This film is part of Free
Falling in the Water
Kids don't always listen to their parents. But in the 70s they certainly listened to a giant ginger tabby cat...
Overview
Poor Charley - full of good advice, but all too often he fell into trouble himself. Public information films often use shock tactics, but this series used the cat as a surrogate in the accidents. Although the sight of a child drowning would certainly have packed a punch, it was felt that the fantasy friendship between a boy and a cat meant the message resonated more with young children when the cat was put in peril instead.
Whilst many children of the 70s often remember being a little scared by the series, they were conceived as being as child friendly as possible. These new HD transfers certainly bring a renewed brightness to the films, rediscovering colours that seem to have been muddied over the years. The unnerving memories that people have of the series are evidence of quite how effective they were at reaching young minds.
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