Rex the Runt is a British-Danish animated stop-motion comedy television series primarily consisting of a television show and two short films produced by Aardman Animations and Egmont Imagination for BBC Bristol, with EVA Entertainment co-producing the first series. Its main characters are four plasticine dogs: Rex, Wendy, Bad Bob and Vince.
Rex was first introduced as a minor character in Ident (1989), a short film directed by Richard Starzak for the Lip Synch series. During the seven years of development of the characters, Starzak produced three pilots, subtitled How Dinosaurs Became Extinct (1991), Dreams (1991) and North by North Pole (1996). The 1991 pilots were unknown to the Aardman crew at the time, as Starzak created them during his free time. Because of this, the series wasn't pitched until the discovery of these shorts a year later, as the team found potential to turn these shorts into a full-fledged series.
Thirteen ten-minute episodes of the series aired over two weeks on BBC Two from December 1998. A second, thirteen-episode series aired from September 2001 on the same channel. As well as the core cast, guest voices included Paul Merton, Morwenna Banks, Judith Chalmers, Antoine de Caunes, Bob Holness, Simon Day, Bob Monkhouse, Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton, Arthur Smith, June Whitfield, Kathy Burke, Pam Ayres and Eddie Izzard.
The series also used to air on Gold, Dave and Watch.
The animation is unusual in that the models are almost two-dimensional and are animated to exaggerate this – they are flattened in appearance and animated on a sheet of glass with the backgrounds behind the sheet. This would be altered in the second series, as the models would become more three-dimensional.
Characters
Main
Rex, the protagonist – a timid, irritable runt. He is quick-witted and usually comes up with plans to get out of the scrapes the gang finds themselves in. However, he can also annoy the others by being a smart aleck. His favourite superhero is Rocket Raymond. He is the leader of the gang, even having his name, Rex, translating to "King" in Latin. Bad Bob is a "big, fat slob", interested in food and TV. His friends, and occasionally even he himself, describe him as a "Big, fat, jelly-wobbly, fat bastard", usually getting cut off towards the end. He is distinguishable by his eye patch, which changes from eye to eye, and often carries around a revolver almost the size of himself. However grumpy he might be, he is intelligent and loyal. Bad Bob is also known to build unique gadgets and inventions out of knick-knacks and everyday household objects, such as using an empty can of beans as a form of time machine. Wendy is the only female housemate, distinguishable by her eyelashes, pink colour, noticeably hemispheric breasts, and wears a red (or starting with series 2, pink) bow on her head. She is cynical, sarcastic, and fiercely independent. Wendy provides solutions to problems albeit in a distant or non-caring way. She speaks in a Mancunian accent. Vince is the pet of the household, although all four are dogs. He is distinguished by his prominent buckteeth and mismatched eyes. He speaks in single words or short disjointed phrases, his favourites being "Spaghetti", "Tuesday", "Jam", and "Trousers". Vince suffers from "Random Pavarotti Disease", causing him to randomly blurt out snatches of opera. While he appears to be unintelligent, he occasionally shows great ingenuity, for example by building an elaborate Heath Robinson machine designed to kill a mouse. The other members of the gang often respond to Vince's random outbursts by irritably telling him to "shut it". Vince often has a habit of copying what others have said, sometimes even if they have just said it in their minds, which Bad Bob finds really annoying.
Others
Many one-off and recurring characters in Rex The Runt are voiced by various well-known British celebrities. These include:
Doctor Dogg is a medical doctor. Moustachioed, complacent and greedy, he's an opportunistic money-grabber, whose habitual charge for any treatment is "ten quid" – regardless of whether the cure works or does more harm than good. He isn't above using the main characters in medical research. Voiced by Paul Merton. Arthur Dustcart, another semi-regular character, who first makes an appearance in the last episode of the first series, but appears quite frequently in the second. He is an ugly but experienced dustman, sporting sleepy mismatched eyes, a neckerchief, a pair of dirty underpants and a large nose with prominent nasal hair. Despite his grotesque appearance and smell, he and Wendy get on rather well, much to the annoyance of Rex. He becomes a friend of the household when he helps find Rex after he was turned into spaghetti. Voiced by Arthur Smith. Mrs. Bloomers, head of Kumfy Kennels. Treats dogs with care, until she put Vince in the kennel and he ate a chihuahua. Voiced by Morwenna Banks. Judith Poodle, hostess of a holiday program. Usually ends her sentences with "Ruff!". Voiced by Judith Chalmers. Mr. Formal, the Runts' bank manager, until Bad Bob brought his gun and made him think they were bank robbers. Voiced by Bob Holness. Melting Blob Man, a three-year-old, but very smart slime creature who warned the Runts about the black hole. Constable Funnyname, a police dog who arrests Wendy in "The Trials of Wendy". Voiced by Simon Day. Judge Pikelet, elderly judge in "The Trials of Wendy". Voiced by June Whitfield Kylie Mandlebrotska, Rex's old maths teacher, until she fell into the black hole. Voiced by Kathy Burke. Easter Island Aliens, three space aliens from the planet Thribb, where the people look like the Moai statues from Easter Island. Voiced by Eddie Izzard. Morris the One-Gloved Mouse, invaded Rex's kitchen in "Mouse In Me Kitchen". Voiced by Phill Jupitus. Osvaldo Halitosis, a moustached plasticine figure in "Patio", voiced by Graham Norton. Mr Chittock, angry neighbour to Rex, after the gang went into his house and drank his beer. Voiced by veteran alternative comedian Stephen Frost. Johnny Saveloy, a teenage sausage who was really very old but was kept in a state of artificial youth owing to the Church of Chemicology. Voiced by Bob Monkhouse. Stinky Basil, a smarmy French talent-spotter. Voiced by Antoine De Caunes, known best in the UK for presenting the Channel 4 late-night adult entertainment show Eurotrash. Wayne The Zebra. Voiced by Bobby Ball. Tiddles The Destroyer. A mean fighting cat, long known to the gang, who despises Bad Bob. Voiced by Tommy Cannon. The Happy Rabbits, a band who may sing beautifully but are really cranky and will not let anybody stand in their way. Awards announcer in "Wendy's New Hair Do" and Handsome Rex in "Wendy's Hot Date", voiced by Jonathan Ross.
