24 reviews
Mostly excellent
I watched this on and off as a kid, then as an adult I re-read the whole series of Farthing Wood books and got hooked once again.
THE GOOD:
The series is very faithful to the books; a lot of the script has been taken directly from it. It covers all the story lines (lately released prequel notwithstanding) from the initial flight to White Deer Park to the problems posed by the likes of Scarface and Trey and the rats at the end. While some parts of it take two separate books and combine them into one storyline, this is done so well and so cleverly that it really doesn't matter. The animation is basic but sound, and consistent all the way through. The voice acting is reasonably good (Badger in particular is excellent) The characters act more or less as they do in the books, with two notable exceptions (see below for details)
THE BAD:
Most of the animals seem to have undergone a sex change. Adder, Tawny Owl, Weasel and Kestrel are all female in this adaptation, whereas in the books they were all male. Out of all four, Owl's voice is the best; the persona is completely identical to that of the book.
Character redesign: Weasel comes across as a silly clown with possibly the most irritating laugh I've ever heard
Character redesign: Adder comes across as an evil, sneaky villain, even going so far as to alter the words of the Oath (in the book, Badger insists Adder swear first, and Adder complies willingly and serves as a full member of the group). This really did disappoint me, as Adder was easily my favourite character from the books.
All in all, though, a fantastic series and well worth a watch!
THE GOOD:
The series is very faithful to the books; a lot of the script has been taken directly from it. It covers all the story lines (lately released prequel notwithstanding) from the initial flight to White Deer Park to the problems posed by the likes of Scarface and Trey and the rats at the end. While some parts of it take two separate books and combine them into one storyline, this is done so well and so cleverly that it really doesn't matter. The animation is basic but sound, and consistent all the way through. The voice acting is reasonably good (Badger in particular is excellent) The characters act more or less as they do in the books, with two notable exceptions (see below for details)
THE BAD:
Most of the animals seem to have undergone a sex change. Adder, Tawny Owl, Weasel and Kestrel are all female in this adaptation, whereas in the books they were all male. Out of all four, Owl's voice is the best; the persona is completely identical to that of the book.
Character redesign: Weasel comes across as a silly clown with possibly the most irritating laugh I've ever heard
Character redesign: Adder comes across as an evil, sneaky villain, even going so far as to alter the words of the Oath (in the book, Badger insists Adder swear first, and Adder complies willingly and serves as a full member of the group). This really did disappoint me, as Adder was easily my favourite character from the books.
All in all, though, a fantastic series and well worth a watch!
Excellent Children's Entertainment!
This show is an excellent series for children to watch. I would rate it even higher than I have here (8 out of 10) if it wasn't for the fact that you can't help but feel the show is a little bit "dated" in it's look and style. The storytelling is very good but that is something else which you can tell from watching is from a previous era of television.
The animals and characters are all great with some really fantastic voice acting.
The stories are age appropriate for children, well written and also teaching some very good lessons in a way that is fun for the kids and does not beat them over the head.
The animals and characters are all great with some really fantastic voice acting.
The stories are age appropriate for children, well written and also teaching some very good lessons in a way that is fun for the kids and does not beat them over the head.
- encore-530-712126
- Sep 28, 2014
- Permalink
A great cartoon, but very dark
I haven't watched this cartoon on Television, but i have watched it on youtube only i was the first season and the second season, when i saw it, i loved, because i loved the characters.
It's series teach good things, but it has some scenes that can be annoying for some younger viewers.
- sarakleinp
- Nov 17, 2018
- Permalink
Please make children shows like this again
When you look at kids shows today you can't believe the things you watched when you were a kid. Today no one would make a show like this because now it's politically incorrect. And if they did it would be marketed for older teenagers. This show had violence, complexity, depth, realism, moralistic debates and good wry humour. Today's show's for the same age group by comparison are childish, shallow and plain silly which don't get me wrong they have a place in our TV viewing habits but when it is the only thing you can give your kids to watch, well it's rather sad.
