Henry's Report

Henry’s Report is one of two major segments in most episodes of Amazing Animals. It is done by Henry at the prompting of the Narrator, who also often interrupts Henry during the report. The report is linked in some way to the subject of the episode, but often concerns an animal or subject that does not appear elsewhere in the episode. Unlike the Golden Gecko Awards, the report is seen as less serious and Henry almost always gets the report completely wrong, prompting the Narrator to correct him afterwards.

## Season 1

The report in the first season starts with the review portal moving into view, with Henry visible running back and forth across the screen in the background. The Narrator calls to Henry and reminds him of his special report. Henry runs over and asks “*Now?*” The Narrator then reminds Henry of the subject of his report and asks if he is ready. After Henry gives the affirmative, the view of Henry shifts to the imagery of the report itself, which can include studio footage, stop motion or specially-filmed objects in the studio. After the report, the images move out of the review portal to show Henry again. While the Narrator asks if Henry thinks anyone if going to believe that, Henry glances from side to side before responding with “*Yeah!*” The camera then pans to the right, with Henry glancing in that direction too. Stock footage moves in from the right and the narrator corrects Henry – the main exception in this series is Nighttime Animals, where Henry for once is actually correct.

## Season 2

In the second season, the report is changed to a School Report. It begins in a similar way to the first season, with Henry running back and forth in the background until the Narrator calls him over. Henry briefly smiles, before his face falls and he asks “*What, now?*”. When the Narrator responds with “*Yes, now*”, Henry briefly responds with an “*Oh*” before reaching off the right of the screen and pulling on a schoolbag by the strap using his mouth. The bag has stickers showing a model Tyrannosaurus, a puppy, a beetle, the show’s version of a globe and images of the cartoon Fish and Porcupine. As Henry opens the bag, the Narrator asks “*You are ready, aren’t you?*” to which Henry uncertainly responds “*Er… of course I am! What was it about again?*” The Narrator tells Henry the subject of the report while Henry prepares – he picks a pencil case and a bouncy ball out of his bag and throws them off the left side of the screen. This is followed by a third item relevant to the episode itself. Once he learns what the report is supposed to be about, Henry responds with “*Oh, right*…” before taking a deep inhale and continuing with “*Here goes!*”. He then grabs the report card and throws it up until it covers the screen.

The reports are done primarily with a mixture of stock footage and objects filmed in the studio. Midway through the report, Henry sticks his head onto the screen from the left-hand-side. He asks the Narrator “*How am I doing so far?*”. If told he is doing well, Henry responds with “*Really? Cool*” before he withdraws back off the left side of the screen. If the Narrator asks Henry a question in this segment, he often responds by saying that he is getting to that. After this, the report tends to get more outlandish and increasingly false.

After the report, Henry asks “So, did I get an A or what?” This is accompanied by the report card screwing itself up and dropping off the bottom of the screen to show Henry still facing the camera. This is then followed by the Narrator using one of the following lines:

* Another Z I’m afraid Henry.
* Absolutely and definitely not.
* No, you get to stay back after the show. That has to be the worst report ever.
* Definitely an ‘or what’ again Henry.
* That wasn’t even worth an ‘or what’ Henry.
* A Z would be more like it, Henry.
* No. That was so bad you get to stay behind after the show.
* Another Z for the collection Henry.
* Not even a Z, Henry.
* Henry, even an ‘or what’ would be too good for that report.
* Not even an ‘or what’.
* Definitely an ‘or what’ Henry.

This is then followed by the following three lines of text from the two characters:

H: Didn’t I even get one bit right?

N: Not even one, Henry.

H: Rats.

Henry then turns and walks off the left of the screen, with a stock footage window moving in from the right. The Narrator then corrects Henry’s mistake.

The one exception is Monkeys and Apes, where after the A or what line, the conversation goes:

* Narrator: Well, you certainly get an A for effort Henry. That was nearly right.
* Henry: Cool, whoa. But where did I go wrong?
* N: Well, kind of near the start really.
* H: Oh.

This segment then continues as normal, with Henry moving off-screen and followed by the stock footage window.

## Season 3

In the third season, the report has changed to a News Report. After the Narrator tells Henry it is time for the news report, Henry pauses to ask “*What, now?*”, with the Narrator then confirming. Henry runs towards the screen shouting “*Out of my way! Journa-lizard coming through!*” An animated globe in dark blue and orange rises up below Henry until he is standing on it, while a remixed version of the theme song starts playing. Henry walks across the globe, which is surrounded by an outer ring. The background of the screen turns dark and shows stars and planets, while an animated satellite moves around the edge of the screen. Two smaller screens come out from behind the globe, each showing a humorous later story that is illustrated by stock footage and narrated by Henry, before they go back behind the globe again. The globe shakes and falls off the bottom of the screen. The view then cuts to Henry sitting behind a desk. The globe hits Henry on the head and bounces off to become a logo at the top-left of the screen. The camera zooms in on Henry at the desk – he is wearing glasses and a grey bowtie with green spots. Crab Tuesday peeks onto the screen from the left-hand side and runs in with a sheet of paper, dropping it on top of the pile of papers on Henry’s desk. Henry glances at the paper before saying “*But now our top story.*” The globe turns sideways and changes to a small window showing the news bulletin. The bulletin fills the screen, with Henry narrating it until the end.

After the bulletin has ended, the camera cuts back to Henry at the desk with the small window changing back to the globe. Henry and the Narrator close the news report with several statements across different episodes:

* Henry: And next, the weather.
* Narrator: The weather?
* H: The whether I got it right, or whether I got it wrong.
* N: Take a guess.

* Henry: You think the bought it?
* Narrator: You couldn’t even give it away, Henry.

* Henry: More later, but first here now the sports.
* Narrator: Fantasy land one, lizards zero.

Henry responds to all of these by saying “*Rats*”, except for rare cases when the report has elements of truth to it. The logo then changes back to stock footage, which fills the screen. It is here where the Narrator corrects Henry’s inaccuracies.

## Season 4

In season 4, the report remains as a News Report. For the most part, it is identical to those from season 3, with the one exception being in Scaly Animals. Here, the Narrator asks to do the report, as he feels that Henry may not be the most unbiased reporter.