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Three Ships arrive
Three Ships - Oooh!

The 3 Ships is one of the 7 Magical Events. This event features three cruise liner-style ships, which look similar to the Queen Mary Ocean liner. They sail past Teletubbyland after it fills itself with water (except the place where the Teletubbies are watching the event), turning it into an ocean. The ships then disappear at the end of the event and the water disappears, with a plug-hole sound at the end. The event first appeared in the episode Playing in the Rain. The tune is based on the Christmas and New Year's Day song "I Saw 3 Ships".

Some Teletubbies fans are scared of or dislike the event due to the strange appearance of the ships. The fans are scared of what's controlling the ships, they fear where the water has come from, they are scared of the way the ships come from above the horizon and then disappear like ghosts, they want to know where the ships came from and why the ships even came. Other Teletubbies fans enjoy the event and do not find it scary at all. They know the ships aren't being sailed by anyone, the ships are magic and can move all by themselves. The water is also magic, though also man-made by special effects, using computer animation. The ships are CGI-animated and have small flags on their hulls. Most Teletubbies fans have enjoyed the event and love the animation, effects, music, and feeling of it.

Appearances[]

Episodes[]

UK Series (on BBC)[]

US Series (on PBS)[]

Teletubby Days[]

Home Media[]

Special (VHS/DVD)[]

Discography[]

DVD[]

Synopsis[]

The Magical Event starts with The Magic Windmill spinning. The Teletubbies arrive at the Magic Event place. The Baby Sun giggles and the Teletubbies then hear a ship's horn. They then run off to the destination of the Magical Event. A puddle appears and it magically grows bigger and bigger, filling Teletubbyland with water and turning it into a deep ocean (though some parts of the land remain unflooded). The Teletubbies are then shown sitting on a hill and giggle happily. Jolly harp music starts playing and the same ship's horn is heard, along with the sound of splashing water. Three black dots appear on the horizon and gradually get bigger, with the horn still heard. A tune that sounds like "I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In On Christmas Day" starts playing. The black dots are revealed to be three ships similar to the RMS Queen Mary that blow their horns numerous times and sail very close to the screen but then turn to port (left) and the Teletubbies see the rest of the ships. The ships are then shown sailing in different positions across the ocean behind, from the sides, and in front. After a few laps of the ocean, they turn to starboard (right) and then back to port (left), before sailing away and blowing a farewell horn. The ships sail across the ocean and out of sight, with the jolly music coming to an end. The ocean remains for a few seconds before the water starts to shrink turning into puddles with the dry land being revealed again with the sound of a gargling bath plug hole. The Magic Windmill stops spinning or the Sun Baby giggles.

Watch[]

Teletubbies_Magical_Event_The_Three_Ships_-_Clip

Teletubbies Magical Event The Three Ships - Clip

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • There is a picture of a yellow flower on the flags of the 3 Ships.
  • Playing In The Rain and The Helicopter are the only two episodes that do not have Baby Sun giggling when the Teletubbies go to watch the Three Ships.
  • In Cafe Chocolate, the Teletubbies do not giggle after sitting on the hill looking at the water. However, in all other episodes, they do giggle.
  • In The Helicopter, a fade effect is used to transition to the Windmill stopping.
  • When the water drains like in a bathtub or sink, the animation of the water filling up is played backwards (most likely because it's easier editing that way).
  • In Making Bread and the Teletubbies: Autumn Fun DVD, the Sun Baby giggles for Tubby Bye-Bye.
  • In Paddling by the Sea, the Magic Windmill stops spinning, but then the Teletubbies do The Splashing Dance.
  • If you look closely at the scene where the water fills up and/or drains, you can see that it's just a still picture as the clouds and trees don't move at all.
  • The music fades out twice during the event for unknown reasons, it is possibly a mixing error. You can only hear the full tune on the Teletubbies CD.
  • The Teletubbies' giggle sound heard when they are looking out for the ships was also used for The Magic House in Carnival.
  • The 3 Ships sailing through Teletubbyland are based on the RMS Queen Mary.
  • The horn sound of the boats sounds similar to a Pennsylvania GG1's horn albeit pitched a bit downwards.
  • In some rare cases, the Tubby Bye-Bye voice trumpet rises straight after the 3 ships disappear and the water goes down the drain.
  • This is the only magical event where the Teletubbies arrive at the beginning offscreen. In all other Magical Events, the Teletubbies arrive onscreen.
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