This is a chronological list of Enid Blyton’s works adapted for TV and film. I haven’t included stage or theatre productions unless they were filmed. I have tried to include information about who made the work, the cast, episode titles and if it’s available to be bought or watched. Some titles have very little information online, however, so I haven’t been able to include all those things for every entry.

Episode titles which are links will take you to our reviews of those episodes unless otherwise stated.

---

PERSONALITY MEET: ENID BLYTON, 1946

This is a one minute TV-movie starring Enid Blyton, Kenneth Waters, Imogen Smallwood and Gillian Baverstock as themselves. It can be watched online.

---

ADVENTURES OF NODDY, 1955-1963

& FURTHER ADVENTURES 1963-1975

There are just nine episodes of this early programme listed on IMDB, but judging by the dates given elsewhere there are many episodes missing.

Of the episodes that are listed, eight comprise a first series, and the one further episode is from an unknown series.

• Hello, Little Noddy
• When Noddy Came to Toyland
• Noddy’s New Car
• Noddy’s Taxi
• Noddy Does Some Gardening
• Big Ears’ Smokey Chimney
• Noddy’s Burglar
• The Big Balloon

From what I can gather this was a puppet-show and the episodes were just 15 minutes long. None of it has ever been seen online, though you can view some archived images here.

Further Adventures is not even listed on IMDB but there are references to it elsewhere on the web. I did find one episode, The Great Car Race, on YouTube.

---

 FIVE ON A TREASURE ISLAND, 1957

An eight-part serial made by the Children’s Film Foundation. Blyton herself was involved in the production, and had a say in the casting. She was apparently very happy with the finished product.

The Five were played by:

• Richard Palmer – Julian
• John Bailey – Dick
• Gillian Harrison – ‘Ann’
• Rel Grainer – George
• Daga – Tim

You can get it for under a tenner on Amazon.

---

NODDY IN TOYLAND, 1957

I can’t find much information on this adaptation, other than the cast.

• Colin Spaull – Noddy
• Gloria Johnson – Silky
• Leslie Sarony – Mr. Pinkwhistle
• Peter Elliott – PC Plod
• David Brierly – Jinky
• Graeme Harper – Moonface
• Richard Huggett – Mr. Noah
• Bobby Kerrigan – Big Ears

All I can surmise from that scant information is that it crosses over with The Magic Faraway Tree!

---

FIVE HAVE A MYSTERY TO SOLVE, 1964

Another CFF production, this time in six parts. As this was made seven years after the previous one, it’s hardly surprising that there is a new cast.

• David Palmer – Julian
• Darryl Read – Dick
• Mandy Harper – George (as Amanda Coxell)
• Paula Boyd – Anne
• Uncredited – Timmy

This is also available on Amazon at less than £10.

---

DE 5 OG SPIONERNE (FIVE AND THE SPIES), 1969

A Danish adaptation of Five Go Adventuring Again. 

• Mads Rahbek – Julius (Julian)
• Niels Kibenich – Richard (Dick)
• Sanne Knudsen – Anne
• Lone Thielke – Georg (Georgina)
• Ove Sprogøe – Onkel Quentin
• Astrid Villaume – Tante Fanny

I can’t spot this for sale at the moment but the full thing is available on YouTube.

---

GONIN TO IPPIKI (FIVE CHILDREN AND DOG) 1969-1971

This is one I had never heard of before. It is a Japanese adaptation of The Five-Find Outers. Created by NHK – Japan’s national broadcaster – it ran for 113 episodes, over two-and-a-half years. The children were given different names and identities, and Buster became a black poodle. The early episodes were based (loosely) on the books but after that they used newly written stories. Unfortunately the tapes were deleted by NHK and very little survives now.

Also unfortunately the website I found the below image (and some information) on has now disappeared.

(P.S. This is an initiation ceremony to the FFOs, not a Nazi salute!)

---

DE 5 I FEDTEFADET, 1970

A Danish version of Five Get Into Trouble with the same cast as Five and the Spies.

It can be found on DVD on Amazon, but it’s not clear if there are subtitles or dubbing into English.

