This was a poignant trip down memory lane for me, because as a child, I used to love the TV adaptation of 'The Animals of Farthing Wood' and I remember rushing my dinner so I could go and watch it in the comfort and peace of my bedroom. Those were the days.

Wise Old Owl was meant to come across as an insufferable know-it-all, but the book was trying to play off that Badger knew what was best for everyone. Prejudice and discrimination was also a common theme. Having lost their home, and been forced to journey across country, the animals were often treated with hostility and contempt when they attempted to settle elsewhere. The Weasels' Adventure" (based upon The Missing Fox's Friend, Tiffs and Tempers, and The Long Tailed Visitor) I was obsessed with the animated series which led me to the books, it’s probably the reason why I like to read and compare my favourite film and tv shows now.

Assistant Animators: Philippe Archer, Jean-Yves Regnault, Laurence Commeyras, Isabelle Pouyanne, Didier Chenu, Catherine Halvic, Muriel Chevallier, Sega Favre, Sylvia Bottiau, Sim Lignon When their home in Farthing Wood is threatened by human development, a group of animals band together in a dangerous cross-country quest to find a place of safety and refuge. Led by the clever and conscientious Fox, the group includes species that would traditionally be "enemies," or rather, predator and prey. The company initially includes: Fox and his two deputies, Badger and Tawny Owl; Toad, who brings them word of a nature sanctuary that may be just what they are looking for; the boisterous Rabbit family; Mole; a group of hedgehogs; Adder; Weasel; Kestrel; the Hare couple; a groups of squirrels; a number of voles; numerous field mice; and a number of lizards. They all swear the "Oath of Mutual Protection," promising to look out for one another along the way, but although they do their best, some of them will not make it to their final destination at White Deer Park, while two others - Vixen and Whistler the heron - join the company along the way... The first series followed the animals of Farthing Wood, who were forced to flee their homes after humans started destroying the wood to build suburban tract houses. Led by Fox, and guided by Toad, the animals left Farthing Wood on a journey to White Deer Park, a nature reserve where they would be protected. The second and third series followed the relationships between the Farthing Wood animals, the White Deer Park animals and outsiders, particularly a blue fox named Scarface, his mate Lady Blue and cub Ranger. Fox, the leader of the Animals of Farthing Wood, was voiced by Rupert Farley in the UK and Ireland version but in the US home video version he was played by Ralph Macchio. Death is a constant threat throughout the book as some of the other animals won’t complete the journey.

Episode stories were also abridged for Buzz Books, Reed Children's Books' range of storybooks based on popular children's characters. The Farthing Wood stories in this range started with five books to begin with, then steadily expanded to cover the remainder of series one and series two. Illustrations were produced by William Heinemann in favour of using stills from the series.

Disaster movie opening

The charm of even Beak of the Moon [it did resort to some heavy handedness about sheep] was the lives of these animals were their own. The episodes were made in both the UK and France. Because of this, in Series 1 traffic is seen driving on the right hand carriageway of the motorway. However, they are briefly seen in Series 3 driving on the left hand side. Other than this, the location is generally kept ambiguous, apart from a brief moment in Series 2 when a gravestone is visible with French writing on it. One thing that the tv adaptation improved on was changing some of the animals into female characters, it gives a more diverse feel to the story. Jan 2013: I think this might be THE most spiritual children's book I have ever read. There's nothing to skip over, NOTHING to admonish. It's just a deep and lovely read with a meaningful message :) And I'm glad I did, a fun, allegorical and well read audiobook. I must admit I started just vaguely listening, but as their adventures increased I was hooked and if I had to leave the room, I was asking my wife to pause so I didn't miss anything.