The Animals of Farthing Wood
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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 |
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)
- Fox Cub Bold (1983)
- The Siege of White Deer Park (1985)
- In the Path of 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 0903445530 and The Way to White Deer Park ISBN 0903445557. 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'.
{{infobox television
| show_name = The Animals of Farthing Wood | image =
| caption =
| format = Childrens | runtime = 0:30 (per episode)
| creator = European Broadcasting Union
| starring = Jeremy Barrett
Rupert Farley
Jon Glover
Sally Grace
Stacy Jefferson
Pamela Keevilkral
and Ron Moody
| country = United Kingdom | network = BBC | first_aired = 1992 |last_aired = 1995 | num_episodes = 39 (3 seasons with 13 episodes each)
}}
Television Series
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, 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.
Cast of TV series
Jeremy Barrett: Various roles
Rupert Farley: Fox, Plucky, Trey, Bold, various other roles
Jon Glover: Scarface, various other roles
Sally Grace: Owl, Weasel, Dreamer
Stacy Jefferson: Various roles
Pamela Keevilkral: Various roles
Ron Moody: Badger, Toad
Maria Warburg: Whisper (Season 2 audio tape only)
Apart from books and videos, there is also a Farthing Wood CD and in the mid-1990's an 130-part part work magazine for kids titled "Farthing Wood Friends" was also developed. 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.
Episodes
Series 1 (First aired January 1993)
- The Wood In Danger
- The Journey Begins
- Through Fire And Through Water
- False Haven
- Snare For The Unwary
- Who Shall Wear The Crown?
- New Friends, Old Enemies
- Friends In Need
- Whistler's Quarry
- Between Two Evils
- A Deathly Calm
- Pandemonium
- So Near And Yet So Far
Series 2 (First aired January 1994)
- A Heroes' Welcome
- Winter
- Survival
- New Enemies
- A Joke Backfires
- Home Is Where The Heart Is
- The Feud Begins
- Like Father, Like Son
- Narrow Escapes
- Shadows
- A Time Of Reckoning
- Blood Is Thicker Than Water
- Reconciliation
Series 3 (First aired September 1995)
- Comings And Goings
- Out And About
- Water, Water
- The Missing Fox's Friend
- Tiffs And Tempers
- Adventure For The Birds
- The Long-Tailed Visitor
- Scared Silly By Snakes
- A Bigger Oink
- The Mole Game
- The Worst Kind Of Hurricane
- Homeward Bound
- Bully, Bully, Bully
List of characters
Characters who appear in the TV series
- Fox - the leader of the animals of Farthing Wood
- Vixen - Fox's mate who he met on the journey to White Deer Park
- Bold - one of Fox & Vixen's cubs, born in White Deer Park
- Whisper - Bold's mate, whom he meets outside the park.
- Plucky - Bold and Whisper's son, born after his father's death.
- Friendly - one of Fox & Vixen's cubs, born in White Deer Park
- Charmer - one of Fox and Vixen's cubs, born in White Deer Park. In the second series, Charmer defies her parents to become Ranger's mate.
- Ranger - one of Scarface and Lady Blue's cubs, later Charmer's mate.
- Dreamer - one of Fox & Vixen's cubs, born in White Deer Park. Dreamer was killed by Adder as a cub. This act was blamed on Scarface already eager to war with Fox, this started the Fox's Feud.
- Badger - second-in-command on the journey, wise and gentle, but old. In the TV series, Badger dies of old age at the Park, whereas in the novels he survives to the end of the last book.
- Owl - a pompous tawny owl who often scouted for the group.
- Hollow - an owl that Owl met in White Deer Park.
- Kestrel - a kindly kestrel who tended to scout for the group as they travelled.
- Whistler - a heron the group picked up in a quarry on the way to White Deer Park. He was shot in the wing, so it makes a whistling sound when he flies.
- Speedy - Whistler's mate, who he met in White Deer Park
- Mr. Pheasant - killed by a farmer early on in the journey
- Mrs. Pheasant - killed by a farmer early on in the journey
- Toad - he discovered White Deer Park and acted as guide on the journey
- Paddock - Toad's mate, who he met in White Deer Park
- Mole - a worm-greedy mole who often got lost along the journey. Best friend of the Badger.
- Mateless - Mole's mate, who he met in White Deer Park
- Mossy - Mole's son, although Mole did not live to see him grow up
- Weasel - an annoying weasel who travelled with the group
- Measley - a lovesick weasel who fell in love with Weasel as soon as she arrived at White Deer Park; eventually mated with her (did not appear in books).
- Cleo - Weasel and Measly's daughter (did not appear in books)
- Fido - Weasel and Measly's son (did not appear in books)
- Adder - a viciously sarcastic and sharp-witted snake who travelled with the group, risking her life to save her travelling friends on more than one occasion
- Sinuous - a male adder that Adder met in White Deer Park. Killed by the rats
- Mr. Rabbit - a hypochondriac who travelled with the group and always claimed to be ill
- Mrs. Rabbit - Mr Rabbit's long suffering wife
- Mr. Hare - A brave hare, who saved all the mice on the journey
- Mrs. Hare - Mr Hare's wife. Killed by Scarface
- Dash
- Mr. Vole - A sturdy mouse, thought he was the leader
- Mrs. Vole - Mr Vole's mother
- Mr. Fieldmouse - An complaining mouse
- Mrs. Fieldmouse - Mr Fieldmouse's wife
- Mr. Hedgehog - Died early on the trip
- Mrs. Hedgehog - Mr Hedgehog's wife. Died early on the trip
- Mr Newt - Died in a fire during episode 3
- Mrs Newt - Mr Newt's mate, died in the same fire
- Baby Newt - Offspring of Mr and Mrs Newt, died in the same fire as his parents
- Scarface - An evil fox, with a scar on his eye
- Lady Blue - Scarface's mate
- Bounder - Scarface and Lady Blue's cub
- Hurkel - a badger who lives in White Deer Park and befriends Mossy and tries to be kind to everyone.
- Shadow - Looked after Bold and becomes Hurkel's mate when she comes to White Deer Park
- Crow - a crow who looked after and befriended Bold.
- Trey - Bad-tempered stag who took over when the Great White Stag died, but is replaced by said stag's grandson.
- Laird - The Great White Stag's grandson, who becomes leader of the herd.
- Bully - Leader of the Rats.
- Spike - Bully's minion, who befriends Toad and joins the Farthing Wood animals.
- Brat - Bully's minion.
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.
- Leveret: Offspring of the original Farthing Wood hares.
- Russet: Ranger's cousin, and later Friendly's mate.
- Rusty: Rusty's parentage is never specified, but as he is described as "Friendly's nephew", so presumably he is one of Ranger and Charmer's cubs. Killed by the rats.
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.
- The leader of the Animals of Farthing Wood Fox 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.