---

NODDY, 1975

This one was a stop-motion series, in colour, and narrated by Richard Briers. Episodes had been added to YouTube at some point but have since been deleted, though one or two videos were released in the 80s. This is the best site I could find about the series, and there is one site which claims this was the episode list:

Series 1

• Hurrah for Noddy
• Noddy and His Car
• Noddy Goes to School
• Noddy and the Bumpy Dog
• Well Done, Noddy
• Noddy at the Seaside
• Noddy Gets into Trouble
• Noddy and the Magic Rubber
• Noddy and Tessie Bear
• Noddy and the Thief
• Noddy Be Brave

Series 2

• You’re a Good Friend, Noddy
• Here Comes Noddy Again
• You Funny Little Noddy
• Look Out, Noddy
• Noddy Goes to Sea
• Noddy and the Bunkey
• Cheer Up, Little Noddy
• Noddy Goes to the Fair
• Mr. Plod and Noddy
• Noddy and the Clockwork Clown
• Noddy and the Tootles
• Noddy and the Aeroplane
• Noddy Builds a House
• Noddy Meets Father Christmas

---

THE FAMOUS FIVE, 1978-1979

Produced by Southern Television this is probably the most famous TV adaptation of any of Blyton’s works. It ran for 26 episodes, over two series (though IMDB has them split into three for some reason).

Episode Listing:

Series one

• Five Go to Kirren Island: Part 1
• Five Go to Kirren Island: Part 2
• Five Go Adventuring Again
• Five Go to Smuggler’s Top: Part 1
• Five Go to Smuggler’s Top: Part 2
• Five Go Off in a Caravan
• Five Go Off to Camp: Part 1
• Five Go Off to Camp: Part 2
• Five on a Hike Together
• Five Go to Mystery Moor
• Five on a Secret Trail
• Five Go to Billycock Hill
• Five on Finniston Farm

Series two

• Five Get Into Trouble – Part 1
• Five Get Into Trouble – Part 2
• Five Get Into a Fix
• Five Are Together Again: Part 1
• Five Are Together Again: Part 2
• Five Have a Wonderful Time
• Five Fall Into Adventure: Part 1
• Five Fall Into Adventure: Part 2
• Five Run Away Together
• Five Go to Demon’s Rocks part 1
• Five Go to Demon’s Rocks: Part 2
• Five Go Down to the Sea: Part 1
• Five Go Down to the Sea: Part 2

Five Go to Kirren Island is a mixture of Five on a Treasure Island and Five on Kirrin Island Again, because the rights to Five on a Treasure Island were still owned by the BFC. Likewise this is why there is no Five Have a Mystery to Solve. I’m not sure there is such a convincing reason why Kirrin has become Kirren, however.

In this adaptation the main cast were played by:

• Marcus Harris – Julian
• Gary Russell – Dick
• Jennifer Thanisch – Anne
• Michele Gallagher – George
• Toddy – Timmy
• Michael Hinz – Uncle Quentin
• Sue Best – Aunt Fanny

This series is available in a couple of DVD sets, including a collectors’ edition.

---

THE ISLAND OF ADVENTURE, 1981/2

This was made by EbeFilms and runs for 85 minutes. The IMDb blurb reads:

Four British teens on vacation visit an island and discover that a terrorist group is using it as their headquarters.

This 1980s film takes the Island of Adventure story and adds the Royal Navy, terrorists, a few murders and other equally dramatic scenes, all to a very 80s backdrop. I have reviewed it in detail here.

• Perry Benson – Jack
• Patrick Field – Philip
• Chloe Franks – Dinah
• Daryl Back – Lucy-Ann
• Percy Edwards – Kiki
• Catherine Schell – Aunt Allie
• Norman Bowler – Bill
• John Rhys-Davies – Smith

It looks like this was released on VHS but it’s also on DVD now and also available on YouTube.

The DVD and the BFI give the year as 1982, but IMDb dates it from 1981.

---

THE COMIC STRIP PRESENTS, 1982-2012

This comedy show has run for thirty years and in that time they made three episodes based on the Famous Five.

• Five Go Mad in Dorset – the very first episode of the show in 1982
• Five Go Mad on Mescalin – from the second series in 1983
• Five Go to Rehab – after quite a long break this was made in 2012

The main cast has been the same throughout (apart from Timmy, naturally)

• Peter Richardson – Julian
• Adrian Edmondson – Dick
• Jennifer Saunders – Anne
• Dawn French – George
• Sandra Dorne – Aunt Fanny
• Ronald Allen – Uncle Quentin
• Robbie Coltrane – Various

Five Go Mad in Dorset can be watched online with Channel 4, as can Five Go Mad on Mescalin.

