"The Animals of Farthing Wood" (1993) TV series 1993-1995

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

January 1993 (UK)

Genre:

Animation | Family

Plot:

A group of animals have to leave their home, the Farthing Wood which was destroyed by the people. They...

Plot Keywords:

Bullying | Rivalry | Kuwait | Death | Loss Of Friends

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 7 of 8)

Rupert Farley	...	Fox / ... (39 episodes, 1993-1995)
Stacy Jefferson	...	Adder / ... (39 episodes, 1993-1995)
Ron Moody	...	Toad / ... (39 episodes, 1993-1995)
Jeremy Barrett	...	Mr. Rabbit / ... (38 episodes, 1993-1995)
Sally Grace	...	Weasel / ... (38 episodes, 1993-1995)
Pamela Keevilkral	...	Mrs. Squirrel / ... (37 episodes, 1993-1995)
Jon Glover	...	Scarface (12 episodes, 1994)

Also Known As:

Als die Tiere den Wald verließen (Germany)
Les animaux du bois des Quat'Sous (France)

Runtime:

25 min (39 episodes)

Country:

UK | France | Germany

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:PG (two episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | UK:U

Company:

Telemagination

Trivia:

In the original book series the characters of Tawny Owl, Adder, Weasel and Kestrel were all male.

Quotes:

Adder: [Whistler has landed on top of her for the third time] You did that on purpose.
Whistler: I'm sorry, but I've brought food.
Adder: [sees all the meat he's brought] I forgive you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Have I Got News for You: (#33.5)" (2007)

Mostly excellent

I watched this on and off as a kid, then as an adult I re-read the whole series of Farthing Wood books and got hooked once again.

THE GOOD:

The series is very faithful to the books; a lot of the script has been taken directly from it. It covers all the story lines (lately released prequel notwithstanding) from the initial flight to White Deer Park to the problems posed by the likes of Scarface and Trey and the rats at the end. While some parts of it take two separate books and combine them into one storyline, this is done so well and so cleverly that it really doesn't matter. The animation is basic but sound, and consistent all the way through. The voice acting is reasonably good (Badger in particular is excellent) The characters act more or less as they do in the books, with two notable exceptions (see below for details)

THE BAD:

Most of the animals seem to have undergone a sex change. Adder, Tawny Owl, Weasel and Kestrel are all female in this adaptation, whereas in the books they were all male. Out of all four, Owl's voice is the best; the persona is completely identical to that of the book.

Character redesign: Weasel comes across as a silly clown with possibly the most irritating laugh I've ever heard

Character redesign: Adder comes across as an evil, sneaky villain, even going so far as to alter the words of the Oath (in the book, Badger insists Adder swear first, and Adder complies willingly and serves as a full member of the group). This really did disappoint me, as Adder was easily my favourite character from the books.

All in all, though, a fantastic series and well worth a watch!