Animal Changes

VHS cover

Animal Changes is the eleventh episode of the third season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry preparing for a documentary film about his life, and trying to recover his lost tooth. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 23rd June 1998.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Animal Changes.

The narrator meets Henry at his sink as he has various skincare treatments put on. When the narrator asks what he is doing, Henry says he is preparing to star in a documentary about himself. Henry finishes off by having his teeth brushed but when he spits out the toothpaste, he loses his tooth. While the narrator says change is a natural part of life and that Henry will grow a new tooth, Henry says he wants his old tooth back and crawls after it down the plughole. The narrator shows how many changes happen in animals, from quick changes through gradual growth cycles, changing of coats and evolutionary changes over millions of years.

#### First cartoon

* Lizard is running a day-care centre and three parents come to pick up their offspring – Hen takes away Chick, Tiger takes away his cub but when Frog comes to reclaim his tadpole, Lizard refuses as the two look so different. At this moment the tadpole metamorphoses into a small Frog and hops away.

Henry is having fun sliding down the pipes leading from his sink, until he gets stuck because he has started to grow up. The pressure in the pipe builds until Henry is blasted away. He asks why he has to grow up, and the narrator responds that growing up is an important part of the lives of all animals. The life-cycle of a kitten is shown, from three days old when it is unable to see all the way until it is nearly fully grown at around one year old. Henry vows to never stop looking for his tooth, seemingly walking through the landscape as the seasons change. It turns out that he is walking on a treadmill in front of a screen, with special effects operated by Crab Tuesday. When Henry stops walking, the treadmill builds up power and throws Henry off it. The narrator says that animals have to change with the seasons, such as the ptarmigan which changes the colour of its plumage to the bear that goes into hibernation each winter. Young penguins have to grow a proper coat of waterproof feathers before they can take to the freezing ocean.

#### Second cartoon

* On a hot day, Bear goes for a swim in a pond and Pigeon later joins him – Pigeon unzips his coat of feathers and leaves it on the bank. Getting out, Bear mistakes it for a towel and dries himself with it. By the time Pigeon gets out, the feather coat is ruined.

Henry is reminded to do his News Report. He tells a story of how a fake queen ant, actually an anteater called Wendy, has been arrested after making the worker ants cover themselves in her favourite chocolate and form a line directly into her mouth. The narrator says that there is a real example of a caterpillar that successfully bluffs its way into ant nests. The large blue butterfly caterpillar is taken into the nest and both fed and protected because it smells just like an ant larva. When it pupates, it must quickly flee as it loses its protective scent.

#### Third cartoon

* Three Lizards see a parent and baby Bear having a picnic and plan to steal some food. One Lizard goes out dressed normally and in a protective fur roll but both times is thrown away. When dressed as a baby it is accepted but it given milk instead of the food it wants.

Henry is preparing for his movie by watching baby videos of himself – a dog that also appears in the film watches with him. The young dog steals baby Henry’s teddy and makes him cry; the narrator points out that many of baby Henry’s character traits are the same as those of older Henry. The narrator also points out that Henry wouldn’t be the only animal to make a big comeback, looking at the evolutionary changes of the peppered moth when air pollution became widespread in Britain. Other animals use quick changes for defence, including the chameleon, caterpillars, cuttlefish and the water chevrotain, which changes from a terrestrial deer-like animal to an underwater creature when predators threaten.

#### Fourth cartoon

* Chameleon tries to cross the road but is nearly run over twice by Mole on his motorcycle. Chameleon finds a crossing point and crosses when the signal goes green. Mole is about to run him down but Chameleon changes his whole body red and makes Mole stop, allowing him to safely cross.

Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal goes to the ptarmigan and the silver to the peppered moth. The Golden Gecko Award is awarded to the Galapagos finches, which have evolved into many different species that each have a beak adapted for their preferred food. Henry has decided not to worry about his tooth, as he has a new one growing through. He is dressed in a bow tie and starts introducing his documentary when the dog begins interfering, first by disrupting the set and then knocking down the camera. The narrator tells Henry that some animals never change.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Lion, *Panthera leo*
* Mallard, *Anas platyrhynchos*
* Black-headed gull, *Chroicocephalus ridibundus*
* Domestic dog, *Canis familiaris*
* Veiled chameleon, *Chamaeleo calyptratus*

### Stock footage

* Bobtail squid, Sepiolida
* Monarch butterfly, *Danaus plexippus*
* Magellanic penguin, *Spheniscus magellanicus*
* Mountain goat, *Oreamnos americanus*
* Gerenuk, *Litocranius walleri*
* Masai giraffe, *Giraffa tippelskirchi*
* Domestic cat, *Felis catus*
* Rock ptarmigan, *Lagopus muta*
* American black bear, *Ursus americanus*
* Kelp gull, *Larus dominicanus*
* Mantled guereza, *Colobus guereza*
* Nine-banded armadillo, *Dasypus novemcinctus*
* Green weaver ant, *Oecophylla smaragdina*
* Large blue butterfly, *Phengaris arion*
* European red ant, *Myrmica sabuleti*
* Peppered moth, *Biston betularia*
* Great tit, *Parus major*
* Water chevrotain, *Hyemoschus aquaticus*
* Black-chested snake eagle, *Circaetus pectoralis*
* Small ground-finch, *Geospiza fuliginosa*
* Large cactus finch, *Geospiza conirostris*
* Large tree finch, *Camarhynchus psittacula*
* Woodpecker finch, *Camarhynchus pallidus*
* Galapagos giant tortoise, *Chelonoidis niger*
* Marine iguana, *Amblyrhynchus cristatus*

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writers - Stan Cullimore and Louise Anstey
* Script Editor - Rob Harvey
* Music - David Poore
* Studio Director - Anne Neale
* Graphic Designer Director - Kate Finding
* Graphic Design Assistant - Chris Wreford
* Production Co-ordinator - Janelle Backes
* Production Secretary - Mandy Vaughan
* Camera - Michael Hutchinson
* Computer Animation - Ricochet 4, Henry Lutman (director), Daniel Pearson and Matt McKinney
* Cel Animation - A for Animation, Mark Taylor (director)
* Sound Production - Films @ 59
* Editors
	+ Offline - David Warner
	+ Graphics - Sue Land and Tony Almond
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles

## Home media releases

The VHS for Amazing Animal Changes was released in 1999. The cover shows Henry with the gap in his tooth and imagining his young self in a thought bubble, and he is accompanied by a butterfly pupating, a warty chameleon and a kitten at two stages of growth development.

The blurb on the back cover of the VHS reads:

How does one caterpillar disguise itself as an ant? What bird changes its bill to match its food supply?

**“I NEVER CHANGE. I’M ALWAYS A SMART GUY!”**

Henry investigates some ANIMAL CHANGES from the jungle deer’s doubling as a submarine superstar to the peppered moth’s big comeback.

**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