3D Animation is Back!

In the run up to the 60th Anniversary Specials concluding with “The Giggle” on Saturday, the first appearance of The Toymaker is officially getting an animated release.

This four-part serial was the seventh serial from Season 3, and was broadcast from 2nd to 23rd April 1966, starring William Hartnell as the First Doctor alongside companions Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) and Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane), with Michael Gough portraying the titular Toymaker.

A teaser trailer for the release can be seen below:

A description for the release has been provided, which reads:

“Fans of Doctor Who have long lamented the loss of the original 1966 master recordings of all except one of The Celestial Toymaker. BBC Studios have carefully created an animated presentation of this lost classic story using off-air audio recordings of the missing three episodes.     

The Celestial Toymaker sees the Doctor and companions separated when they come up against the Toymaker. While the Doctor plays the Trilogic Game, Steven and Dodo are forced to play seemingly childish but ultimately dangerous games with the aim of being reunited and getting back to the TARDIS.”

A list of the main and special features for the release has also been provided:

Disc One

  • Episodes 1-4 – Animation – Black and White
  • Episodes 1-3 – Reconstruction
  • Episode 4 – Original 1966 Episode newly restored
  • New Audio Commentaries

Disc Two

  • Episodes 1-4 – Animation – Colour
  • Making The Animation
  • Doctor Who Escape Room – Team First Doctor
  • Sylvester McCoy Introduction for episode 4 as per the original VHS release
  • Photo Gallery
  • PDF Material including camera scripts

This was one of the rumoured animations we would see pop up, and it makes sense considering the reappearance of the Toymaker, now portrayed by Neil Patrick-Harris. The 3D animation appears to be similar to what Shapeshifter Studios did for The Web of Fear episode 3 back in 2021, albeit at a higher quality.

This will almost certainly be a divisive release, but ultimately, it’s another three missing episodes animated, plus we’ll get the photo reconstructions and a restored surviving episode 4 alongside new commentaries.

Stay tuned for more Classic Doctor Who news and reviews!

By HW Reynolds

Images Courtesy of BBC Studios

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