Joe and Petunia: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|British public information film series}}

'''Joe and Petunia''' are characters from a well known series of [[public information film]]s in the [[United Kingdom|UK]]. They appeared in four films which ran between [[1968]] and [[1973]], and they became popular so quickly that it was decided to kill them off in the last one in order to prevent public demand for their reappearance. They also appeared in a much earlier public information film which showed them learning to use a pelican crossing, but it is noticeably different from the others in the series.

The '''Joe and Petunia''' is a four part series of [[public information film]]s from the [[United Kingdom|UK]]. The series was made by [[Nicholas Cartoons]], which was also responsible for the [[1978]]1981 television series ''[[Willo the Wisp]]''. The films were animated and featured Joe, a tiny little man in pinstripes, and Petunia, his enormous wife who wore a hat and sunglasses. and could often be seen licking an ice cream noisily.The Voicesvoices were providedplayed by [[Wendy Craig]] as Petunia, later replaced by [[Brigit Forsyth]] for the last film, and [[Peter Hawkins]] as Joe. In each film, they causedcause danger with their unbelievableavoidable stupidityaccidents, advising the public on what ''not'' to do in a similar situation.

The Joe and Petunia series was made by [[Nicholas Cartoons]], also responsible for the [[1978]] television series [[Willo the Wisp]]. The films were animated and featured Joe, a tiny little man in pinstripes, and Petunia, his enormous wife who wore a hat and sunglasses and could often be seen licking an ice cream noisily. Voices were provided by [[Wendy Craig]] as Petunia, later replaced by [[Brigit Forsyth]] for the last film, and [[Peter Hawkins]] as Joe. In each film, they caused danger with their unbelievable stupidity, advising the public on what ''not'' to do in a similar situation.

== Films ==

The [[public information film]]s these characters appeared in were:

*''Coastguard'' - Joe and Petunia are on holiday, enjoying a picnic on a clifftop,. Joe is watching the sea through binoculars. Theywhen seehe sees a man from their hotel in trouble on his boat, but theyassumes misunderstandthat, hislike criesthem, forhe helpis ("Lovelysimply day,enjoying in't it?")himself and, thinkwhen he's wavingstruggles to themstay asafloat, heJoe struggleswaves toback stay("Lovely afloatday, in't it?"). Eventually, hethe man shouts to them "HELP! DIAL 9-9-9 AND ASK FOR THE COASTGUARD!" Joe reads these instructions in a [[speech bubble]] above the man's head, and, realising what's happening, he rushes to a phone box to summon help. The man holds on to the end of the speech bubble and floats out of the water, reminding the audience "If ''you'' see a boat you think may be in troubledistress, dial [[999 (emergency telephone number)|9-9-9]] and ask for the [[Her Majesty's Coastguard|coastguard]]!"<blockquote>The "Coastguard" film was shown on UK screens for a limited run from May 2006 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Central Office of Information. It was digitally remastered and "updated" to give it a more modern look - in the new film, Joe has a mobile phone, Petunia listens to an [[iPod]] and the coastguard now uses a computer.</blockquote>

*''Flags'' - Still at the seaside, Joe sees a beautiful mermaid in the water and wants to go in, but Petunia tells him he can't because there is a sign nearby telling people not to swim. They move down the beach, but it's not safe there either, because a red flag is on display, warning that the sea is too rough. Finally, they find an area patrolled by [[lifeguard]]s, and Petunia tells Joe it is safe to swim now, but having seen the lifeguard swimming away with the mermaid, Joe has changed his mind ...

*''Country Code'' - While on a country walk, Joe and Petunia stop for a rest, and godiscuss overtheir whatwalk, theywith haveJoe donethrowing thatrocks dayfrom a wall nearby: theyThey have left tracks all through a corn field, openedhave released some cows through a gate Joe opened, marked "Private" and lettheir somedog cows out, andis now theirchasing dogsheep isin "playing"the withfield somebehind sheepthem. JoeJust throwsthen, aone stoneof andthe breaksstones someJoe glass,throws congratulatingshatters himselfa onbottle, hismuch goodto aimhis delight. They then see a farmer with a redpurple face (which they attribute to "all that country air") and think he is doing a [[country dance]] as he jumps up and down in anger, butfury. Petunia remarks that he doesn't thinklook hefriendly looks(to friendlywhich Joe says "Can't be anything we've done"), and they leave. The farmer looks out at the trail of damage they have left, and sighs "When folk go out to the country, why oh why can't they follow [[The Country Code]]?"

*''Worn Tyres'' (or [[tire]]s) -– The last film featuring Joe and Petunia. On a mountain drive in their [[Mini]], Petunia sees a notice board advising that "Worn Tyres Kill", and repeatedly asks Joe whether he has checked their tyres. He tries to evade the question, then says they're not worn, they're "a bit smooth". Petunia is relieved, but then heher skidsexpression andturns crashesinto horror as the car, inskids and crashes into a momenttree. ofJoe wonderfuland televisualPetunia techniqueslump asdown in the car and disappear from view; the cartoon image slowlythen changes to a shot of a real [[car accident]], cutting to a [[accidentclose-up]] of the tire. A [[caption]] states "WORN TYRES KILL" as we hear faintJoe's and Petunia's echoing voices repeating the words from the start of the film: "Nice view up here, Petunia." "Yes, very nice, Joe.", implying that Joe and Petunia have indeed died.

