Henry's Amazing Animals
| Henry's Amazing Animals | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Eric Meyers, Tom Clarke-Hill |
| Country of origin | UK, USA |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Dorling Kindersley Partridge Films |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel |
Disney Channel Discovery Kids Playhouse Disney |
| Original run | April 16, 1996 – July 6, 1999 |
Henry's Amazing Animals (more commonly known as Amazing Animals) is an educational children's nature program produced by Dorling Kindersley and originally broadcast on the Disney Channel in 1996. It currently plays in syndication on Treehouse TV in Canada. It is also available on VHS.
The show centers on the interactions of Henry the Lizard, a green CGI gecko with purple spots, and an unseen narrator. Each episode centers on a theme relating to the episode's subject matter, such as Henry traveling through prehistory in a time machine in an episode about prehistoric animals. Henry is usually faced with some kind of predicament or work, always relating to the episode's theme, which he resolves by the end of the episode, often learning a lesson of some sort in the process.
Plot
Each episode is made up of sections in which Henry is featured, video sequences of animals narrated by the narrator with replies by Henry, and cartoons featuring recurring unnamed cartoon animals. There are also two recurring segments: "Henry's Report" and "The Golden Gecko Awards". Early episodes depicted Henry's Report as a school report, though later episodes changed it to a news report. In either case, the report is comical and almost always wildly inaccurate. The correct information is given by The Narrator after the report.
In Henry's Amazing Golden Gecko Awards, Henry picks three animals relating to the subject of the episode and presents them with awards. Unlike the report, the Golden Gecko Awards are typically more genuine. Henry does most of the narration and often gets annoyed at the Narrator for interrupting him. Henry's Report occurred in every episode; the only episode that did not have the Golden Gecko Awards was "Underground Animals", probably because of timing issues.
Cast and major characters
- Henry: The show's main protagonist. He is a small green gecko with purple spots and yellow eyes. Henry is portrayed as being enthusiastic, albeit foolish and immature. He is generally depicted as ignorant of the episode's subject matter and typically fails in the endeavours he attempts to undertake. Sometimes, he can prove himself to be quite smart; he is also an inventor. He often identifies lizards seen in the video sequences as his cousins. His favorite food is pizza. Henry is voiced by Eric Meyers.
- The Narrator: The Narrator is Henry's co-star, but he is never seen and almost never named. He is depicted as being wise and knowledgeable. In addition to teaching Henry about animals and correcting his special reports, the Narrator acts as a comedic foil to Henry: the show's "straight man", who cuts Henry down for his immaturity and lack of knowledge with some combination of a mature seriousness and a dry sarcasm. The Narrator is voiced by Tom Clarke-Hill.
- Crab Tuesday: Henry met Crab Tuesday during a visit to the seashore, and the crab has been Henry's best friend and assistant ever since. Henry names him Tuesday after Robinson Crusoe's "man Friday". Henry can often tell what Tuesday is saying, although he has no voice at all and communicates by snapping his claws. However, in Amazing Animal Hunters, he is heard mumbling "I don't know" to Henry. Crab Tuesday's vocal effects by Frank Welker.
- Cartoon animals: Throughout the episodes, there are short cartoons relating to the episode's subject matter. Cartoon animals include, but are not limited to:
- A blue chicken professor and his wife and kids
- Three (sometimes four) green lizards
- A yellow snake with jingle bells on its tail
- An elephant with a pink trunk
- A large green Tyrannosaurus
- A blue parrot with a purple beak and colored head feathers
- A tiger that stands on two legs
- A blue gorilla
- A spider monkey
- A green porcupine with a turquoise crest
- A black spider
- A mole that wears sunglasses
- A large green bat
- An orange squirrel
- A large blue fish
- A blue rhino
- A pink weasel (or skunk)
- A yellow vulture
- A small gray frog
- An orange-brown beetle
- A large golden bear
- A brown eagle sergeant and brown owl army
- A teal pigeon
- A pink stork
- A small gray mouse
- A green crocodile
- A green chameleon
- A green turtle
Episodes
- All episodes are shown in the order that Disney Channel and Discovery Kids aired them.
Season 1:
- Tropical Birds (Red-and-green macaw) - April 16, 1996
- Animal Disguises (chameleon) - April 23, 1996
- Nighttime Animals (springhare) - April 30, 1996
- Animal Appetites (king penguin) - May 7, 1996
- Animal Survivors (wolf) - May 14, 1996
- Animal Senses (cat) - May 21, 1996
- Animal Weapons (goat) - May 28, 1996
- Animal Builders (American beaver) - June 4, 1996
- Armored Animals (tortoise) - June 11, 1996
- Mini Beasts (tarantula) - June 18, 1996
- Animal Babies (puppy, kitten, duckling) - June 25, 1996
- Poisonous Animals (Gila monster) - July 2, 1996
- Animal Journeys (camel) - July 9, 1996
Season 2:
- Birds of Prey (vulture) - April 15, 1997
- Desert Animals (dromedary camel) - April 22, 1997
- Scary Animals (tarantula) - April 29, 1997
- Animal Records (tortoise, rabbit) - May 6, 1997
- Animal Colors (golden pheasant) - May 13, 1997
- Animal Mothers (lioness) - May 20, 1997
- Animal Pets (puppy) - May 27, 1997
- Seashore Animals (pelican) - June 3, 1997
- Animal Families (ducks) - June 10, 1997
- Endangered Animals (Bengal tiger) - June 17, 1997
- An Animal Year (red squirrel) - June 24, 1997
- Prehistoric Animals (crocodile) - July 1, 1997
- Monkeys and Apes (mandrill) - July 8, 1997
Season 3:
- Animal Hunters (golden eagle) - April 14, 1998
- Animal Talk (dog) - April 21, 1998
- Slimy Animals (apple snail) - April 28, 1998
- Rainforest Animals (scarlet macaw) - May 5, 1998
- Animal Acrobats (spider monkey, red kangaroo) - May 12, 1998
- Underwater Animals (fish) - May 19, 1998
- Animal Neighbors (rabbit) - May 26, 1998
- Giant Animals (dog) - June 2, 1998
- Creepy Crawly Animals (grasshopper) - June 9, 1998
- Farm Animals (cow) - June 16, 1998
- Animal Changes (lion cub, lioness) - June 23, 1998
- Extinct Animals (footprints) - June 30, 1998
- Animal Eggs (egg) - July 7, 1998
Season 4:
- Around the World Animals (red kangaroo, monarch butterfly) - April 13, 1999
- Polar Animals (Arctic hare) - April 20, 1999
- Clever Animals (dolphin) - April 27, 1999
- Underground Animals (rabbit) - May 4, 1999
- Animal Helpers (llama) - May 11, 1999
- Woodland Animals (giant panda) - May 18, 1999
- Mountain Animals (alpine ibex) - May 25, 1999
- Backyard Animals (mockingbird) - June 1, 1999
- Tiny Animals (ant) - June 8, 1999
- Animal Partners (white horse) - June 15, 1999
- Scaly Animals (crocodile) - June 22, 1999
- River Animals (beaver) - June 29, 1999
- Animal Flight (ladybug) - July 6, 1999
Merchandise
Some merchandise was also released during the activity of the series. Only 1234 of the episodes were released on VHS but they were never released on DVD. An educational computer game was also released with the television show. A board game known as The Really Amazing Animal Game was also sold but was shortly discontinued. In the episode "Extinct Animals" Henry's gift shop displayed several Henry plush toys but it is unknown if they were actually sold in stores or not.