October 24, 1993(1993-10-24)– March 6, 1996(1996-03-06)
Really Wild Animals is an American children's educational natureseries, hosted by Dudley Moore as Spin, an anthropomorphicglobe.[1] Comprising 13 episodes, it was released between October 24, 1993, and March 6, 1996. It was nominated for five national Daytime Emmy Awards and won one.
Songs were written, produced, and mostly performed by Alan O'Day and Janis Liebhart. At the end of an episode, Spin says, "But (you know), there are lots more Really Wild Animals all across this wonderful world of ours, so be sure to join me on our next (exciting) adventure. Until then, this is your pal Spin. Spin ya later!"
Episodes
The series was released on VHS and on August 2, 2005, National Geographic began releasing the episodes on DVD.
There are five songs. The 1st is about lions ("Hey Lion"); the 2nd is about baby animals ("Young Thing"); the 3rd is about how humans, monkeys, and apes are related ("Family"); the 4th is about zebras ("Stripes"), and the 5th is about Africa's beauty ("The Heart That Beats in Africa") sung by Dorian Holley.
Note: The DVD version omits the "Weather Update", "Africa's Most Wanted", "Traffic Update" and "As the Earth Turns" signs.
There are five songs. The 1st is about Australia and how unique it is ("Down Under"); the 2nd is about kangaroos ("Wait Up, Kangaroo"); the 3rd is about Australia's strange animals ("Proud to Be Strange"); the 4th is about the Outback's reptiles and amphibians ("Tracks in the Sand"); and the 5th is about how despite the "strange" appearances, Australia's animals make it a unique land ("Strange New Friend").
There are five songs. The 1st is about water ("Water"); the 2nd is about strange animals that live deep in the sea ("City of the Creeps"); the 3rd is about the importance of keeping the water clean ("If the Water is Clear"); the 4th is about animal movement ("It's in the Way You Move"); and the 5th is about the "real" underwater treasure, all the wildlife ("I Found a Treasure").
Note: This is the first episode where Spin explores the world instead of just sticking to one continent, and the last one to feature Caesar Video Graphics animates.
There are four songs. The 1st is about all the life that lives in the rainforest ("Greenhouse"); the 2nd is about the importance of finding food and the food chain ("What Do You Want for Lunch"); the 3rd is about the rainforest canopy and all the birds that call it home ("Bird's-Eye View"), and the 4th is about the importance of keeping the rainforest safe ("This Must Be the Place").
Note: This is the first episode animated by Click 3X and the change in studios resulted in Spin being redesigned. The end has a prototype animation in which Spin doesn't put away his magnifying glass at the end; he zooms in.
There are four songs. The 1st is about what animals need to do to survive in North America ("I Gotta Be Wild"); the 2nd is about the places animals call home ("Look Who's Moving In"); the 3rd is about difficulties in getting what animals want ("To Get What You Want"), and the 4th is about the winter season ("Winter").
There are four songs. The 1st is about all the Asian legends and how much truth is in them ("Legends in Asia"); the 2nd is about territories ("Get Off of My Turf"); the 3rd is about animal roughhousing and its importance ("Roughhouse"); and the 4th is about all the life, human and animal, in Asia ("Keep the Legends Alive").
There are four songs. The 1st is about the cold temperatures and how the animals survive ("Cold, Cold, Cold"); the 2nd is about ways animals beat the cold ("That's the Way We Do It Up Here"); the 3rd is about penguins, and names the 17 species ("Penguins"), and the 4th is a tribute to Antarctica ("The Last Great Wilderness").
8
"Hot Dogs and Cool Cats"
November21,1995(1995-11-21)
Spin looks at dogs and tries to determine if there is a link between wild and tame dogs. The 1st song is about why dogs do what they do ("Hey Dog"), and the 2nd is about dogs' loyalty ("Best Friends").
Spin examines cats and learns that no matter how tame, they're always wild. The 1st song is about cats having an attitude ("The Cat's Got an Attitude"), and the 2nd is about how they're wild inside ("Wild Inside").
Note: This was where the series started airing on TV, so the episodes had to be cut down in length. All VHS/DVDs released contained two 30-minute episodes. Also, beginning here, all episodes only have two songs. A bridging dog commercial between the two episodes is removed from the DVD version. The second part is also the first time Alan O'Day does not appear.
9
"Dinosaurs and Other Creature Features"
December5,1995(1995-12-05)
Spin examines dinosaurs such as Hadrosaurs (Duck-Billed Dinosaurs), Struthiomimus, Tyrannosaurus rex, and Dromaeosaurs (Raptors), and tries to answer the questions surrounding them, including how they became extinct, and if relatives still exist such as alligators, snakes, Komodo dragons, lizards, ostriches, and cassowaries. The 1st song focus on dinosaurs ("Dinosaurs"), and the 2nd shows how their modern-day relatives still "rock our world" ("We're Gonna Rock Your World").
