Chorlton and the Wheelies

God I love YouTube.

Below click and watch a clip of Chorlton and the Wheeleies - a slightly surreal children's animation from the 1970s. Bit hard to understand but as I recollect we have a race of little blobs people who have wheels instead of legs. There is a witch, Fenela, who in a kind of Queen of Narnia way has put a spell on the wheelie kingdom and now controls them. Chorlton the big, friendly but unintelligent dragon somehow protects the wheelie folk and stands up to Fenela but doesn't really realise he's doing it.

The theme tune really takes me back to my childhood and gets me all bouncingly joyous in a way I could only feel like back then before the weight of the world crushed my spirit.

 

Watch Chorlton and the Wheelies on YouTube

I particularly love Chorlton and the Wheelies because it is a land of ramps and slopes and level access. It's a classic disability allegory. No, really. I spent some time in 1999 trying to put together a pitch for the BBC where we took the show, cut the video around, re-voiced it and created more disability themed animations. It didn't get very far sadly. And though I think it was a genius idea, I can already feel the wrath from Chorlton fans for a) altering it and b) making it political (everything's seen as political in disability no matter how cute the tale)

So, wheelchair using world, is this the best most perfect access you've ever seen? Aww well, never mind, just sing along to the theme tune with me ... (I like the bit where fenela laughs then chorlton laughs)