This was a show were they didn't shy from the fact that predators eat prey, the characters had real personality clashes and there was no fully good or fully bad character they all had a bit of both. They even dealt with the issues of death, loss and grief. We have become so afraid of children getting hurt our TV shows treat our kids like idiots. I was 7 to 8 when I watched this show and I understood all the themes and moral dilemmas moreover I wanted to know about them and since parents aren't going discuss things like that with a 7 yr old kid I really got to thank shows like this for helping me build a moral character.
Come on TV land be daring make kids shows like this again. Kids need stimulation not constant mindless candy floss.
This was a show were they didn't shy from the fact that predators eat prey, the characters had real personality clashes and there was no fully good or fully bad character they all had a bit of both. They even dealt with the issues of death, loss and grief. We have become so afraid of children getting hurt our TV shows treat our kids like idiots. I was 7 to 8 when I watched this show and I understood all the themes and moral dilemmas moreover I wanted to know about them and since parents aren't going discuss things like that with a 7 yr old kid I really got to thank shows like this for helping me build a moral character.
Come on TV land be daring make kids shows like this again. Kids need stimulation not constant mindless candy floss.
- sapphire_dragon-1
- Dec 24, 2011
- Permalink
More than just a kids show...
I remembered loving (and being disturbed as well) "The Animals of Farthing Wood" as a kid. At 17, I still love it, it is truly a great show for kids and adults that teaches very good life lessons without preaching. I for one liked the animation style, the look of it reminded me of "Watership Down" which is one of my favourite films. The backgrounds are nice and evergreen, the colours are beautiful and the character features were excellent. The music was amazing, I have always loved the main theme. The characters are endearing and all had unique personalities, particularly Fox, Weasel, Toad and Adder, and the story lines are gripping, intelligent and well done. The voice acting is impressive too, Rupert Farley, Susan Jefferson and Ron Moody all do a stellar job. Is there a drawback? Maybe a small one, the third series wasn't as compelling as the first two series, but it was watchable and ended more than decently. All in all, this is a great show, maybe with one or two minor discrepancies but it is definitely worth the look and I recommend it strongly. 10/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Feb 9, 2010
- Permalink
AOFW is my life
I grew up with the animals of farthing wood I don't know how i would have turned out if i hadn't had the ultimate joy of experiencing it.
I have all 3 series on video as well all the original books and all the magazines too.
I still watch them now and again and they still have that same wonderful effect on me. I love the characters so much. There's so much you can relate to in the story; you have the fear of something, courage to stand up, forbidden love, rebelling against your parents and most especially friendship and looking after others.
I thing i didn't like about the series is that in series 2 and more noticeably in series 3 the animals movement became more cartoon like and less animal like, so you have fox giving a big over dramatic yawn, then noticing that owls there suddenly sits up with big shocked eyes, it's just very unanimal-like. I think that because of this some of the animals like mosey lost their adroability when they became more cartoon like.
Either way though it was a fantastic show and i want the complete set to come out on DVD - it would be soooooo much handier than video.
I have all 3 series on video as well all the original books and all the magazines too.
I still watch them now and again and they still have that same wonderful effect on me. I love the characters so much. There's so much you can relate to in the story; you have the fear of something, courage to stand up, forbidden love, rebelling against your parents and most especially friendship and looking after others.
I thing i didn't like about the series is that in series 2 and more noticeably in series 3 the animals movement became more cartoon like and less animal like, so you have fox giving a big over dramatic yawn, then noticing that owls there suddenly sits up with big shocked eyes, it's just very unanimal-like. I think that because of this some of the animals like mosey lost their adroability when they became more cartoon like.
Either way though it was a fantastic show and i want the complete set to come out on DVD - it would be soooooo much handier than video.
The best children's series of all time.