Spin looks at some of the world's creepiest creatures, such as vampire bats, ants, flies, spiders, vultures, and dung beetles. He shows that no matter how scary they are, they all play an important part in the world. The 1st song is about how creatures are creepy and intriguing ("Creepy Creatures", animation by Jim and Vezna Tozzi), and the 2nd is about how important they are ("Keep on Creepin' On").
Notes: This is the first episode where the background changes from the sky to outer space, which will remain for the rest of the series. Also, Spin reads the title card as "Dinos and Other Creature Features" and footage from Phil Tippett's Prehistoric Beast and Dinosaur! are used for the dinosaur scenes. Paleontologist Robert T. Bakker appears, and footage from the Three Stooges episode "Disorder in the Court" and a clip from Killer Shrews is shown.
10
"Monkey Business and Other Family Fun"
December26,1995(1995-12-26)
Spin looks at primates, including gibbons, langurs, bush babies, aye-ayes, capuchins, and baboons. He also explains that primates are our distant relatives. The 1st song is about all primates ("Primates"), and the 2nd is about gorillas, our "gentle brothers" ("Gentle Brother").
Spin looks at animal families, including elephants, bullfrogs, ostriches, octopuses, albatrosses, and sea turtles and shows they're not all that different from human families. The 1st song is about how curious animal children are ("I'm Curious"), and the 2nd is about how important families are ("You're My Family").
Note: This episode features a parody of Candid Camera called "Candid Critter Camera" hosted by "Alan Grunt" (a parody of Allen Funt), who is played by Billy West. A "Candid Critter Camera" segment between the two episodes involving meerkats is removed from the DVD version.
11
"Farmyard Friends"
January9,1996(1996-01-09)
Spin looks at farm animals, such as turkeys, pigs, sheep, horses, and cows, and examines their wild relatives, such as dall sheep, wild turkeys, warthogs, and zebras, from all over the world. The 1st song is about all the animals on the farm ("Farmer, Farmer"), and the 2nd is about whether the viewer would be wild or tame ("Would You Rather be Wild, Would You Rather be Tame").
Spin looks at humans helping endangered animals, how animals rescue people, and if people work together to save animals, they'll prevent them from becoming extinct. The 1st song is about help being available for animals ("Help is on the Way"), and the 2nd is about humans working to save animals ("Safe at Last").
Notes: This first part doesn't mention the second segment. The TV version of "Farmyard Friends" was titled "Spin's Really Wild Farm Tour". Also, at this point, Warner Home Video became the distributor and started advertising before the episode began.
Note: Despite this being the last episode, it still ends with Spin saying, "But there are lots more Really Wild Animals all across this wonderful world of ours, so be sure to join me on our next adventure. Until then, this is your pal, Spin. Spin ya later!" This is presumed to encourage the viewer to start over again.
Teletubbies is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on their bellies. Recognised throughout popular culture for the uniquely shaped antenna protruding from the head of each character, the Teletubbies communicate through gibberish and were designed to bear resemblance to toddlers.
The Wild Thornberrys is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, Steve Pepoon, David Silverman, and Stephen Sustarsic for Nickelodeon. The series portrays the zany hijinks of an American family of wildlife documentary filmmakers known as the Thornberrys, which consist of the British nature documentary television host Nigel, his wife and camera operator Marianne, their 16-year-old daughter Debbie, their younger daughter Eliza, their adopted son Donnie, and a chimpanzee named Darwin. The series focuses in particular on Eliza, who has a magical ability to communicate with animals. The Thornberry family travels to every continent and wildlife environment in the ComVee, a recreational vehicle equipped with safety mechanisms to handle any terrain or body of water, to document their journeys in detail, with typical episodes involving Eliza befriending an animal and subsequently finding herself in peril.
Bill Callahan is an American singer-songwriter, who has also recorded and performed under the band name Smog. Callahan began working in the lo-fi genre, with home-made tape-albums recorded on four-track tape recorders. Later he began releasing albums with the label Drag City, to which he remains signed today.
Wild Kingdom, also known as Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, is an American documentary television program that features wildlife and nature. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and was revived in 2002. The show's second incarnation aired until 2011 on Animal Planet in the United States. A third incarnation streamed webisodes on a dedicated YouTube channel from 2013 to 2018. Starting April 4, 2021, the program will be shown in its traditional Sunday timeslot on the cable channel RFD-TV. A fourth incarnation, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, hosted by Peter Gros & Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, premiered on NBC as part of the network's Saturday morning The More You Know educational and informational programming block in October 2023.
Terence Paul Nutkins was an English naturalist. He appeared in the UK children's programmes Animal Magic, The Really Wild Show, Brilliant Creatures and Growing Up Wild.
