Torchy the Battery Boy facts for kids

The naughty children playing in Mr. Bumble-Drop's garden tie their toys to the kite strings. Suddenly, a strong wind comes along and blows all of the toys away, as well as Mr. Bumble-Drop's poodle, Pom-Pom, who tries to save them. The children blame Bumbledrop and vow never to return, so the lonely old man decides to make a mechanical boy to keep himself company. Four hours later, Torchy springs to life and uses the magic beam on his hat to locate the lost toys on a twinkling star. The next morning, Mr. Bumble-Drop builds a rocket of cardboard, and Torchy flies off to retrieve the lost puppy and toys.

• Song: "Torchy, the Battery Boy"

Torchy's rocket arrives in Topsy Turvey Land, and he tries to convince Pom-Pom and the toys to return to earth, but they decline. Flopsy, the ragdoll, complains about her lack of stuffing, so Torchy convinces Pom-Pom to donate some of her fur.

• Song: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Flopsy)

Torchy meets Squish, an American boy with a water-pistol raygun, who crashed his ship and became stranded in Topsy Turvy Land. Torchy agrees to return the boy to earth, instructing him to wait by the rocket while he consults with his friends. Unfortunately, Squish cannot resist going for a joyride, and he breaks the spacecraft. Torchy uses his magic beam to converse with Mr. Bumbledrop, who instructs him to find cardboard to repair the ship. Meanwhile, Pom-Pom resents Flopsy for taking her fur, and she insists that the doll returns it.

• Song: "I'm Pom-Pom the Poodle"

Stranded in Topsy Turvy Land, Torchy realizes that everyone needs a place to sleep. There are no bricks to be found, but he discovers an orchard filled with oversized fruit, so the toys hollow out pieces to construct homes for themselves.

• Song: "Frutown" (Flopsy)

Torchy and Squish go in search of cardboard to repair the rocket, and they discover the Ting-a-Ling bird, who suggests that they dig at the base of a pepper tree. Although the bird's hunch was wrong, Pom-Pom is overjoyed to find a puddle of chocolate.

• Song: "In My Little Rocket" (Torchy)

Torchy stumbles upon the King of Topsy Turvy Land, who offers the lad a tube of cardboard to repair his rocket. Unfortunately, King Dithers gets rolled up in the tube, and Torchy has to figure out a way to get him out.

• Song: "King Dithers, the Dithery King"

Torchy repairs the rocket and plans a return to earth, but no one wants to go with him. However, when his battery dies, Pom-Pom steps up and flies him home to Mr. Bumbledrop.

• Song: "I'm Pom-Pom the Poodle"

When Bossy Boots discovers Pom-Pom has returned home to Mr. Bumbledrop, she insists that he returns her ragdoll, Flopsy. Torchy offers to take her to Topsy Turvey Land to retrieve the doll, but she refuses, so Mr. Bumbledrop decides to use reverse psychology to get her into the rocket. Once she arrives in the strange land, she's horrified to discover she's shrunk to the same size as Flopsy, who begins exacting her revenge.

• Song: "The Naughty Children Song" (Torchy)

Flopsy exposes Bossy Boots to the various indignities she suffered at the girl's hand: she pushes her down, shoves food in her face, strips off her clothes, and locks her outside. While wandering around in her underwear, Bossy Boots falls into a hole that King Dithers had dug. The king takes pity on the girl, who vows to change her wicked ways.

• Song: "Frutown" (Flopsy)
• Note: The series two episode "Torchy Gets a Surprise" bridges the story between this episode and the next.

Torchy decides to ride his bicycle instead of playing with Squish or taking out Pom-Pom's curlers. Soon, he accidentally crashes into Pilliwig the clown, who insists that he cannot ride his bike again until he gets a bell. While searching for a ringer, he stumbles upon Whirly, the humming top. Whirly laments the fact that his innards are rusty, and he can no longer hum, so Torchy suggests that he eats peanuts so that the oil will lubricate his gears. While visiting the peanut tree, Ting-a-Ling offers to ride along with Torchy and serve as his bicycle bell.

• Song: "I've Got a Penny-Farthing" (Torchy)
• Note: The second series episode "Banana Bridge" forms a bridge between this episode and the next.

Now that her fur has regrown and is curled, Pom-Pom has become extraordinarily vain and decides to prance around showing off. Torchy convinces his friends to teach her a lesson by tying a dirty sock in her fur and slathering her with dirt.

• Song: "Flopsy"
• Note: The second series episode "King Dithers and Daffy" bridges the story between this episode and the next.

