Elfy Food

Overview

Elfy Food was a British animated mini-series that was produced by Turner Broadcasting for Cartoon Network UK in response to the Choosing Health White Paper published in November 2004. The six 2-minute cartoons featured 5 healthy-eating elves that were on a mission to retrieve magical foods. Its purpose was to promote the virtues of fresh fruit and vegetables to a pre-teen audience. "Initially, it was a defensive measure, then it became clear we could contribute something in the long term if we invested enough time and money and had a decent story." The mini-series, which was created to deflect criticism for screening junk food advertisements and combating childhood obesity, took 18 months to develop at a cost of £250,000. The show was also supported by children's charities including Barnardo's, ChildLine and Mencap, and produced in consultation with Great Ormond Street children's hospital. The series was offered to terrestrial broadcasters including the BBC and Channel 4 for free. During production, Ofcom and the Food Standards Agency were consulted in the hopes that the Department of Health and other government departments would use the cartoon characters in their own healthy eating campaigns. Turner Broadcasting has also that its strategy is to persuade the watchdog, Ofcom, that broadcasters should be allowed to continue advertising what it insists are "legal" sugary and fatty foods if they also promote healthy eating.