An epic children's story...but great for adults too
*CONTAINS SPOILERS*
I watched the Animals of Farthing Wood a lot when I was growing up, and while admittedly I've forgotten a lot of the story lines and such, much of it has stuck with me.
One of things I enjoyed most about the show were the characters. There was a huge range of woodland creatures, all of which had their own personality, little background stories and theire own relationships with certain other characters in the group. The smaller animals were always very timid and would always try and protect their families. Adder (who had a darkside to her, always ready to eat the rodents) had a grudging, but quite close friendship with Owl, and Badger played as adviser to the lead role, Fox. And of course there was the close bond between Badger and Mole.
The other thing that strikes you about the show however, is the way the characters develop, sometimes get killed and eventually grow old and die, something which you don't see a lot in children's TV. I remember being pretty traumatised when Moley died as it was totally unexpected. And after that, you could see his close friend Badger slowly delapidate and die of old age, another truly sad moment. But then there were also the fantastic moments, like when the group at last reach White Deer Park and it seems as if they have come to a happy ending and when Fox and Vixen finally have their litter of fox cubs, who we in turn watch grow into adolescent foxes.
It is a truly great show and is reminiscent of Watership Down. The varying story lines, character development and relationships and decent animation make this more than just a kids cartoon.
I watched the Animals of Farthing Wood a lot when I was growing up, and while admittedly I've forgotten a lot of the story lines and such, much of it has stuck with me.
One of things I enjoyed most about the show were the characters. There was a huge range of woodland creatures, all of which had their own personality, little background stories and theire own relationships with certain other characters in the group. The smaller animals were always very timid and would always try and protect their families. Adder (who had a darkside to her, always ready to eat the rodents) had a grudging, but quite close friendship with Owl, and Badger played as adviser to the lead role, Fox. And of course there was the close bond between Badger and Mole.
The other thing that strikes you about the show however, is the way the characters develop, sometimes get killed and eventually grow old and die, something which you don't see a lot in children's TV. I remember being pretty traumatised when Moley died as it was totally unexpected. And after that, you could see his close friend Badger slowly delapidate and die of old age, another truly sad moment. But then there were also the fantastic moments, like when the group at last reach White Deer Park and it seems as if they have come to a happy ending and when Fox and Vixen finally have their litter of fox cubs, who we in turn watch grow into adolescent foxes.
It is a truly great show and is reminiscent of Watership Down. The varying story lines, character development and relationships and decent animation make this more than just a kids cartoon.
- Tortured_Tetsuo
- Apr 11, 2004
- Permalink
All for One and One for All
- XxXPETEXxX
- Jan 15, 2008
- Permalink
My favourite childhood show
I was obsessed with it. It got me interested in wildlife and I loved every minute of it.
Very dark but entertaining.
- sarah-prendergast86
- Apr 13, 2019
- Permalink
Cute, Insightful & Poignant, But a Little Depressing
- alleywayambush
- Aug 5, 2018
- Permalink
Sweet and educational
Beautiful, sweet and educational cartoon. The characters are well worked. A nice series to show to little kids. The drawings are also beautifully made (old style).
- victorscentral-fbk
- Jul 2, 2021
- Permalink
Good but not Great
There are a lot of good things about this series. In many ways it's a throwback to the old days of British animation, and certainly stands out against the background of most of today's modern American cartoons. This is not always a strength, however.
The backgrounds and animation are disappointing; in particular the backgrounds often appear faded and washed-out, drawing unfavourable comparisons with the highly-detailed landscapes used in other nature cartoons, like Watership Down. The animation frequently produces problems with scale, the sizes of some animals varying even within scenes, and while the character design is mostly excellent there are too many instances of motion looping: the same pieces of animation getting used again and again.
The voice acting is inconsistent, and the series clearly suffers from being unable to hire more than a few voice actors. The problem with having several characters voiced by one actor is that , more often than not, the actor will have to go to extremes of accent or pitch in order to produce voices that sound different, and as a result many of the supporting characters sound so irritating it's hard to sympathise with them. Having said that, the main characters are quite well done, and in particular the second-series' villains Scarface and Lady Blue are invested with suitable malevolence.
