothing to be Afraid Of # Mrs. HM's Parade # Tall Tales # The Mystery of Missing Ethel # A Fine Mess # Scarypony Scarecrow # Thomas Riding High # The Unlucky Horseshoe # The Way Home # All I Want for Christmas

Home media

VHS releases

In 1999, one single video of the show was by BBC Worldwide Ltd with five episodes from the first series on it.

DVD releases

In 2006, the series was released on three DVDs by Blackhorse Entertainment.

References

1990s British animated television series 2000s British animated television series S4C original programming Animated television series about horses BBC animated television series British children's animated adventure television series Television shows set in Wales {{UK-kids-tv-prog-stub