Shahab’s story

KHEPEL & FLOWER STORIES

All we can do is keep the stardust of those memories alive.
This site is an attempt to bring to life one little piece of that past: FLOWER STORIES. A couple of years ago, I set out to get as much correct information as I could about this animated series. Unfortunately, getting information about this particular relic using Google has been very confusing.

Here’s how I found the truth:
First of all, the cat in ‘James the Cat’ (a British 80’s animated cartoon) and the one in ‘Flower Stories’ really looked like each other. Not surprising, as it turns out that they were created by the same person. I searched through BFI (British Film Institute) archives, and found that a cartoon series called ‘Flower Stories’ really existed. According to these records, it was created and directed by Kate Canning during the years 1974 and 1975.

I next searched the BAFTA records and discovered that this same ‘Flower Stories’ was produced by Terry Harding (who kept lovebirds!) at HTV studios in England.  It was nominated for a BAFTA award in 1975 for pre-school cartoons.  Guess what, this Kate Canning is the same person who made ‘James the Cat’. And the cat in ‘James the Cat’ was developed from the original black and white cat in ‘Flower Stories’.
Kate now runs the London-based company ‘Canning Factory’ which specializes in cartoons for children. Contacting her solved the rest of the mystery: the music was composed, played and sung by Brian Burns, a friend from art school who moved to Canada and works there as a university professor of design.
There is still one more thing that had more than a passing role in engraving ‘Flower Stories’ in my mind. You guessed right: the Persian narrator’s voice.  A website devoted to artists who were active in Iranian TV, lists Mr Latifpour as the narrator of the Persian version.

I hope the experience of viewing these cartoons brings back golden memories of your vanished childhood.
Shahab Kalantar