The Animals of Farthing Wood (TV series)


The Animals of Farthing Wood is a British-French animated series commissioned by the European Broadcasting Union between 1992 and 1995, and is based on the series of books written by English author Colin Dann. It was produced by Martin Gates Productions in association with Telemagination, based in London, and La Fabrique, based in Montpellier in France, but also aired in other European countries. The first countries to air the series were Norway, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom, in January 1993.
On 3 October 2016, Network Distributing released all three series of The Animals of Farthing Wood onto a DVD Box Set. This is the first time all episodes have been released in English as an official and complete set.

Synopsis

The television series followed the basic plots of the series of books, although certain elements were changed.
The first season followed the animals of Farthing Wood, who were forced to flee their homes after humans started destroying the wood to build suburban tract houses. Led by Fox, and guided by Toad, the animals left Farthing Wood on a journey to White Deer Park, a nature reserve where they would be protected. The second and third season followed the relationships between the Farthing Wood animals, the White Deer Park animals and outsiders, particularly a blue fox named Scarface, his mate Lady Blue and son Ranger.
The episodes were made in both the UK and France. Because of this, in Series 1 the motorways carriageways have traffic driving on the right hand carriageway of the motorway. However, they are briefly seen in Series 3 driving on the left hand side. Other than this, the location is generally kept ambiguous apart from a brief moment in Series 2 when a gravestone is visible with French writing on it.
When the series aired in the US, 2 versions were shown, the UK version, and a new version released on home video with some of the voices changed, for example, the role of Fox was replaced by Ralph Macchio, there were added songs as well.

