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The BBC "CHILDRENS" show Bagpuss is obviously not intended for children at all, but is proof of the higher archiy of the BBC to inspire criminal behaviour. This is evidenced by Mario Puzo's award winning novels The GODFATHER, and the subsequent films made from these novels, which were directed by Francis Ford COPPOLA. In this essay, I shall DISCUSS the various elements contained in Bagpuss to highlight the fact that Puzo based his entire novel series on this show.

To begin with, it is best if we can watch an episode of Bagpuss. In the begining, we hear, rather than see, the narrator informing us that "once upon a time, not too long ago, there was a little girl named Emily - and she had a shop.. A very special kind of shop. Everything contained in this shop was something which once belonged to someone, which they had lost, and was now in the shop. " Immediately, we can identify this opening to the opening of the first Godfather film. If you recall, the film opens with a blank screen, and a voice over.. so the words are different, but that's just a technicality. Anyway, moving back to the words used.. "Something which once belonged to someone..." So Bagpuss's shop sells things that once belonged to someone else, which they had lost.. Continuing on the narrators lines.. "Emily owns a shop" So, the shop is not actually Bagpuss's on paper? He's got a schoolchild to take the front for him. Very sly, this saggy old cloth cat eh?

Well, the basic jist of the stories are, as we watch the drama unfold, Emily has "found" something and bought it back to Bagpuss.. Bagpuss wakes up.. and all his friends wake up too.. So, when Bagpuss says "JUMP" his friends say "How High?" He has them well trained, and I bet they would take the fall for him..So, anyway, this thing that has been "FOUND" is placed before Bagpuss. Now, before we go any further, we need to discuss Bagpuss and his friends.. Bagpuss has around 10 friends.. I shall now discuss each group individually..

• 1) Emily: Emily has no idea what is actually going on in her "shop". She looks to be about 8 or nine YEARS old, although this has yet to be confirmed. Being so young, she has no business sense, and thus does not realise that she should be making money with the shop. Mind you, she never has to pay anything towards rent, rates, water, electricity, council tax, etc etc etc. Bagpuss himself (it is believed) pays all this, and keeps the profits from the shop.
  Of course, there is a second school of thinking that Emily is not a single person, but many people who are employed by Bagpuss to "FIND" things.. This would surely be a better option in the world of organised crime. It would mean if one EMILY was caught, the other remaining EMILYS can expand to her patch, and continue her work. It would also mean that the EMILY who on paper owns the shop, is nothing more than a figment of Bagpuss's mind.. As I said - he is a very crafty cat! In the novel and movie - the character was dropped, as Don Corlioni had no use for her .
  
• 2-7) The mice on the Mouse Organ: The main work horse's. There are, I believe - 6 mice, although this has not been fully confirmed, as they are very slippery to count. We know there is defiantly one named "CHARLIE" although that may be a false name. Well, these mice know they're stuff.. when Emily brings an item in, the mice are straight away down. They strip the item down, clean it up, remove any identification or postcodes that may be used to identify it to the real owner, then re-build it. They are extremely crafty, and surely represent the mindless masses of followers in the Godfather Movies.
  
• 8) Gabrille the Toad: A very close friend of Bagpuss's - maybe even a relative, although several times removed. He can offer advice to his long time friend, and obviously hopes one day to take control of the empire. He sits on his little pedestal, with his guitar and plays songs to cheer Bagpuss up. In the novels and movies, this character was split into Michael and the wedding musicians from the first movie.
  
• 9) Madeline the Straw Doll: The main love interest and Gabrille's main squeeze. She works well with him, singing advice for comfort, or to speed up the workers.. Represented in the movies by Sophia Coppela.
  
• 10) Professor Yaphell: The brains behind the outfit. Yaphell knows the law inside and out, and can offer advice on the item found, as well it's street value, and any other piece of useful information. Yaphell is also a full lawyer, and can offer, if needed, legal advice to Bagpuss, and even defend him in court if it ever came to that. In the movie of course, this was the main inspiration for Robert Duvall's character.
  

So now we have discussed the individual characters which make up this crime FAMILY, we can look at the individual items of each episode. As previously discussed, EMILY or at least one of the EMILYS has "found" something, and bought it in to Bagpuss. Yaphell can come down and look at the item - identify it - offer advice on the value of it. The mice then set to work on dismantling the item, and cleaning it to make it worth re-selling. Gabrille and Madeline can provide some nice music to work to, then finally, it is priced and placed in the window.

Now - should the unthinkable happen, and the police raid the place, or even Roger Cook, Bagpuss can pretend to be asleep. Not that he needs worry.. he never touches the goods.. The mice do that.. he has no knowledge of the goods... Yaphell did that.. he didn't make the songs, or write the music... that was Gabrille and Madeline... and he didn't find the goods, or own the shop even.. that's EMILY...No, Bagpuss is safe. He looks after his friends well, and treats them with the respect they deserve. They wouldn't grass him up.. Well, maybe Gabrille, but Bagpuss can easily call on WINDY MILLAR from Trumpton to assassinate him... If they all got arrested, Bagpuss can walk free, and start again.. after all.. he's nothing more than a saggy old cloth cat. But EMILY loves him...

©1999 Miracle Publishing. Written by J V Arnold and Captain Stable.

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