---

THE CASTLE OF ADVENTURE, 1990

An ITV production, this had eight 25 minute episodes. It also had a rather starry cast!

• Hugo Guthrie – Jack
• Richard Hanson – Phillip
• Rosie Marcel (now in Holby City) – Dinah
• Bethany Greenwood – Lucy-Ann
• Susan George – Aunt Allie
• Gareth Hunt – Bill Cunningham
• Brian Blessed – Sam (a character who isn’t in the books)

This has never been released on DVD (rights issues, apparently) but it can be bought on video, or, even easier, it’s all available on YouTube.

My reviews of the episodes can be found here

---

MISCHIEVOUS TWINS: THE TALES OF ST CLARE’S, 1991

This is an Anime series from Japan, with 26 episodes. It has been dubbed into German and released on DVD with the Hanni und Nanni name, and also into French and called Les jumelles de St Clare.

---

SUNNY STORIES, 1992

Starring Maureen Lipman as Enid this is a 50 minute documentary. Although a stand-alone in terms of Blyton, it’s one episode of the BBC2 show Bookmark which ran from 1983-1999 and focused on books and writers.

It can be watched on YouTube using this playlist – just take note that the episodes are in the wrong order!

I’m having trouble finding any sort of synopsis for this so I will have to watch it and update this later.

The IMDb listing gives some clues. It suggests that Blyton’s childhood is featured as there is a child Enid, as well as her parents and brother Hanly, and a teen Enid. Hugh Pollock (husband number 1) and Dorothy Richards (Enid’s Maternity nurse and good friend) also appear.

What’s also interesting is Wishing Chair Peter and Wishing Chair Mollie appear which suggests that some of Blyton’s characters come to life in some way, though I don’t know how prominently.

---

NODDY’S TOYLAND ADVENTURES, 1992-1999

This is another stop-motion animation, this time by Cosgrove Hall Films for the BBC. There were 53 episodes altogether, over four series.

Series 1 (1992)

• Noddy Loses Sixpence
• Noddy and the Goblins
• Noddy and the Naughty Tail
• Noddy and the Pouring Rain
• Noddy and Martha Monkey
• Noddy and the Kite
• Noddy’s New Friend
• Noddy and his Bell
• Noddy and the Milkman
• Noddy Gets a New Job
• Noddy and the Broken Bicycle
• Noddy and the Special Key
• Noddy Delivers Some Parcels

Series 2 (1993–94)

• Noddy and the Missing Hats
• Noddy and the Useful Rope
• Noddy Loses his Bell
• Noddy Cheers up Big Ears
• Noddy Goes Shopping
• Noddy Borrows an Umbrella
• Noddy Meets some Silly Hens
• Noddy Lends a Hand
• Noddy Finds a Furry Tail
• Noddy to the Rescue
• Noddy Sets a Trap
• Noddy Has a Bad Day
• Noddy and the Fishing Rod
• Noddy and the Magic Night

Series 3 (1994)

• Noddy the Champion
• Noddy and the Warm Scarf
• Noddy and the Golden Tree
• Noddy and his Unhappy Car
• Noddy has an Afternoon Off
• Noddy the Magician
• Noddy and his Money
• Noddy Borrows some Trousers
• Noddy and his Alarm Clock
• Noddy Buys a Parasol
• Noddy Tastes some Cakes
• Noddy the Dancer
• Noddy and Father Christmas

Series 4 (1999)

• Noddy and the Driving Lesson
• Noddy and the Bouncing Ball
• Noddy Tidies Toyland
• Noddy and the Goblins
• Noddy and the Magic Watch
• Noddy Gets Caught in a Storm
• Noddy and the Noisy Drum
• Noddy is Far Too Busy
• Noddy and the Artist
• Noddy and the Singing Bush
• Noddy Tells a Story
• Noddy and the Nurse
• Noddy and the Treasure Map

Several videos were released by the BBC during the 90s, but there has been no DVD release yet.

---

THE FAMOUS FIVE MUSICAL – SMUGGLER’S GOLD, 1995

This is not technically a TV show or a film, but as it comes on DVD I thought I should include it anyway. It is a filmed performance from during the musical’s run, and I have reviewed it here.

