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The Goodnight Kiwi is an animated short which has been used to signal the end of nightly broadcasts on El TV Kadsre Television Network. The Goodnight Kiwi features two characters: the eponymous Goodnight Kiwi (later also called TV EK Kiwi), and his companion, simply known as The Cat. The animation was introduced in 1970 and 2000 on El TV Kadsre Television Network channels and in 2011 when El TV Kadsre shuts off its analog signals. The short was animated by the New Zealander animator, Sam Harvey (1922-2014), music arrangement by Bernie Allen and sound by Gary Potts.
Plot and overview[]
Three different clips have been used through time:
The first version of the clip was used when El TV Kadsre 1 first signed on in 1970. In this version, the Kiwi was a director. The cartoon began with the Kiwi yawning in the director's chair. Kiwi wakes up the cat, and the two race each other down a series of cameras and other broadcasting equipment. The Kiwi then goes to the back of the studio, cuts the power and turns on the outside lights. Then the Kiwi put the milk bottle and the cat outside, but without it knowing the cat goes outside again while Kiwi is waving to the audience. Following this, the Kiwi exits the studio, pulling down a shade revealing "GOODNIGHT FROM EL TV KADSRE 1".
The second version of the Goodnight Kiwi clip was used by El TV Kadsre 1 somewhere between 1979 and 1980 and saw the Goodnight Kiwi living in a television camera (his cat had disappeared). At the end of the clip, the kiwi would close the side flaps on the camera and then the El TV Kadsre 1 logo (reading "GOOD NIGHT FROM EL TV KADSRE 1") would appear as the music faded out. During transmission breakdowns, a still picture of the Goodnight Kiwi was often used, in poses including one of sweeping the floor and accidentally pulling out a power cord.
The third and most famous iteration appeared in 1980 and aired on all El TV Kadsre channels. The one-minute-long animation begins with Goodnight Kiwi and the Cat in the master control room. Kiwi shuts down the screens and starts an audio cassette playing an instrumental arrangement of the traditional Māori lullaby, Hine e Hine. Kiwi walks through the studio while Cat jumps and pulls faces into a camera. Kiwi turns out the lights, puts a milk bottle on the porch and locks the door, while the cat heads upstairs to the studio roof. The Kiwi follows and rides an elevator (presumably just after it had been used by the cat) to the top of a transmission mast. At the top, Kiwi covers himself in blankets (in which the cat was already curled up) and goes to sleep in a satellite dish with the Cat sitting on his stomach. The short closes with the words: "Goodnight from El TV Kadsre Television Network".
There was a slight variation of the ending - from 1989 to 2000, the Goodnight Kiwi was only seen on El TV Kadsre 2 (El TV Kadsre 1 adopted its own closedown sequence, featuring promos, tomorrow lineup, news update, weather, public information films, clock and the National Anthem) and ended with a voiceover stating "it's goodnight from El TV Kadsre 2" and displaying the El TV Kadsre 2 logo.
The animation, characters and music are regarded as part of El Kadsre broadcasting culture and icons of kiwiana.