Animal Talk

VHS cover

Animal Talk is the second episode of the third season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry going on a vacation and having trouble communicating with the animals he meets, as well as learning about animal communication. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 21st April 1998.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Animal Talk.

Henry arrives at his destination for a vacation but, on finding the narrator is there, says he doesn’t have to talk to the narrator. He instead goes to a taxi and tries to get the dog running it to take him to the Hotel Malamar. The dog doesn’t understand him and, when Henry tries to communicate by barking, he offends the dog and it runs away. The narrator tells Henry that to talk to the animals, he has to communicate like them too. Animal communication can involve sounds, postures and showing off, and serve to mark a territory, attract a mate or deter predators. While Henry says he can never learn all these languages, the narrator just reminds him that actions can speak louder than words.

#### First cartoon

* Rooster is relaxing on a rubber ring at sea, when Mouse shouts a warning to him. Rooster does not understand and simply waves back, before a huge wave crashes into Rooster and washes him onto the beach.

Henry arrives at the Hotel Malamar and asks the frog at the front desk if his mother has sent a message. A crab (similar to Crab Tuesday) comes out with a telephone, and dances to tell Henry there is a message. Henry is unable to understand the message. The narrator shows Henry other animals that leave messages, including Thomson’s gazelles that leave scent from a gland by their eyes and bushbabies that lay down smelly handprints on the trees they live in.

#### Second cartoon

* Tiger Cub is sleeping under a tree and, on waking up, scratches the tree bark. When Tiger comes along and sees the scratches, he thinks a bigger tiger has taken the cub away and leaves a higher scratch. The cub comes back, sees the higher scratch and runs away. As Tiger settles down to sleep, a very tall tiger appears from behind a bush and scares him away – it is Tiger Cub on a pair of stilts.

The narrator now reminds Henry of his news report. His report is about how a queen bee is going on a diet before she goes to the annual Insect Disco Talking Championships. He claims that bees talk by dancing and gets an exclusive interview with a bee, voiced by an actor, to discuss the queen’s chances of winning. When Henry asks the narrator how his report was, the narrator responds by saying that fact is much stranger than Henry’s fiction. They perform a waggling dance to direct other bees towards flowers, and find their way by using the sun as a compass. Back on his vacation, Henry asks a turkey for directions to the museum. The narrator interprets the turkey, saying it asked Henry to follow it, but the narrator warns that a ‘follow-me’ signal may be an animal looking for a mate. The narrator shows Henry some other animals that use communication to attract a mate. The Australian bowerbird builds a structure to attract a partner, while the ruffed grouse drums on a log.

#### Third cartoon

* Rooster invents a love potion and intends to make a fortune from it. However, when Gorilla tries it in the hopes of attracting other gorillas, it only attracts Hens.

Henry is continuing to drive, and notices lots of friendly turkeys gathering around his car. When Henry says the only words he knows in turkey are ‘hello’ and ‘follow me’, the narrator realises why so many turkeys are hanging around. Henry tries to tell the turkeys to go away, but does not know the words and so tries to escape from them in his car. The narrator points out that in animal communication, telling others to go away is important. A sunbittern is shown using eye-spots on its wings to frighten away a caiman from its fishing grounds, while zebras communicate anger by lowering their ears. Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal goes to the bushbaby and the silver medal to the zebra. The Golden Gecko Award is given to the ring-tailed lemur, which communicates calling out, leaving scent from glands on the wrists, waving their tails like flags and coating their tails with scent for stink fights.

#### Fourth cartoon

* Tiger tries to lay claim to a cave but Gorilla is already living there and throws him out. Tiger tries again and Gorilla draws a picture of a stick-man on the wall to show the cave belongs to him. Suddenly Stickman runs into the cave, and claims it for himself. Stickman is then shown sitting on the sofa, stroking Tiger like a housecat.

Henry has decided to invite some of the animals he has met, including the dog, frog and one of the turkeys, back to the hotel pool, but hasn’t learned any of their languages. Instead, the turkey eats his lunch and the dog steals Henry’s towel, despite him trying to fight back. The narrator tells Henry that it is sometimes important to stand up for yourself, with Henry saying he tried to put up a good fight. The narrator points out that it isn’t about fighting, but rather showing off to a rival. The gelada makes itself appear big and strong to warn rivals not to try and steal his group of females, while a mother hippo yawns to deter anything from attacking her baby. Back at the holiday resort, Henry is managing to talk to the animals and has learned they are all total party animals. When the narrator asks how he managed it, Henry shows the macaw he hired as a translator. When the narrator says that is cheating and that Henry won’t learn anything that way, Henry responds by saying he learned how to talk a parrot into working for peanuts. The narrator concedes, saying Henry is one of the most amazing animal talkers around.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Domestic dog, *Canis familiaris*
* Cranwell’s horned frog, *Ceratophrys cranwelli*
* Rock dove, *Columba livia*
* Red-necked wallaby, *Notamacropus rufogriseus*
* Domestic turkey, *Meleagris gallopavo*
* Green-winged macaw, *Ara chloropterus*

### Stock footage

* African golden wolf, *Canis lupaster*
* Magellanic penguin, *Spheniscus magellanicus*
* Crested barbet, *Trachyphonus vaillantii*
* Ring-tailed lemur, *Lemur catta*
* Eastern spotted skunk, *Spilogale putorius*
* Western diamondback rattlesnake, *Crotalus atrox*
* Crowned lapwing, *Vanellus coronatus*
* Hippopotamus, *Hippopotamus amphibius*
* Leopard, *Panthera pardus*
* Agama lizard, Agamidae
* Three-spined stickleback, *Gasterosteus aculeatus*
* Ruffed grouse, *Bonasa umbellus*
* Jumping spider, Salticidae
* Gelada, *Theropithecus gelada*
* Plains zebra, *Equus quagga*
* Thomson’s gazelle, *Eudorcas thomsonii*
* Southern lesser bushbaby, *Galago moholi*
* Sulawesi tarsier, *Tarsius tarsier*
* Red-footed tortoise, *Chelonoidis carbonarius*
* Western honeybee, *Apis mellifera*
* Satin bowerbird, *Ptilonorhynchus violaceus*
* Mountain beaver, *Aplodontia rufa*
* Sunbittern, *Eurypyga helias*
* Spectacled caiman, *Caiman crocodilus*

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writer - Alastair Swinnerton
* Script Editor - Rob Harvey
* Music - David Poore
* Studio Director - Anne Neale
* Graphic Designer Director - Kate Finding
* Graphic Design Assistant - Chris Wreford
* Researcher - Matt Brennan
* Production Co-ordinator - Janelle Backes
* Post-Production Co-ordinator - Esta Porter
* Production Secretary - Mandy Vaughan
* Production Team - Steve Cronick, Sarah Davies and Dominic Weston
* Camera - Graham MacFarlane
* Computer Animation - Ricochet 4, Daniel Pearson and Matt McKinney
* Computer Animation Director - Henry Lutman
* Cel Animation - A for Animation
* Cel Animation Director - Mark Taylor
* Sound Editor - Ian Bown
* Dubbing Mixer - Chris Domaille
* Editors
	+ Offline - Vincent Pipe and David Warner
	+ Graphics - Tony Almond
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles

## Home media releases

The VHS for Animal Talk was released on February 22nd 1999. The cover shows a close-up of Henry with his mouth open and wearing his wide-brimmed holiday hat, and he is accompanied by a Bernese mountain dog, a baboon and a jendaya conure.

**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