December 21 1998 – April 19, 2005
Rex the Runt is a Stop motion claymation pixilation comedy series, primarily consisting of a television show and two short films produced by Aardman Animations and Egmont Imagination for BBC Bristol, with EVA Entertainment co-producing the first series. Its main characters are four plasticine dogs: Rex, Wendy, Bad Bob and Vince.
Rex was first introduced as a minor character in Ident (1989), a short film directed by Richard Starzak for the Lip Synch series. During the seven years of development of the characters, Starzak produced three pilots, subtitled How Dinosaurs Became Extinct (1991), Dreams (1991) and North by North Pole (1996). The 1991 pilots were unknown to the Aardman crew at the time, as Starzak created them during his free time. Because of this, the series wasn't pitched until the discovery of these shorts a year later, as the team found potential to turn these shorts into a full-fledged series.
Thirteen ten-minute episodes of the series aired over two weeks on BBC Two from December 1998. A second, thirteen-episode series aired from September 2001 on the same channel. As well as the core cast, guest voices included Paul Merton, Morwenna Banks, Judith Chalmers, Antoine de Caunes, Bob Holness, Simon Day, Bob Monkhouse, Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton, Arthur Smith, June Whitfield, Kathy Burke, Pam Ayres and Eddie Izzard.
The animation is unusual in that the models are almost two-dimensional and are animated to exaggerate this - they are flattened in appearance and animated on a sheet of glass with the backgrounds behind the sheet. This would be altered in the second series, as the models would become more three-dimensional.
Storyline
A surreal claymation series about Rex, a flat purple dog, and his equally odd friends. Rex and co. realize that they are being watched on the telly, so they feel compelled to have adventures in order to amuse the audience. Most of the times things are set awry by the deranged Vince.
TV Show Intro
Sound Effects Used
- Hollywoodedge, Belch 1 Medium BelchC PE138001 (Heard once in "Stinky's Search for a Star".)
- Hollywoodedge, Belch 6 Lowpitched We PE138501 (Heard once in "Stinky's Search for a Star".)
- Hollywoodedge, Belch 7 Long Disgusti PE138601 (Heard once in "Stinky's Search for a Star".)
- Hollywoodedge, Big Crunchy Bite CRT026401 (Heard once in "The City Shrinkers".)
- Hollywoodedge, Cans Crash Floor Rol CRT033403 (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 1".)
- Hollywoodedge, Fart 1 Medium Fart Clo PE138901 (Heard once in "Bob's International Hiccup Centre".)
- Hollywoodedge, Fart 8 Comical Highpi PE139601 (Heard once in "Bob's International Hiccup Centre".)
- Hollywoodedge, Goat Bleats Twice CRT011503 (2nd bleat; heard once in a high pitch in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 2".)
- Hollywoodedge, Grunt 8 Male Strained PE132801 (Heard once in "The Trials of Wendy".)
- Hollywoodedge, Gusts Heavy Cold Wind PE031601/Hollywoodedge, Whistling Wind Stead PE033301
- Hollywoodedge, Large Ceramic Pot Bre TE023001/Hollywoodedge, Pottery Drop Break PE112401 (Heard once in "The Adventures of the Telly Part 1".)
- Hollywoodedge, Lincoln Town Car In Sk PE073501 (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 2" and "The City Shrinkers".)
- Hollywoodedge, Man Yells Mediumhig CRT028301 (Heard once in a high pitch in "The City Shrinkers".)
- Hollywoodedge, Medium Crowd AdultsY PE142901 (Heard once in "The City Shrinkers".)
- Hollywoodedge, Medium Exterior Crow PE140401 (Heard once in "Stinky's Search for a Star".)
- Hollywoodedge, Newborn Babies Cryin PE144301 (Heard once in "Under the Duvet".)
- Hollywoodedge, Screams 2 Man Yell Scre PE134301 (Used for Rex when he screams.)
- Hollywoodedge, Screams 2 Woman Singl PE133601 (Used once for Wendy when she screams in "Johnny Saveloy's Undoing".)
- Hollywoodedge, Screams 3 Woman Singl PE133701 (Heard once in "Holiday in Vince".)
- Hollywoodedge, Screams 4 Man Gutwren PE134501
- Hollywoodedge, Screams 5 Man InsaneT PE134601 (Heard once in "Easter Island".)
- Hollywoodedge, Screams 6 Woman Panic PE134001 (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 1" and "The Trials of Wendy".)
- Hollywoodedge, Screams 7 Woman Three PE134101 (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 1".)
- Hollywoodedge, Swish 12 Single PE117101
- Sound Ideas, BELL, CHURCH - SINGLE CHURCH BELL TOLLING (Heard once in "Bob Joins a Gang".)
- Sound Ideas, BRITISH BIRDS - TAWNY OWL (STRIX ALUCO) HUNTING CALLS WITH CHORUS OF DARK BUSH-CRICKETS (DORSET 30.8.77) (1st half heard once in a high pitch in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 2".)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON - FRED AND BARNEY FIGHT (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 2".)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, DOG - EXCITED DOG BARKING (Heard once in "Too Many Dogs".)
- Sound Ideas, CASH REGISTER - ANTIQUE: SINGLE KEY WITH BELL, FAST
- Sound Ideas, CROWD, PANIC - EXCITED, PANICKY CROWD (Heard once in "The City Shrinkers".)
- Sound Ideas, CROWD, PANIC - PANIC CROWD SCREAMS AND YELLS, SHORT, 02 (Heard once in "The Adventures of the Telly Part 1" & "Carbonara".)
- Sound Ideas, CROWD, PANIC - TEEN PANIC CROWD (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 1" and "The City Shrinkers".)
- Sound Ideas, FARM ANIMALS - COCK CROWS 01 (Heard once in a high pitch in "Easter Island".)
- Sound Ideas, HUMAN, SCREAM - SCREAM: FEMALE, HORROR 01 (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 1".)
- Sound Ideas, HUMAN, SCREAM - SCREAM: FEMALE, HORROR 02 (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 1".)
- Sound Ideas, HUMAN, SCREAM - SCREAM: FEMALE, HORROR 03 (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 1." and "Hole in the Garden".)
- Sound Ideas, POP, CARTOON - SQUISH POP (Heard once in "Plasticine Gene".)
- Sound Ideas, RICOCHET - GUN SHOT RICCO OUT (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 2".)
- Sound Ideas, SPLAT, CARTOON - PAINT FIGHT GLOP, 03 (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 3".)
- Sound Ideas, SPLAT, CARTOON - PAINT FIGHT GLOP, 05 (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 3".)
- Sound Ideas, SQUEAK, CARTOON - RUBBING SQUEAKS (Heard once in "Carbonara".)
- Sound Ideas, ZIP, CARTOON - BIG WHISTLE ZING OUT (Heard once in "The Adventures on the Telly Part 2".)
- Unknown Door Open and Close Sound