In need of a new battery, Torchy returns home with Pom-Pom in tow. After Mr. Bumbledrop and the pooch head off to the store, Torchy decides to follow, but his battery wears down, and he collapses on the road. Moments later, Mrs. Meaniemouth finds Torchy and decides to bring him home as a present for Bogie, despite Mr. Bumbledrop's pleas from a distance. After the Meaniemouths head off to buy a new battery for their stolen toy, Mr. Bumbledrop and Pom-Pom sneak into their house to retrieve him.

• Song: "In My Little Rocket" (Torchy)

King Dithers decides to brush his hair before his trip to Frutown, and he accidentally leaves his crown behind. After Daffy the Donkey pulls him into town, the king invites Torchy and Squish back to the palace for tea, but they soon discover the crown is not where he left it. Using his magic light, Torchy finds Polliken, an odd bird who seems only to be capable of making odd noises. They eventually learn the reason: Polliken is hiding the king's crown inside his beak. The bird explains that he loves shiny objects and likes to hold them in his mouth, so the king invites him back to the castle to guard his crown and jewels.

• Song: "I'm Pollikan"

The resident toys are no longer amused with Pilliwig's jokes, which depresses the clown. Torchy and Flopsy decide to picnic on an island, where they discover Ena the hyena. They bring her back to Frutown, where Pilliwig is delighted to meet someone who will always laugh at his antics.

• Song: "Flopsy"

Torchy encounters Bogey drowning his pirate toy, Pongo, in the pond, so he decides to bring him back to Topsy Turvy Land. Once there, Daffy decides to give the boy his comeuppance by submerging him in the water. Meanwhile, Pongo discovers he likes this strange new world and has no intention of ever leaving.

• Song: "The Naughty Children Song" (Torchy)
• Note: The second series episode "Bogey Learns Another Lesson" bridges the story between this episode and the next.

Torchy learns that Bossy Boots has reverted to her horrid old self, and she's been refusing to feed her coins to Clinker, her money box. Torchy lures the back to Topsy Turvy Land, with the promise of a party in her honor, but instead, he forces her to feed the starving bank.

• Song: "In My Little Rocket" (Torchy) & "Clinker the Money Box"

Clinker is overjoyed to discover an enormous pile of coins that no one requires in Topsy Turvy Land, but Pongo the pirate decides to claim them for his own. Torchy uses his magic lamp to find a gold mine, which turns out to be empty. Fortunately for Clinker, on the grounds above, a money tree has bloomed.

• Song: "I'm Pongo the Pirate" & "Clinker the Money Box"

Torchy returns to earth to find Mr. Bumbledrop asleep. Not wishing to wake his friend, he sets the table and putters around the house doing nice things. Unfortunately, his battery wears out and he collapses in the garden, where he's found by twins Bobby and Babs. The dastardly duo decide to take him home and imprison him in a chicken run, but Mr. Bumbledrop figures out what has happened and comes to his rescue. The old man and toy-boy decide to go to Topsy Turvy Land and lure the twins into the rocket with a bag of toffee, but Mr. Bumbledrop is slow to react and gets left behind.

• Note: Bobby and Babs were the first prototypes for Supermarionation.

Torchy entrusts King Dithers to lock the twins in his dungeon, but the loonie king is the one who gets locked away. Fortunately, Polliken becomes wise to the situation and puts the bad siblings in their place.

• Song: "I'm Pollikan"
• Note: The second series episode "The Big Storm" bridges the story between this episode and the next.

Torchy gets caught in a hurricane that blows him back to earth. Unable to return without his rocket, he asks the toys to send Pom-Pom to retrieve him, but the lass has made herself sick eating chocolate. King Dithers volunteers to fly the rocket, and Polliken accompanies him, but the kooky king steers them onto the moon. They discover the Man in the Moon has grown weary of his duties and decides to sleep through the night instead of illuminating the sky.

• Song: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Flopsy)

Torchy uses his magic light to find King Dithers and Polliken. They fit the Man in the Moon a pair of sunglasses so he can sleep through the day, and prepare to head to earth. Mr. Bumbledrop tells Torchy that Bossy Boots has become a good girl, so the toy-boy decides to reward her with a party in Topsy Turvy Land. However, the girl has remained in bed for a week, pretending to be sick to evade her schoolwork. When Torchy learns of this, he reprimands the wretch and leaves her behind as he and Mr. Bumbledrop head for the stars.

• Note: The second series episodes "King Bumble-Drop" and "Pilliwig Gets a New Suit" bridge the story between this episode and the next.

The toys have tired of the native food in Topsy Turvy Land, so Torchy decides to stop at the moon and grab some cheese as he returns Mr. Bumbledrop home. Torchy becomes too enamored by the vat of cheese that the Man on the Moon has been making, and he falls in and drowns.