== Legacy ==

*''Flags'' - Still at the seaside, Joe sees a beautiful mermaid in the water and wants to go in, but Petunia tells him he can't because there is a sign nearby telling people not to swim. They move down the beach, but it's not safe there either, because a red flag is on display, warning that the sea is too rough. Finally, they find an area patrolled by [[lifeguard]]s, and Petunia tells Joe it is safe to swim now, but having seen the lifeguard swimming away with the mermaid, Joe has changed his mind ...

=== Remaster ===

*''Country Code'' - While on a country walk, Joe and Petunia stop for a rest, and go over what they have done that day: they left tracks all through a field, opened a gate marked "Private" and let some cows out, and now their dog is "playing" with some sheep. Joe throws a stone and breaks some glass, congratulating himself on his good aim. They see a farmer with a red face (which they attribute to "all that country air") and think he is doing a [[country dance]] as he jumps up and down in anger, but Petunia doesn't think he looks friendly, and they leave. The farmer looks out at the trail of damage they have left, and sighs "When folk go out to the country, why oh why can't they follow [[The Country Code]]?"

The films were remastered in 2006 to commemorate the [[Central Office of Information|Central Office of Information's]] 60th anniversary and one film was publicly played each week.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=19 May 2006|title="Coo-ee" - Joe & Petunia are back!|url=http://www.coi.gov.uk/press.php?release=152|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070408194613/http://www.coi.gov.uk/press.php?release=152|archive-date=8 April 2007|access-date=16 June 2020|website=[[Central Office of Information]]}}</ref> There was then a vote on which film was the best out of each of them.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2 February 2006|title=Not Waving But Drowning|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4669544.stm|access-date=16 June 2020|website=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

===Relation to Harry Potter franchise===

*''Worn Tyres'' (or [[tire]]s) - The last film featuring Joe and Petunia. On a mountain drive, Petunia sees a notice board advising that "Worn Tyres Kill", and repeatedly asks Joe whether he has checked their tyres. He tries to evade the question, then says they're not worn, they're "a bit smooth". Petunia is relieved, but then he skids and crashes the car, in a moment of wonderful televisual technique as the cartoon image slowly changes to a shot of a real [[car]] [[accident]]. A [[caption]] states "WORN TYRES KILL" as we hear faint voices repeating the words from the start of the film: "Nice view up here, Petunia." "Yes, very nice, Joe."

''[[Harry Potter]]'' author [[J.K. Rowling]] states that the character of Petunia from these films may have subconsciously inspired the naming of [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]]'s maternal aunt, [[List of supporting Harry Potter characters#Petunia Dursley|Petunia Dursley]], writing on ''[[Pottermore]]'' that:

<blockquote>"'Petunia' is the name that I always gave unpleasant female characters in games of make believe I played with my sister, Di, when we were very young. Where I got it, I was never sure, until recently a friend of mine played me a series of public information films that were shown on television when we were young ... One of them was an animation in which a married couple sat on a cliff enjoying a picnic and watching a man drowning in the sea below ... The husband called his wife Petunia, and I suddenly wondered whether that wasn't where I had got this most unlikely name, because I have never met anybody called Petunia, or, to my knowledge, read about them. ... The cartoon Petunia was a fat, cheery character, so all I seem to have taken is her name."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rowling|first1=J. K.|authorlink1=J. K. Rowling|title=Vernon & Petunia Dursley - Pottermore|url=https://www.pottermore.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/vernon-and-petunia-dursley|website=Pottermore|accessdate=11 October 2017|language=en}}</ref></blockquote>

==References==

The "Coastguard" film was shown on UK screens for a limited run from May 2006 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Central Office of Information. It was digitally remastered and "updated" to give it a more modern look - in the new film, Joe has a mobile phone, Petunia listens to an [[iPod]] and the coastguard now uses a computer.

{{reflist}}

==External links==

* [http://625.uk.com/pifs/intro.htm 625's Introduction to PIF's] - Contains video and transcripts to some of the films.

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RAhfVqzVWw&mode=related&search= Coastguard (original 1968 PIF)]

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4669544.stm 'Not waving but drowning'] - BBC look back on Joe and Petunia.

* [http://www.coi.gov.uk/press.php?release=152 "Coo-ee" - Joe & Petunia are back!] - The Central Office of Information resurrects Joe and Petunia for the 21st century.

[[Category:Public Informationinformation Filmsfilms]]

[[Category:Public service announcement characters]]

[[Category:1968 films]]

[[Category:1960s educational films]]

[[Category:1970s educational films]]

[[Category:British educational films]]