Farm Animals (Amazing Animals)

VHS cover

Farm Animals is the tenth episode of the third season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry looking after his uncle’s farm and learning about both domestic and wild animals that live on farms. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 16th June 1998.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Farm Animals.

Henry is driving through the countryside to his uncle’s farm, which he has agreed to look after for a week. Along the way, he misidentifies farm animals such as cattle and sheep. The narrator says that Henry needs to know what he is doing if he is going to look after farm animals. When Henry arrives at the farm, he finds the chickens making a racket. He asks the narrator why, and is surprised to learn he has to feed and look after them. The narrator then introduces a montage of domestic animals that are kept on the farm for milk, eggs and meat – as well as caring for animals, farmers also need to tend to crops.

#### First cartoon

* The Lizards are out collecting eggs when they spot a huge egg and carry it off. They are then waylaid and scared off by Tyrannosaurus who then prepares to eat the egg himself before he is interrupted by a giant Rooster who takes the egg and strokes it.

Henry is pretending to keep an eye on the cows while he also sunbathes. He then tries to play a game of football with the cows, but they do not join in. The ball bounces off the legs of the bull, but Henry doesn’t notice the difference until he is right next to the angry bull. The narrator then shows how modern dairy cows are milked in milking parlours. In Mongolia, nomadic people milk their horses by hand and even make milk offerings to the spirit world.

#### Second cartoon

* Frog is at a bar serving drinks to the Gibbons. The banana milkshake is out so he goes out back to get some more; when one of the Gibbons looks through a window, they see Frog is milking a banana-eating cow. The sickened Gibbons flee when Frog returns with the drinks.

Henry now tries his hand at herding the sheep. He doesn’t have a sheepdog, so he uses Crab Tuesday instead. At first it all seems to be going well, but it is actually Henry and Tuesday who end up locked in the pen instead of the sheep. Footage is then shown of sheep being rounded up by a sheepdog so that they can be sheared for their wool. Henry impresses the narrator with his knowledge on the properties of wool. They also look at the farming of silkworms for the natural fibres which come from their cocoons.

#### Third cartoon

* The chicken family are relaxing. Hen knits three sweaters for the Chicks from Lamb, who is sitting nearby. When Lamb gets cold, she knits it a sweater from the feathers of Rooster, who was sleeping in his chair. Rooster wakes up and is embarrassed.

Henry is now reminded to do his News Report, which is about unusual farm animals. Henry reports a story about how giant chickens have been secretly bred in barns, framing it as a conspiracy to replace the other farm animals. The narrator says that the report is false – rather than giant chickens, some farms have taken to keeping ostriches for their feathers and low-fat meat. Just like ostriches, chickens were also once wild birds. Back on the farm, Henry has given up on farming animals and is focusing on vegetables instead. Suddenly, his carrots are pulled underground. Henry grabs one and is pulled underground with it. Henry finds a rabbit in a burrow and asks if it saw where the thief went. When the narrator tells Henry that the rabbit stole the carrots, he at first doesn’t believe it. The narrator tells Henry that sometimes an animal trying to survive can come into conflict with farmers, such as moles that uproot crops with their digging and the spectacled bear, which damages maize fields when it is hungry.

#### Fourth cartoon

* Gorilla is planting seeds when he realises Pigeons are stealing them. His attempts to shoo them off fail so he goes and gets a plant pot and comes back to water it. The Pigeons investigate but a giant Carnivorous Plant grows from the pot and scares them off. The plant then eats Gorilla’s straw hat.

Henry brings out an experimental scarecrow to keep pests away from his crops but it malfunctions and explodes, destroying the crops. The narrator says that some farm animals can act as guards, such as geese and llamas, the latter of which protect lambs from predators such as foxes. Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal goes to the silkworm and the silver is awarded to the spectacled bear. The Golden Gecko Award is given to the cows and their relatives including the yak and American bison, as they provide meat, milk and manure. Henry wakes up in a pile of hay in the farmyard, with the narrator telling him he has to get to work. Henry says he did all the work yesterday, but the narrator says that he will have to do it all over again. The grouchy Henry complains about the work, but the narrator points out that without farmers and farm animals there would be no milk, eggs, bacon, cereals or juice for his breakfast. Henry and Tuesday set out to work with a wheelbarrow.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Carrion crow, *Corvus corone*
* Domestic cattle, *Bos taurus*
* Domestic sheep, *Ovis aries*
* Domestic chicken, *Gallus domesticus*
* Domestic goat, *Capra hircus*
* European rabbit, *Oryctolagus cuniculus*

### Stock footage

* Domestic cattle, *Bos taurus*
* Domestic horse, *Equus ferus caballus*
* Domestic greylag goose, *Anser anser*
* Domestic turkey, *Meleagris gallopavo*
* Domestic sheep, *Ovis aries*
* Muscovy duck, *Cairina moschata*
* Domestic donkey, *Equus africanus asinus*
* Domestic dog, *Canis familiaris*
* Domestic silkmoth, *Bombyx mori*
* Leopard, *Panthera pardus*
* Honduran white bat, *Ectophylla alba*
* Common ostrich, *Struthio camelus*
* European mole, *Talpa europaea*
* Spectacled bear, *Tremarctos ornatus*
* Rufous-collared sparrow, *Zonotrichia capensis*
* Crimson-mantled woodpecker, *Colaptes rivolii*
* Domestic cat, *Felis catus*
* Llama, *Lama glama*
* Red fox, *Vulpes vulpes*
* Domestic yak, *Bos grunniens*
* American bison, *Bison bison*

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writers - Alastair Swinnerton and Louise Anstey
* Script Editor - Rob Harvey
* Music - Sarah Class
* Original Title Music - David Poore
* Graphic Designer Director - Kate Finding
* Graphic Design Assistant - Chris Wreford
* Researcher - Helen Exton
* Production Co-ordinator - Janelle Backes
* Production Secretary - Mandy Vaughan
* Camera - Graham MacFarlane and Michael Hutchinson
* Computer Animation - Ricochet 4, Henry Lutman (director), Daniel Pearson and Matt McKinney
* Cel Animation - A for Animation, Mark Taylor (director)
* Sound Editor - James Burchill
* Dubbing Mixer - Chris Domaille
* Editors
	+ Offline - David Warner
	+ Graphics - Tony Almond
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles
* Thanks to:
	+ The Museum of the Welsh Woollen Industry at Drefach Felindre
* Director - Anne Neale

## Home media releases

The VHS for Amazing Farm Animals was released in 1999. The cover shows Henry standing behind and looking over a fence, and he is accompanied by a sheep with a lamb, a llama and a calf.

The spine of the VHS has a photograph of a mallard duckling, while the back cover has a photograph of a border collie.

The blurb on the back cover of the VHS reads:

Which cow is hairy all over? What strange animal would you least expect to find guarding sheep?

**“NICE SAVE, COW!”**

Henry heads for countryside fun with some AMAZING FARM ANIMALS, but discovers that all of them, from sheepdogs to dairy cows, have serious jobs to do.

**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