There were four sets of children playing the character throughout the musical’s run but only one set feature on the DVD.

• Jon Lee (of S Club 7 fame) – Julian
• Ben McCosker – Dick
• Clare Fritton – Anne
• Alison Hughes – George

---

THE FAMOUS FIVE, 1995-1997

The favoured adaptation on this blog, this ran for two series and 26 episodes. It was made by Zenith North and shown on CITV.

The main cast:

• Marco Williamson – Julian
• Paul Child – Dick
• Laura Petela – Anne
• Jemima Rooper – George
• Connal – Timmy
• Christopher Good – Uncle Quentin
• Mary Waterhouse – Aunt Frances

The episodes:

Series 1

• Five on a Treasure Island (part 1)
• Five on a Treasure Island (part 2)
• Five Get into Trouble
• Five Go Adventuring Again
• Five Fall into Adventure
• Five Go to Demon’s Rocks
• Five on Kirrin Island Again
• Five on Finniston Farm
• Five Go Off to Camp
• Five Have Plenty of Fun
• Five on a Secret Trail
• Five Go to Smuggler’s Top (part 1)
• Five Go to Smuggler’s Top (part 2)

Series 2

• Five Go Down to the Sea (part 1)
• Five Go Down to the Sea (part 2)
• Five Run Away Together
• Five Have a Mystery to Solve
• Five Go to Mystery Moor
• Five On a Hike Together
• Five Have a Wonderful Time (part 1)
• Five Have a Wonderful Time (part 2)
• Five Go Off in a Caravan
• Five Get into a Fix
• Five Are Together Again
• Five Go to Billycock Hill (part 1)
• Five Go to Billycock Hill (part 2)

Although it was available on video in the UK there has never been a DVD release here. It is available on DVD in Dutch (De Vijf) and Danish (De Fem), and there has also been an Australian release, though it’s region 4. They all seem quite hard to come by, however. Most are sold out on Amazon or are editions with only half the episodes.

Happily, all episodes are available on YouTube (though now and again some of them disappear).

---

ENID BYTON, 1996

Like Sunny Stories, this is a one-off Enid episode from a series. Secret Lives (according to IMDb) ran from 1995-1997 with 11 episodes. The BFI website lists it as being made for Channel 4.

I’m having trouble finding much information on this, but Jane Horrocks provides a voice-over play Enid, and there is archive footage of Enid, as well as clips from the CFI Five on a Treasure Island adaptation. Gillian Baverstock, Barbara Stoney and George Greenfield are all interviewed.

I don’t believe that this is available to watch anywhere, unfortunately.

---

THE ADVENTURE SERIES, 1996

This was made by Cloud Nine Productions and filmed in New Zealand. It has eight episodes though the second is a new adventure in place of Castle which was still under copyright from the previous adaptation.

• The Island of Adventure
• The Woods of Adventure
• The Valley of Adventure
• The Sea of Adventure
• The Mountain of Adventure
• The Ship of Adventure
• The Circus of Adventure

The main cast were played by:

• David Taylor – Jack
• Peter Malloch – Philip
• Alexis Jackson – Dinah
• Jennyfer Jewell – Lucy-Ann
• Kirsten Hughes – Aunt Allie
• Malcolm Jamieson – Bill

---

THE SECRET SERIES, 1997

Another Cloud Nine Production from New Zealand, just a year after the Adventure Series. Jennyfer Jewell (Lucy-Ann) returns as Peggy. This ran for five episodes, the full book series.

• The Secret Island
• The Secret of Spiggy Holes
• The Secret of Killimooin
• The Secret of Moon Castle
• The Secret Mountain

The main cast (padded out with new characters) were played by:

• Daniel James – Jack
• Jennyfer Jewell – Peggy
• Tom Pizey – Mike
• Tineke Van Der Walle – Laura (Nora)
• Jeremy Brudenell – Thaddeus Arnold
• Jane Waddell – Charlotte
• Michele Amas – Ruby
• Drew Neemia – Tom the Gypsy

---

ENID BLYTON’S ENCHANTED LANDS, 1997-1998

I have never heard of this, but it ran for two series and 26 episodes. IMDB informs me that it was an animated show with only ten minutes per episode. There is only cast listed for 7 episodes, however, so a lot of information must be missing.