• Song: "Clinker the Money Box"

After returning Torchy to working order, Mr. Bumbledrop falls ill, so the boy heads to Mrs. Meaniemouth's to retrieve some cough syrup. There, Torchy is captured by Bogey, who ties him up, drags him to the park, and forces him to watch as he destroys the statues. Torchy finally gets free and poses as a statue to mess with Bogey. He returns home with the medicine, which Mr. Bumbledrop says he no longer wants, so Torchy has to trick him into drinking it.

• Song: "The Naughty Children Song" (Torchy)

Sunset falls as the toys return home from the beach, and they soon find themselves enveloped in pure blackness. Torchy and Flopsy head off in the rocket and discover the Man on the Moon has overslept. After waking him, the toys find themselves stuck in the cream cheese pond, but the moon man is able to rescue them before any damage occurs.

• Song: "Flopsy"

Torchy feels isolated as all of the toys secretavely makes plans for his birthday. Whirly overhears his wish for a little brother, so Pom-Pom visits Mr. Bumbledrop and makes him build one.

• Note: Although Torchy's unnamed brother announces that he will live in Topsy Turvy Land and play with him forever, the character is never referenced again. Coming so late in the show's run, it's probable that this was saved as the series finale in both the Highlands and London.

Flopsy insists going to the beach by herself. Torchy and Squish are miffed, so they decide to steal her picnic basket, but ultimately, they hide inside of it to give her a fright.

• Songs: "Frutown" (Pom-Pom)

Bossy Boots wants to take Flopsy back to earth, but the ragdoll refuses. However, Flopsy is lonely, so Torchy returns with Pom-Pom to keep her company. Later, King Dithers gives Torchy a Penny Farthing bicycle.

• Songs: "Flopsy" & "King Dithers, the Dithery King."
• Note: This story bridges the series one episodes "Bossy Boots is Taught a Lesson" and "A Bell for a Penny-Farthing."

Flopsy has lost so much stuffing that Torchy insists Pom-Pom gives the dolly some of her fur. Later, the toys want to use a banana as a bridge, but they do not have the strength to move it on their own, so Torchy visits the caves, where he finds Daffy the donkey.

• Song: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Flopsy)
• Note: This story bridges the series one episodes "A Bell for a Penny-Farthing" and "A Trick on Pom-Pom."

Torchy and Pom-Pom miss Mr. Bumble-Drop, who declines their invitation to come to Topsy Turvy Land. Meanwhile, Daffy feels like she has no purpose. Coincidentally, King Dithers has just ordered a new coach, so Torchy suggests that the mule should pull it.

• Songs: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Flopsy), "I've Got a Penny-Farthing" (Torchy), and "King Dithers, the Dithery King."
• Note: This story bridges the series one episodes "A Trick on Pom-Pom" and "Torchy is Stolen."

When all of the toys come down with bellyaches, King Dithers informs them that they can remedy the situation by eating vegetables.

• Songs: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Flopsy) and "Frutown" (Pom-Pom).
• Note: The Man in the Moon randomly appears as one of the residents of Topsy Turvy Land.

Bogey amuses himself by filling Flopsy with nuts and bolts, which weigh her down, so King Dithers punishes him by making him wear a suit of armor. Meanwhile, Whirly mentions there’s a treasure chest in the caves, so Pongo decides to steal it.

• Song: "I’m Pongo the Pirate"
• Note: This story bridges the series one episodes "Bad Boy Bogey" and "Torchy and the Strange Animal."

Pongo arrives at the castle and learns that Pollikan has the king’s crown in his beak, so he lures the bird onto his boat. Ting-a-Ling figures out what’s happened and enlists Torchy to rescue Pollikan.

• Song: "I’m Pongo the Pirate"

When he can’t find Pom-Pom, Torchy decides to fashion a dog whistle from a piece of tin, but he ends up swallowing it. Possessing only the ability to whistle, Torchy can’t use his magic beam, so all of the toys convene to try to discern a solution.

• Song: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Flopsy)

When Whirly gets a stiff neck, Torchy suggests that Sparky breathe on him to loosen it up. Meanwhile, Pom-Pom gets chocolate paw prints all over Torchy’s house, and she’s less than thrilled when he insists she clean up.

• Song: "I’m Pom-Pom the Poodle"
• Note: It’s possible that this aired after the first series episode "Torchy and the Strange Animal".

Torchy discovers Bogey is just as awful as ever, so he and Pom-Pom return to earth. Bogey ties a tin can to the poodle’s tail, so Mr. Bumble-Drop reprimands him and lures him to the rocket. Bogey is unwillingly whisked away to Topsy Turvy Land, where Squish ties a tail and tin can onto the boy and forces him to walk through town.

