The Animals of Farthing Wood (series)
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The Animals of Farthing Wood is a series of children's books written by Colin Dann, which was turned into an afternoon animated series by the European Broadcasting Union between 1992 and 1995.
Contents |
[edit] Books
The books tell the story of a group of woodland animals whose home has been paved over by developers. They learn of a nature reserve, "White Deer Park", where they will be safe, and undertake to make the journey together. They form an oath, promising to protect one another and overcome their natural instincts until they reach their destination.
In total, eight Farthing Wood books were written between 1979 and 1994:
- The Animals of Farthing Wood (1979)
- In the Grip of Winter (1981)
- Fox's Feud (1982)
- The Fox Cub Bold (1983)
- The Siege of White Deer Park (1985)
- In the Path of the Storm (1989)
- Battle for the Park (1992)
- Farthing Wood - The Adventure Begins (1994)
The book, The Animals of Farthing Wood (1979) was originally published by John Goodchild Publishers in the first half of 1979 as two separate paperbacks, entitled Escape from Danger ISBN 0-903445-53-0 and The Way to White Deer Park ISBN 0-903445-55-7. They were only released in this separate form once, and have since been released as the single novel, The Animals of Farthing Wood. The only remaining clue to the once split nature of this first story is the way the book is split into chapters, but also into two parts, 'Escape from Danger', and 'Journey to White Deer Park'.
[edit] The Animals of Farthing Wood
The Animals of Farthing Wood was first published in 1979. The humans have dug up the heath that surrounds Farthing Wood, and have reduced the size of the wood itself to little more than a copse. When the pond is filled in leaving only a small trickle in the stream due to an ongoing drought, Badger and Fox take it upon themselves to call an assembly of the wood in order to try to come up with a solution to their problem. They realize that there is little that they can do to stop the humans and are about to break up the meeting when Toad arrives. He explains that he had been captured in a jam jar and taken far away. He eventually managed to escape and followed his homing instinct to get back to Farthing Wood, passing through a nature reserve called White Deer Park in the process. The animals decide to leave Farthing Wood and travel to the reserve in the hope that they will be safe from humans there.
[edit] Television series
| The Animals of Farthing Wood | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Children |
| Creator(s) | European Broadcasting Union |
| Starring | Jeremy Barrett Rupert Farley Jon Glover Sally Grace Stacy Jefferson Pamela Keevilkral and Ron Moody |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 39 (3 seasons with 13 episodes each) (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 0:30 (per episode) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC |
| Original run | 1992 – 1995 |
All of the books were dramatised in the animated series, apart from The Siege of White Deer Park, which was deemed too frightening for the target audience, and Farthing Wood - The Adventure Begins, a prequel to the earlier books.
Three seasons of the animated series were produced. The first two were seen by fans as among the best animated shows on TV at the time due to its complex and intriguing plot, and the dedicated patronage of philanthropist, Robin Stewart, but the third series was seen as a disappointment. Fans claimed this because of its inferior story and script as opposed to the first two series', but the change in animation also did not help. Unlike other children's series, Farthing Wood did not feature much comedic content but rather relied on its strong storyline and plot, and multiple main characters are killed or die in the journey.
[edit] Cast of TV series
- Jeremy Barrett: Male Rabbit, Mole, Male Shrew, Mossy.
- Rupert Farley: Fox, Plucky, Trey, Bold, Hare, Friendly, Pheasant.
- Jon Glover: Scarface, (possibly) Ranger, The Warden, various roles.
- Sally Grace: Owl, Weasel, various roles.
- Stacy Jefferson: Vixen, (possibly) Adder, various roles.
- Pamela Keevilkral: Dash, Cleo, Speedy, (possibly) Whisper, Squirrel, Female Hedgehog, various roles.
- Ron Moody: Badger, Whistler, Toad, Bully, Spike, Rollo, Male Hedgehog, Male Vole, Male Mouse, Great White Stag, various roles.
- Maria Warburg: Whisper (Audio Book Only)
[edit] Merchandise
Apart from books and videos, there was also a Farthing Wood CD and in the mid-1990s, an 130-part magazine for kids titled "Farthing Wood Friends" was also developed. Audio tapes recapping the first two seasons were released, with the story being told to young fox cubs by several of the cast who would also debate the events and mimic some of the other characters. There are also three TV tie-in books available, one to accompany each of the TV series:
- The Animals of Farthing Wood links with series one.
- The Further Adventures of The Animals of Farthing Wood links with series two.
- The Animals of Farthing Wood - Spirit of Survival links with series three.
These follow the same storylines, but are presented in a comic-strip style.
[edit] Episodes
There were three seasons of The Animals of Farthing Wood, each lasting 13 episodes. Season one was first aired in January 1993. Series two was first aired in January 1994. Season Three was first aired in September 1995.
[edit] List of characters
[edit] Characters who appear in the TV series
Original Farthing Wood animals:
- Fox - Leader of the animals of Farthing Wood.
- Badger - Fatherly figure and second-in-command of the animals.
- Toad - Discovered White Deer Park and acted as guide on the journey.
