Giant Animals

VHS cover

Giant Animals is the eighth episode of the third season of Amazing Animals. The plot revolves around Henry wishing he was bigger after being prevented from going on a roller-coaster, and imagining he was giant after suffering a head injury. It first aired on the Disney Channel on 2nd June 1998.

## Episode

### Episode outline

Click here for the full transcript for Giant Animals.

Henry is having fun at a fairground, trying out different rides and amusements and eating cotton candy. When he sees the giant roller coaster, he wants to go on it but is not allowed because he is too small. He tries to put on a set of stilts, but the attendant stops him again and Henry falls over. He knocks himself out on the ground, and while the narrator asks Henry if he is alright, Henry responds by murmuring that he wants to play with the big animals. The narrator and Henry run through many of the benefits that can come from being a giant animal. A young male elephant seal is shown – these animals use size as a way of getting a mate, and get their enormous size from their mother’s rich milk.

#### First cartoon

* Bear is sleeping when he notices Bee fly past him and into a tree hole. He reaches in and pulls out handfuls of honey, flicking Bee away in the process. Bee flies off and returns with a giant Bee, who throws Bear away from the tree before both Bees fly off together.

Henry finds a giant’s castle – he enters and finds an enormous egg and an enormous dog, before climbing up a table to find a giant pizza. Just before he is about to start eating, the giant towers over Henry and frightens him out of the castle. Henry thinks that sharing lunch with a giant may not have been such a good idea. The narrator shows Henry how smaller animals such as tortoises and warthogs can be in danger or scared away by elephants. Hippos are shown demonstrating the usefulness of size in avoiding predators – lions can approach but will not dare attack.

#### Second cartoon

* The Lizards start a skiing race between Elephant and Tortoise. Elephant makes a strong start but gets trapped between two trees. Tortoise, going far more slowly, skis between Elephant’s legs and wins the race. At the award ceremony, an angry Elephant watches from his wheelchair.

Henry now does his News Report. It is a story of how a giant wolf has been seen, with enormous features that give it special powers. The narrator rubbishes Henry’s report, but does say that some animals do have enormous body parts. Some small animals have giant features, like the eyes of the tarsier, while other animals are already giant – the long necks and legs of giraffes are shown, which help them to reach leaves high up in trees.

#### Third cartoon

* Three Lizards sit at a table and show pictures of their adventures. One had successfully wrestled and beaten Octopus, while the second had caught and tied up Gorilla. The third Lizard sneaks off and places a camera near to Chameleon, before feeding him a chilli pepper. Chameleon belches out flames just as the camera takes its photo. The now-scorched Lizard shows his photograph to the other two Lizards, who applaud him.

Henry now imagines himself to be the giant and monstrous Henryzilla fighting with Duckra, defender of the city, until he steps on a phone booth and runs back to his mother. Henry is disparaging about giant monsters, but the narrator points out there is a giant monstrous lizard called the Komodo dragon. Henry is now hopeful that he too could grow as big as the Komodo dragon. Henry then takes to the skies in a model plane from the fairground as he goes to battle Duckra. He believes, contrary to the narrator, that Duckra is secretly a villain. Henry flies around Duckra, but the giant duck knocks him out of the sky with its wings. The narrator is relieved that Henry isn’t injured in the crash, while Henry discovers that Duckra is actually a mother duck with a new baby. The narrator tells Henry that many giant animals have undeserved bad reputations, including gorillas and the whale shark.

#### Fourth cartoon

* Chameleon, with a wand and dressed as a magician, approaches three Gorillas who are watching television and impresses them with magic tricks. He pulls a rabbit out of his hat and makes flowers grow on the head of one of the Gorillas. The third Gorilla pays no attention, so Chameleon makes him levitate. As Chameleon takes a bow, the Gorilla falls out of the air and lands on top of him. Chameleon reaches out from under Gorilla to grab his wand.

Henry now does the Golden Gecko Awards. The bronze medal goes to the giraffe and the silver medal to the Komodo dragon. But the Golden Gecko Award is given to the whales, which are the largest animals to have ever lived. After the awards, Henry has found and rubbed a lamp, producing a genie that the narrator notes looks a lot like Henry’s friend Crab Tuesday. Henry wishes to be a giant among lizards but, once the genie snaps its claw, Henry finds he is no different. The narrator points out that Henry is a giant among lizards, comparing them to some tiny lizards nearby. The narrator talks about size being relative, with the queen termite in a mound being a giant compared to the workers. At this point, Henry starts to wake up – it turns out most of the episode’s events have been a dream while Henry was unconscious after being knocked over at the roller coaster. Henry decides that he doesn’t need to be giant, as he already feels big and is a giant in his field, asking the viewers if they know any other world-famous lizards.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Plains zebra, *Equus quagga*
* Dromedary camel, *Camelus dromedarius*
* Domestic dog, *Canis familiaris*
* King penguin, *Aptenodytes patagonicus*
* Sun beetle, *Pachnoda marginata*
* Fire salamander, *Salamandra salamandra*
* Crested porcupine, *Hystrix cristata*
* West European hedgehog, *Erinaceus europaeus*
* Mallard, *Anas platyrhynchos*
* Fence lizard, *Sceloporus sp*.

### Stock footage

* Southern right whale, *Eubalaena australis*
* Hippopotamus, *Hippopotamus amphibius*
* Masai giraffe, *Giraffa tippelskirchi*
* Asian elephant, *Elephas maximus*
* African bush elephant, *Loxodonta africana*
* Black rhinoceros, *Diceros bicornis*
* Southern elephant seal, *Mirounga leonina*
* Leopard tortoise, *Stigmochelys pardalis*
* African buffalo, *Syncerus caffer*
* Common warthog, *Phacochoerus africanus*
* Marabou stork, *Leptoptilos crumenifer*
* Lion, *Panthera leo*
* Coypu, *Myocastor coypus*
* Mangrove crab, *Pseudosesarma sp*.
* Grey wolf, *Canis lupus*
* Walrus, *Odobenus rosmarus*
* Sulawesi tarsier, *Tarsius spectrum*
* Komodo dragon, *Varanus komodoensis*
* Javan rusa, *Rusa timorensis*
* Jackson’s chameleon, *Trioceros jacksonii*
* Mountain gorilla, *Gorilla beringei beringei*
* Whale shark, *Rhincodon typus*
* Blue whale, *Balaenoptera musculus*
* Humpback whale, *Megaptera novaeangliae*
* Krill, Euphausiacea
* African mound-building termite, *Macrotermes sp*.

## Credits

* Henry - Eric Meyers
* Narrator - Tom Clarke-Hill
* Writer - Alastair Swinnerton
* Script Editor - Rob Harvey
* Music - David Poore
* Studio Director - Anne Neale
* Graphic Designer Director - Kate Finding
* Graphic Design Assistant - Chris Wreford
* Researcher - Jan Ronca
* Production Co-ordinator - Janelle Backes
* 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 Brown
* Dubbing Mixer - Andrew Wilson
* Editors
	+ Offline - Vincent Pipe and David Warner
	+ Graphics - Sue Land
	+ Online - Sharon Stiles

## Home media releases

The VHS for Amazing Giant Animals was released on 22nd February 1999. The cover shows Henry looking upwards with a frightened look on his face, and he is accompanied by photographs of a giraffe calf, a Komodo dragon and Siam, a bull Asian elephant who lived at Paris Zoo from 1946-1997.

**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