Animal Disguises

VHS cover

Animal Disguises is the second episode of the first season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry playing with disguises in his toy-box and learning about how animals disguise themselves. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 23rd April 1996.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Animal Disguises.

Henry is looking through his toy-box and ignores the narrator when he is being spoken to. He puts on an accent and a fake moustache, but the narrator points out that there are many other animals who are true masters of disguise, including creatures with spots and stripes, animals that look like other animals or even bird droppings and fish that are see-through. Henry wants to find himself a really good disguise.

#### First cartoon

* Tiger tries to catch Parrot sitting on a rock; he misses and the ‘rock’ turns out to be Rhinoceros, who butts Tiger away.

Henry first looks at stripes as a disguise. While at first, they appear to be obvious they can help an animal to blend in. When in a herd, a zebra’s stripes help break up its outline while the bongo antelope’s stripes help it to stay hidden in the dappled light of the forest.

#### Second cartoon

* Chameleon turns himself into a pot of honey to tempt Fly closer, who he catches and eats.

Disguises help hide animals that would otherwise become an easy meal. Both octopuses and cuttlefish can change the colour and textures of their bodies to help blend in wherever they move on the seabed. Other marine animals are not such quick-change artists, like the pipefish that sway in the weed.

#### Third cartoon

* Vulture finds what looks like a worm but cannot pull it up; Parrot and Woodpecker help him and pull up Elephant by his tail, who was digging with Mole.

Henry tries out stripes himself, but ends up looking like a zebra. When the narrator remarks that Henry won’t win any awards for originality, Henry decides to give out his Golden Gecko Awards for all-time best animal disguise. The bronze medal goes to the potoo bird, the silver medal to the poo bug and the Golden Gecko is given to the chameleon. As well as changing colour to hide from prey and predators, they also do so to announce their moods. The insects that chameleons hunt can also be masters of disguise and use camouflage to hide in the branches.

#### Fourth cartoon

* Chameleon does quick-change on stage in front of the Lizards; when he tries to turn tartan, he shorts out.

Henry goes out on his boat and encounters some underwater disguised animals that use camouflage to attack. Many creatures of the sargasso seaweed must remain hidden from the sargasso anglerfish, while in a tropical river tetras are under attack from both leaffish and a matamata turtle. Henry doesn’t want to be disguised as something as ugly as the matamata turtle.

#### Fifth cartoon

* A group of Squirrels frighten a group of Lizards, who dress up as Gorilla to frighten them back. A giant Squirrel then appears and scares off the Lizards, but it turns out to be Gorilla in a costume.

Henry is reminded to give his special report, this time about the decorator crab. Henry says that the crab got its name from decorating its house with brightly-coloured paints and then got a job painting the houses of the other sea creatures. The narrator corrects Henry, showing that the decorator crab got its name because it will stick things such as sea anemones onto its own back. Another disguise animals use it to inflate themselves – the tegu lizard puffs up to scare the false water cobra, a toad does the same trick and the cobra spreads a hood on its neck to frighten away the lizard. Other animals, including butterflies, cichlids and the shingleback skink, all confuse predators by having similar heads and tails. When Henry realises acting is a disguise, he puts on a clown nose and sunglasses to try it out, but they fall off his face. The narrator tells Henry to stop acting the fool, and leave the real acting to the animal masters such as the hognose snake, which can pretend to be a rattlesnake or play dead when an indigo snake approaches.

#### Sixth cartoon

* Tiger uses a projector to camouflage himself and take the Squirrels by surprise, but he trips over the cord, gets wrapped up in the projector and is given a new pattern.

Henry looks at animals disguised for snowy conditions such as snowy owls and snowshoe hares, the latter of which change colour when the seasons change. Henry sums up the episode by saying he has learnt a lot about animal disguises, but when the narrator asks him if he has chosen a disguise, like stripes or spots, Henry breaks out in spots himself. Henry decides to leave the disguises to the amazing animals.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Panther chameleon, *Furcifer pardalis*
* Cranwell’s horned frog, *Ceratophrys cranwelli*
* Stick insect, *Phasmatodea*
* African fat-tailed gecko, *Hemitheconyx caudicinctus*
* Common cuttlefish, *Sepia officinalis*
* Greater pipefish, *Syngnathus acus*
* Veiled chameleon, *Chamaeleo calyptratus*
* Black field cricket, *Gryllus bimaculatus*
* Macleay’s spectre stick insect, *Extatosoma tiaratum*
* Shingleback skink, *Tiliqua rugosa*
* Snowy owl, *Bubo scandiacus*
* Arctic fox, *Vulpes lagopus*

**Note**: The common cuttlefish and greater pipefish were both originally filmed for the See How They Grow episode Sea Animals.