It seems that three DVDs/videos were released under the ‘Enchanted Lands’ title, but they don’t look like they match up in terms of a series so some of that information might be incorrect.

• The Magic Of The Faraway Tree

• Enid Blyton’s Enchanted Lands – More Adventures at the Faraway Tree

• The Adventures Of The Wishing Chair

---

THE NODDY SHOP, 1998-2000

This was a rather odd-sounding Canadian programme.

It was set in an antique shopped called The Noddy Shop – standing for Notions, Oddities, Doodads and Delights of Yesterday. The grand-children of the owner would play with some Noddy toys at the shop in each episode and a story would be told through use of animations taken from Noddy’s Toyland Adventures.

It ran from 1998 to 2000 with 56 episodes in total, airing on PBS. A couple of them are on YouTube.

Episode List

---

LILAU IM SCHEPPERLAND, 2001-2002

This is a German show, apparently based on Browny Tales, or as it is more commonly known The Enid Blyton Book of Brownies,  though I don’t know how ‘official’ the adaptation is.

It only had thirteen half-hour episodes, though these do all seem to have been put on a DVD.

---

MAKE WAY FOR NODDY, 2002-2007

This was a British-American production using CGI animation. It had 100 twelve minute episodes which were shown during Milkshake on channel 5 from 2002-2007, and released on various DVDs.

Episode list

• David Kaye – Noddy
• Michael Dobson – Big Ears
• Britt McKillip – Tessie Bear
• Lee Tockar – Bumpy Dog
• Don Brown and Doug Parker – Gobbo and Sly
• Richard Newman – Mr Plod

---

SAY IT WITH NODDY, 2005

From Chorion there were a set of 100 new 2-minute TV interstitials which feature Noddy learning words in a variety of foreign languages. They also featured Noddy’s new robot friend Whizz, who pressed a button on his chest to say whichever new word or phrase Noddy needed to learn.

---

FAMOUS 5: ON THE CASE, 2008

An animation made with input from Disney, this features the children of the Famous Five.

Max (the son of Julian and Brandine), Dylan (son of Dick and Michelle), Jo (daughter of George and Ravi – a tomboy who, like her mother, prefers a shorter name to her given name Jyoti) and Allie (daughter of Anne and John)

Wikipedia states there are 130 22 minute episodes but only 28 have been listed on IMDB, so I’m not sure what the true total is.

Thankfully it seems these have not been released on DVD.

---

ENID, 2009

This drama/documentary, or dramamentary if you will, was produced by the BBC in conjunction with Carnival Film and Television. According to the trivia on IMDb it was filmed in just 16 days, and the role of Enid wasn’t cast until ten days before filming started!

It starred:

• Helena Bonham Carter – Enid
• Mathew Macfadyen – Hugh Pollock
• Denis Lawson – Kenneth Waters
• Claire Rushbrook – Dorothy Richards
• Joseph Millson – Hanly Blyton
• Ramona Marquez – Imogen
• Sinead Michael – Gillian

I have to admit here that I’ve had this on DVD for absolutely ages and I’ve never watched it. I believe that it is not a particularly kind look at Enid’s life.

---

NODDY IN TOYLAND, 2009-2014

Information on this series is rather lacking, too. IMDB suggests it ran for 53 episodes, which roughly tallies with what Channel 5 have on their site. (Other sites show lists of episodes under this title but having aired in 2001. I think there are so many Noddy programmes that people have gotten them confused!)

---

HANNI AND NANNI (ST CLARE’S), 2010

A German adaptation of the St Clare’s Series which was published as Hanni and Nanni.

Hanni and Nanni have gone one step too far this time. It all began as a bet, but culminated in a wild chase through a luxury department store. As a final straw, the two girls were even accused of theft. The twins are expelled from school and their parents send them off to a boarding school called “Lindenhof”. While good-natured Nanni soon makes her first friends, hot-headed Hanni has much more trouble settling in. The first crucial test comes when the “Lindenhof” hockey team is due to play against the JoCats, the much-loved team from their old school – Hanni and Nanni have to decide where their loyalties lie. An unexpected discovery helps the two of them to choose. When “Lindenhof” also faces danger, it finally becomes clear to Hanni and Nanni that this is where they belong. They cook up a bold plan to save the school…

• Sophia Munster – Hanni
• Jana Munster – Nanni
• Hannelore Elsner – Frau Theobald

The rest of the characters are named differently from the books, so without watching I can’t begin to guess who is who.

