Amazing Animals

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.

Amazing Animals
Also known as	Henry's Amazing Animals
Starring	Eric Meyers, Tom Clarke-Hill
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	52
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Dorling Kindersley Vision Partridge Films
Original release
Network	Disney Channel Disney Channel UK
Release	April 16, 1996 (1996-04-16) – July 6, 1999 (1999-07-06)

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

• Henry (voiced by Eric Meyers) is the show's main protagonist. He is a small green lizard with purple spots and yellow eyes. Henry is portrayed as being enthusiastic, albeit foolish and immature. He is generally depicted as ignorant of the episode's subject matter and typically fails in the endeavours he attempts to undertake. Sometimes, he can prove himself to be quite smart, he is also an inventor. He often identifies lizards seen in the video sequences as his cousins(example Monty the Monitor Lizard). His favorite food is pizza.
• The Narrator (voiced by Tony Clarke-Hill in the US version and Nigel Greaves in the UK version) is Henry's co-star, but he is never seen and almost never named. He is depicted as being wise and knowledgeable. In addition to teaching Henry about animals and correcting his special reports, the Narrator acts as a comedic foil to Henry: the show's "straight man", who cuts Henry down for his immaturity and lack of knowledge with some combination of a mature seriousness and a dry sarcasm.
• Crab Tuesday: Henry met Crab Tuesday (vocal effects provided by Fred Newman) during a visit to the seashore, and the crab has been Henry's best friend and assistant ever since. Henry names him Tuesday after Robinson Crusoe's "man Friday". Henry can often tell what Tuesday is saying, although he has no voice at all and communicates by snapping his claws. However, in Amazing Animal Hunters, he is heard mumbling "I don't know" to Henry. Crab Tuesday vocal effects was provided by Fred Newman.

Episodes

Season 1 (1996)

Episode Number	Title	Title Card Animal	Date first aired	Plotline	Golden Gecko Award Winners
1	Tropical Birds	Scarlet macaw	April 16, 1996	Henry lands in a tropical rainforest and learns about tropical birds – including, but not limited to, parrots.	1st Place: Hornbill 2nd Place: Toco Toucan 3rd Place: Jackson's Widowbird
2	Animal Disguises	Chameleon	April 23, 1996	Henry learns about camouflaged animals after looking for his own disguise.	1st Place: Chameleon 2nd Place: Poo Bug 3rd Place: Potoo Bird
3	Nighttime Animals	Springhare	April 30, 1996	After a long day with cousin Rex, Henry can't get to sleep, and learns about animals which stay up during the night.	1st Place: Greater Bushbaby 2nd Place: Kinkajou 3rd Place: Tarsier
4	Animal Appetites	King penguin	May 7, 1996	Henry opens a café for animals, but learns that different animals eat different things.	1st Place: Sea Otter 2nd Place: Goat 3rd Place: Koala
5	Animal Survivors	Wolf	May 14, 1996	After avoiding the dangerous animals on the desert island he is on, Henry learns about strategies that help animals to survive.	1st Place: Cicada 2nd Place: Shovel-snouted Lizard 3rd Place: Chinchilla
6	Animal Senses	Siamese cat	May 21, 1996	After knocking over some sense blocks, Henry learns about how animals explore the world around them using their senses.	1st Place: Bat-eared fox 2nd Place: Green Tree Python 3rd Place: Elephant Nose Fish
7	Animal Weapons	Goat	May 28, 1996	Guarding his toy castle from an attack, Henry learns about animals that can fight other animals using body weapons.	1st Place: Japanese fighting fish 2nd Place: Jackson's Chameleon 3rd Place: Ibex
8	Animal Builders	Beaver	June 4, 1996	Henry is building a house, to learn that he is not the only animal that builds a home.	1st Place: Woodpecker 2nd Place: Jawfish 3rd Place: Mexican burrowing toad
9	Armored Animals	Tortoise	June 11, 1996	Henry learns that there are different animals with protective armor.	1st Place: Elephant 2nd Place: Millipede 3rd Place: Tortoise
10	Mini Beasts	Tarantula	June 18, 1996	Henry learns that there are many very small animals that inhabit the wild.	1st Place: Common garden spider 2nd Place: Giant land snail 3rd Place: Praying mantis
11	Animal Babies	Kitten, Puppy, Duckling	June 25, 1996	An 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.	1st Place: African hunting dog 2nd Place: Right whale 3rd Place: Giraffe
12	Poisonous Animals	Gila monster	July 2, 1996	Thinking 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.	1st Place: Black widow spider 2nd Place: Scorpion 3rd Place: Gila monster
13	Animal Journeys	Camel	July 9, 1996	Globetrotting (literally walking across the surface of a globe), Henry learns that animals also move long distances too.	1st Place: Wildebeest 2nd Place: Camel 3rd Place: Flying gecko

