The Herbs (1968): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1968, The Herbs is an animation series.

What it’s about. The Herbs is a television series for young children made for the BBC by Graham Clutterbuck's FilmFair company. It was written by Michael Bond, directed by Ivor Wood using 3D stop motion model animation and first transmitted from 12 February 1968 in the BBC1 Watch with Mother timeslot. There were 13 episodes in the series, each one 15 minutes long. A spin-off series entitled The Adventures of Parsley was transmitted from 6 April 1970 in the 5-minute period between the end of children's TV and the BBC Evening News. This had 32 episodes, some of which were released on VHS as Parsley the Lion and Friends. The Herbs consisted of a fantasy mix of human and animal characters inhabiting the magical walled garden of a country estate. At the beginning of each episode, the narrator spoke the magic word, "Herbidacious", which caused the garden gate to open. As with The Magic Roundabout, the sophisticated writing style and narrative delivery of The Herbs meant that the appeal was somewhat broader than was originally intended, and much of Parsley's droll humour undoubtedly went over the heads of the age group that was its main target. Consequently, it still retains a following among those who watched it when it was first broadcast.

How it landed. With an audience score of 9.0/10, The Herbs sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. In GB you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Herbs page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Herbs tend to enjoy Rick and Morty, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Attack on Titan and Attack on Titan: No Regrets.