The Animals of Farthing Wood

[Darkling Nocturnal]

Because Myrkin posted a screenshot in Strawberry's CC, I needed to start a topic about one of my favorite tv-series of my childhood:

The Animals of Farthing Wood
It has a wonderful story, mixed with great tension, fantastic music and shocking or touching deaths.

Season 1, that describes the destruction of the home forest of the animals, the oath, they make and the journey might be the most classical part of the series. But what makes the series really amazing is the second season:

In season 2, the animals live in the white deer park, but not everyone is happy with it. For the first time, there is a real antagonist in the series: Scarface. And this one is a real bad guy (not like Woundwort in the WSD-series, where you can at least understand his actings in season 1+2). What impressed me really, is the ending of this season: There is no happy end

Spoiler: ShowHide

Bold (that must be his name in original - in german, he's calles "Keck"), who will become a main role in this season, dies at the end

Season 3: Well, the worst season if it all. Bully is a laughingstock, Trey not anywhere near Scarface. The whole plot is silly in some places. The finale is the worst of all three. Only the end and the cutback of the adventures, the animals have experienced in season 1+2 saves this season halfway.

Nevertheless, this is one of my favorite all-time animated tv-shows, due to the amazing seasons 1 and 2.

BTW: I only read the first book, so I really can't say much about the adaption of the original story.

[Myrkin]

Ah, Bold. Poor Bold. I felt sorry for him for most of the season and especially when Whisper told him she only took him as her mate, because he was the son of the Farthing Wood Fox. She even said she hoped their (her and Bold's) kits will take after Fox. That's pretty cold, if you ask me. She sounded almost like she would rather mate with Fox, if she had a choice, but she had to make do with Bold.

Admittedly, she felt regret later for how she had treated Bold, so she wasn't totally uncaring.

[Hawkbit]

Again, I'm a first season watcher.  I even bought the series on VHS from someone in Canada who recorded it on tapes!  You don't watch it for the animation because its pretty limited, but the story is actually quite faithful to the book (save some sex changes but we're familiar with that on WSD. )  I do remember a long time ago seeing the second season with the blue foxes and Fox's son and how he was a bit of a prick, and didn't want to be a Farthing fox.  The story was something on those lines.  I know he died at the end when he managed to get home.  I think Badger died as well.  I was actually sadder to see Badger go than Bold, if that gives you any idea of what I thought of him as a character.  Its not a terrible series.

[Kornblume]

I always loved it, hope I can rewatch it someday. The German title " Als die Tiere den Wald verließen" translates to ""when the animals left the forest", but I think it's okay. I liked it because it was a bit darker than Disney and co.

[Darkling Nocturnal]

I must say: I'm very glad, that we have the whole series on DVD!

[Clover]

I remember watching this series a few years ago. I even burned all of the episodes to DVDs after downloading them all off of YouTube (having no idea if they are actually on DVD or not, but doesn't really matter now).

And to reply to what was said above, I think Bold's death was what got to the most out of the entire series but it has been 3 or 4 years since I've watched it, so about all I remember is what happened in the series and who the characters are. I may re-watch those burned DVDs sometime if there's nothing on TV at night.

[Daddytops2015]

Such a shame there only was 3 seasons.

[MeadowRabbit]

One of my most favourite cartoon series! <3

[Myrkin]

Mine too. I remember when I was a kid, I used to get up early in the morning to watch episodes of the show before I had to go to school. That part of being child was nice (the not-school part, that is).

[MeadowRabbit]

^ Yay! I recognise your username that you're on a certain FW forum. Don't think you've posted in a while, though!

[Myrkin]

You mean this one?  

http://forum.farthing-wood.net/index.php?

You're right, I haven't posted there in a long long while.

[Kili]

The first series is pretty much faithful to the original book, but the second series has some significant changes to it. (The feud with Scarface is stretched out longer than it is in the book, and Bold leaves White Deer Park when it's time for fox cubs to become independent in late summer/early autumn, rather than after his transgressions on to Scarface's territory. It's really worth reading the books if you can get hold of them, because they are better in my opinion than the series.

Series three - what can be said about that? It's the weakest one in the lot. Bully is a much more sinister character in the book than he is in the series, but missing out the Siege of White Deer Park is its biggest flaw.

Over all, I don't think that the animation is that bad and I love the way that the animals are drawn in it, and the way the backgrounds are painted is beautiful. (Weasel's laughter and joke making could have been toned down a lot, though. When I first watched it it didn't bother me too much, but her laughter goes through me now.)

[Magic-Rabbit]

I will put it at a very high ranking one of greatest British/European cartoons ever shown on television in not only the 1990s but 20th century full stop!