Muzzy Comes Back (also known as Muzzy 2[citation needed] and Muzzy Level II) is a sequel to the animated direct-to-video film Muzzy in Gondoland, created by the BBC in 1989, as a way of teaching English as a second language. It has been adapted, using changed text in speaking and subtitles, for teaching other languages, such as German.[1]

Muzzy Comes Back
Muzzy
Also known asMuzzy 2
Muzzy Level II
Written byWendy Harris
Richard Taylor
Joe Hambrook
Directed byRichard Taylor
StarringJack May
Willie Rushton
Miriam Margolyes
Susan Sheridan
Derek Griffiths
Benjamin Whitrow
Peter Jones
Theme music composerPeter Shade
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Production companyRichard Taylor Cartoon Films
Original release
NetworkBBC
Release1989 (1989)
Related
Muzzy in Gondoland

Plot

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Muzzy, the friendly metal and machine-eating extraterrestrial, returns for more adventures with his friends in the kingdom of Gondoland. Everyone expects him, and King Nigel and Queen Elza decide to arrange a ball for the christening of Bob and Sylvia's new baby daughter, Amanda.[clarification needed] Meanwhile, Corvax, Nigel's former vizier and the villain of the previous film, who was demoted to a cook for failure to stop his computer from producing Sylvia clones, invents an invisibility device. With his assistant Thimbo "the Terrible", a thief on parole, he schemes to kidnap Amanda so he can get revenge on Bob for tricking him and taking Sylvia away from him.

Corvax and Thimbo succeed in kidnapping Amanda, and they get away on Nigel's yacht. However, Amanda sinks the boat by pulling the plug out of the hull. The three survive and enter Corvax's hideout: a small hut, which turns out to be Corvax's operations centre. Meanwhile, Muzzy, Nigel, Elza, Bob, and Sylvia follow Corvax's trail, recover Nigel's yacht, and track Corvax to his hideout.

In the hideout, Amanda gets hungry and wants to eat; while preparing the food, Thimbo lets the invisibility device loose; it is picked up by Amanda, who activates it. Corvax and Thimbo struggle to find Amanda. Muzzy, Nigel, Bob, Elza, and Sylvia enter the hideout and confront Corvax. Thimbo confesses to Nigel that the hut is an operations centre. Meanwhile, Amanda is found, but cannot be seen. Muzzy constructs another invisibility device and uses it to make Amanda visible. Everyone then goes back to the palace. In the end, Corvax and Thimbo ride with sheep to receive the unknown ultimate punishment offscreen (although it is accordingly known that, in Britain, this means 250 years in prison).

As in the first film, a bicycle-riding human named Norman is the star of a series of skits that periodically interrupt the main story to teach the viewers how to say certain things in different languages as they relate to the scenes they follow. These skits have more continuity than they do in the first film as Norman struggles to build a new home throughout them after his old home falls apart.

Cast

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  • Jack May as Muzzy, a furry, greenish-blue extraterrestrial) who eats metallic and mechanical objects; and Norman's friend and fellow human
  • Willie Rushton as King Nigel, the lion ruler of Gondoland and Sylvia's father; and additional voices
  • Miriam Margolyes as Queen Elza, Nigel's rat wife and Sylvia's mother; Norman's unnamed human wife; and the bulldog Servant Maid
  • Susan Sheridan as Princess Sylvia, Nigel and Elza's rat daughter and Amanda's mother; Amanda, Sylvia and Bob's daughter; and additional voices
  • Derek Griffiths as Bob, Sylvia's mouse husband and Amanda's father; Corvax, a green goblin mad scientist and Nigel's former vizier; and additional voices
  • Peter Jones as Thimbo the Terrible, Corvax's bulldog assistant; Guest #1, a mouse; and the Shepherd, a pink goblin
  • Benjamin Whitrow as Norman, a human bicyclist

Credits

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  • Directed by Richard Taylor
  • Executive Producer: Joe Hambrook
  • Original English Scripts by Wendy Harris, Joe Hambrook, Richard Taylor
  • Language Course Designer: Diana Webster
  • Animation by Richard Taylor Cartoon Films Ltd.
  • Additional animation by Bob Godfrey Films Ltd.
  • Music by Peter Shade
  • Produced by Richard Taylor Cartoon Films for BBC English Television
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References

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  1. ^ "Growing Minds and MUZZY Online".