Season 2 (1997)

Episode Number	Title	Title Card Animal	Date first aired	Plotline
14	Birds of Prey	Black vulture	April 15, 1997
15	Desert Animals	Dromedary camel	April 22, 1997
16	Scary Animals	Tarantula	April 29, 1997
17	Animal Records	Tortoise, rabbit	May 6, 1997
18	Animal Colors	Golden pheasant	May 13, 1997
19	Animal Mothers	Lioness	May 20, 1997	Henry learns to appreciate his mother.
20	Animal Pets	Puli	May 27, 1997
21	Seashore Animals	Pelican	June 3, 1997
22	Animal Families	Ducks	June 10, 1997
23	Endangered Animals	Bengal tiger	June 17, 1997
24	An Animal Year	Red squirrel	June 24, 1997
25	Prehistoric Animals	Crocodile	July 7, 1997
26	Monkeys and Apes	Mandrill	June 8, 1997

Season 3 (1998)

Episode Number	Title	Title Card Animal	Date first aired	Plotline
27	Animal Hunters	Golden eagle	April 14, 1998
28	Animal Talk	Dog	April 21, 1998
29	Slimy Animals	Apple snail	April 28, 1998
30	Rainforest Animals	Scarlet macaw	May 5, 1998
31	Animal Acrobats	Chimpanzee, Sea lion, Wallaby	May 12, 1998
32	Underwater Animals	Fish	May 19, 1998
33	Animal Neighbors	Rabbit	May 26, 1998
34	Giant Animals	Great Dane	June 2, 1998
35	Creepy Crawly Animals	Grasshopper	June 9, 1998
36	Farm Animals	Cow, Sheep	June 16, 1998
37	Animal Changes	Lion cub, Lioness	June 23, 1998
38	Extinct Animals	Footprints	June 30, 1998
39	Animal Eggs	Egg	July 7, 1998

Season 4 (1999)

Episode Number	Title	Title Card Animal	Date first aired	Plotline
40	Animals Around the World	Red kangaroo, Monarch butterfly, Chimpanzee, Fish	April 13, 1999
41	Polar Animals	Siberian Husky	April 20, 1999
42	Clever Animals	American crow	April 27, 1999
43	Underground Animals	Rabbit	May 4, 1999	Note: The only episode to not feature the Golden Gecko Awards.
44	Animal Helpers	Collie	May 11, 1999
45	Woodland Animals	Squirrel	May 18, 1999
46	Mountain Animals	St. Bernard	May 25, 1999
47	Backyard Animals	Mockingbird	June 1, 1999
48	Tiny Animals	Mice	June 8, 1999
49	Animal Partners	Mule	June 15, 1999
50	Scaly Animals	Crocodile, Fish	June 22, 1999	Note: The only episode where Henry reads the title and the Narrator does the report.
51	River Animals	Beaver, Neon tetra	June 29, 1999
52	Animal Flight	Ladybug	July 6, 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.

External links

• List of episodes at DigiGuide.tv
• Amazing Animals at IMDb