Clever Animals

VHS cover

Clever Animals is the third episode of the fourth season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry entering a television intelligence competition along with several other animals. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 27th April 1999.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Clever Animals.

Henry is trying to do a crossword, but cannot get the answer ‘cat’ even with a cat sat next to him. He decides to watch television instead, and catches the end of intelligence show ‘Brainy Island’. Henry at first says he would never go on this show, but when he learns that treasure is the prize, he changes his mind. He tries to find a pen to write in with, but grabs a carrot instead. Only now does Henry realise the ‘Brainy Island’ host is the narrator. Henry insists he is clever enough to get in, but also asks the narrator what cleverness is. The narrator says this is difficult to answer as some things that appear to be clever are actually instinctive, such as the nest-building of weaverbirds. Intelligence offers great survival opportunities, especially if it can be passed between individuals. Survival in the wild is tricky so it could be argued that any animal that survives is, in its own way, very clever.

#### First cartoon

* Rooster tries to watch television but cannot make it work – he tries several different aerials, including a large roof-mounted pylon, without any effect. Just before Rooster can smash it with a hammer, the ‘television’ pings one of the Chicks runs in. The Chick opens the front and reveals it to be a microwave cooking a plate of food. Rooster covers his face and sighs to himself.

Henry arrives at the shore near to Brainy Island alongside the four other contestants – Wally the dog, Shirley the chicken and Loki the raven. The first task is to copy a simple musical tune. The chicken tries and fails, while Henry gets it right. However, Henry gets so absorbed with playing the tune that he misses the boat over to the island. Examples of young animals learning from their parents are shown – boto dolphins train their young to find and catch fish by using a stick and the chimpanzee that teaches its young to fish for termites.

#### Second cartoon

* A Gibbon is working as a street performer and makes fun of other animals by mimicking them. First, he follows Gorilla, and then Rattlesnake. He then follows Elephant and, when the puzzled Elephant stops to look around, Gibbon runs about so he is always out of view. Elephant sits down to think before getting up to move away, leaving Gibbon squashed on the floor.

Henry arrives at Brainy Island, only to find that the chicken chickened out. The first main task is the Wall of Wonder, where the three contestants must get to the other side of the door. Henry tries to take charge and bounce over the wall on springs to open the door from the other side, and gets Wally to try and dig under the wall. Henry fails to jump the wall, and Loki finds the key under the doormat. Another intelligent bird is shown – the woodpecker finch uses a tool to get grubs from inside wood. The marsh mongoose doesn’t quite use a tool, but is still clever enough to smash clams on the ground to open them. Chimpanzees also use tools, using rocks to smash open nuts.

#### Third cartoon

* Squirrel is struggling to reach pinecones in a tree and gets tired. Squirrel then gets an idea, dressing up in an aerobics outfit and bringing out a radio before calling over a nearby Rhinoceros. Squirrel shows Rhinoceros a poster of a rhino with a muscular physique and encourages him to go aerobics. As Rhinoceros jumps on the spot, it makes the pinecones fall down. Squirrel gathers then in a basket.

Henry is reminded to do his News Report. This one is a version of the animal song charts, with the current number one band being ‘The Whales’. Henry shows the three members of the band and chronicles their history of how they came to be at the top of the charts. While the narrator says the report is wrong, for once it was not total nonsense. The singing of humpback whales is very complex, with no two whale songs quite the same. Back on Brainy Island, Henry, Wally and Loki arrive at the teeter-totter time trials. The aim is to balance the teeter-totter and get the arrows to line up. Henry tries to do it himself, but gets stuck. Wally is brought on to help, but he falls off and is eliminated. It is Loki that solves the puzzle. More successful teamwork is shown from a pair of otters that work together to catch cichlids.

#### Fourth cartoon

* Gibbon does a trapeze act and performs several tricks in his jump. Just as he prepares to grab his partner, he realises the second Gibbon is taking a break. The first Gibbon falls and lands head-first in the glass of water his partner was drinking. The second Gibbon angrily shouts at the first Gibbon, who has been knocked senseless by the fall.

Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal goes to the chimpanzee and the silver medal to the boto dolphin. But the Golden Gecko Award is given to Loki the raven, who uses his intelligence to escape from his aviary and steal food that his owner has left out for wild birds. Ravens in general are some of the most intelligent birds. Back on Brainy Island, Henry and Loki have reached the final challenge, the Wheel of Mystery. Henry tries first and fails, but tells Loki to fly up and send the treasure down. Another smart bird that uses its brain and powerful beak to get food is the New Zealand kea, shown raiding a garbage dump for food. Back on Brainy Island, Henry and Loki just have to crack the chest’s code to get the prize. Henry immediately solves the complex lock, as his mother has an identical lock on her cookie jar. Once the chest is opened, the prize is revealed to be donuts full of birdseed. Henry decides to try them anyway, because if Loki likes them so much, they must be brain food. The narrator then tells Loki to say goodnight to the viewers at home, which causes Henry to insist that he is the star of the show – he carries on until he is drowned out by the closing credits music.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Domestic cat, *Felis catus*
* Domestic dog, *Canis familiaris*
* Domestic chicken, *Gallus domesticus*
* Common raven, *Corvus corax*

### Stock footage

* Southern masked weaverbird, *Ploceus velatus*
* Eurasian blue tit, *Cyanistes caeruleus*
* Kea, *Nestor notabilis*
* Chimpanzee, *Pan troglodytes*
* Olive baboon, *Papio ursinus*
* Marsh mongoose, *Atilax paludinosus*
* Pink river dolphin, *Inia geoffrensis*
* Woodpecker finch, *Camarhynchus pallidus*
* Humpback whale, *Megaptera novaeangliae*
* Spotted-necked otter, *Hydrictis maculicollis*
* African cichlid, Cichlidae

## 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 holding a pencil in his mouth, and he is accompanied by a woodpecker finch, a chimpanzee using a tool and a bottlenose dolphin.

A second version of the VHS cover, from a UK season four VHS trailer, has different animals including a boobook owl, a warty chameleon and a red fox. Henry is replaced with a view of him cocking an eye at the camera, similar to the cover of Endangered Animals, albeit without his safari hat or camera.

**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