Davey and Goliath may return to TV

Christian Century, Oct 10, 2001 by Kevin Eckstrom

Before the dancing produce of VeggieTales, there was a little boy named Davey Hansen and his talking dog, Goliath, who spread Christian themed moral parables via an animated series. Now Davey and Goliath may be returning to television.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is trying to revive the beloved children's series Davey and Goliath by marketing and selling existing episodes to raise funds to produce new ones.

The ELCA recently entered an agreement with two companies and the series' creators, Art and Ruth Clokey, who also created the Gumbey and Pokey characters. One company, Heat Licensing of Sequiem, Washington, will create Davey and Goliath merchandise to raise money--and possibly try to convince the Walt Disney Company to sign on to the project. Another company, Program Source International, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, will market existing programs.

Davey and Goliath developed a loyal following from the 1960s to the early 1980s with the "stop-motion" animation that was similar to claymation technology. Using characters made from foam rubber, the studio could produce one minute of usable film per day and about one 15-minute episode per month.

Sixty-five episodes and six 30-minute specials were produced before the final special aired in 1975. Funding was provided by the Lutheran Church in America, and the series was distributed with help from the National Council of Churches.

"We hope to introduce a new generation to Davey and bring quality children's programming to television and video, programming with a moral center and a Christian theme," said Eric Shafer, the ELCA's director of communication, who has been pushing the project with church attorney Scott Fintzen.

Shafer said he would need to raise $3 million to $4 million from merchandise to produce 26 new 12-minute episodes--which would translate into a season of half-hour shows for week-end morning network television.

Art Clokey's company, Premavision, may play a central role in developing a new generation of Davey and Goliath. "We have some of the best animators in the world, and we're very excited about it," he said.