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

Episodes

- All episodes are shown in the order that Disney Channel and Discovery Kids aired them.

Season 1:

  1. Tropical Birds (Red-and-green macaw) - April 16, 1996
  2. Animal Disguises (chameleon) - April 23, 1996
  3. Nighttime Animals (springhare) - April 30, 1996
  4. Animal Appetites (king penguin) - May 7, 1996
  5. Animal Survivors (wolf) - May 14, 1996
  6. Animal Senses (cat) - May 21, 1996
  7. Animal Weapons (goat) - May 28, 1996
  8. Animal Builders (American beaver) - June 4, 1996
  9. Armored Animals (tortoise) - June 11, 1996
  10. Mini Beasts (tarantula) - June 18, 1996
  11. Animal Babies (puppy, kitten, duckling) - June 25, 1996
  12. Poisonous Animals (Gila monster) - July 2, 1996
  13. Animal Journeys (camel) - July 9, 1996

Season 2:

  1. Birds of Prey (vulture) - April 15, 1997
  2. Desert Animals (dromedary camel) - April 22, 1997
  3. Scary Animals (tarantula) - April 29, 1997
  4. Animal Records (tortoise, rabbit) - May 6, 1997
  5. Animal Colors (golden pheasant) - May 13, 1997
  6. Animal Mothers (lioness) - May 20, 1997
  7. Animal Pets (puppy) - May 27, 1997
  8. Seashore Animals (pelican) - June 3, 1997
  9. Animal Families (ducks) - June 10, 1997
  10. Endangered Animals (Bengal tiger) - June 17, 1997
  11. An Animal Year (red squirrel) - June 24, 1997
  12. Prehistoric Animals (crocodile) - July 1, 1997
  13. Monkeys and Apes (mandrill) - July 8, 1997

Season 3:

  1. Animal Hunters (golden eagle) - April 14, 1998
  2. Animal Talk (dog) - April 21, 1998
  3. Slimy Animals (apple snail) - April 28, 1998
  4. Rainforest Animals (scarlet macaw) - May 5, 1998
  5. Animal Acrobats (spider monkey, red kangaroo) - May 12, 1998
  6. Underwater Animals (fish) - May 19, 1998
  7. Animal Neighbors (rabbit) - May 26, 1998
  8. Giant Animals (dog) - June 2, 1998
  9. Creepy Crawly Animals (grasshopper) - June 9, 1998
  10. Farm Animals (cow) - June 16, 1998
  11. Animal Changes (lion cub, lioness) - June 23, 1998
  12. Extinct Animals (footprints) - June 30, 1998
  13. Animal Eggs (egg) - July 7, 1998

Season 4:

  1. Around the World Animals (red kangaroo, monarch butterfly) - April 13, 1999
  2. Polar Animals (Arctic hare) - April 20, 1999
  3. Clever Animals (dolphin) - April 27, 1999
  4. Underground Animals (rabbit) - May 4, 1999
  5. Animal Helpers (llama) - May 11, 1999
  6. Woodland Animals (giant panda) - May 18, 1999
  7. Mountain Animals (alpine ibex) - May 25, 1999
  8. Backyard Animals (mockingbird) - June 1, 1999
  9. Tiny Animals (ant) - June 8, 1999
  10. Animal Partners (white horse) - June 15, 1999
  11. Scaly Animals (crocodile) - June 22, 1999
  12. River Animals (beaver) - June 29, 1999
  13. 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.

External links