### Stock footage

* Green vine snake, *Oxybelis fulgidus*
* Gray tree frog, *Dryophytes versicolor*
* Black-footed cat, *Felis nigripes*
* Flap-necked chameleon, *Chamaeleo dilepis*
* Octopus, *Octopoda*
* Common cuttlefish, *Sepia officinalis*
* Swordtail butterfly, *Graphium sp*.
* Bird-dropping caterpillar, *Lepidoptera*
* Glass catfish, *Kryptopterus vitreolus*
* Red-eyed tree frog, *Agalychnis callidryas*
* Turbot, *Scophthalmus maximus*
* Plains zebra, *Equus quagga*
* Cheetah, *Acinonyx jubatus*
* Bongo, *Tragelaphus eurycerus*
* California moray eel, *Gymnothorax mordax*
* Common potoo, *Nyctibius griseus*
* Poo bug, *Hemiptera*
* Leaf katydid, *Tettigoniidae*
* Stick insect, *Phasmatodea*
* Praying mantis, *Mantodea*
* Macleay’s spectre stick insect, *Extatosoma tiaratum*
* Sargassum anglerfish, *Histrio histrio*
* Sargassum shrimp, *Latreutes fucorum*
* Sargassum crab, *Portunus sayi*
* Planehead filefish, *Stephanolepis hispidus*
* Cardinal tetra, *Paracheirodon axelrodi*
* South American leaffish, *Monocirrhus polyacanthus*
* Matamata turtle, *Chelus fimbriata*
* Solomon Island leaf frog, *Cornufer guentheri*
* Decorator crab, *Majoidea*
* Sea anemone, *Actiniaria*
* False water cobra, *Hydrodynastes gigas*
* Gold tegu, *Tupinambis teguixin*
* Cane toad, *Rhinella marina*
* Giant owl butterfly, *Caligo memnon*
* Burrowing owl, *Athene cunicularia*
* Oscar cichlid, *Astronotus ocellatus*
* Zebra hairstreak butterfly, *Panthiades bathildis*
* Eastern hognose snake, *Heterodon platirhinos*
* Indigo snake, *Drymarchon couperi*
* Snowshoe hare, *Lepus americanus*
* Grey wolf, *Canis lupus*

## Credits

* Writer - Nigel Crowle
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Music - David Poore
* Director - Anne Neale
* Graphic Designer - Kate Beldon
* Researcher - Liz Lewin
* Production Secretary - Cristina Hughes
* Production Team - Dominic Weston, Karen Steele and Susan Hubble
* Camera - Jonathan Noad and Mike Kamei
* Animation - Varga Studio Ltd
	+ Animation Director - Igor Lazin
	+ Animation Co-Ordinator - Krisztina Varga
* 3-D Animation - Ricochet 4 and Henry Lutman
* Titles Post-Production - Sue Land
* Sound Editor - James Pursey
* Dubbing Mixer - Graham Wild
* Editors
	+ Offline - Colette Hodges
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles
* Special thanks to:
	+ Doug Zwick
	+ Nancy Kemp
* Producer - Rob Harvey

## Home media releases

The VHS for Amazing Animal Disguises was released on 13th January 1997. The cover shows Henry with his clown nose and sunglasses, and is accompanied by a panther chameleon, plains zebra and a dead-leaf katydid.

The spine of the VHS has a photograph of a common octopus, while the back cover has a photograph of a carpet python.

The blurb on the back cover of the VHS reads:

**What animal can only see in black and white? How many colours can a chameleon turn?**

Henry finds things aren’t always as they appear, as zebras, cheetahs, and snakes demonstrate in AMAZING ANIMAL DISGUISES.

**Cartoon Characters**: \* Eagles • Tyrannosaurus • Rattlesnake • Tiger • Squirrel • Lizards • Elephant • Bat • Fish • Camel • Gorilla • Caveman • Mole • Bear • Stickman • Chicks • Hen • Rooster • Owl • Chameleon • Tortoise • Crocodile • Frog and Toad •
• Parrot • Porcupine • Mouse • Whale • Rhinoceros • Beavers • Snail • Rabbit • Dog • Skunk • Spider • Octopus • Vulture • Woodpecker • Flea • Dung Beetle • Butterfly • Gibbon • Fly • Mosquito • Bee • Beetles • Crab • Pigeon • Carnivorous Plant • Lamb

**Voice Actors**: Eric Meyers • Tom Clarke-Hill
**Season One**: Tropical Birds • **Animal Disguises** • Nighttime Animals • Animal Appetites • Animal Survivors • Animal Senses • Animal Weapons • Animal Builders • Armoured Animals • Mini-Beasts • Animal Babies • Poisonous Animals • Animal Journeys
**Season Two**: Birds of Prey • Desert Animals (Amazing Animals) • Scary Animals • Animal Records • Animal Colors • Animal Mothers • Animal Pets • Seashore Animals • Animal Families • Endangered Animals • An Animal Year • Prehistoric Animals • Monkeys and Apes
**Season Three**: Animal Hunters • Animal Talk • Slimy Animals • Rainforest Animals • Animal Acrobats • Underwater Animals • Animal Neighbors • Giant Animals - Creepy Crawly Animals • Farm Animals (Amazing Animals) • Animal Changes • Extinct Animals • Animal Eggs
**Season Four**: Around the World • Polar Animals • Clever Animals • Underground Animals • Animal Helpers • Woodland Animals (Amazing Animals) • Mountain Animals • Backyard Animals • Tiny Animals • Animal Partners • Scaly Animals • River Animals • Animal Flight