- Owl - Pompous tawny owl who often scouted for the group and voiced her opinion on everything.
- Weasel - Loud and annoying weasel who travelled with the group.
- Adder - Viciously sarcastic and sharp-witted snake.
- Kestrel - Lookout and scout for the group as they travelled.
- Mole - Worm-greedy mole who often got lost along the journey. Best friend of Badger.
- The Pheasants - Game birds who were often afraid of being shot at, and who had a very poor relationship. Both shot by a farmer.
- The Rabbits - Mr. Rabbit, a hypochondriac, and his long suffering mate Mrs. Rabbit, who usually panicked in dangerous situations. The pair had several babies during the series. Mrs. Rabbit was killed by Scarface.
- The Hares - Hare who was a bit full of himself, and his mate. Mrs. Hare was killed by Scarface.
- The Hedgehogs - Pair of hedgehogs who were often the slowest animals of the group. Both were run over by a lorry.
- The Squirrels - Grey squirrel and his mate who were present for the entire series.
- The Voles - Mr. Vole who often attempted to assert his authority in the group, and his mother, Mrs. Vole. Mrs. Vole was killed by Scarface.
- The Shrews - A shrew and his mate.
- The Fieldmice - Mr Fieldmouse and his mate Mrs. Fieldmouse, who had several babies during the journey to White Deer Park. Mrs. Fieldmouse was accidentally killed by Kestrel.
- The Newts - Comprising of Mr. & Mrs. and Baby Newt. Aquatic creatures who often became desperate for water. Left behind during the journey and possibly killed by fire.
Animals who joined the group during the journey:
- Vixen - Fox's mate who he met while separated from the other animals.
- Whistler - Heron the group met in a quarry. He was shot in the wing, and thus makes a whistling sound when he flies.
Residents of White Deer Park:
- The Great White Stag - Leader of all the animals In White Deer Park
- The Warden - a kindly man who looks after White Deer Park and everything in it.
- Scarface - An evil fox, with a prominent scar over his right eye. The leader of the blue foxes.
- Lady Blue - Scarface's mate and the mother of his cubs.
- Measley - a lovesick weasel who fell in love with Weasel as soon as she arrived at White Deer Park. He did not appear in the books.
- Speedy - Stuck up heron who became Whistler's mate.
- Hurkel - Badger who befriends Mossy. He tries to be kind to everyone.
- Sinuous - Male adder who became Adder's mate. Equally as sarcastic.
- Trey - Bad-tempered stag who becomes leader of the deer herd.
- Laird - The Great White Stag's grandson, who becomes leader of the herd after Trey.
- Ginger - The Warden's pet and an eventual friend of Badger's.
- Bully - Leader of the rats who attempt to take over the park.
- Spike - Bully's minion, who befriends Toad and eventually joins the Farthing Wood animals.
- Brat - Bully's minion.
- Mateless - Kind mole who became Mole's mate.
- Paddock - Toad who Became Toad's mate.
- Edible Frogs - Frogs native to White Deer Park, befriended by Toad.
- Red Squirrels - Squirrels who refuse to be friends with the Farthing Wood squirrels. Only appeared in one episode.
Offspring of the Farthing Wood animals:
- Bold - Fox & Vixen's son, born in White Deer Park. He left the park for the city for during the series, and died on his return.
- Charmer - Fox and Vixen's daughter, defies her parents to become Ranger's mate.
- Friendly - Fox & Vixen's son.
- Dreamer - Fox & Vixen's daughter, who was killed as a cub by one of the blue foxes (probably Scarface).
- Ranger - Scarface and Lady Blue's son, later Charmer's mate.
- Plucky - Fox's great-grandson and the grandson of Bold and Whisper. In the TV series, he is Bold's son.
- Bounder -Another of Scarface and Lady Blue's cubs. Killed by Adder.
- Mossy - Mole's son, who pretended to be his father to save Badger from the pain of his passing during his old age.
- Cleo - Weasel and Measly's daughter (did not appear in books).
- Fido - Weasel and Measly's son (did not appear in books).
- Leveret - Son of the Farthing Wood hares.
- Dash - Leveret's daughter, granddaughter of the Farthing Wood hares.
Other characters:
- Whisper - Bold's mate, whom he meets outside the park.
- Shadow - Kind badger who looked after Bold and became Hurkel's mate when she came to White Deer Park.
- Rollo - St. Bernard, befriends Bold and Whisper, later became guardian of the weasels and eventually The Warden's pet.
- Hollow - Owl's mate, whom she meets at what used to be Farthing Wood when she returns there.
- Crow - A crow who looked after and befriended Bold.
- Moth-Eaten Rook - a rook who falls in love with Owl.
- Bruno - A stupid farmer's dog who is mistreated by his master.
- Butcher Bird - Responsible for killing the baby fieldmice.
[edit] Characters who appear in the books only
- Frond: A young female badger who acts as a kind of nurse to Badger, although she does not become his mate.
- Holly: In the books, Owl is male, so Holly acts as a female equivalent of Hollow.
