Animal Acrobats

VHS cover

Animal Acrobats is the fifth episode of the third season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry running away to join the circus and learning how different animals move. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 12th May 1998.

## Episode

### Title card animal

Chimpanzee, California sea lion and red-necked wallaby

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Animal Acrobats.

Henry has seen that the circus is coming to town and decides to run away to become an acrobat, saying an emotional farewell to Crab Tuesday before he leaves with a large case containing an emergency pizza supply. While practicing acrobatics, Henry accidentally breaks the camera lens. The narrator says Henry is not an acrobat compared to acrobatic animals, which use their skills to find food, escape danger or find a mate. A montage of acrobatic animals is shown, including some falling down to show they aren’t always perfect. Henry catches the train, but falls off and has to roll after it on a barrel. An animal that uses rolling as an acrobatic skill is the dung beetle, which rolls a dung ball for its mate. Frogs and kangaroos are athletic jumpers, while other animals that attract mates with their acrobatics are blue-footed boobies and jumping spiders.

#### First cartoon

* The Lizards all attempt to do tricks on a beach ball but it explodes; they see Dung Beetle rolling a dung ball and steal it for tricks instead; they fall and get stuck inside the dung ball. Dung Beetle shrugs and continues to roll the ball away with the Lizards inside it.

Henry is now reminded to do his News Report. He talks about how an animal acrobatics meet will be held in Antarctica, with most of the animals having to train for cold conditions. The favourites to win medals are the penguins. The narrator says Henry’s report is sort of right – while penguins don’t go to acrobatic tournaments, they are amazing acrobats. On land they cannot run because of the legs set far back on their bodies and they cannot fly, but underwater they are extremely agile. Henry seems to be doing very well at balancing on a high wire, but it turns out he is only just above the ground. The narrator shows some animals that are much better at balancing at greater heights, including squirrels, chameleons, harvest mice and ibex.

#### Second cartoon

* Spider is trying to build a web but the Lizards keep coming out onto one of the lines to do balancing tricks. Eventually Spider twangs them off the web and sends the Lizards crashing to the ground.

Henry is flying in his plane to try and reach the circus, but the propellor comes off and he plummets to the ground. The narrator says that Henry will need to be a much better flier to match the aerial acrobatics of birds, with hummingbirds and terns being among the most agile. Other animals that use acrobatics to move between trees are the gibbon and spider monkey, the latter using a prehensile tail in order to get around.

#### Third cartoon

* Gibbon is swinging through the trees with trapeze bars but the Lizards are occupying several of the bars and cause him to fall from the ground. Gibbon goes up and hands the Lizards a bomb while on the trapeze which causes the trapeze line to snap and makes the Lizards fall to the ground.

Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal is given to the dung beetle and the silver to the chameleon. The Golden Gecko Award is given to the sifaka, a lemur with long hind legs for leaping between trees that is forced, by its long back legs and short front legs, to hop when it comes down to the forest floor. Henry has now decided to try a group performance, forming a tower of ducks and then trying to leap on top of them, only to bring the tower down. The narrator recommends using an animal that does display in groups, such as sharp-tailed grouse. Other animals use group displays as protection against predators, including chimps and anchovies.

#### Fourth cartoon

* The Gibbons do an acrobatic group display but the bragging Lizards start to show off in their performance. One of the Gibbons then whistles and brings over Rhinoceros, who jumps onto the Lizards to form the top of their pyramid and crushes them.

Henry has finally reached the circus, where he is given a job as a clown. A sea lion joins him on stage with a message from the ringmaster, and learns he is being fired. The narrator first sympathises, but then asks Henry if he meant he was fired. It is then revealed that Henry is actually being fired from a cannon – the narrator shouts to Henry that he is at least now a real animal acrobat as Henry flies away.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Domestic dog, *Canis familiaris*
* House mouse, *Mus musculus*
* East African giant land snail, *Lissachatina fulica*
* American black vulture, *Coragyps atratus*
* Red-necked wallaby, *Notamacropus rufogriseus*
* Siamang, *Symphalangus syndactylus*
* King penguin, *Aptenodytes patagonicus*
* Green-cheeked parakeet, *Pyrrhura molinae*
* Leaf-cutting ant, *Atta cephalotes*
* Eurasian red squirrel, *Sciurus vulgaris*
* Toco toucan, *Ramphastos toco*
* California sea lion, *Zalophus californianus*

### Stock footage

* Impala, *Aepyceros melampus*
* Central American spider monkey, *Ateles geoffroyi*
* California sea lion, *Zalophus californianus*
* Eastern grey squirrel, *Sciurus carolinensis*
* Lar gibbon, *Hylobates lar*
* Sharp-tailed grouse, *Tympanuchus phasianellus*
* Peacock spider, *Maratus sp*.
* Blue-footed booby, *Sula nebouxii*
* Pacific white-sided dolphin, *Lagenorhynchus obliquidens*
* Olive baboon, *Papio anubis*
* Northern tamandua, *Tamandua mexicana*
* Red-eared slider, *Trachemys scripta elegans*
* Jaguar, *Panthera onca*
* Dung beetle, *Kheper sp*.
* Red-eyed tree frog, *Agalychnis callidryas*
* Red kangaroo, *Osphranter rufus*
* Snowshoe hare, *Lepus americanus*
* Cougar, *Puma concolor*
* African bullfrog, *Pyxicephalus adspersus*
* African giant millipede, *Archispirostreptus gigas*
* Chinstrap penguin, *Pygoscelis antarcticus*
* Gentoo penguin, *Pygoscelis papua*
* Chameleon, Chamaeleonidae
* Eurasian harvest mouse, *Micromys minutus*
* Nubian ibex, *Capra nubiana*
* White stork, *Ciconia ciconia*
* Lesser black-backed gull, *Larus fuscus*
* Brown pelican, *Pelecanus occidentalis*
* White-necked raven, *Corvus albicollis*
* Hummingbird, Trochilidae
* Elegant tern, *Thalasseus elegans*
* Verreaux’s sifaka, *Propithecus verreauxi*
* African rock python, *Python sebae*
* Chimpanzee, *Pan troglodytes*
* Blue shark, *Prionace glauca*
* Anchovy, Engraulidae

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writer - Alastair Swinnerton
* Script Editor - Rob Harvey
* Music - Sarah Class
* Original Title Music - David Poore
* Studio Director - Anne Neale
* Graphic Designer Director - Kate Finding
* Graphic Design Assistant - Chris Wreford
* Researcher - Helen Exton
* Production Co-ordinator - Janelle Backes
* Post-Production Co-ordinator - Esta Porter
* Production Secretary - Mandy Vaughan
* Camera - Graham MacFarlane
* Computer Animation - Ricochet 4, Henry Lutman (director), Daniel Pearson and Matt McKinney
* Cel Animation - A for Animation, Mark Taylor (director)
* Sound Editor - Ian Bown
* Dubbing Mixer - Andrew Wilson
* Editors
	+ Offline - Vincent Pipe and David Warner
	+ Graphics - Tony Almond
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles
* Producer - Jessica Wootton

## Home media releases

The VHS for Animal Families released on 4th January 1999. The cover shows a profile view of Henry standing on his hands and balancing a beach ball on his nose, and he is accompanied by a siamang, a red kangaroo and a bobcat.

The spine of the VHS has a photograph of an Antarctic fur seal.

**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