Mountain Animals

VHS cover

Mountain Animals is the seventh episode of the fourth season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry travelling to the mountains in search of a yeti. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 25th May 1999.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Mountain Animals.

Henry is assisting a new customer to his mountaineering business - a St. Bernard. Henry outlines equipment which he is giving the dog, but is displeased at his tendency to slobber on the equipment. Henry then explains his new business to the Narrator, 'Henry's Mountain Tours'. Henry's first expedition is one in search of the mysterious Yeti - to which the Narrator retorts that most scientists say the Yeti does not exist - but Henry holds this in disregard, showing a collection of postcards depicting Bigfoot [who stepped on the camera], the Loch Ness Monster, and aliens [with a thumb in the lens]. Henry insists on the Yeti's existence, and explains that he saw the Yeti on 'Mysteries on the Mountains', which he caught on tape. Unfortunately, the footage proves to be of particularly crude quality, with a tendency to shake - and one scene, more properly filmed, shows the 'Yeti' in question enjoying a leisurely drive - apparently contrary to Henry's claim that '[he] saw it on TV, so it must be real!' The Narrator remains unsure on the filmed creature's identity, but segues into a segment where the Narrator goes over various animals that live in the mountains, including yaks that are now unable to live at low altitudes. But he also explains that animals like Japanese macaques have to take thousands of years to adapt to the mountains.

#### First cartoon

* A Lizard wants to climb a mountain, and indicates this to his friend, Tyrannosaurus, as he outlines his plan to scale the mountain to its peak by use of a map. The dinosaur agrees, but is not sure about carrying a large bag of luggage. The lizard then turns to see the dinosaur painting red strokes on the mountain, as seen on the map itself, to the lizard's dismay.

Henry then flaunts his mountaineering experience to his St. Bernard customer, who he leads up the mountain. The Narrator asks how him and the audience are supposed to follow Henry as he climbs the mountain, to which Henry replies "Nobody said mountaineering [is] easy!" Henry then arrives to a triad of spherical stones, two of which he successfully climbs - but also a third, larger one which he becomes stuck upon. The narrator then displays one example of how animals are adapted to mountain habitats using the American mountain goat - which occasionally come down from their alpine habitats to lick at salt deposits found at lower altitudes.

#### Second cartoon

* The Lizard and Tyrannosaurus are still busy at work climbing the mountain, where sometimes narrow edges are to be navigated. The small Lizard does this fairly easily, but the large Tyrannosaurus has more trouble, causing some material from the mountain to crumble. To overcome a large chasm, the Lizard ties a rope with a grappling hook to hoist at the other side of the chasm, which the Lizard easily swings across, but causes the dinosaur to fall into the chasm. The Lizard finds this funny, but some snow which his hook is latched onto is displaced, causing himself to fall into the same chasm - causing the dinosaur to laugh.

Henry and his customer have advanced in their mountaineering expedition, and Henry calls a break. Henry asks his customer to get firewood - but is informed that there *is* no wood. Henry then informs that he needs to make a pit stop behind the bushes - but is informed that there are no bushes either. He then demands to know who hid the trees - but is informed the reason there are no trees is that he is above the treeline. The Narrator is taken aback by Henry's fondness of trees, noting that he finds it similar to the tendencies shown by the mountain beaver of the Pacific Northwest.

Henry then has to do his news report. He notes side-stories of 'Dr. Superglue' striking again, and meditating lemurs saying 'om'. He then announces the top story - recently, it has been discovered that the first person to scale the world's highest mountain is in fact a cow named Hillary - the milky mountaineer. Hillary's mountaineering experience began on the island of Jersey, whe she would consistently seize opportunities to climb on top of various things. She would later visit the Alps - and would take on Mount Everest not long afterwards. Hillary would give up, however - as frostbite turned her milk to ice-cream. However, when equipped with a 'cud to chew on' [show: a bag full of green plants] and a sheep for a sherpa, she would scale the mountain successfully - the difficult part being to come down. Hillary thereforth is remembered as a hero - for her skill, spirit, and 'udder' determination. After the Narrator's critique, he explains that there is in fact a type of cattle that lives in the mountains around Everest - the yak. He explains how yaks were domesticated by Nepalese sherpas as pack animals.

#### Third cartoon

* The Lizard is running up the mountain, whilst Tyrannosaurus clumsily toddles along. The dinosaur is tired of bearing the weight of his large suitcase - but has an idea. He takes out a booster funnel from inside the bag so that he can move on a pair of skis at faster speeds than the Lizard. However, this quickly malfunctions - and he is sent back down the mountain colliding with the Lizard.