- Russet: Ranger's cousin, and later Friendly's mate.
- Rusty: Ranger and Charmer's son.
- Pace: Friendly's son.
- Husky: Bold and Whisper's son. Killed by the great cat in The Siege of White Deer Park.
[edit] Trivia
- Some of the characters sounded like real comedians, in particular comedians from other BBC shows. Badger sounded like Ballard Berkeley, Owl sounded like Joan Sanderson, Toad sounded like Patrick Allen and Kestrel sounded like Una Stubbs.
- Fox, the leader of the Animals of Farthing Wood, was voiced by Rupert Farley in the UK version but in the U.S. version he was played by Ralph Macchio.
- The episodes were made in both England and France.
- Adder, Weasel and Owl were male in the books but female in the TV series
- The newts were originally lizards in the books, and their fate was never known. They left the expedition early and were suggested to have died in a fire.
- There were no shrews in the original expedition in the books.
- There were more than two hedgehogs in the books. The elder ones died on the motorway.
- In Series 1, the motorway's carriageways have traffic driving on the Wrong Side of the road. However, they are briefly seen in Series 3 on the correct side.
- The name of Tawny Owl was changed from Tawny Owl in the books to just Owl in the television series.
[edit] Credits
- Based on the Books by: Colin Dann
- Written by: Alan Case, Steve Walker, Sue Butterworth, Jenny McDade, Gordon Harrison, Elphin Lloyd-Jones, Valerie Georgeson
- Adapted by: Steve Walker
- Music Composed by: Detlev Kuhne
- Theme Music Composed and Arranged by: Dennis Scott
- Recorded by: WDR Orchestra, KRO Cologne
- Directors: Elphin Lloyd-Jones, Philippe LeClerc
- Assistant Director: Emile Bourget
- Animation Director: Alan Simpson
- Character Designs: Elphin Lloyd-Jones, Philippe LeClerc, Patrick Michel
- Storyboard: Gordon Harrison, Jean Francois Laguionie, Claude Aufrere
- Backgrounds: Ian Henderson, Richard Mithonard, Valerie Carmona
- Layouts: Sue Butterworth, Gordon Harrison, Ted Pettengell, Trevor Ricketts, Patrick Michel, Gerard Kiszel, Christian Ragoust
- Animation: Thomas Barker, Monica Brutton, Alison De Vere, Andy Eraclerus, Christopher Evans, Joan Freestone, Tony Guy, Peter Hale, Arthur Humberstone, Simon Loxton, Fraser MacLean, Charlie MacRae, Janet Nunn, John Perkins, Mike Pocock, Paul Stone, Rosemary Welch, Jose Xavier
- Key Animators: Chris Clarke, Gary Hender, Nathalie Biston, Marian Brooks, Valerie Pouyanne, Jean Francois Galataud, Monica Moinar, Lea Movement
- Assistant Animators: Philippe Archer, Jean-Yves Regnault, Laurence Commeyras, Isabelle Pouyanne, Didier Chenu, Catherine Halvic, Muriel Chevallier, Sega Favre, Sylvia Bottiau, Sim Lignon
- Trace & Paint: Audrey Hammond, Pat Arthy, Pete Arthy, Lynda Marmont, Chris Jones, Ross Marks, Sharon Martin, Becky New, Vivienne Redmond, Jenni Steers, Dominique Lenoble, Clarie Dame, Nancy Rey, Frederic Jaubert, Suzy Kopp, Sophie Beltran, Brigitte Boursereau, Rodney Crofton, Carole Dorange, Nathalie Finiels, Cathy Gentric, Isabelle Lanomann, Claire Larnelle, Cathy Rigall, Maria Stockman, Mireille Valentin
- Checking: Ann Kotch, Janine Arthy, Isabelle Perrichon
- Rostrum Camera: Chris Williams, Anthony Hagen, Jacques Armand, Yves Francon, Jean Paul Rossard
- Software: Animo Cambridge Animation Systems
- Production Supervisor: Jean-Paul Gaspari
- Production Coordinator: Dominique Edmond-Marlette
- Production Accountants: Helmut Breuer, Philippe Marteaux
- Editing: Theresa Plummer-Andrews, John Daniel, Ken Morgan, Tom Oliver
- Special Effects: Stephan Hartl, Malcolm Beattie
- Picture Editor: Fiona Keene
- Videotape Services: Video Time
- Line Test Camera: Plaza Synchron
- Dialogue Editor: Hans-Peter Kaufman
- Track Readers: Otto Sander, Ulli Philipp, Tilly Lauenstein, Martin Semmelrogge, Helmut Ruge, Wichart V. Roell, Karin Kerke, Stephan Schwartz, Marion Martlenzen, Manfred Lehmann, Peter Fricke
- Associate Producer: Wolfgang Wegmann
- Producer: John M. Mills
- Production: Telemagination (London), Praxinos (Montpeller)
- EBU Coordinator: Marie-Claire Vionnet
- Executive Producers: Siegmund Grewenig, Theresa Plummer-Andrews
- Film Laboratories: European Cineman, Television Year