The DVD is available on Amazon, but only with German speech and subtitles. One reviewer has said you can still follow what’s going on even if you don’t speak German, though.

---

FUNF FREUNDE (FAMOUS FIVE), 2012

This is a German film about the Famous Five.

The Famous Five Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy (the dog) spend their vacation together, while George’s dad (Professor Quentin) is staying on a nearby island where he works on a project which might bring forward new methods of using alternative energies. But one day, he disappears and the five friends are soon convinced that he was kidnapped. Determined to rescue Professor Quentin, they not only have to deal with thugs and gangsters, but also uncover a huge conspiracy.

Set firmly in the 21st century they use computers and mobile phones in their efforts.

It starred:

• Quirin Oettl – Julian
• Justus Schlingensiepen – Dick
• Neele-Marie Nickel – Anne
• Valeria Eisenbart – George
• Coffey – Timmy
• Michael Fitz – Uncle Quentin
• Anja Kling – Aunt Fanny

It also features a cameo from Marcus Harris!

It is available on Amazon, with English subtitles.

---

HANNI AND NANNI 2, 2012

After returning from summer vacation, Hanni and Nanni must fight with their intolerable cousin and unmask a false princess.

This has the same main cast as the first film. It’s available on Amazon too, but only in German again.

---

FUNF FREUNDE 2 (FAMOUS FIVE), 2013

A sequel just one year later, this one sounds rather like Five Get Into Trouble.

The Famous Five set out on their first journey by bike on their own – unaccompanied by parents. On camping the kids encounter a strange boy named Hardy. They try to get rid of this annoying kid, but then Dick is kidnapped! He is a victim of confusion, as our Famous Five discover promptly. The hijackers have it rather in for Hardy, who is the son of business tycoon Kent. Do they want a ransom? With their good deal of detective instinct the kids are able to find the place where Dick has been abducted to: a medieval castle, called ‘Owl Nest’. George, Julian, Anne and Timmy get support from Hardy who is gradually proving to be a real help.

The main cast remains the same, even the same actor appears as the police detective. (But there’s no Marcus Harris this time.)

This is also available on Amazon, again with subtitles.

---

HANNI AND NANNI 3, 2013

Clearly when German filmmakers are onto a good thing they just keep going!

I can’t find any descriptions of this film in English so I’ve had to rely on (an edited) Google translate from German Wikipedia.

The girls are rehearsing for Romeo and Juliet, which is to be played to the parents. After a casting Mademoiselle Bertoux chooses Nanni as Julia, however, she has mistaken Nanni for Hanni, and Nanni does not want to accept the role.

Also, Hanni falls in love with Clyde, one of the English boys involved in the play. But Daniela has also taken an interest in Clyde. Clyde doesn’t know that Hanni has a twin sister and so thinks that Nanni is Hanni when he meets her. Nanni also ends up in love with Clyde who finds out after some time that he is dealing with twin sisters.

Not a very Blytonian plot over-all, though perhaps it does have shades of Guy and Harry Lawdler from Five On a Secret Trail.

The main cast appear to have returned again for this sequel, and again it can be bought on Amazon in the original German.

---

FUNF FREUNDE 3 (FAMOUS FIVE), 2014

In what now feels like deja vu, there was a third German film the next year too.

In an old shipwreck, drifted ashore from a storm, the kids discover a mysterious brass locket. The local fisher girl Joe believes that this is the key to a long lost pirate treasure. Having befriended The Famous Five, she confesses, that an investor wants to banish her tribe from their bay, using it to build a tourist resort on their cherished land instead. This treasure is her last chance to save her home. Together the friends embark on a treasure hunt, through the dangerous jungle Noteka. With the gangster couple Nick and Cassi right on their heels, they rush through the jungle until Julian collapses. He was bitten by a toxic bug. The antidote, a rare herb, grows only miles away on a remote peak. As the friends finally arrive at the mountaintop, they are ambushed by Nick and Cassi. Only with the help of their loyal dog Timmy, they can escape and save Julian’s life. However by then, the gangsters have run off with the treasure. A race against time begins, as the investor has already arrived at Joe’s village with a bulldozer ready to go.

Again, this features the same cast – the benefit of doing films back to back I suppose!