So why is Farthing Wood a good cartoon, despite its problems? Perhaps its greatest achievement is to take a very mediocre series of novels, distill the best elements from them and use that as a starting point to develop stories and characters. Often the first thing discarded in the transition from page to TV is violence, but Farthing Wood deserves credit for retaining much of the book' realism; characters are killed off like it's open season in the safari, and the series doesn't shy away from depicting copious amounts of blood.
Sad, thrilling and ultimately uplifting, Farthing Wood is a relic of the days when children felt more connected with nature and the Great Outdoors, and although a small budget limited its excellence, very likely it will be the last great British nature cartoon.
The backgrounds and animation are disappointing; in particular the backgrounds often appear faded and washed-out, drawing unfavourable comparisons with the highly-detailed landscapes used in other nature cartoons, like Watership Down. The animation frequently produces problems with scale, the sizes of some animals varying even within scenes, and while the character design is mostly excellent there are too many instances of motion looping: the same pieces of animation getting used again and again.
The voice acting is inconsistent, and the series clearly suffers from being unable to hire more than a few voice actors. The problem with having several characters voiced by one actor is that , more often than not, the actor will have to go to extremes of accent or pitch in order to produce voices that sound different, and as a result many of the supporting characters sound so irritating it's hard to sympathise with them. Having said that, the main characters are quite well done, and in particular the second-series' villains Scarface and Lady Blue are invested with suitable malevolence.
So why is Farthing Wood a good cartoon, despite its problems? Perhaps its greatest achievement is to take a very mediocre series of novels, distill the best elements from them and use that as a starting point to develop stories and characters. Often the first thing discarded in the transition from page to TV is violence, but Farthing Wood deserves credit for retaining much of the book' realism; characters are killed off like it's open season in the safari, and the series doesn't shy away from depicting copious amounts of blood.
Sad, thrilling and ultimately uplifting, Farthing Wood is a relic of the days when children felt more connected with nature and the Great Outdoors, and although a small budget limited its excellence, very likely it will be the last great British nature cartoon.
- VoidWarren
- Jul 14, 2008
- Permalink
Do not recommend for young children. Parents, please screen this for your kids.
I watched this show accidently as a child, and I found the animals killings and deaths deeply disturbing. In fact, as an adult, I still find them disturbing.
Personally, I abhor this show. Others may like it. Nonetheless, if you are thinking about showing this to your kids, I STRONGLY recommend that you screen it first and make sure your kids won't be upset.
Personally, I abhor this show. Others may like it. Nonetheless, if you are thinking about showing this to your kids, I STRONGLY recommend that you screen it first and make sure your kids won't be upset.
- nathanielcmetz
- Oct 24, 2018
- Permalink
A unique, beautiful and original tale of courageous animals.
"The Animals Of Farthing Wood" is a real classic and wont be forgotten. It's animation is unique and people of all ages can relate to the characters. The program was watched by thousands of youngsters all over the country and everyone of my generation will remember it forever.
- jamie_leigh_abery
- Mar 2, 2002
- Permalink
Excellent Animated Series from the BBC in the year 1993
I find the show called The Animals Of Farthing Wood (1993) is very good, But it can be dark and edgy at times. Fox is the very good leader, Badger is the kind-hearted mentor, Vixen is Fox's Love Interest, Whistler the Polite and Affable Gentleman Heron, Toad The Travel Guide with a West Country Accent, Mole the Cute and adorable friend of Badger, Kestrel is the Logical and Reasonable Bird of Prey, Owl is Pompous, but very Intelligent Bird of Prey with a Received Pronunciation, Adder the Cunning, Cold, Icy and Aloof Snake with a Heart of Gold and the Practical Jokester/Comic Relief Weasel. The Animation, the story, the art style, the music and the voice acting are excellent, I'm giving this series a 10/10.
