NEW IRISH PRODUCED SERIES HELPS YOUNG CHILDREN LEARN HOW TO MANAGE THEIR EMOTIONS
RTÉjr, 7.50am, repeated daily at 5.45pm
With the puppets at the helm, the series explores twelve key emotions: Anger, Disgust, Jealousy, Shyness, Surprise, Fear, Guilt, Sadness, Embarrassment, Anxiety, Grumpy and Love.
With the help of the forest kids who visit every day, Bellie and Whizz learn to identify and manage these emotions through mindful breathing, creativity and play. Young viewers will learn that everyone feels these emotions at some stage, and most importantly, that it’s good to share your feelings with others.
Bellie and Whizz are best friends. But sometimes their emotions get a bit muddled up and they need a bit of help to sort things out. In each episode, a different group of children come to visit them in the forest and together they figure out a way to work through a particular emotion to make things feel better.
Ep1. Angry: Whizz’s brother pulled the ears off her favourite bunny and she’s MAD!
Ep2. Disgust: Bellie accidently stands in pine marten poop! Ugh, disgusting!
Ep3. Jealousy: Bellie feels that Whizz’s picture is WAY better than his. Is he jealous?
Ep4. Shyness: Bellie’s older cousins come to visit but he’s too shy to play with them.
Ep5. Surprise: Whizz throws Bellie a surprise! But not all surprises are good ones.
Ep6. Fear. There’s a big storm on the way and Whizz is afraid of thunder and lightning!
Ep7. Guilty. Bellie feels very guilty after he gobbles up Whizz’s delicious berry bun.
Ep8. Sadness: Whizz spent ages gathering pine cones and then she lost them!
Ep9. Embarrassment: Whiz accidently farted in class and wants to hide away for ever.
Ep10. Anxiety: Bellie must say a poem in front of the school but his tummy feels funny.
Ep11. Grumpy: Whizz gets very grumpy when she doesn’t get enough sleep!
Ep12. Love: Bellie sprains his paw and can’t play so everybody shows him some love.
At the heart of the series is the theme; it’s ok not to feel ok! Modern life can be chaotic and overwhelming. Stress and anxiety are everywhere. Using a mix of mindful breathing, reflection, creativity and movement, this unique series will empower children and adults alike to harness different feelings when they get too big for us. And the best part is that we learn how to have a little bit of fun along the way!
Whizz the Hare puppeteer and actor Gráinne Bleasdale says:
“It was both eye opening and educational to see how emotionally intelligent young people are, and we realised how much we can learn from them. While we did have a lot of fun and silliness with Bellie and Whizz, it was also important to take in those poignant moments with our young cast. They grapple with a range of emotions daily, both at school and at home, and it was fascinating to see their perspective and how they cope and deal with these emotions. I feel like both children and adults will enjoy this series immensely – I certainly learnt a lot about my own feelings and emotions while filming it.””The series is a great example of meeting kids at their level, and is a child led approach to what can be a difficult topic for both parents and children”, says Bellie the Badger puppeteer Ray Cuddihy. “It’s a playful toolkit to manage emotions of all colours and sizes.
From my experience as a teacher, I know that has a practical use in a school setting. Bellie and Whizz ‘Minding Me’ is inclusive and gentle, but also fun and informative.”Performing Bellie was a pure joy. We researched and workshopped scenarios with kids in schools, in order to get a grasp of real world experiences, thoughts and feelings of modern Irish children.Their honesty and connection with the characters of Bellie and Whizz are truly meaningful and relatable”.
Directed by Julian Hills and Paula Rouse, and crafted by experienced puppeteers Ray Cuddihy and Gráinne Bleasdale, Bellie and Whizz ‘Minding Me’ was produced by GMarsh TV for RTÉjr in association with Coimisiún na Meán.
The series was filmed in Telegael Studios, Galway and post was handled by Egg Post Production, Dublin.
Bellie and Whizz ‘Minding Me’ will be broadcast online https://www.rte.ie/player/kids and on RTÉjr from Monday September 30th 2024.
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Pauline Cronin 087 2629967