It is down to its last few copies on Amazon at the moment! I have read that each instalment has been more successful than the previous, which is unusual for films. Usually the law of diminishing returns applies there.

---

FUNF FREUNDE 4 (FAMOUS FIVE), 2015

And we are firmly stuck in a time loop, with a fourth film to the series.

Bernhard, the father of Julian, Dick and Anne, organized an exhibition to Egypt. There, they discover attempted burglary of an old gold amulet. So they fly with Elena, a colleague of their father, to Cairo. In Cairo Julian’s father falls into a trap and is then accused of theft. Until the trial, he goes to jail. The five are trying to prove the innocence of Bernhard and take Auni, a young pickpocket to help. This raises the question of whether they can liberate Bernhard.

The main cast is the same again, with the exception of Timmy who is now played by Bobby.

You can get this on Amazon, too, but only through third-party sellers.

---

NODDY, TOYLAND DETECTIVE, 2016

This is listed as a British/French/American production, created by Dreamworks.

Noddy turns detective. Accompanied by his dog Bumpy and car Revs, Noddy travels to the four corners of Toyland to investigate mysteries. Big Ears and Clockwork Mouse appear alongside new toys Deltoid, Smartysaurus and Pat-Pat the Panda.

As the description suggests it’s a very modern take on Noddy, he has a smartphone and his car sometimes transforms into a helicopter.

So far there have been 29 episodes shown – on Channel 5 in the UK, and all are available to watch online.  They are also available on UK Netflix as of November 2018 (though it is the American version with some minor changes to the script and a different voice cast.)

I have watched and reviewed the first episode – The Case of the Broken Crystal Memory Game, episode two – The Case of the Amazing Eyebrows episode three The Case of the Hiding Pirates and episode 29 The Case of the Toyland Mischief Maker.

In the UK version Noddy is voiced by the son of Andy Serkis (Gollum from Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit).

---

HANNI AND NANNI: MEHR ALS BESTE FREUNDE, 2017

Though it doesn’t say so in the title this is the fourth film in the German St Clare’s series.

The first three films had the same set of twins (Jana and Sophia Münster) playing Pat and Isobel, or rather, Hanni and Nanni but they have presumably gotten too old now and have been replaced with Laila and Rosa Meinecke.

---

MALORY TOWERS, 2020-

This a joint venture between British and Canadian production companies, and thus features both British and Canadian actors.

Running to 13 episodes for its first series it first aired on CBBC on April 6, but was available on iPlayer before then.

Importantly it is set in the 1940s and includes plummy English accents (as well as Canadian ones), lacrosse, matron and a wonderfully unpleasant Gwendoline Mary. It doesn’t stick exactly to the books but for the most part it is a very good adaptation.

Episodes one and two
Episodes three and four
Episodes five and six
Episodes seven and eight
Episodes nine and ten
Episodes eleven and twelve
Episode thirteen
Series overview

New episodes have been confirmed as of March 2020, here’s all we know about what that means.

Series two has become available on the iPlayer as of November 2021.

Episodes one and two
Episodes three and four
Episodes five and six
Episodes seven and eight
Episodes nine and ten
Episodes eleven and twelve
Episode thirteen
Series overview

Series three is now also available on the iPlayer as of July 2022, and series four is apparently expected in 2024!

There were two Christmas specials between series three and four.

The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Past

---

THE FAMOUS FIVE, 2023-

Created by Nicholas Winding Refn for the BBC this is the first of three feature-length (1 hr 30) adaptations of the Famous Five.

Loosely, very loosely, based on the first book, The Curse of Kirrin Island was first aired in December 2023 and can be watched on the BBC iPlayer if you are in the UK.

Our initial thoughts are here, and a slightly fuller review is here.

Episode 2 – Peril on the Night Train is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

---

THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE, 2025?

There has long been a suggestion of a Faraway Tree adaptation. It was recently announced that it would be made by Elysian Film Group and Neal Street Productions, with a script by Simon Farnaby.

Ben Gregor – the director – has since done an interview with Deadline where he says Blyton was of her time and a genius. 

---

How many of these have you seen?

---

I hope to update this with as and when any new information comes to light. If you have any of the more obscure items on this list we’d love to hear from you! Reviews, pictures, even just more accurate episode lists would be wonderful.

Latest update: 29/02/24