• Song: "The Naughty Children Song" (Torchy)
• Note: The Man in the Moon makes another random appearance as a resident of Topsy Turvy Land. Unlike in "The Toys Get the Collywobbles", his face is clearly seen.

In an attempt to be funny, Pilliwig is unintentionally rude to Torchy. To redeem his sins, he agrees to sweep the king's chimney.

• Songs: "King Dithers, the Dithery King" & "I’m Pollikan"

Pongo wants a companion to cook for him, so he decides to kidnap Flopsy.

• Song: "I’m Pongo The Pirate"

Pongo steals all of Clinker's money while he's asleep. When Clinker and Squish go into the mine to retrieve some gold bars, Pongo follows them and ties them up. Eventually, Torchy comes to their rescue.

• Songs: "I'm Pongo the Pirate" and "Frutown" (Flopsy)

King Dithers throws a birthday party for himself and invites all of the toys to attend. They amass some unusual gifts, and Torchy puts too much baking powder in his cake, which makes it so light that it nearly carries him away.

• Song: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Torchy)

After the toys have hung their washing on the clothesline to dry, an orange juice rainstorm blows through and keeps them drenched. Torchy enlists Sparky to blow dry them, but the sickly dragon is only able to muster a sooty vapor that worsens the situation.

• Songs: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Flopsy) & "I'm Pom-Pom the Poodle"

Whirly and Sparky discover a fairy, who's recently arrived in Topsy Turvy Land. They invite her to a party and gather flowers for the centerpiece, but discover that the gluebells are sticky, which causes some irritation for their friends.

• Song: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Torchy)
• Note: This episode features the only additional character to appear in the second series. However, the fairy is a redressed puppet who infrequently appeared as the mother of Bossy Boots.

Squish is perplexed when his squirt gun is suddenly empty, so he goes in search of water to refill it. The king informs him of a wishing well, so the boy climbs down in the bucket and gets stuck. Torchy attempts a rescue, but he too winds up inside of the well.

• Song: "King Dithers, the Dithery King"

As Flospy relaxes on the beach, the Ting-a-Ling bird spies what it thinks is a worm. It swoops down and flies away with the would-be meal, which turns out to be Flopsy's stuffing. Torchy attempts to repack the dolly, but he puts the stuffing in upside-down, resulting in Flopsy speaking backwards.

• Song: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Torchy)

Torchy arrives back on Topsy Turvy Land the night of a great hurricane. As he rushes the toys to safety in the caves, the wind snatches him and blows him back to earth.

• Song: "In Topsy Turvy Land" (Flopsy)
• Note: This story bridges the series one episodes "The Twins Learn a Lesson" and "King Dithers Goes Down to Earth."

Daffy has grown weary of pulling the king's carriage, so she runs away on his birthday. Pongo finds her on the beach and harnesses the mule to his ship.

• Song: "I'm Pollikan" and "I'm Pongo the Pirate"

Torchy gets some coins to bake inside of the king's Christmas pudding, but the greedy Clinker decides to retrieve them and falls into the pot, and he's accidentally baked by Flopsy.

• Song: "King Dithers, the Dithery King"

Gillygolly is tired of his afro, so he visits Torchy's home in hopes of obtaining some peanut oil to straighten his hair. Torchy is out, so Gillygolly takes a nap. Pom-Pom is jealous of his naturally curly tresses, so she decides to shave them off and claim them for her own.

• Songs: "I'm Pom-Pom the Poodle" and "Topsy Turvy Land" (Torchy)

During Mr. Bumble-Drop's first visit to Topsy Turvy Land, King Dithers goes mad with power and begins implementing various rules. The toys revolt, lock Dithers in the dungeon, and proclaim Buble-Drop the new king.

• Song: "I'm Pom-Pom the Poodle"
• Note: This story is set after the series one episode "Torchy is Saved at Last."

Ena kits a ridiculously large sweater for Pilliwig, which he's forced to wear after Torchy accidentally splatters his suit with paint. Ena volunteers to wash it, but she puts too much starch in the garment, which begins to dance on the clothesline, as if alive.

• Song: "I've Got a Penny-Farthing" (Torchy)
• Note: This story is immediately followed by the series one episode "Torchy and the Man on the Moon."

When Pongo's grapefruit sloop springs a leak, he steals Daffy's umbrella to use as a boat.

• Song: "Frutown" (Pom-Pom)

Torchy searches for a remedy when Pom-Pom gets the hiccups. Meanwhile, back on earth, Bossy Boots attempts to cheer up Mr. Bumble-Drop by posing as his new dog.

• Song: "Frutown" (Pom-Pom)