- rebeccaajclarke
- Feb 19, 2022
- Permalink
The best in terms of animation
This show is pretty good, it has charismatic characters and an excellent story that is quite entertaining. TOTALLY RECOMMENDED!
- DogeGamer2015
- Sep 25, 2020
- Permalink
Ratings:
- lindseycatherine
- Oct 9, 2020
- Permalink
Fox!
one of the best animated series I've ever watched
YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS RIGHT NOW
because of
a terrified, heartbreaking, beautiful and a masterpiece story
I'll give it a 10 because of it
all of it.
- Amixthekid
- Jun 5, 2021
- Permalink
Great show
I first watched this when it was on the TV.Then when I was about 11 we found a copy in the library.It had several of the original episodes crushed together with some of the story lines taken out but we still wanted to see all of the videos.It was nice for me to see it again and to see the parts I remembered. It is not like Percy the Park Keeper where the animals are babyish and silly.Call me horrid,but personaly I couldn`t care wether the rabbit stayed down the well.Let her stay there! Unlike some things that are not like the books,this show is not awful. The first series was great but the second series was fantastic!It was very exciting and sadder than the first series.I felt like crying at some bits.There third series was weak.It just wasn`t gripping. This is still a classic show.Very endearing. I would give it 10\10 if it wasn`t the third series so I will give it 8\10
- jack-smales
- Sep 21, 2003
- Permalink
Very enjoyable series
Animals of Farthing Wood is a great show!
- twin_by-min
- Nov 5, 2005
- Permalink
If you love the books, skip this series
I know many Brits grew up with this show, so it's a fond childhood memory for them, and if that's the case for you then by all means take a trip down memory lane.
If (like me) you read the books first and then found this series, I'd recommend skipping it.
My 5 star rating is generous, and based on the first season alone. Season 1 covers the book 'The Animals Of Farthing Wood', and with the exception of a few gender swaps (which I understand would've been to attract more female viewers) it is a fairly accurate representation and decent viewing.
Season 2 is based on the books 'In The Grip of Winter', 'Fox's Feud' and 'Fox Cub Bold', and here's where things start to fall apart. Characters that survive the entire book series are killed off while characters that are killed off in the books survive the whole series.
Season 3 is based on the books 'In The Path of the Storm' and 'Battle For The Park' (with a tiny hint of 'The Siege of White Deer Park') and it's pure rubbish.
Weasel (with her insanely annoying voice) is promoted to main character for some reason. The plot BARELY resembles the source material, and begins to contradict itself. Characters go missing for no reason. I could go on...
Bottom line, if you want to read a wonderful series I couldn't recommend the books by Colin Dann more than I already do...just make sure not to watch this series directly afterwards.
If (like me) you read the books first and then found this series, I'd recommend skipping it.
My 5 star rating is generous, and based on the first season alone. Season 1 covers the book 'The Animals Of Farthing Wood', and with the exception of a few gender swaps (which I understand would've been to attract more female viewers) it is a fairly accurate representation and decent viewing.
Season 2 is based on the books 'In The Grip of Winter', 'Fox's Feud' and 'Fox Cub Bold', and here's where things start to fall apart. Characters that survive the entire book series are killed off while characters that are killed off in the books survive the whole series.
Season 3 is based on the books 'In The Path of the Storm' and 'Battle For The Park' (with a tiny hint of 'The Siege of White Deer Park') and it's pure rubbish.
Weasel (with her insanely annoying voice) is promoted to main character for some reason. The plot BARELY resembles the source material, and begins to contradict itself. Characters go missing for no reason. I could go on...
Bottom line, if you want to read a wonderful series I couldn't recommend the books by Colin Dann more than I already do...just make sure not to watch this series directly afterwards.
- DeceptiveFox
- Mar 5, 2022
- Permalink