Animalia (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Animalia


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genre =
creator =
director = David Scott

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presenter =
starring =
voices = Brooke Anderson
Katie Leigh
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country = flagicon|Australia Australia
language = English
num_seasons =
num_episodes = 40
list_episodes =
executive_producer = Tom Ruegger
Graeme Base
Ewan Burnett
Murray Pope
Bruce Johnson
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editor =
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network = Network Ten
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first_run =
first_aired = November 11 2007
last_aired =
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website = http://www.animalia.tv/
imdb_id = 0887305
tv_com_id =

"Animalia" is an Australian children's television series based on the 1986 picture book "Animalia" by illustrator Graeme Base.

Development

The series was first conceived in 1999 when Australian producer Ewan Burnett met with Base, and obtained the rights to an adaptation of the best-selling book. In early 2002, Burnett finalised the funding arrangements with Australian and international broadcast partners and investors, but the project was delayed when the British government revised the United Kingdom's taxation laws so that projects claiming special tax status had to be delivered in the financial year they were claimed. After three years of re-financing, "Animalia" began production in 2005.Kalina, Paul: [http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv--radio/series-that-almost-never-was/2007/11/07/1194329300022.html Series that (almost) never was] , "The Age", November 8 2007.]

The book on which the series was based is a picture book with each spread depicting an elaborate illustration in which every animal and object begins with a particular letter of the alphabet. As there was no coherent narrative or central characters, these were developed with the concept of a fantasy world where animals of all kinds intermingled and interacted becoming the central theme.

As the series was to be broadcast internationally, the alphabetical theme central to the book was dropped, as it was based on the English language alphabet, and would make no sense if the program was redubbed into another language.

Production

The series is computer-animated, and 40 half-hour episodes were produced by Animalia Productions, based at Village Roadshow Studios in Queensland, and Australian visual effects companies Photon VFX, and Iloura Digital Pictures. [ [http://www.photonvfx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=96 Animalia Animation Series To Be Made] , Photon VFX, October 2 2006.]

Plot

"Animalia" tells the story of two human children, Alex and his friend Zoe, who stumble into the magical library which transports them to the animal-inhabited world of Animalia. Strange events have undermined the Animalian civilization, and Alex and Zoe join forces with their new friends G'Bubu the gorilla and Iggy the iguana to save Animalia. [ [http://www.digitalmedia.com.au/node/260 Animalia prepares to launch on-air on Ten] , "Digital Media World".]

Characters

Humans

Alex - Alex is a natural artist and is hardly ever seen without a sketchbook and pencil. He keeps a cool level head and is rather enthusiastic with a sense of adventure. What makes him special is his ability to see forgotten portals that can transport anyone anywhere in Animalia.

Zoe - A sassy and smart-mouthed Spanish Girl, Zoe met Alex by accident where she followed him to the world of Animalia. Despite a few grudges, she manages to find a friend in Alex, who she refers to as "Sketch Boy". She is high-spirited and plucky and can be a schemer when she needs to be, although she can be a bit arrogant at times. She is also careless, as in 'What's The Good Word?", she incites Tyrannicus' wrath. She is a very good story teller, as evidenced in "Over and Beyond".

Animalians

Note: In a nod to the book, the names of all the Animalians begin with the first letter of their species name.

G'Bubu - G'Bubu is a large green gorilla who lives in his treehouse home with his best friend Iggy. Still a teenager himself, G'Bubu is fun-loving and enjoys monkeying around. Despite this, he still has a sense of acumen, be it about Animalia or his family tree.

Iggy - Iggy the Iguana is Castilian with a slightly excitable personality. He thinks himself to be bigger than anyone else but always gets ahead of himself. He and G'Bubu were the first to befriend Alex and Zoe when they first arrived and are always on hand to help their new friends with any problem. He also fancies Zoe.

Livingstone - Livingstone Lion is the youthful leader of Animalia and the Keeper of the Core. He has a vast knowledge of the Core itself and just about everything and everyone in Animalia. He maybe gentle, helpful and always up for a game, sometimes he is rather self-deprecating whether he can manage to bring Animalia back on track with its unstable Core.

Reenie - Reenie is a Scottish Black Rhino. She works at Animalia's Great Library and helps Livingston with keeping the Core stable whether something goes wrong. Almost as smart as Livingston and just as friendly, Reenie has a big heart for everyone.

Allegra - A teenage Alligator who lives in the swamps, Allegra is a self-loving and snappy creature who is very protective of her land. She dreams of being a singer but the others find that unlikely due to her terrible voice, except for her two "gal pals", Bitzy and Snitzy, who constantly follow Allegra and admire her thoughts.

