The Animals of Farthing Wood (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Animals of Farthing Wood |
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| Genre | Drama Adventure |
| Created by | Colin Dann (original books) |
| Written by | Sue Butterworth Alan Case Valerie Georgeson Gordon Harrison Elphin Llyod-Jones Jenny McDade Steve Walker |
| Directed by | Philippe LeClerc Elphin Lloyd-Jones |
| Voices of | Jeremy Barrett Rupert Farley Jon Glover Sally Grace Stacy Jefferson Pamela Keevilkral Ron Moody |
| Theme music composer | Detlev Kühne |
| Composer(s) | Detlev Kühne |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom France |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 39 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Theresa Plummer-Andrews (for BBC) Enrico Platter (for WDR, Series 1–2) Siegmund Grewenig (for WDR, Series 3) |
| Producer(s) | John M. Mills |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Telemagination La Fabrique Martin Gates Productions (MGP) |
| Distributor | BBC Enterprises European Broadcasting Union |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBBC |
| Original release | 6 January 1993 – 21 December 1995 |
The Animals of Farthing Wood is a popular animated TV show from Britain and France. It was made between 1992 and 1995 and is based on a series of books by Colin Dann. The show was created by companies like Martin Gates Productions and Telemagination in London, and La Fabrique in France. It first aired in January 1993 in several European countries, including the UK.
Later, in 2016, all three seasons of the show were released on a DVD box set. This was the first time fans could get all the episodes officially in English. As of 2021, you could watch it in the UK on Amazon Prime, though some seasons were later removed.
Contents
About the Story
The TV show follows the main ideas from the books, but some things were changed.
The Animals' Journey
The first season tells the story of animals from Farthing Wood. They are forced to leave their homes because humans are destroying the wood to build suburban houses. Led by Fox and guided by Toad, the animals go on a long journey. Their goal is to reach White Deer Park, a special nature reserve where they will be safe.
Life in White Deer Park
The second and third seasons show what happens after the animals arrive. They explore the relationships between the Farthing Wood animals, the animals already living in White Deer Park, and new animals who come from outside. A key part of the story involves a blue fox named Scarface, his mate Lady Blue, and their cub Ranger.
Where is Farthing Wood?
The episodes were made in both the UK and France. Because of this, sometimes cars are seen driving on the right side of the road, like in France. Other times, they drive on the left, like in the UK. This makes the exact location of Farthing Wood a bit of a mystery. In one scene, a gravestone with French writing can be seen.
US Version
When the show was shown in the United States, there were two versions. One was the original UK version. The other was a new version released on home video. In this version, some voices were changed, and new songs were added. For example, the voice of Fox was done by Ralph Macchio.
Episodes Guide
Season Details
| Season | Episodes | UK Airdate (Approx) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | January 6, 1993 – March 31, 1993 |
| 2 | 13 | January 7, 1994 – March 30, 1994 |
| 3 | 13 | September 28, 1995 – December 21, 1995 |
Meet the Voices
Many talented actors lent their voices to the animal characters.
- Jeremy Barrett voiced Mr. Rabbit, Scarface, Mole, Bold, and many others.
- Rupert Farley was the voice of Fox, Mr. Hare, Mr. Pheasant, and more.
- Jon Glover voiced Scarface, Ranger, and The Warden.
- Sally Grace played Owl, Weasel, and Charmer.
- Stacy Jefferson voiced Vixen, Adder, Kestrel, and Mrs. Hare.
- Pamela Keevilkral was the voice of Dash, Cleo, Speedy, and Mrs. Squirrel.
- Ron Moody voiced Badger, Toad, Whistler, Bully, and The Great White Stag.
In the UK and Ireland, Fox was voiced by Rupert Farley. However, in the US version, Ralph Macchio voiced Fox.
The show was also popular in other countries, with different actors providing voices for the characters.
Books and Merchandise
Besides the TV show, there were many books and other items made for The Animals of Farthing Wood fans.
Buzz Books
These books were based on the TV series, but some parts of the story were a bit different. They included titles like "Farewell to the Wood," "The Adventure Begins," and "A New Home."
Adventures of Fox
Clips from The Animals of Farthing Wood episodes were featured in a video called "Greatest BBC Children's Video ever." It included parts of Fox's journey, like leaving the wood and meeting Vixen.
Other Cool Stuff
There was also a Farthing Wood CD and a magazine called "Farthing Wood Friends" in the mid-1990s. This magazine had 130 parts! Audio tapes were also released, where the story was told to young fox cubs by some of the show's voice actors.
There were also three special books that went along with each TV series:
- The Animals of Farthing Wood (for Series 1)
- The Further Adventures of The Animals of Farthing Wood (for Series 2)
- The Animals of Farthing Wood – Spirit of Survival (for Series 3)
These books followed the same stories but were presented in a comic-strip style.
Hornby, a company known for model trains, made collectible figures of the characters. These included Fox, Badger, Mole, and many others. They also released soft plush toys of Badger, Fox, and Mole.
Even though the show was very popular, it took a while for the DVDs to come out. The first official DVD release for all three series in English was in 2016.
Books vs. TV Show: What's Different?
There are several differences between the original books and the TV series.
Character Changes
- Some characters changed gender. For example, Adder, Weasel, Owl, and Kestrel were male in the books but female in the TV show.
- Owl was called Tawny Owl in the books.
- A family of lizards in the books became newts in the TV series.
- New characters like the Shrews, Hurkel, and Measley were added to the show.
- Plucky, who was Bold's grandson in the books, became his son in the show.
- Some female characters in the books became male in the show, like Sinuous, The Big Owl, and Hollow.
- The Fieldmice are called the Mice in the TV show.
- Holly is known as Hollow in the TV show.
Storyline Changes
- Minor plot changes happened, such as the order of the pheasants' deaths and the reasons behind certain characters' actions.
- Scarface had a different reason for attacking the Farthing Animals in the show.
- Bold leaves the Park in the TV show after an argument with his father, not to find a mate as in the books.
- In the TV show, Toad and Mossy survive, unlike in the books where they die. Toad even becomes friends with Spike, a rat who killed Mossy in the books.
- The cause of Sinuous' death was also changed.
- In the books, Brat the rat returned to the sewers, but in the show, he is killed. Bully the rat had his tail bitten off by Cleo in the show, instead of being killed by Vixen.
- At the end of the book that Season 3 was based on, Dash tells the animals that White Deer Park has merged with another reserve, giving them more space. In the TV show, Trey tells them this.
Visual Changes
- In the books, Scarface and his group were just rival red foxes. To make them easier to tell apart in the animation, Scarface and his family were made into "blue foxes" (also called "silver foxes").
- Some characters were unnamed in the books, like Speedy.
- Some characters appeared in only one episode of the show but were not in the books, such as The Red Squirrels, Stoat, and Scragg the Rat.
Missing Storylines
One major storyline left out of the TV series is from the book The Siege of White Deer Park. In this book, a large wild cat called 'The Beast' attacks the park, causing big problems for the animals. This part was likely removed from the TV show because it was too scary or intense for a children's series.
See also
In Spanish: Los animales del bosque para niños
