The Friendly Giant (1958–1985) User Reviews

A fine memory from early childhood.

[choatelodge · 9/10 · 28 October 2008]

I can do no more than echo the sentiments of others on here, that there was something magical about the calm and jocular Friendly Giant and his limbless companions. Loved seeing the cow make its jerky way over the moon. Loved the stories and the walks over the countryside. Loved the arranging of the furniture in front of the fire, a big chair for two more to curl up in. The rocking chair, for someone who likes to rock. All the reliable and comforting things that a child never tires of hearing again and again. It is telling that there is not a single non-positive comment on the IMDb about the Friendly Giant. Click on 'Hated it', and you just get another positive comment. Bob Homme left a fine legacy.

Tried to explain this to a friend in Europe...

[MLKahnt · 9/10 · 5 October 2006]

I was in the Czech Republic last month, and my host took me out to Karlstejn Castle, built by Charles IV of Bohemia, who became the Holy Roman Emperor, it was on the top of a ridge over a deep river valley, for its defensive value. As soon as I got through the gate, my mind clicked on with the recorder, accompanied by a gentle harp, playing "Early One Morning" Fact is, you had to "Look up, Wa-a-ay up" to see the castle, and once inside, there was not a lot of furniture left, maybe three chairs and a fireplace, one was big enough for two kids to curl up in and then you could put a rocking chair in the middle. (Can anyone remember the entire quote? Why hasn't it been added here?) I did look over the turrets for giraffes - even whistled for them. Just waited for someone to say "And there's that boot." It is a beautiful place to tour, but it will always be made more memorable by the connection my mind made back to my childhood and some of its warmest memories.

An Early Memory of Public TV-A Bigger Success in Canada

[hfan77 · 8/10 · 14 January 2009]

Growing up in New Jersey, I remember watching The Friendly Giant weekdays in the late afternoon on Channel 13. It ran until around 1969 when the afternoon lineup was juggled in favor of a show that's still educating kids today, Sesame Street. But The Friendly Giant still brings back early memories of public TV, especially the opening sequence where the camera focuses on the boot and Bob Homme says "Look up! Way up!" and the drawbridge lowers, the door opens and we are taken inside the castle where we see Rusty and Jerome as well as Angie and Fiddle. It's a show that never talks down to kids, full of light hearted banter and music that has been a great mix for a kids show that has been a bigger success in Canada for 27 years. I also remember Homme playing the closing theme on the recorder leading into the castle closing down for the night. And let's not forget the little chairs, including the rocking chair.

When I was in Toronto in August 2005, I saw the Friendly Giant set and puppets at the CBC Museum. It brought back memories of 15 minutes of soothing TV from my early years in New Jersey.

An excellent, high quality, calm program far better than most shows today.

[walkerc-2 · 22 May 2000]

I watched "The Friendly Giant" as a young boy, and sometimes when I was older, I watched it out of reminiscence, and because I appreciated the sweet and calm gentleness of the program. Most of today's programs are so fast-paced and are far from educational, even children's programs. This program helped me develop a like for reading and for music. The pipe and harp theme song "Early One Morning" still sticks in my head.

Bob Homme, who passed away on May 2, 2000, created one of the finest preschool programs ever, and certainly, along with Mr. Dressup, the finest in Canada. By reading a book, playing the pipe, harp (played by the late John Duncan) and talking about simple, but important things with Rusty and Jerome, children had 15 minutes of quiet where they learned things important to them, at their own pace.

The Good Old Days

[garyvcarter · 10/10 · 28 December 2007]

Finding information about the Canadian children's icon The Friendly Giant is very difficult. Apparently there is some reason why the old TV series cannot be released on DVD. Now three generations are deprived of the wonderful nostalgia of a kinder gentler era in Children's TV. That simple armchair was a source of comfort to countless kids in Canada and the US. But, alas, that comfort is gone.

Thankfully, Grant D Fairley has done a masterful job in the 2007 release of "Look Up - Way Up." This is an authorized biography of Friendly based on Grant's personal taped interviews with Bob Homme. You can even hear his voice again at www.thefriendlygiant.info. This is as close as it will ever come to a sequel.

