We are thrilled to announce not only the launch of our home video subsidiary SILBERT HOME VIDEO, but also the acquisition of our first title; FERRY BOAT FRED!
Fred, Pete, Kate, Jean and several others are thrilled about their return!
The series has been out of print for decades, yet it has always had a very strong following comprised of those who remember seeing it on ABC-TV in the 90s, others who remember seeing it overseas and Thomas the Tank Engine enthusiasts who love similarly produced shows.
Fred, his captain and Pelican Pete.
For those who don't know the series, Ferry Boat Fred was an Australian produced animation series of 25 x 5 minute episodes about a little Ferry named Fred who lived at Wallaby Wharf, Sydney Harbour, Australia. The series followed his adventures with his sister Kate, a pelican named Pete (Fred's deckhand) and the Captain - a lazy koala who sleeps during the day! The series was produced in 1991 and ran on ABC-TV in 1992. It was rerun until 1995. It also had a surprise rerun in 1997 and aired abroad in Ireland, Portugal and Finland. 17 of the 25 episodes were released on video in Australia, leaving 8 as TV exclusive.
Fred and Kate.
There has been demand for Fred to be published on DVD for years, but only now it has become possible. A little history for you; in September 2023, I was pondering expanding the business into distributing TV programs, not just their soundtracks. We at SR are very aware that even though physical media is not longer used by the vast majority of people, there are collectors who almost exclusively love these formats, which not-so-coincidentally aligns with the same people who want to see these old shows re-ignited.
Obviously, I am also in this group of people, an avid collector of rare kids programs. I decided to embark on this journey out of a frustation of many of these shows being so hard to find and not getting the recognition they deserve. One of the shows I eventually settled on was Ferry Boat Fred. A series I have a deep connection to. My brother and I had the "Fred the Floating Zoo" ABC video when we were kids, in fact we still have that original copy somewhere.
Original ABC Ferry Boat Fred videos from 1992, with some of the original character models from the series.
I have also spoken over the years with series cinematographer Laurence Kirkwood, who was always very pleasant to deal with. So I got back in touch, this time from a commercial angle. Laurie was very interested himself, but John Pye, the original creator and copyright holder was a different story. Without going into detail, as it is not my story to tell nor is it the public's business, he is very unwell and unable to deal with any of this himself. So, Laurie put me in touch with John's son Jack who manages all of John's affairs. Happily, Jack was very interested and we struck a deal.
Laurie Kirkwood's CGI models of Fred and Kate.
We had a lot of trouble locating materials, however. After many searches, the original master materials were found. The ABC-TV edited masters (used for broadcast!) and the original telecine tapes of the 16mm film the show was shot on. These are 1-inch videotapes (type C) and we are in the process of having these digitised for the release.
Original 1-inch videotape masters. The two in the middle are the finished episodes, the rest are the telecined film used for editing.
We have also located a film print of the 1989 Ferry Boat Fred pilot. This is being digitised and will be featured on the release. We are creating a number of different bonus features for this release, we want it to be very special!
The gang with the original 1-inch masters.
At some stage, I realised that there were no stills photographs taken. Only a handful of marketing stills were taken by the ABC AFTER production had finished! So I enquired about the original models in order to take new photographs for the release. It took a long time but they were eventually located. Sadly, in a very poor state.
They most likely will not be used for the final artwork due to their poor condition, but Laurence Kirkwood has generously offered to render some high quality CGI artwork of the characters which I will think we will be using.
Laurie Kirkwood's CGI models of Fred and the gang originally created for a cancelled revamp of the series, now re-born for our project!
The models are in custody of Silbert Records as part of our historical collection. Some of the characters are missing, but we are searching for the rest and they will be reunited when found! I have also been given the go-ahead to restore the models. but this will not be happening until we find someone reputable IN AUSTRALIA who can prove their work.
The props and puppets from the Silbert Records Historical Collection. Characters from Ferry Boat Fred posing with Fogel the bird from the Fox Cubhouse (1994), Tessie Bear from Noddy's Toyland Adventures (1992-1994) and Smiggy the dog, Mister Whiskers/Fransicus Henri's long-time companion.
We want to try to keep as much of the original as possible. We have also noticed that Fred and Kate had motorised functions at one point that no longer work (likely to control the eyes) and if we do restore this function, we will not be using it. These are artefacts, not children's toys and we shall treat them as such, with the respect they deserve.
Fred and pals, sadly looking a bit shabby.
We will break down the current collection here:
Fred, Kate, Pelican Pete, The Captain, Jean, Major Mitchell, Mrs Mitchell, a Seagull and Tootsie (background character).
I was shocked that they still existed at all, despite being so beat up. They are on the cards to be restored as I mentioned, however, this will only be done once a suitable modelmaker is found. As other models turn up, I will update this blog.
Thomas for scale. Fred and Kate next to a diecast Thomas the Tank Engine model produced by ERTL, to give an idea of scaling. Sneaky cameo by Silbert Records chief dog, Pythagoras 'Pi' Marshall!
Ferry Boat Fred is slated for release in early 2025 on both DVD and streaming, including iTunes and YouTube. We hope you are just as excited as we are! - Joseph.
Yes! it is really happening!
Ferry Boat Fred © 2024, John Pye. Exclusively licensed worldwide by Silbert Records.
Photographs © 2024, Silbert Records.
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