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You may think you know the reason why Elephant has a long trunk, or why Tortoise has a broken shell... but as brand new pre-school series, Tinga Tinga Tales, is soon to reveal – the reason for each is a whole other story!

From the producer of the multi award-winning Charlie And Lola, Tiger Aspect's Claudia Lloyd, this vibrant, new animated series (52 x 11-minute episodes), for children aged three to six years, brings to life the traditional art of storytelling with tall tales of how all your favourite animals came to be the way they are today.

Inspired by traditional African animal folktales and the art of Tanzania, Tinga Tinga Tales opens up a fantastical world of colour, characters and transformation.

Produced on location in Kenya by Tiger Aspect Productions in conjunction with ±«Óãtvboyz Entertainment, the show draws upon the inspiring talent of local artists and musicians and is expertly computer-animated using beautiful, hand-painted imagery.

Each film tells the fantastical story of how a particular animal came to be – why Crocodile has a bumpy back or Zebra has stripes – but The Big Six form the heart of the animal community in Tinga Tinga. They are Monkey, Tortoise, Elephant, Hippo, Tickbird and Lion.

There is nothing more important than community and friendship in Tinga. There are good animals and bad animals, grumpy animals and patient animals, water animals and land animals, tall animals, short animals, loud animals and shy animals – but they all have their role to play. Big personalities for big characters, running jokes, catchphrases and lots of music.

Michael Carrington, Controller of CBeebies, said: "When Claudia Lloyd first approached me with the idea for Tinga Tinga Tales I knew it would be perfect for CBeebies. The series is a unique, beautiful production capturing a flavour of Africa and some extraordinarily tall tales. Storytelling is at the heart of what we do, engaging children with characters and tales that will stay with them forever, and Tinga Tinga Tales continues that tradition on CBeebies."

Notes to Editors

Nuggets from Nairobi

It takes nine months to complete an episode from storyboard to final music. Each animator produces approximately 30 seconds a week.

A crew of more than 50 African animators, illustrators, artists, designers, editors, audio technicians, production staff and musicians bring the show together.

Tingatinga art was originally painted on masonite tile, using bicycle paint, and due to its popularity with tourists became known as "airport art".

Tinga Tinga artwork originated from African artist Edward Tingatinga in 1968 in Tanzania.

Giving back

Tinga Tinga Tales believes in giving back to Africa, from where the show's stories and art style originate. Tinga Tinga Tales' partners are working to improve opportunities for African children through education. Go to www.tingatingatales.com to see how they are doing it and how you can get involved too.

FW