Amazing Animals

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Amazing Animals
Also known asHenry's Amazing Animals
StarringEric Meyers
Tom Clarke-Hill
Country of origin
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes52
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
Release16 April 1996 (1996-04-16) –
6 July 1999 (1999-07-06)

Amazing Animals (sometimes marketed as Henry's Amazing Animals for home video) is an educational children's animated TV show series nature program produced by Dorling Kindersley Vision and Partridge Films in association with the Disney Channel. [1] It was originally broadcast on the service in 1996. It also aired on Family Channel in Canada. It is also available on VHS.

Contents

The show centers on the interactions of Henry the Lizard, a green CGI anthropomorphic lizard with purple spots, and an unseen narrator. Each episode centers on a theme relating to the episode's subject matter, such as Henry traveling through prehistory in a time machine in an episode about prehistoric animals. Henry is usually faced with some kind of predicament or work, always relating to the episode's theme, which he resolves by the end of the episode, often learning a lesson of some sort in the process.

Plot

Each episode is made up of sections in which Henry is featured, video sequences of animals narrated by the off-screen narrator with replies by Henry, and cartoons featuring recurring unnamed cartoon animals. There are also two recurring segments: "Henry's Report" and "The Golden Gecko Awards". Early episodes depicted Henry's Report as a school report, though later episodes changed it to a news report. In either case, the report is comical and almost always wildly inaccurate. The correct information is given by The Narrator after the report.

In Henry's Amazing Golden Gecko Awards, Henry picks three animals relating to the subject of the episode and presents them with awards. Unlike the report, the Golden Gecko Awards are typically more genuine. Henry does most of the narration and often gets annoyed at the Narrator for interrupting him. Henry's Report occurred in every episode; the only episode that did not have the Golden Gecko Awards was "Underground Animals", probably because of timing issues.

Cast and major characters

Episodes

Season 1 (1996)

Episode NumberTitleTitle card animalDate first airedPlotlineGolden Gecko Award Winners & Henry's Special Report
1Tropical Birds Scarlet macaw 16 April 1996Henry lands in a tropical rainforest and learns about tropical birds – including, but not limited to, parrots.
2Animal Disguises Chameleon 23 April 1996Henry learns about camouflaged animals after looking for his own disguise.
3Nighttime Animals Springhare 30 April 1996After a long day with cousin Rex, Henry can't get to sleep, and learns about animals which stay up during the night.
4Animal Appetites King penguin 7 May 1996Henry opens a café for animals, but learns that different animals eat different things.
5Animal Survivors Wolf 14 May 1996After avoiding the dangerous animals on the desert island he is on, Henry learns about strategies that help animals to survive.
6Animal Senses Siamese cat 21 May 1996After knocking over some sense blocks, Henry learns about how animals explore the world around them using their senses.
7Animal Weapons Goat 28 May 1996Guarding his toy castle from an attack, Henry learns about animals that can fight other animals using body weapons.
8Animal Builders Beaver 4 June 1996Henry is building a house, to learn that he is not the only animal that builds a home.
9Armored Animals Tortoise 11 June 1996Henry learns that there are different animals with protective armor.
10Mini Beasts Tarantula 18 June 1996Henry learns that there are many very small animals that inhabit the wild.
11Animal Babies Kitten, Puppy, Duckling 25 June 1996An egg belonging to Henry's cousin hatches in its pram, and Henry has to babysit it. He gets advice from how animals babysit their young.
12Poisonous Animals Gila monster 2 July 1996Thinking of eating the contents of a nearby cauldron, the narrator warns Henry that the contents may be poisonous, and he shouldn't eat them. He also learns about animals which can be poisonous to protect themselves.
13Animal Journeys Camel 9 July 1996Globetrotting (literally walking across the surface of a globe), Henry learns that animals also move long distances too.

Season 2 (1997)

Episode NumberTitleTitle card animalDate first airedPlotlineGolden Gecko Award Winners & Henry's Special Report
14Birds of Prey Black vulture 15 April 1997
15Desert Animals Dromedary camel 22 April 1997
16Scary AnimalsTarantula29 April 1997
17Animal RecordsTortoise, rabbit 6 May 1997
18Animal Colors Golden pheasant 13 May 1997
19Animal Mothers Lioness 20 May 1997Henry learns to appreciate his mother.
20Animal Pets Puli 27 May 1997
21Seashore Animals Pelican 3 June 1997
22Animal FamiliesDucks10 June 1997
  • 1st Place: Elephant
  • 2nd Place: Ibex
  • 3rd Place: Discus fish
  • Prairie Dog
23Endangered Animals Bengal tiger 17 June 1997
24An Animal Year Red squirrel 24 June 1997
25Prehistoric Animals Crocodile 7 July 1997
26Monkeys and Apes Mandrill 8 June 1997

Season 3 (1998)

Episode NumberTitleTitle card animalDate first airedPlotlineGolden Gecko Award Winners & Henry's Special Report
27Animal Hunters Golden eagle 14 April 1998
28Animal Talk Dog 21 April 1998
  • 1st Place: Ring-tailed lemur
  • 2nd Place: Zebra
  • 3rd Place: Bushbaby
  • Honey Bees
29Slimy Animals Apple snail 28 April 1998
30Rainforest AnimalsScarlet macaw5 May 1998
31Animal Acrobats Chimpanzee, Sea lion, Wallaby12 May 1998
32Underwater Animals Fish 19 May 1998
33Animal NeighborsRabbit26 May 1998
34Giant AnimalsGreat Dane2 June 1998
35Creepy Crawly Animals Grasshopper 9 June 1998
36Farm Animals Cow, Sheep 16 June 1998
37Animal ChangesLion cub, Lioness23 June 1998
38Extinct Animals Footprints 30 June 1998
39Animal Eggs Egg 7 July 1998

Season 4 (1999)

Episode NumberTitleTitle card animalDate first airedPlotlineGolden Gecko Award Winners & Henry's Special Report
40Animals Around the World Red kangaroo, Monarch butterfly, Chimpanzee, Fish13 April 1999Insects
  • The Party
41Polar Animals Siberian Husky 20 April 1999
42Clever Animals American crow 27 April 1999
43Underground Animals Rabbit 4 May 1999Note: The only episode to not feature the Golden Gecko Awards
  • Earthworms.
44Animal Helpers Collie 11 May 1999
45Woodland Animals Squirrel 18 May 1999
46Mountain Animals St. Bernard 25 May 1999
47Backyard Animals Mockingbird 1 June 1999
48Tiny Animals Mice 8 June 1999
  • 1st Place: Spider
  • 2nd Place: Mouse
  • 3rd Place: Threadsnake
  • The Food Chain
49Animal Partners Mule 15 June 1999
50Scaly AnimalsCrocodile, Fish22 June 1999Note: The only episode where Henry reads the title and the Narrator does the report.
51River AnimalsBeaver, Neon tetra 29 June 1999
52Animal Flight Ladybug 6 July 1999

Merchandise

Some merchandise was also released during the activity of the series. An educational computer game was also released with the television show. [2] [3] A board game known as The Really Amazing Animal Game was also sold but was shortly discontinued.

References

  1. ↑ Davey, Tim (5 January 1996). "Nature screen scoop". Evening Post. Bristol, England. p. 13. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  2. ↑ Boxer, Steve (27 May 1997). "Amazing Animals". The Daily Telegraph. London, England. p. 54. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  3. ↑ Glover, Anne (6 September 1997). "Amazing Animals". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. p. 193. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
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