Form Records

Form Holdings Limited was a publisher, retailer, and distributor of music, music videos and direct-to-video programmes, headquartered in Singapore and with offices in Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. It was listed on the SESDAQ. Form was founded by Ang Choon Beng alias Ang Siong Kiat, who was also the executive producer of all series in Chinese.

Form Holdings is also known for their series of children's educational programmes made in the 1990s, which include the Mental Arithmetic series, the ABC English for Children series and many others. All these were published under the Form Records, Form Kidz, and Form Music Publication labels.

The cast of these programmes included Channel 8 actors and actresses like Chen Liping, Huang Wenyong, Emily Yeo, and Jaslyn Theen, and child actors from the era like Darence Ang, Koay Jing Li, and David Tham, amongst others. However, like in most Channel 8 shows in the 1990s, their voices were mostly dubbed over by TCS dubbing artistes. Exceptions include the Mental Arithmetic series and its spin-off videos.

The producer for many of these series was Ang Hung Lin, who was also producer for the movies Nobody's Child and Missing You.... Both Ang Hung Lin and Ang Choon Beng left Form Records and founded Innoform Media in the early 2000s.

As of 2019, only the Malaysian subsidiary, Form Records (M) Sdn Bhd, based in Kuala Lumpur, survives. Form Holdings Limited has since been repurposed as a holding company for a membrane manufacturer.

Series
Darence Ang sung the theme and interlude songs for many of these series, until around 1996 or 1997. Some of these songs were later compiled into an album, released in 1997.

ABC English for Children (1992 - 1996)
Probably the most well-known Form publication, this series starred Chen Liping as the teacher and ran to 6 volumes. Some volumes were also available in English, Cantonese, and Malay dubs. A seventh volume under the same name, unrelated to the rest of the series, was produced by Form Records (M) Sdn Bhd in 2005.

At the Bird Park
An alien which looks like a bird suddenly hatches from an egg. The Little Professor and his friends visit Jurong Birdpark to help the alien find its mother.

Children Educational Videos (around 1995)
A two-disc compilation of musicals based on tales like Aesop's fables, Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, and Chinese folk tales like Tadpoles Looking for their Mama. The musicals were filmed in China, and mostly starred Chinese actors and actresses, although Singaporean child actor Darence Ang appeared in a few of these videos.

Do You Know Why? (1995)
A group of children accidentally knock over a treasure pot belonging to Knowledge Country. As a punishment, they are tasked with finding the other remaining pot, which is in the hands of King Ironhook. Along the way, the children must answer general trivia questions.

Amanda Lian appears during some intermissions, explaining the answers to some of these questions.

Mental Arithmetic (1995, 1998)
Unlike ABC English for Children, the character Miss Lian is played by an actual teacher, Amanda Lian who is director of her own Maths enrichment centre. The series ran to 3 volumes.

Enhance Your IQ (1997)
A spin-off video, where the focus is on solving logic puzzles. The park scenes were filmed in Nee Soon Central Community Park (then known as Yishun Central Park).

Primary Composition (1997)
Two educational videos targeted at Primary 4 and Primary 6 students respectively, which gave tips on writing Chinese compositions.

Say It, It's Easy (1996)
Published by Form Music Publications. Unlike ABC English for Children this programme focused more on English phonics, and none of the children were trained actors. The show's host is John "JC" Cunningham, who is a speech and drama teacher in real life as well.

Some of the songs used are adaptations of songs featured in an episode of Barney and the Backyard Gang, Rock with Barney.

The opening theme is also a rearranged version of an instrumental background track heard in What a Wonderful World.

Ten Brothers (1995)
Based on the Chinese legend. Three quarrelsome brothers are joined by the children of their parents' friends and neighbours. They don't get along, until an Ah Long nearly kidnaps one of them and they're forced to band together to use their "powers" for good when a second kidnap attempt succeeds.

Huang, Lee, and Darence Ang's voices were not replaced by dubbing artistes, although their dialogue appears to have been re-recorded. Ten Brothers did not follow the format of most Form Record productions, as it was more dramatic in style rather than educational.

Some scenes were filmed at Blk 318 Bukit Batok Street 32.

This video was released on laserdisc, VCD, and video cassette.

What a Wonderful World (1996)
While their parents go on holiday, four children are taken by a nanny on a tour of vegetable farms and more.

Logo/introduction sequence
For most of its history, Form used the same introduction sequence featuring a yellow bird on a rainbow backdrop. Most of these videos had the version which used an instrumental excerpt from "Good Morning, Teacher". However, videos published by Form Music Publication (most were published by Form Records and some by Form Kidz) used a generic jingle instead.