References to other Aardman productions Several episodes of Rex the Runt contain inside references to other projects created by Aardman Animations: In the episode "Adventures on Telly, Part 1", Wallace (from the Wallace and Gromit series) is washing the windows on Rex's house, until Bad Bob pushes his ladder over (in the film A Close Shave, Wallace operates a window washing business). Pib and Pog, two of Aardman's lesser known creations, are present in the spectator gallery during the courtroom scene from "The Trials of Wendy" and are also present in the audience watching Rex's band in "Stinky's Search for a Star". In the episode "Johnny Saveloy's Undoing", two of the jars containing the chemical essences of various stars are labelled "Wallace" and "Gromit". Another jar on the top shelf reads "Nick Park". Osvaldo Halitosis in "Patio" is actually Morph, a character from an Aardman children's show, wearing a trench coat, hat, and large moustache. There are two references in the episode "Wayne the Zebra": A Chicken Run-style chicken (Edwina) is rejected during the auditions (with Bad Bob making a comment regarding the recent popularity of chickens, referring to the film's success), and Bad Bob consults the Aardman book Cracking Animation (, published in the US as Creating 3-D Animation). The episode entitled "A Crap Day Out" may be a pun on the Wallace and Gromit short film A Grand Day Out. Both Wallace from Wallace and Gromit and Rex live on streets that sound similar to their names: whereas Wallace and Gromit live on "West Wallaby Street", it can be seen from the various post that arrives for the household that Rex and company live at "7, Marsupial Way, Rexford"
Additionally, later Aardman projects have also made reference to the series.
In the 2000 animated film Chicken Run, Nick and Fetcher can be seen eating Chuffy dog food. In the 2003 animated TV series Creature Comforts: in the episode Is Anyone Out There? a blue alien wears a T-shirt with Vince on it. In the 2006 film Flushed Away: young rat named Maximillian "Shocky" Malone wears a green T-shirt with Rex on it. In the 2015 film Shaun the Sheep Movie: Vince is one of the photographed animals marked as 'contained' by Trumper. In the 2019 film A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon: During the end credits, the stars briefly form in the shape of Bad Bob.
Episode list All airdates are sourced from the BBC Genome.
Series 1 (1998–1999) Series 1 was broadcast over Christmas 1998, originally airing in the prime-time family slots, most likely owing to Fox's The Simpsons also airing in the same time slot, but after several outraged letters complaining about language and content in show, the last few episodes were shown in later time slots. "'Note:"' "Episodes are ordered by their production number, not by their original air date." # Production Number # Broadcast Number Title Summary Airdate 1 1 "Holiday in Vince" The Runts try to cure Vince of his Random Pavarotti Disease (a Tourette syndrome-like singing of phrases of opera) by miniaturising a submarine to go on a journey through Vince's brain. 21 December 1998 2 6 "Adventures on Telly, Part 1" After their television gets broken, the Telly Man wants them to cover for him while he is fixing the family's TV. First, they need to find money to start their adventure, which causes Bad Bob to Rob a bank. 23 December 1998 3 7 "Adventures on Telly, Part 2" The Runts are short of money again, and lend themselves to Dr. Dogg's animal experiments. NOTE: This episode is an expanded version of the pilot "North by North Pole". 24 December 1998 4 8 "Adventures on Telly, Part 3" After accidentally destroying the Earth, the Runts head towards a black hole. 25 December 1998 5 2 "Bob's International Hiccup Centre" Bob loses his comic timing, so he turns to medicine. 21 December 1998 6 5 "Easter Island" The Runts' helicopter crash lands on Easter Island, where they meet visiting aliens who resemble the local statues. 23 December 1998 7 3 "Too Many Dogs" After Rex's house is stolen, the Runts go back in time to recover it, and meet parallel versions of themselves. 22 December 1998 8 11 "The Trials of Wendy" Wendy is arrested after shooting Vince. After she is proven not guilty, she starts to make a name for herself, causing Rex the Runt to get cancelled by the Telly. 30 December 1998 9 4 "Stinky's Search for a Star" The Runts enter a talent contest hoping to win enough money to pay the gas bill. 22 December 1998 10 12 "Under the Duvet" The Runts visit the University of Love under their bed, while Vince falls in love with a vacuum cleaner. 31 December 1998 11 9 "Johnny Saveloy's Undoing" Wendy joins Johnny Saveloy's following. 27 December 1998 12 10 "The City Shrinkers" The Runts win Birmingham in the lottery. After shrinking it with their shrinking gun, Bad Bob and Wendy go on a city-shrinking craze. 29 December 1998 13 13 "Carbonara" Rex is accidentally run through a sausage mincer, and must avoid the attentions of a hungry Vince. 1 January 1999
Series 2 (2001-2005) Series 2 was aired between 23 September 2001 to 16 December 2001 on late nights. Each episode was then repeated the following Sunday on BBC Two.