The Future Is Wild is a 2002 speculative evolution docufiction miniseries and an accompanying multimedia entertainment franchise. The Future Is Wild explores the ecosystems and wildlife of three future time periods: 5, 100, and 200 million years in the future, in the format of a nature documentary. Though the settings and animals are fictional, the series has an educational purpose, serving as an informative and entertaining way to explore concepts such as evolution and climate change.
Nicholas Rowan Baker is an English naturalist and television presenter, notably on Children's BBC's The Really Wild Show.
Sunwoo & Company, Co., Ltd. (㈜선우앤컴퍼니) is an animation studio located in Seoul, South Korea. It was established as Sunwoo Production Inc. in 1974. It began by producing animation mainly for Disney Afternoon TV series, such as Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Bonkers and Darkwing Duck, and soon expanded by providing animation services for Nickelodeon shows like Rocko's Modern Life and Invader Zim, and other series like Duckman on USA Network and Fatherhood on Nick at Nite.
Zoboomafoo is a live-action/animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS from January 25, 1999, to November 21, 2001. It was formerly shown in public television and was regularly shown on Sprout until 2012. A total of 65 episodes were aired. A creation of the Kratt Brothers, it features a four-(later five)-year-old talking lemur named Zoboomafoo, performed by Canadian puppeteer Gord Robertson, and mainly portrayed by a lemur named Jovian, along with a collection of returned animal guests.
Christopher Gary Packham CBE is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author, best known for his television work including the CBBC children's nature series The Really Wild Show from 1986 to 1995. He has also presented the BBC nature series Springwatch, including Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, since 2009.
Martin William Kratt and Christopher Frederick James Kratt are American zoologists, educational nature show hosts and YouTubers. Sons of musical instrument manufacturer William King "Bill" Kratt, the brothers grew up in Warren Township, New Jersey and together created children's television series Kratts' Creatures, Zoboomafoo, Be the Creature, and Wild Kratts.
A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures. Nature documentaries usually concentrate on video taken in the subject's natural habitat, but often including footage of trained and captive animals, too. Sometimes they are about wildlife or ecosystems in relationship to human beings. Such programmes are most frequently made for television, particularly for public broadcasting channels, but some are also made for the cinema. The proliferation of this genre occurred almost simultaneously alongside the production of similar television series which is distributed across the world.
Stephen James Backshall is a British naturalist, explorer, presenter and writer, best known for BBC TV's Deadly 60.
Iggy Arbuckle is an animated television series that aired on Teletoon in Canada from June 29 to October 10, 2007. Based on a comic strip from National Geographic Kids, the show is created by Guy Vasilovich, and focuses on a pig who happens to be a forest ranger, known in the series as a "Pig Ranger", and his best friend Jiggers the beaver. The plot involves Iggy's attempts to protect the environmental structure of the fictional Kookamunga National Park. It was produced by Blueprint Entertainment, in association with C.O.R.E. Toons and National Geographic Kids. Internationally, it was distributed by Oasis International.
The Penguins of Madagascar is an American animated television series produced by DreamWorks Animation and co-produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It stars nine characters from DreamWorks' animated film Madagascar: the penguins Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, and Private ; the lemurs King Julien, Maurice, and Mort ; and Mason and Phil the chimpanzees. Characters new to the series include Marlene the otter and a zookeeper named Alice. It is the first Nicktoon co-produced with DreamWorks Animation. The series was executive-produced by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle, who were the creators of the animated series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and Disney Channel's Kim Possible.
Deadly... is a strand of British wildlife documentary programming aimed principally at children and young people, which is broadcast on CBBC on BBC One and Two and on the CBBC Channel. It is presented by Steve Backshall, with Naomi Wilkinson as co-host on Live 'n Deadly, and Barney Harwood as co-host on Natural Born Hunters. The strand began with a single series known as Deadly 60, and has subsequently expanded into a number of spin-offs, re-edits and follow-up versions.
Nathaniel "Coyote" Peterson is an American YouTuber, wildlife educator, and host of Animal Planet's series Coyote Peterson: Brave the Wild. He is best known for his YouTube channel Brave Wilderness, which focuses on documenting and educating about animals. Peterson has also become known for videos in which he allows himself to be stung or bitten by various animals, many of them venomous, such as the bullet ant and the executioner wasp.
Animal Jam Classic, formerly known as Animal Jam, is a massively multiplayer online game that is developed by WildWorks and recommended for kids up to the age of 12. It was launched in 2010, in collaboration with the National Geographic Society. As of late 2020, there were 3.3 million monthly active users and a lifetime total of 130 million registered players in 200 countries across both Animal Jam Classic and Animal Jam.
America's Funniest Home Videos: Animal Edition is an American video clip television series that first aired on Nat Geo Wild on June 11, 2021. It is based on the Japanese variety show Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan and is a spin-off of America's Funniest Home Videos. The show features humorous and wondrous homemade animal videos that are submitted by viewers, from pets to wildlife and everything in-between. It is hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro, who is also the current host of its parent show.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