Henry is then seen prepaing a bowl of Yeti Spaghetti - so to attract Yetis to the area. Henry then goes to look for some parmesan - during which time his customer eats the spaghetti from the bowl. Henry is shocked at how the spaghetti was eaten - insisting that the Yeti had been present. The Narrator insists that no one can really be sure that the Yeti truly exists - and if Henry wants to see rare mountain animals, he's instead better off searching for the Volcano Rabbit of Mexico. The Narrator explains how the rabbits are dying out quickly as their habitat is being destroyed. After this, he then talks about the Snow Leopard - and how zoos are important in preserving the species and helping people learn about it.

#### Fourth cartoon

* The Lizard has at last reached the snow-capped peak of the mountain, and gives Tyrannosaurus a camera with which to take a picture of him. Tyrannosaurus insists that the Lizard go further back, which he complies with. The Tyrannosaurus repeats this - which causes the Lizard to fall off the mountain's peak. A pleased Tyrannosaurus, flag in hand, then takes a smiling picture of himself - to the Lizard's dismay.

The Golden Gecko Awards begin, and Henry gives out his Golden Gecko Award for all-time best Mountain Animal. The bronze medal goes to the Andean Condor, the silver medal to the American Mountain Goat, and the Golden Gecko is awarded to the Mountain Gorilla, which attracts many tourists to the Verunga National Park. Afterwards, Henry runs up a hill towards the camera in a frantic manner - and he now has various hallucinations, seeing the Narrator as a pink dinosaur with yellow spots. The Narrator discerns that from Henry's confused state he has altitude sickness. Eventually, with a clown's makeup and hysterics, Henry runs off in search of the Yeti. The Narrator explains that some animals are better suited than others to high altitudes - such as the hillstar hummingbird of the Ecuadorian mountains, as well as the Andean condor.

Eventually, Henry reaches the top of the mountain, where it begins to snow rapidly. Henry becomes stuck, and the Narrator enlists help. Henry, however, can only make out a faint shadow of a tall figure - which he fears is the Yeti - but it is actually his customer, the St. Bernard. The dog retrieves Henry from the snow, and brings him to safety, ending the episode.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Stock footage

* Brown bear, *Ursus arctos*
* Cougar, *Puma concolor*
* Long-eared hedgehog, *Hemiechinus auritus*
* Bighorn sheep, *Ovis canadensis*
* Domestic yak, *Bos grunniens*
* Bobcat, *Lynx rufus*
* Andean condor, *Vultur gryphus*
* Japanese macaque, *Macaca fuscata*
* Mountain goat, *Oreamnos americanus*
* Mountain beaver, *Aplodontia rufa*
* Blackbuck, *Antilope cervicapra*
* Ring-tailed lemur, *Lemur catta*
* Volcano rabbit, *Romerolagus diazi*
* Mexican cottontail, *Sylvilagus cunicularius*
* Domestic cattle, *Bos taurus*
* Domestic sheep, *Ovis aries*
* Snow leopard, *Panthera uncia*
* Mountain gorilla, *Gorilla beringei beringei*
* Andean hillstar, *Oreotrochilus estella*
* Domestic horse, *Equus ferus caballus*
* Carunculated caracara, *Phalcoboenus carunculatus*

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writer - Paul Dawson
* Music - David Poore
* Studio Art Director - Anne Neale
* Camera - Graham MacFarlane
* Graphic Designer Director - Kate Finding
* Graphic Design Assistant - Chris Wreford
* Production Co-ordinator - Janelle Backes
* Production Secretary - Mandy Vaughan
* Computer Animation - Ricochet 4, Henry Lutman (director), Daniel Pearson and Matt McKinney
* Cel Animation - A for Animation, Mark Taylor (director)
* Sound Post-Production - Films @ 59
* Editors
	+ Offline - David Warner
	+ Graphics - Tony Almond
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles

## Home media releases

The VHS for Amazing Mountain Animals was released on Xst X 199X. The cover shows Henry looking up at the title card wearing a beanie hat, and he is accompanied by a St Bernard, an American mountain goat and a mountain gorilla.

A second version of the VHS cover, from a UK season four VHS trailer, has a different set of animals including an eagle, a Dall's sheep and a cougar. Henry is replaced with picture of him wearing the camouflage Brodie helmet from the cover of Animal Survivors.

**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