AustLit

A series of short dramas from children, adapted from the works of Australian and New Zealand authors. Not all of the episodes contain speculative-fiction content, though the majority do.

In 'The Giant's Tooth', two children assist a young giant who has lost his tooth.

In 'Pumped Up', a young boy's grandfather designs a pair of basketball boots that enable the wearer to perform feats of great physical strength and dexterity.

In 'Ben and the Alien Invasion', a young boy and his talking wart save the world from an alien invasion.

In 'Bull Harris and the Purple Ooze', a group of friends outsmart the class bully with the help of a mysterious miniature brain.

In 'The Mystery of the Talking Tail', a young boy helps a demanding talking tail find a new home.

In 'Rose Meets Mr Wintergarden', a young girl helps a reclusive old man re-enter life.

In 'Skating on Sand', a young girl overcomes rocky terrain and sibling rivalry to teach herself how to roller blade.

An anthology series of children's stories, mixing live-action episodes with animation, clay animation, and puppetry. The stories, aimed specifically at the under 10s, are drawn from a variety of sources, including children's books, fairy tales, myths, and original ideas. Some of the episodes have involved, for example, Snow White as a punk bikie and the seven dwarves as a motorcycle gang; a pet stegosaurus; a boy with wheels instead of toes; and Trevor the glider-plane-catching cat.

According to Patricia Edgar,

Thirty separate self-contained dramas of differing lengths were to be packaged into half-hour episodes. The project was designed to showcase new, creative talent in the television industry. Competitions were run at the Australian Film and Television School and Swinburne Institute of Technology for the best concepts suitable for inclusion in the Kaboodle package, with prizes of $1000 awarded. The Foundation sought promising but inexperienced writers, would-be producers, directors and even accountants who wanted to earn their first credit to enable them to find a future in the industry.

Source: Patricia Edgar, Bloodbath: A Memoir of Australian Television, Melbourne: Melbourne UP, 2006, pp.175-76.

Kaboodle was produced in two series, the first of which included some live-action segements, but the second of which was entirely animated.

For a full list of episodes, see Film Details.

Episode listing for Kaboodle series two courtesy of the Australian Children's Television Foundation.