Episodes

Series overview

Characters

Cast

Fox, the leader of the Animals of Farthing Wood, was voiced by Rupert Farley in the UK and Ireland version but in the US version he was played by Ralph Macchio.
In France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden the cast included the following:
CharacterGermanItalianFrenchSwedishNorwegianBrazilian PortugueseJapanese
FoxStephan SchwartzMichele GamminoBernard TiphaineTotte WallinHallvard LydvoÉlcio SodréYoshitada Otsuka
VixenUschi WolffPinella DraganiMonica ForsbergHildegun RiiseVanessa AlvesTomiko Suzuki
BadgerFranz-Josef SteffensBruno AlessandroMarc de GeorgiSvante ThuressonHarald MæleEudes CarvalhoKoichi Kitamura
MoleUlli PhilippFabrizio VidaleSerge LhorcaMichael B TretowÅsleik EngmarkNeuza AzevedoTahara Aruno
OwlTilly LauensteinAlina MoradeiMaaïké JansenLiv Bernhoft OsaMaximira FigueiredoChikako Akimoto
WeaselMarion MartinzenLaurence BadieMeta RoosHildegun RiiseMarcelo CamposShinobu Adachi
WhistlerDonald ArthurFabrizio ManfrediTorgny SöderbergS 1&2: Harald Mæle S3: Hallvard Lydvo-
ToadManfred LehmannRaoul DelfosseBo ManietteTrond BrænneFrancisco BretasTakeshi Watanabe
AdderKarin KernkeÉvelyne GrandjeanChristel KörnerUnn Vibeke HolNeuza AzevedoYoshida Riko
KestrelAndrea WildnerRossella Acerbo/Federica De BortoliMireille AudibertBirgitta FernströmUnn Vibeke HolMisa Watanabe
Mr. HareHorst SachtlebenUlf Peder JohanssonHallvard Lydvo-
Mr. VoleWalter von HauffTrond Brænne-
Mr. ShrewWalter von HauffMyrra Malmberg-
Mr. FieldmouseWalter von HauffHasse Andersson-
Mrs. FieldmouseIsa Di MarzioBirgitta Fernström-
Mr. HedgehogMartin SemmelroggeVittorio StagniHarald Mæle-
Mr. RabbitMichael HabeckHasse AnderssonÅsleik Engmark-
Baby RabbitSabine BohlmannMaria Fransson-
Mr. PheasantThomas ReinerAnders ÖjeboÅsleik Engmark-
Mrs. PheasantAndrea WildnerMonica ForsbergUnn Vibeke Hol-
Mr. SquirrelWalter von HauffKerstin Andeby-
Mrs. SquirrelPamela Keevil KralMyrra Malmberg-
Mr. NewtOliver Stritzel-
Mrs. NewtKarin Kernke-
Baby NewtSabine Bohlmann-
ScarfaceBenno HoffmannBertil EnghÅsleik EngmarkFábio Tomazine-
Lady BlueElisabeth EndrissMonica ForsbergLiv Bernhoft OsaZaíra Zordan-
RangerOliver StritzelBertil EnghS2: Harald Mæle S3: Ivar Nørve-
BounderOliver Stritzel-
BullyOtto SanderIvar Nørve-
BratWalter von Hauff-
Great White StagRoland HemmoUlf Peder JohanssonTrond Brænne-
BoldUdo WachtveitlAnders ÖjeboÅsleik EngmarkYūko Minaguchi
CharmerAnja JaenickeStella MusyMia KihlChisa Yokoyama
FriendlyAxel MalzacherTrond Brænne-
DreamerSimone Weyrich-
PluckyPierre Peters ArnoldsUlf KällvikHenrik Mestad-
SpeedyKathrin AckermannGeorgia LeporeLiza ÖhmanUnn Vibeke Hol-
WhisperKarin KernkeS2: Hildegun Riise S3: Unn Vibeke Hol-
MeaslyPierre FranckhBertil EnghTrond Brænne-
SinuousFranz RudnickHallvard Lydvo-
DashMadeleine Stolze-
MossyUlli PhilippMichael B TretowHenrik Mestad-
TreyJan Gebauer-
LairdPeter Fricke-
SpikeMartin SemmelroggeHenrik Mestad-
FidoAlexander BremHenrik Mestad-
CleoSabine Bohlmann-
Warden's CatArne ElsholtzChristel KörnerTrond Brænne-
RolloMichael GahrPeter WannbergTrond Brænne-
DonkeyWichart von RoellHallvard Lydvo-
BoarStefan Orlac-
CrowTommi PiperHarald Mæle-
ShadowAngelika BenderLiv Bernhoft Osa-
HurkelHelmut RugeIvar Nørve-
BrunoBenno Hoffmann-
Large ratHelmut Krauss-
Chief wild catIngeborg Lapsien-
Tom, the catArne Elsholtz-
BatsKathrin Ackermann-
Other crowTommi PiperIvar Nørve-
Young crowsTommi Piper-
ShrikeBenno Hoffmann-
PigletAndrea L'Arronge-

