The Truckers

Terry Pratchett's
Truckers (1992)

producers: Cosgrove Hall for Thames TV
animation: stop-motion animation
episodes: 13 x 11mins



"They had always lived in the corners of the world, but
suddenly there weren't many corners left..."


Faced with imminent extinction, and guided by a mysterious handheld black
box, the surviving members of an alien race of small people - Nomes - embark
upon a quest to find a new home, safe from the unwelcome attentions of us
destructive humans...

Terry Pratchett's popular children's book is adapted into a splendid stop-motion
series by the folk at Cosgrove Hall. Much of the detail and business of TP's work
is faithfully incorporated. Truckers' design and atmosphere is quite similar to that
of the Bollex Brothers Secret Adventures Of Tom Thumb, which was released a
year later, in 1993 - even down to the 'real-life' humans inserted into the animation...



There were plans afoot to adapt all three titles in Terry's Bromeliad Trilogy, but
the projects were folded when Thames lost their broadcast franchise and,
consequently, were forced to re-evaluate their relationship with Cosgrove Hall.
In 1997 Cosgrove Hall adapted two of Terry's Discworld novels into animated
form. Wyrd Sisters and Soul Music were animated using traditional cel
techniques (with a smidgen of CGI)...

In 2001 DreamWorks announced aquisition of screen rights to the Bromeliad
Trilogy. At one point Truckers was to have been turned into a computer-generated
feature from Andrew Adamson and Joe Stillman. Adamson co-directed Shrek,
whilst Stillman was a co-writer on the film. However, things have gone rather
quiet since news first broke. Still, we live in hope...




producer: Jackie Cockle
exec. prod: John Hambley
director: Jackie Cockle
writer: Brian Trueman
from Terry Pratchett's novels
music: Colin Towns
voices: Joe McGann (Masklin)
Debra Gillette (Grimma)
John Jardine (Old Torrit)
Rosalie Williams (Granny Morkie)
Edward Kelsley (The Thing)
Brian Trueman
Jimmy Hibbert



© Cosgrove Hall / Thames Television /Terry Pratchett / F2000-2004