The Family-Ness is a cartoon series from Scotland first produced in 1983. It was originally broadcast on BBC One from late 1984 to early 1985, with repeats airing throughout most of the 1990s and early 2000s, eventually ending with a short run on CBeebies on BBC Two between 11 and 22 February 2002. It was created by Peter Maddocks of Maddocks Cartoon Productions. Maddocks later went on to produce Penny Crayon and Jimbo and the Jet Set in a similar style. Family-Ness was about the adventures of a family of Loch Ness Monsters and the MacToot family, particularly siblings Elspeth and Angus. The 'Nessies' could be called from the loch by the two children by means of their "thistle whistles". The series was followed with a large collection of merchandising including annuals, story books, character models and even a record. The single "You'll Never Find a Nessie in the Zoo" was written by Roger and Gavin Greenaway, but never made it into the Top 40.

Humans

Nessies

Most of the Nessies are named after their main trait, like the Mr. Men, the Smurfs and the dwarfs from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. With one exception, the Nessies bear little likeness to the stereotypical plesiosaurus/serpent appearance; most of them appear as very fat, yellowish dinosaurs with bulbous noses. There are many unnamed Nessies used as background characters.

Credits

Episodes

Home releases

In the middle of 1985 after the final episode of The Family Ness was broadcast, BBC Video released one video with 14 episodes of the entire show. In the mid-1990s Hallmark and Carlton Home Entertainment released one video with the first 9 episodes of 1984. In 2002 Right Entertainment (distributed through Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd) released two videos with eight episodes on each one and then in Summer 2004 they were both re-released on 2 DVD releases.