Animal Families

VHS cover

Animal Families is the ninth episode of the second season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry finding out about his family on his birthday, and learning about how useful families are to animals. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 10th June 1997.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Animal Families.

The narrator meets Henry while he is making cookies with his face on them, only for a family of ducks to come in and start eating them.  The narrator says that big animal families need a lot to eat, with Henry responding that he is glad he doesn’t have any brothers or sisters to eat his party food. The narrator asks why Henry is having a party, and Henry reveals that it is birthday, before asking if the narrator has forgotten. Just as Henry starts demanding to know where his present is, a card arrives to Henry from his great uncle George. The narrator says that Henry probably has many relatives he doesn’t even know about, and Henry decides to invite them to his party. The importance of different relatives to animals is shown, from adult giraffes teaching their young where to feed, the protection given by adult swans to their cygnets and armadillo quadruplets playing together.

#### First cartoon

* Three baby Rabbits are eating while their mother knits. Seeing the last flower, they all start fighting among themselves and one accidentally kicks his mother. The mother finishes knitting a jumper with three head holes and pushes it over them so she can knit in peace.

Henry decides to open the present from his great uncle George, who has got Henry a toy racing car. When he says that his parents only ever got him sweaters, the narrator says parents do more important things than buy presents. Mute swans protect their young from predators and allow their young cygnets to ride on their backs, while young discus fish eat the mucus from their parent’s skins.

#### Second cartoon

* Mother Fish is swimming with her two babies when Gorilla catches the babies on a fishing line. The mother calls for help. On the shore, a giant Fish rises from the water and snatches the jar with the two babies in; Gorilla runs away. The Fish mother, two babies and giant Fish swim away together.

Henry is now reminded to do his Special Report, which is supposed to be about prairie dogs. Henry spins a story of how prairie dogs lived in a town that struck gold, which attracted more prairie dogs so the town developed into a city. The narrator stops Henry before the report can even be finished. The only thing Henry got right is that prairie dogs do live in communities called towns. Their large family groups allow predators to be spotted and the family alerted to danger early. The narrator finds that Henry has made a large family tree with all of his relatives on it – the tree is so large that it falls over onto Henry. The narrator says that you can never have too many relatives – in ibex herds, the entire family works together to look after the young while the mothers go away to feed. In chimpanzees, living in large families means learning who to avoid.

#### Third cartoon

* Rooster is left looking after the Chicks but gets so frustrated trying to do the housework with them around that he makes a robot to do it for him. At first the robot performs well but the Chicks rewire it and it chases them and puts them in the washing machine just as Hen arrives home. She makes Rooster do the sweeping up with the robot holding onto him.

Henry is looking around for the present that the narrator gave to him, and finds it hidden in the ceiling. It falls onto his head and the box opens, revealing the present to be a kaleidoscope. Just as it makes it appear that there are hundreds of Henrys, there are real animal families with a huge number of members. This includes colonies of bulldog ants and naked mole-rats.

#### Fourth cartoon

* Chameleon is woken up by a line of Dung Beetles passing him and tries to catch one. First, he gets his tongue tied in a knot, then accidentally snags a cactus and then is caught, twirled like a lasso and thrown away by one of the Dung Beetles.

Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal is awarded to the discus fish and the silver to the ibex. But the Golden Gecko Award goes to the elephant, which live in a matriarchal society. The oldest female in the herd helps guide all the other elephants to food and water. Back at Henry’s party, he is upset that none of his family have turned up. There is then a knock at the door and all of his relatives arrive, depicted by living lizards. The narrator says Henry is lucky that he gets on so well with his family, as animal families can have disagreements. Swan families will fight each other for access to food, while bonobo families make up after an argument by grooming one another.

#### Fifth cartoon

* Tiger sees the Squirrels and their three babies and tries to scare them; as the babies are fighting over acorns he leaps out and roars at them but they ignore him. When he tries again, they hurl acorns at him and continue fighting. On the third attempt the adult Squirrels push a giant acorn out of the tree and knock him unconscious.

Henry wakes everyone up after his party to get them to help with cleaning up, but his relatives all leave. Henry is annoyed, as they have helped themselves to his food, soda and presents but aren’t helping out afterwards. The narrator says that even Henry sometimes deserves a break from his amazing animal family.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Mallard, *Anas platyrhynchos*
* Domestic dog, *Canis familiaris*
* Green-cheeked parakeet, *Pyrrhura molinae*
* Green-winged macaw, *Ara chloropterus*
* European rabbit, *Oryctolagus cuniculus*
* Common raccoon, *Procyon lotor*
* Domestic cat, *Felis catus*
* Whooper swan, *Cygnus cygnus*
* Savannah monitor, *Varanus exanthematicus*
* Leopard gecko, *Eublepharis macularius*
* Saharan spiny-tailed lizard, *Uromastyx geyri*
* African fat-tailed gecko, *Hemitheconyx caudicinctus*
* Green iguana, *Iguana iguana*
* Berber skink, *Eumeces schneiderii*

### Stock footage

* Masai giraffe, *Giraffa tippelskirchi*
* Rock hyrax, *Procavia capensis*
* Meerkat, *Suricata suricatta*
* Mute swan, *Cygnus olor*
* Bark scorpion, *Centruroides sp*.
* Discus fish, *Symphysodon sp*.
* Common warthog, *Phacochoerus africanus*
* Magellanic penguin, *Spheniscus magellanicus*
* Spotted hyaena, *Crocuta crocuta*
* Grey wolf, *Canis lupus*
* Chimpanzee, *Pan troglodytes*
* Nine-banded armadillo, *Dasypus novemcinctus*
* Black-tailed prairie dog, *Cynomys ludovicianus*
* American badger, *Taxidea taxus*
* Nubian ibex, *Capra nubiana*
* Bulldog ant, *Myrmecia sp*.
* Naked mole-rat, *Heterocephalus glaber*
* African bush elephant, *Loxodonta africana*
* Bonobo, *Pan paniscus*

## Stock footage sources

Spirits of the Jaguar: The Forging of a New World (1996) - Nine-banded armadillos with young in nest

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writer - Alastair Swinnerton
* Script Editor - Jennifer Lupinacci
* Music - David Poore
* Director - Anne Neale
* Graphic Designer - Kate Beldon
* Graphic Design Assistant - Emma Rigney
* Researcher - Matthew Brennan
* Production Co-ordinator - Esta Porter
* Post-Production Co-ordinator - Liz Lewin
* Production Secretary - Vivienne Mackay
* Production Team - Steve Cronick, Pauline Davis, Sam Evans and Dominic Weston
* Camera - Andy Shillabeer
* Computer Animation - Ricochet 4 and Daniel Pearson
* Computer Animation Director - Henry Lutman
* Cell Animation - A for Animation
* Cell Animation Director - Mark Taylor
* Sound Editor - James Pursey
* Dubbing Mixer - Andrew Wilson
* Editors
	+ Offline - John Wabe and Vincent Pipe
	+ Graphics - Sue Land
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles

## Home media releases

The VHS for Animal Families released on 3rd November 1997. The cover shows a close-up of Henry’s face in profile, and he is accompanied by a family of rabbits, a family of penguins and the CGI model of Lizzie. An alternative cover replaces the DK Vision logo with a photograph of a family of chickens.

Alternative Animal Families VHS cover

**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