River Animals

VHS cover

River Animals is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry accidentally creating a river when he floods his bathroom and going on a journey downriver to save his rubber duck, while encountering various river animals on his journey. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 29th June 1999.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for River Animals.

Henry is in the bathroom and getting ready to take a bath. Before he does, he sends the narrator out of the room and climbs into the tub with his rubber duck. The warm water makes Henry sleepy, and he falls asleep with the tap running. The water starts to flood the bathroom, and the narrator decides to open the door. The whole of Henry’s house floods – the narrator says he has turned the place into a river, which Henry decides to call the Henryssippi. The narrator talks about how a river normally starts, and how the wildlife changes as the river travels from the fast-flowing uplands, the slower waters further downstream and finally when the river reaches the sea.

#### First cartoon

* The Beavers dam a river and make skis in order to water-ski along the surface of the water, with one of the Beavers using its tail like an outboard propeller.

Henry has converted his bathtub into a boat, but soon hits rapids and goes over a waterfall. His rubber duck falls out of the boat, and Henry takes his boat down after it to try and rescue it. Once Henry is safely past the rapids, the narrator introduces him to some of the animals that occur high up in the rivers, such as salmon that are migrating upstream to spawn, grizzly bears that are hunting the salmon and dippers.

#### Second cartoon

* Bear is having a shower in a waterfall when the river runs dry. He finds the Beavers have dammed it, pulls out the dam and the lake drains away, leaving just a bed of mud in which the Beavers get stuck.

Henry is now reminded to do his News Report, which is supposed to be about fishing mice. Henry instead does his report on how fishing is the favourite hobby of cats, with the mouse-fish their preferred catch. The mouse-fish are not entirely defenceless however, as they employ the protection of dogfish against cats. The narrator says that Henry’s report did have a grain of truth, as the Andes Mountains is home to a species of fishing mouse. Back on the Henryssippi, Henry is trying to bail out his bath of water. He tries to empty it by pulling out the plug, but simply sinks the bath. Henry swims back to the surface and emerges among a herd of hippos. The narrator and Henry run through the different ways that hippos protect their skin from both the hot sun and parasites.

#### Third cartoon

* Bear sets up a hammock and tries to sleep in it. The Beavers cut down the two trees the hammock is tied to and this pulls the hammock taut, firing Bear into the sky. When he drops down again, he lands in the river.

Henry has converted his bathtub into a submarine and assumed the role as captain. The narrator helps read the radar for Henry and sees that there are shoals of fish up ahead. Henry is annoyed that the fish are crossing the river without looking, but the narrator says they are probably more concerned about the variety of fish predators that can be found in rivers, including kingfishers and crocodiles.

#### Fourth cartoon

* Bear is fishing when the Beavers dam the river again. This exposes Fish, who is chased by Bear. Fish tries to squeeze through the Beaver’s dam but Bear catches him and pulls him out. Doing so tears out the dam and causes the river to rush through, washing away Bear and freeing Fish.

Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal goes to the hippopotamus and the silver medal to the salmon. But the Golden Gecko Award is given to the giant otter, which are sociable animals that can catch and eat fearsome piranhas. Back on the Henryssippi, the submarine runs aground. On opening the porthole at the top, it is found that beavers have dammed the river. The narrator says that rivers often run dry, although the sun is usually responsible. Catfish are shown trapped in shrinking pools, while falling water levels expose clams that are eaten by storks and baboons. The river is then shown flooding again, with Henry’s chameleon uncle Claude narrowly escaping the water. Finally, Henry reaches the end of his river but is sad because he thinks his rubber duck has been lost forever. Suddenly, he hears it squeaking from behind a sand dune and reunites with it, before he carries it home on his back and talks to it about the adventures they have both been on.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Cardinal tetra, *Paracheirodon axelrodi*
* Discus fish, *Symphysodon sp*.
* Kissing gourami, *Helostoma temminckii*
* Tiger barb, *Puntius tetrazona*
* American beaver, *Castor canadensis*

### Stock footage

* Torrent duck, *Merganetta armata*
* Sucker-mouthed tadpole, Anura
* Atlantic salmon, *Salmo salar*
* African skimmer, *Rynchops flavirostris*
* Cardinal tetra, *Paracheirodon axelrodi*
* Nile crocodile, *Crocodylus niloticus*
* Neotropic cormorant, *Phalacrocorax brasilianus*
* Sockeye salmon, *Oncorhynchus nerka*
* Brown bear, *Ursus arctos*
* American dipper, *Cinclus mexicanus*
* Lesser flamingo, *Phoeniconaias minor*
* Great curassow, *Crax rubra*
* Domestic cat, *Felis catus*
* Chibchan water mouse, *Chibchanomys trichotis*
* Rainbow trout, *Oncorhynchus mykiss*
* Hippopotamus, *Hippopotamus amphibius*
* African jacana, *Actophilornis africanus*
* Amazon kingfisher, *Chloroceryle amazona*
* Yellow-billed stork, *Mycteria ibis*
* Marabou stork, *Leptoptilos crumenifer*
* Giant otter, *Pteronura brasiliensis*
* Red-bellied piranha, *Pygocentrus nattereri*
* Walking catfish, *Clarias gariepinus*
* African openbill stork, *Anastomus lamelligerus*
* Olive baboon, *Papio anubis*
* Flap-necked chameleon, *Chamaeleo dilepis*

## Stock footage sources

Survival Anglia: The Tides of Kirawira (1992) – Chameleon in floodwater

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writer - Paul Dawson
* Script Editor - Rob Harvey
* Music - David Poore
* Studio Art Director - Anne Neale
* Camera - Graham MacFarlane
* Graphic Designer Director - Kate Finding
* Graphic Design Assistant - Chris Wreford
* Production Co-ordinator - Janelle Backes
* Production Secretary - Mandy Vaughan
* Computer Animation - Ricochet 4, Henry Lutman (director), Daniel Pearson and Matt McKinney
* Cel Animation - A for Animation, Mark Taylor (director)
* Sound Post-Production - Films @ 59
* Editors
	+ Offline - David Warner
	+ Graphics - Tony Almond
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles

## Home media releases

The VHS for Amazing Clever Animals was released on Xst X 199X. The cover shows Henry with his mouth open and wearing his submarine captain's hat, and he is accompanied by a common kingfisher, a grizzly bear holding a salmon and a river otter.

A second version of the VHS cover, from a UK season four VHS trailer, has the same animals but Henry is replaced with the close-up view similar to the cover of Desert Animals.

**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