UK VHS/DVD Releases

Buzz Books

These are based upon the characters in the television series. Some parts had happened differently.
Appears last on the Greatest BBC Children's Video ever along with Fireman Sam, Pingu, Spider, William's Wish Wellingtons, Clangers, Nursery Rhyme Time, Noddy's Toyland Adventures, Funnybones, Hairy Jeremy and The Little Polar Bear. It has clips from the following episodes:
Apart from books and videos, there was also a Farthing Wood CD and in the mid-1990s, a 130-part magazine for children entitled "Farthing Wood Friends" was also developed. Audio tapes recapping the first two seasons were released, with the story being told to young fox cubs by several of the cast who would also debate the events and mimic some of the other characters.
There are also three TV tie-in books available, one to accompany each of the TV series:
These follow the same storylines, but are presented in a comic-strip style.
Watered-down versions of episode storylines were also featured as a running story in 'Farthing Wood Friends', illustrated using photographic stills from the series. Between magazine coverages of second and third series episodes, abridgements of Colin Dann's original stories were used to fill the void, entitled 'Tales From Farthing Wood'. Another book adaptation of the running story employed for series one was released by Ted Smart Publishing, with illustrations by Stuart Trotter.
Episode stories were also abridged for Buzz Books, Reed Children's Books' range of storybooks based on popular children's characters. The Farthing Wood stories in this range started with five books to begin with, then steadily expanded to cover the remainder of series one and series two. Illustrations were produced by William Heinemann in favour of using stills from the series.
Hornby, known mainly for its model railways, produced collectable figurines of the series ensemble, released in batches or 'presentation packs'. They were as follows:
1st Series: Fox, Badger, Mole, Weasel, Toad & Owl
2nd Series: White Stag, Scarface, Kestrel, Adder, Whistler & Rabbit
3rd Series: Bully, Vixen, Plucky, Fido, Cleo, Rollo, Measly, Speedy, Hollow, Hurkel, Dash & Sinuous
The characters were also released in twin packs and later in the run, Hornby produced compatible play-scenes. Early in the run, almost simultaneous with the first series being shown in the UK, they released plush toys of Badger, Fox and Mole. Although these were rare finds in toyshops, they were the subject of a running promotion in 'Farthing Wood Friends', enabling readers to win them.
Despite the show being very popular, the series did not see any form of DVD release until 2009, with the episodes on VHS hard to find up to then. However, there had been an increase in unofficial DVDs available on eBay.
Series 1 came out in France in February 2009.
Series 1 was released in Germany on 25 September 2009, Series 2 was released in Germany on 27 May 2011, and Series 3 was released in Germany on 24 February 2012. The German DVD releases offer both English and German audio options.
On 3 October 2016, Network released all three series of The Animals of Farthing Wood onto a DVD Box Set. This is the first time all episodes have been released in English as an official & complete set. Brownee Bear Productions also own the license for this shows. The license was done thru agreements of the creators.

Differences between the books and the series

There are a number of differences between the books and the television series, most notably the changing of a number of characters from male to female. This included Adder, Weasel, Owl and Kestrel, who retained the markings of a male kestrel. Owl had also been known as Tawny Owl in the books. In addition to this, the books featured a family of lizards who became the newts of the television series. New characters like the Shrews, Hurkel and Measley were introduced. Plucky is also changed from being Bold's grandson to his son. There are females that are males now. They are Sinuous, The Big Owl and Hollow. The Fieldmice are now known as the Mice. Holly is now known as Hollow.
Minor plot changes also exist, such as the order of the pheasant's deaths, the deaths of Badger and Moley, and the motives of certain characters. Scarface has a different reason for attacking the Farthing Animals and Bold leaves the Park after an argument with his father, rather than to find a mate as he does in the books. In contrast to Badger's death, Toad and Mossy survive the television series, the former befriending Spike, the rat who killed Mossy and was killed himself by Adder in the books. The cause of Sinuous' death was also changed. Of the rats, Brat originally returned to the sewers instead of being killed by Sinuous, while Bully had his tail bitten off by Cleo rather than being killed by Vixen. Also in the end of the book Season 3 was based on, Battle for the Park, Dash is the one who tells the others that White Deer Park has merged with another reserve giving more space for the animals to live, in Season 3, it's instead Trey who tells them this.
Scarface and his tribe were rival red foxes in the books. His mate was not also named in the books and her personality is not so developed. Too many red foxes would have been confusing for viewers, so the animators made Scarface and his family distinguishable by making them "blue foxes". Speedy was also unnamed. There are also one-episode characters that didn't appear in the books such as The Red Squirrels, Stoat and Scragg the Rat who is killed in his one-time appearance.
The only main plotline that is left out of the series is the plot of The Siege of White Deer Park, in which the character known as 'The Beast' attacks the park, causing further trouble for the animals' survival. The storyline of this book is presumably removed because of too much horror and peril themes and the sub-plots that occur in the book are broken down into small plot changes in the other book storylines for the series.

Credits