Look Up - Way Up

[cari-35 · 10/10 · 5 September 2007]

Great part of my childhood too! Something that makes us Canadians - Friendly Giant, Chez Helene and other common kids experiences. Enjoyed reading new biography of Bob Homme - The Friendly Giant - called - no surprise here - Look Up - Way Up. The Palantir Publishing website also has some audio clips of interviews with Bob. So neat to hear his stories. Takes me back to preschool again! Cocoa and cinnamon toast. I was one of the ones who liked the big arm chair for those who like to curl up. My favourite opening scene was when Friendly started in a farm yard. Then it was always so great to see his boot then the castle and then the drawbridge come down. I wish they were out on DVD.

a part of my childhood

[vintagemonkey · 10/10 · 17 June 2006]

A wonderful, gentle memory of my early years, i vividly remember the animal puppet band doing music that I never got, but that lasted with me into my adulthood. I can't hear a xylophone without seeing a puppet cat getting his groove on. I had it in my head they were raccoons and chipmunks, but the photos I've seen show two cats, the jazz cats, as they're called. And I wonder why I can't take jazz seriously. Everything, from his gentle, welcoming voice and the setting of the chairs for us to sit, to the end music with the cow jumping over the moon, enthralls me still. I can't remember any specific show, but I do miss that feeling of being taken care of. Is there anything available on DVD, a best of, anywhere?

Still my all-time favourite TV show aimed at kids

[[e-mail] · 10/10 · 18 April 2010]

Rod Coneybeare as Rusty and Jerome! Such a funny and talented guy with an amazing career. When I was 12 or 13 I saw some Friendly Giant re-runs and was staggered when I noticed Rusty and Jerome were both controlled and voiced by Rod at the same time! Coneybeare really has had an amazing career in Canadian television. And of course, Bob Homme is a legend as Friendly. The show never had a script, so Rod and Bob would just chat about the events of the week or comment of funny things they had seen or heard, and then play a song and read to the little ones at home. It sounds mundane, and really it all was, but it was done with such sweetness and sincerity and charm that it was endlessly watchable. I'm a grown man now, but if Friendly Giant is ever released on DVD (or BluRay, or whatever is next), it's got a spot reserved in my collection.

I can remember when the music would play signaling the end of another episode of Friendly Giant, my little brother's eyes would well up with tears, and I'd have to reassure him that Rusty, Jerome and Friendly would be back soon. Promise.

I'll have to email him one of the great clips on Youtube. :)

wonderfully timeless

[lgjmccall · 10/10 · 21 July 2007]

the friendly giant is part of the collective Canadian childhood, it is impossible to hear "Early one morning" and not immediately expect to be asked to look way up. I remember once hearing a radio interview with the giant, or rather the actor who played him, in which the first words out of the interviewers mouth were "you really aren't as big as you look on TV" something that he clearly hadn't intended to say but really no doubt expressed the probable thought of everyone in the studio. It was a wonderful little show of the type that is no longer produced, hopefully though it can live on in reruns so another generation can learn that song

Rainbow song

[bzb-1 · 10/10 · 12 May 2010]

I barely remember the show, although I watched it all the time as a grade schooler in Rochester NY. It was so gentle and sweet, like "The Magic Garden", another low budget, lost favorite of later years.

I don't really remember the "look WAY up" or the names of the puppets or things I've seen other people mention in their reviews. I vividly remember the Giant's soothing voice and the castle setting, but my most powerful, relentless memory is of the Rainbow Song, which I still sing to my own GRANDchildren:

THE RAINBOW SONG

Red and Yellow and Pink and Green / Purple and Orange and Blue / I can sing a Rainbow / sing a Rainbow / Sing a Rainbow, too.

Listen with your eyes / Listen with your eyes / And sing everything you see / You can sing a Rainbow / sing a Rainbow / Sing along with me.

Red and Yellow and Pink and Green / Purple and Orange and Blue / You can sing a Rainbow / Sing a Rainbow / Sing a Rainbow too...

SO sorry this isn't available on DVD...

We enjoyed the Friendly Giant too!

[Grundhoffe · 28 March 2003]

Before the gentle Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, before the frenzied, loud, noisy muppets of Sesame Street, there was The Friendly Giant. Mr. Homme's show appeared on Chicago's Window to the World WTTW and was broadcast somewhere between The Totem Club, What's New, and the Story Teller starring Val Bentin. The soft music, the little set, the quietness of the show was somehow haunting to watch and a little sad to behold in comparison with the other children shows on the air at that time.

