Tinga Tinga Tales | |
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Genre | Children's Television |
Voices of | Eugene Muchiri Shaun Parkes Johnnie Fiori Lenny Henry Patrice Naiambana Miriam Margolyes |
Theme music composer | Eric Wainaina Aaron Rimbui |
Opening theme | "Tinga Tinga Tinga" |
Country of origin |
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Original languages | English Swahili |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 52[1] |
Production | |
Running time | 11 minutes |
Production companies |
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Release | |
Original network | CBeebies |
Original release | 1 February 2010 31 March 2011 | –
Tinga Tinga Tales is a British flash animated children's television series based on African folk tales and aimed at 4 to 6-year-olds. It was commissioned by the BBC for its CBeebies channel. Named after Tingatinga art from Tanzania,[2] Tinga Tinga Tales was produced in Nairobi, Kenya, by Homeboyz Animation,[3] a studio of approximately 50 people.[2] The music is produced by Kenyan singer-songwriter Eric Wainaina.[4] The series comprises 55 episodes and is also available on BBC iPlayer.
The series was first conceived by Claudia Lloyd, head of the animation division at the London-based Tiger Aspect Productions, while travelling through Africa. The first three episodes premiered on the BBC website in early February 2010. The distribution rights have been bought by Entertainment Rights (which in 2009 merged with Classic Media, then in 2012 it was acquired by DreamWorks Animation and renamed into DreamWorks Classics).[5]
Tinga Tinga Tales is centred around various animated animals, and employs music, dialogue and colourful imagery to tell African folk tales about the origins of animals, each narrated by Red Monkey, and answer questions such as "Why do monkeys swing in the trees?" and "Why do flamingos stand on one leg?".[6]
Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
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First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 26 | 1 February 2010 | 29 April 2010 | |
2 | 26 | 22 November 2010 | 31 March 2011 |
The series was released on DVD in the United Kingdom by Universal Pictures UK and Classic Media.