The Story
An original illustrated children's book series and animated 24-part serial, set in the strange and wonderful world of Odd Town.
New kid on Weird Street
Abigail Grimley is a lonely young girl who has recently moved to a small flat above a rather curious old charity shop called Weird and Wonderful. She even knows her new address by heart: 39 Freak Street, in Odd Town, postcode OTT 123. She lives here with her Mum, in a shop her grandparents — Grandpa and Grandma Grimley — have owned for many years.
The skies are purple and the moon is often brighter than the sun, and the grass is blue in Odd Town. But that's not important to Abigail. What is important is that she keeps getting blamed for the depletion of choccy biscuits from the fridge!
"Hello, er, I'm Feendish." — said with a slight spray of crumbs.
Newly the girl in town and at school, Abigail is now accused by her own mother of "creeping downstairs in the middle of the night and raiding the fridge for lovely cold chocolate biscuits!" — which she simply is not doing. She takes her role as a "wee devil", as her Gran calls her, quite seriously, and has taken to wearing a red devil hoody (complete with forked tail) left in the charity shop.
One night she creeps downstairs. The light from the open fridge casts long, twisted shadows across the dark shop, and there — stuffing his face — stands a large black apparition in the shape of a hare. "A-HA!! Caught you!" hisses Abigail. The hare turns, teeth full of choccy biccy bits. "Hello, er, I'm Feendish." And so their adventures begin…
The characters
Abigail Grimley
Nearly nine. Precocious, kindly and a little lonely — the new kid in town and not that happy about it, exploring her new home with glee. Friendly, if a touch detached with strangers, and with a highly developed sense of right and wrong — especially when the injustice involves her and biscuits. She lost her Dad some while ago and lives with her Mum.
Feendish
A large, black, furry hare with a mischievous glint in his eye. Older than Abigail but not necessarily wiser. A shape-shifter who can't be seen by grown-ups unless he becomes a recognisable object — though he can't change his surface, so a standard lamp comes out jet-black and furry! He sometimes seems to know things only Abigail's Dad could know.
Hughbert Von Grossen
The greedy nemesis of Abigail and Feendish (though he'd say "misunderstood and unloved"). A huge, almost reptilian business tycoon who owns most of Odd Town and wants to build an enormous shopping mall where the Weird and Wonderful shop stands. So old and rich he even nicks body parts when his own give out — because he can, and no-one can stop him!
The Grimleys & Mum
Grandpa and Grandma Grimley are the doddery, always-together pair who have run the charity shop for years. And Mum — Abigail's mother — holding the little family together above the strangest shop in Odd Town.
From concept to page & screen
Originally conceived as an animation concept aimed at 7–9 year olds and initially considered by CBBC Scotland, Grimley Feendish was revisited and enthusiastically revitalised by its author, Marc de Launay, into a series of children's books — and developed further as an animation series for television.
The ambition is for an internationally successful, educational and entertaining children's book series and animation serial with a clear moral compass, alongside interactive edutainment, associated merchandising and other published works.