Anyone knowingly using the phrase, ‘As if by magic….’ was a big fan of a beloved children’s TV series, ‘Mr Benn’ in an era when children’s TV was an important part of every childhood experience – it was a travesty that ITV and BBC especially who made so many iconic shows shunted them off to their less watched channels before abandoning them altogether decades ago.
Mr Benn the TV series….
Mr Benn was a pin suited business man seemingly a bachelor who lived in the famed 52 Festive Road where, inspired by something he saw or heard and would take a trip to a local costume shop owned by a bespectacled fez wearing owner. With a wide selection of outfits and costumes he would choose one, change into it and find himself whisked away to the era.
Mr Benn was very much aimed at a younger audience and came from author & illustrator David McKee who had a number of books to his name. The BBC approached McKee about his books and he came up with Mr Benn based on his own 1967 book The Red Knight which saw him in such an outfit and whisked off to the Middle Ages. In all there were only 13 episodes that Mr Benn don outfits as wide and varied as a hunter, a clown, balloonist, wizard, spaceman, cook, caveman, zookeeper, frogman, cowboy, pirate and an Ali Baba type with a magic carpet. They were transmitted in 1972 with a one off episode in 2005 that saw him as a gladiator. Each episode captured the essence of every child’s own unknowingly unachievable dream about ’what I want to be when I grow up’ and Mr Benn always returned with a souvenir of his latest adventure. It was a far more innocent time as today the dream is more likely to be an influencer, a gamer or PIP benefit scrounger or, more likely, all three.
The episodes were narrated by the immediately identifiable dulcet tones of Ray Brooks in what were quaint and beautifully illustrated. The series had a minimal amount of actual traditional animation due to budgetary constraints using the camera to zoom in on McKee’s lovingly detailed pictures. It’s a world away from the CGI cartoons that were churned out in the 1980’s onwards.
Bonus features…
The entire two series that were transmitted from 1971 – 1972 plus the one off 2005 episode are included here and includes:
- As If By Magic – The Story of Mr Benn – documentary
- Mr Benn Advert Rushes
- Mr Benn Restoration Comparison
- Alternative revised soundtracks (5 WAV files) for The Balloonist, The Caveman, The Frogman, The Magic Carpet, and The Red Knight
Also included superbly packaged in a clamshell box with an o-ring and slipcase, an invitation card, a fourteen-panel concertina showing all of Mr Benn’s characters, and a Mr Benn standee, as well as an episode guide booklet, and a reformatted hardback book of Mr Benn 123456789 by McKee
These extras are a little disappointing and deserved a better documentary, the best part of which is David McKee and Ray Brooks sitting on a bench chatting in park which gives an insight into how it all started. But Mckee passed away in 2022 and Brooks in 2025 and even composer Duncan Lamont whose bare bones score, often just a saxophone, and xylophone, was immediately identifiable, had passed away in 2019 meaning that a decent sit down interview with the three that were integral to the show has been forever lost.
The simple animation and the positive stories had Mr Benn as the epitome of kindness and humility who always helped people but one that’s perhaps even more relevant today. For adults who grew up with the series which was regularly repeated throughout the years it’s a reminder of perhaps happier, simpler times and a series that a new generation of children will love as much as their parents and, let’s be honest, grandparents did when they were the same age. It is an absolutely delightful boxset and with a long awaited live action film about to go into production live action it’s a show that’s awaiting to be rediscovered and loved by a new generation.
related feature : Jenny Agutter & Sheridan Smith talks to us about ‘The Railway Children Return’
related feature : The Railway Children Then and Now
