From left to right: Mother, Pootle, Father, Perkin, Grandfather, and Posie.
The Flumps is a Stop Motion animated series, created and written by Julie Holder, and produced for the BBC by David Yates. It was broadcast by the BBC from 1977 to 1988. The plot revolved around the adventures of a family of furry characters called the Flumps. The family consists of Grandfather Flump, Father Flump, Mother Flump, and their three children: Perkin, Posie, and Pootle. The show was created and written by Julie Holder and narrated by Gay Soper. The theme tune was played by George Chisholm on the trombone.
In 1978, the BBC released a record, The Flumps , which had four stories from the TV series: "Keep Fit," "Balloons," "Moon Shot," and "Something Different."
In 2000, The Flumps was released on DVD.
This series provides examples of:
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Most of the Flumps wear hats and little else. The exceptions are Posie, who wears a big blue bow on her head, and Mother, who wears a kerchief tied around hers.
- And You Were There: In the episode "Moon Shot," Pootle falls asleep while Perkin and Posie are off fetching a picnic, and dreams of traveling to the moon. There he meets a pair of aliens who are having a picnic, and notes that they seem familiar somehow: they have the same character models as his brother and sister, only with alien headgear instead of their usual.
- Blind Without 'Em: In "Where's Grandfather?", Grandfather loses his glasses, can't tell which Flump is which, wanders into Father's workshop, and falls asleep while leaning against a bench.
- A Boy, a Girl, and a Baby Family: Perkin, Posie, and Pootle (boy, girl, and toddler, respectively).
- Cephalothorax: The Flumps are fuzzy lumps with faces, while their arms and legs are thin and hairless.
- Cheesy Moon: Played with in "Moon Shot." Pootle dreams that he travels to the moon, where he meets a pair of familiar looking aliens who have come to the moon for a picnic. They're having green-cheese sandwiches, they explain, which they had to bring with them because there's no green cheese on the moon.
- Children Do the Housework: In the episode "Something Different," Mother talks about her Aunt Myrtle, who never did any work. Her children did it for her.
- Literal-Minded: Pootle, who is prone to getting mixed up, is always taking idioms literally, invariably leading one of the others to say, "Oh, Pootle!"
- Narrator: Gay Soper narrates each episode and voices all the characters.
- Not-So-Forgotten Birthday: Happens in "Grandfather's Birthday," which is shown from the point of view of the rest of the family, trying desperately to conceal the truth from Grandfather.
- Once per Episode: Every episode has at least one musical number.
- Phrase Catcher: "Oh, Pootle!"
- Signature Instrument: Grandfather often plays the flumpet, an instrument that vaguely resembles a cross between a tuba and a trumpet.
- Your Favorite: Double subverted in the episode "Something Different". Perkin asks Mother what's for supper. She tells them, "Your favorite: vegetable soup." Perkin, Posie, and Pootle protest that they had it yesterday and the day before, to which Mother replies that she always makes it because they always ask for it. Later, after hearing the hoot of an owl, they decide to ask Mother what owls eat. On learning that owls live on worms and spiders, Perkin, Posie, and Pootle decide that vegetable soup is again their favorite.