Tyrannicus - An aloof and pompous tiger, Tyrannicus feels he should be ruler of Animalia rather than Livingston. However, he still finds ways of getting ahead by the use of "quick-rich" schemes, fooling as many as he can in his false advertising. He despises Alex and Zoe, who he refers to as "stink bugs" and especially wants to get rid of them. His plans and schemes would never work without the aid of his assistant, Fushia, and knows that he would be useless without her. Later in the series, he forms an alliance with the Creeper.

Fushia - Fushia is a French fox and Tyrannicus's assistant; always sent to arrange or develop plans and has a lot more sense than her own boss. Later in the series, when she discovered that her boss and the Creeper are working together, she abandons Tyrannicus but worked briefly as a double agent to pass on the Creeper's plans to Livingstone. In "The Call To Action", however, she was found out and fired by the Creeper where she returned to Tyrannicus. It may be revealed in the episode "Taking the Guilt Trip" that Tyrannicus has a crush on Fushia.

Elni & Erno - The two friendly Australian elephants who run the Elephants Eatery, the local restaurant for all Animalians. Elni's warm personality makes her lovable by all, while Erno's cooking is something worth trying, despite his tendency to panic. Later in the series, Elni gives birth for a baby girl called Echo.

Herry & Horble - Herry and Horble (known as the "Horrible Hogs") are Cockney Warthogs who are a little crass at times. They are mostly seen riding on their large motorcycles, specially equipped with loud speakers that play music wherever they go. Most of the time, they normally do deeds or follow orders for either Allegra or Tyrannicus.

Melba and Melford - Melba and Melford Mouse are the main news reporters on Animalia News, broadcasting all the current news and happenings on Fluttervision. Melba is more level-headed and calm whereas Melford is slightly more neurotic and rather slow on thinking.

Zee & Zed - Zee and Zed are Texan Zebras who ride in their large zeppelin-like balloon giving the low-down on Animalia from a bird's eye view. While Zed has his head on his shoulders, Zee is vast in fervour and sometimes can't stop herself talking excitedly.

Victor and Verbal - Introduced in "Getting Over the Glums", they are a Vulture Comedy Double Act: Victor, a Jewish sounding comedian, and his wise-cracking Ventriloquist Dummy, Verbal. They're hugely popular for, not only being vegetarians unlike normal vultures, but their years of hilarious stand-ups have made them an unforgettable duo.

The Toucans - A colourful band of birds who, whenever they talk, speak only one word in every sentence. Sometimes they get the words mixed up and confuse their sentences; this was especially in "Long Story Short".

Butterflies - In the world of Animalia, rather than television sets, the residents watch Fluttervision. Large beautiful butterflies fly from home to home and arrange themselves as a large screen where the Animalians can watch the latest happenings from the Animalian news. They only do this for a short time as they do get worn out if watched for too long.

The Creeper - A strange and devious character who was once part of the Community Team until he was banished when using the secret portals to steal from the Animalian's homes. During the series' run, the form of the Creeper turns out to be a long-tailed weasel, who ended up lost in his own portals. Alex comes across him one day and, masquerading as "TC", The Creeper is freed without Alex realising who he is. Now The Creeper plans to overthrow Animalia by taking control over the Core. In the finale, he is defeated when Livingstone touches the Corwhich the Creeper was still inside, causing him to be shot out like a Corespore, into the Wind of No Return, never to return.

Corespore types

There are many different types of Corespore. Here are a few of them:

• Memory spore: This makes all Animalians lose their memories. Seen in "Forget Me Not"

• Rhyme spore: This makes all Animalians have to speak in rhyme. Seen in "Catcher in the Rhyme".

• Time spore: Seen in "The Mist of Time".

• Generosity spore: Seen in "Alex's Treasure Island".

• Portal spore: A spore lost long ago that lets all animalians see the portals.

Broadcast details

The series began running on U.S. cable channel Animania HD on November 2 2007. [Ball, Ryan: [http://www.animationmagazine.net/article/7508 Animania HD Acquires Three Toons] , "Animation Magazine", October 22 2007.] ; in Australia on Network Ten at noon on Sundays beginning on November 11 2007 also on Nickelodeon since the start of May 2008; and in the United Kingdom on CBBC on BBC One on November 19 2007.

The other broadcast partners and investors in the series have not yet announced their broadcast schedules. The international networks involved in the production are: the BBC in the United Kingdom, PBS Kids GO! in the United States and CBC in Canada. The series will also be broadcast by SABC 2 in South Africa [ [http://www.tvsa.co.za/mastershowinfo.asp?mastershowID=1481 TVSA Mini-Site] ] , Al Jazeera and in Israel.

DVD Releases

On June 30 2008, the first seven episodes of the series were released on DVD in the UK, entitled "Animalia: Where Animals Rule!".

References

External links

* [http://www.animalia.tv/ "Animalia" Official Website]
* [http://www.australiantelevision.net/animalia/episodes.html "Animalia" Episode Guide]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/animalia/ Official CBC "Animalia" Website]
* [http://pbskids.org/animalia/ Official PBS Kids "Animalia" Website]