alleywayambush
I remember seeing the 1st episdoe of this back in early 1993, and sure it had everything you could want from a kids' cartoon; charming animals, drama, moral naturalistic persuasion and heroic triumphs. I think the creators were trying to get kids interested in animals and the environment; back in the day they did a highly informative magazine series based on the show. The 1st series was by all means quite easy, charming and delightful, but the subsequent series were rather sinister; the grim reality of the food chain was enbraced, and there was that unforgivable scene where a baby rabbit is shot dead by a farmer, leaving the parent rabbits in tears (they'd NEVER get away with that on kids' TV now !)I can appreciate this show for its honest and relatively neutral, unbiased portrayal of the ecological system. Unlike Bambi, cute as it is, the food chain and human intervention with nature are portrayed in a neutral way that doesn't specifically make heroes or villains of any particular party. For example, the snake is clearly portrayed as a dominant predator, with a personality of both slyness and integrity. I think this show captures a good balance between the traditional childhood portrayal of animals as cute, whimsical and innocent, and a more realistic portrayal af them as predators, prey, savages and aggressors.I'll give this show 7/10 since it wasn't a favourite a such - that vote goes to Maid Marian & Her Merry Men ! - but still a versatile show capturing nature's beauty, charm, drama, dilemmas, realities and potential demise.
Jude Austin
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 heardCharacter 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!
Zeuss101
The Animals of Farthing Wood is an animated children's series following the journey of a group of animals as they leave their original habitat due to it being destroyed by man, and travel to the safety of a nature reserve. Three series' of the show were produced, the first showing the journey, and the latter two focusing on the animals lives after arriving in White Deer Park.Rather than using comedy and humour to attract the attention of it's audience, AoFW uses its strong storyline and characters, the two things for which the show is best remembered and still far above any children's show even today.During the series multiple main characters are killed off, often in violent ways, and because they were so well written and voiced, the deaths were even more emotional. Anyone I talk to about this show today remembers the moment the Hedgehogs were run over even if they can't recall anything else, and remember it as something which when they watched as a small child made them cry a lot.I applaud the storyline for being as realistic as possible and not hiding the grim realities of nature, like so many other kids shows. Animals of Farthing Wood taught children about the difficulties faced by animals in their struggle to survive, such as the numerous threats posed by man and nature, two things which claimed many lives across the series. Even the basic premise of the show was a result of mankind destroying the animals home.This is probably why this show is so well remembered and popular today, because it told it like it is and had a brilliant narrative, actually teaching children something important about animal cruelty and nature. I can only guess at the number of children who watched this or read the book and were deeply affected by it, but I know I was one of them.I liked the first series the most. The great journey to White Deer Park was the most varied and entertaining, and the part of the show which most people remember. Series 2 was also good, but it tried to include too many characters, and so some of the originals such as Mole ended up getting neglected. Series 3, with it's different animation style, weaker story, and only a handful of original cast was the worst of the 3, however was still watchable, and ended well.I hope some day this is released on DVD and constantly re-run on TV, as children today should have the privilege of seeing this pure classic, and experiencing the happiness and sorrow that came with it, as I and so many others did. No other children's show has this much emotional and cognitive impact.
jamie_leigh_abery
"The Animals Of Farthing Wood" is a real classic and wont be forgotten. It's animation is unique and people of all ages can relate to the characters. The program was watched by thousands of youngsters all over the country and everyone of my generation will remember it forever.