Kids Wise Words Make Wee Screen

A new TV programme is to give NI children a voice, with a Flickerpix animated series, Wee Wise Words just made for BBC Northern Ireland.

According to the kids, you need "nine million thousand pounds" to be considered rich – at least that's according to one of the local primary school children who took part in the new series, from the makers of Days Like This and On The Air.

According to NI Screen, it puts the words and thoughts of children on a range of subjects into a colourful animated world.

Their opinions - always fresh, bright and insightful – give new meaning to everyday events and subjects that can only be seen through the eyes of a child.

Could hell be a place where residents push stones up a hill only for a red person with a pitch fork to push it back down again? And could heaven be a place where there's no need for suntan lotion? - are among the questions posed.

The children also give their insights into how banks work, the price of cars and how it's not a good idea to add hot water to fish tanks.

The series of five-minute animated programmes begin from Sunday, December 20 until Wednesday, December 23 on BBC One Northern Ireland.

The first programme looks at the subject of 'Money' with the following programmes hearing what the children have to say about 'Heaven and Hell', 'Families' and of course, 'Christmas'.

Director Joel Simon of Flickerpix, who made the series for BBC Northern Ireland said: "It's amazing how children view the world they live in. It can be very entertaining and refreshing and often very funny to hear what they think.

"That's why we created this new series and recorded primary school children from across Northern Ireland giving their thoughts on issues from how much money do you need to be rich to where we go after we die," he explained.

"We then took some of those audio recordings and transposed them into situations to create a new animated world that we felt the children were describing.

"Some are funny, some quite moving and others quite thought provoking. The whole feel of the show is that of reading a 1960s children's book, illustrated with angular, quirky and fun characters," he said.

(BMcC/KMcA)