Quality Viewing for Young Minds

[MIK7x3 · 5 June 2000]

Look up. WAY UP! At the stroke of 10:15 am from coast to coast on the CBC for better than 27 years, this meant that "The Friendly Giant" was about to start. Its theme, "Early One Morning," was written as a nostalgic ballad for the slow pace of Britain prior to the Industrial Revolution. Similarly, in an age of fast food, faster cars, and life in the fast lane, "The Friendly Giant" proved to be an escape from the ratrace of real life. It gave children a chance to "curl up in an armchair" as the Friendly Giant's guests in his castle. Along with Rusty the rooster and Jerome the giraffe, "Friendly" entertained youngsters with children's stories, songs, and music. In addition, the show implicitly taught youngsters that not every giant was a scary monster who ground bones to make their bread. After all, the Friendly Giant was a kind and gentle character. Bob Homme, who died earlier this year, certainly left his legacy with thousands of kids across Canada.

It was exactly right.

[roarshock · 3 August 2000]

You know, it's been so long since I've seen The Friendly Giant, probably going on 40 years, that I can't remember what actually happened during the show. But I'll always remember how the show began, it was my favorite part. The music, the chairs, the narration, just the whole look. Somehow it was all exactly right.

Rusty Scared Me!

[Musidora · 6 July 2003]

As a child in Detroit, Michigan, I had many favorite CBC television shows, and this was one of them--along with Mr. Dress-up, Chez Helene, etc.

There was just something so gently magical about it, even though Rusty the Rooster really scaried me at first. I always dreamt that he was hiding under my bed waiting to peck at my feet! Anyhow, a great show. I'd love to see some of it again.

Musidora

Grew up watching this and enjoyed it alot...

[gazzo-2 · 27 February 2003]

I always enjoyed Rusty the Rooster(from the BookBag), the musical Raccoons( it's been a while...) and the Giraffe too. This was a basic, well done, nicely paced and smart kids' show; from the Mr Rogers school of thought. No they don't make'em like this anymore; it's sad that they don't. Def. a classic.

A GREAT television show for children

[dascrapbookguru · 22 October 2005]

The Friendly Giant was one of my favorite shows. I loved the introduction music & Giant's INVITATION to come into the castle to listen to stories and chat with his friends, Rusty Rooster & Jerome Giraffee. I felt like I was in the castle sitting with them in one of the "comfy" chairs seen at the beginning.

I lived in NJ & was only able to see it when visiting my grandparents in VT. I have now learned it's b/c it was a Canadian station not received in NJ. The show was something I looked forward to seeing & couldn't wait to get to Nana's house. I am thankful for the memories & wish to see it again.

Friendly Giant should come back

[moviemonkey13 · 3 November 2007]

A definitive children's show. Charming, calming, full of stories and music. Very little out there now matches it for quality. So why isn't this showing in reruns? There is an entire channel dedicated 24 hours to children's programming, and CBC itself still has children's programming in the morning. No one can tell me that Friendly Giant reruns aren't better than most of what's available now for kids. I know my kids would watch.And personally, I would gladly listen to Bob Homme rather than the shrill bleating of Dora, or the macabre nightmare of Magic Castle. Try watching the late night programming of a 24 hour kids' channel like Treehouse, and then explain why this bizarre dreck is being produced, when The Friendly Giant would surely cost a network next to nothing.

Ahhh...The Memories

[joetaylor13 · 21 October 2005]

I had been thinking lately about old children's TV programs. When I moved to Los Angeles in 1964, I clicked around the TV dial and was amazed at all the channels I could watch. (My family had moved there from West Virgina, where we only received 2 channels; In Los Angeles, we received at least 12 channels, and this was long before cable TV) I came to channel 28, which was, and still is, a PBS station. There I found "The Friendly Giant" and I was enamored with it. Yea, it was for "little kids" and I was 12 at the time, but it still grabbed my attention. I especially remember Gerome the Giraffe, and later, how Geoffrey the Giraffe of "Toys R Us" reminded me of Gerome, and wondered if Gerome was an influence for Geoffrey.

I loved this show as a child

[gawnej · 26 June 2005]

As a child growing up in Detroit, I watched this show on the CBC station and loved it.

My older brother and I both wanted to be "friendly giants" when we grew up. We both loved sitting in the big chairs and reading books.

The music at the opening has stayed with me for more than 40 years since I last saw the show, and is the reason that I started researching the show. I can still hear its calming melody in my mind today.

I wonder if the theme song is available anywhere?

Thanks to all who were involved in this production and distribution of the show

Sweet and gentle children's show.

[tiggy · 2 May 1999]

I have very fond childhood memories of watching the Friendly Giant and his pals. The set could not have been more than 5 feet by 5 feet, and yet I was always transported to some place magical through the songs sung and stories read. The songs were lovely and sweet - played on the recorder, the harp, or the guitar. The Giant always had an extra chair for you to "curl up in".