Farthing Wood Deaths Revisited: Series 2 - Son of Scarface

 
I never contemplated before just how carnage-heavy Series 2 of The Animals of Farthing Wood is compared to Series 1.  Case in point: we're onto our seventh instance of death (Series 1 had six in total), and we're not even halfway through the series.  The actual number of individual character deaths remains lower (as Series 1 was far more accustomed to killing off multiple characters at a time), but trust me when I say that Series 2 will get there soon enough.

After being outwitted by the Farthing Fox on their third visit to White Deer Park, the poachers readily shift their nightly activities from gunning down deer to targeting foxes, and a nameless son of Scarface is the one to pay the price.  Scarface himself had correctly anticipated that there might be such reprisals for the foxes, so when he finds his son's body he immediately lays the blame at Fox's feet.  He then catches Weasel and has her take a message back to Fox that he intends to seek vengeance.  Fox raises the obvious question - why would the poachers shoot a blue fox when it was a red fox they were looking for?  I believe that the series genuinely hit a roadblock with this particular plot point thanks to their decision to colour-code the two tribes of foxes, so naturally some exposition was required.  Here, Vixen offers the explanation that all foxes look the same in the dusk, so it wouldn't make a difference to the poachers (the non-canon audio drama offers a slightly different explanation, in which the winter snow apparently gave everything at night a ghostly blue tint, so the poachers were not under the impression that it was a red fox that had thwarted them at all).  Fearing that the poachers will kill every fox they lay eyes upon just to be totally sure of getting him, Fox considers giving himself up to the poachers, but Vixen convinces him that it would be a pointless sacrifice.  In the end, it is a combination of the Warden returning and Fox's cunning that leads to the poachers being defeated once and for all.

HORROR FACTOR: 8.  The moment of death itself occurs off-screen, but a reaction shot from Weasel does a nice enough job of articulating the horror, and the manner in which the poachers probe the fox's body to ensure that he is dead really hammers home the morbidness of the scene.

NOBILITY FACTOR: 1.  Scarface's son was killed purely out of spite, over something that had nothing to do with him in the first place.  This is an exemplary case of the victim just happening to be the wrong place and the wrong time.

TEAR-JERKER FACTOR: 2.  The sight of the lifeless fox's limb dangling off the poacher's gun is heart-rendering as well as gruesome.  Only when Lady Blue subsequently appears and is heard crying, it visibly doesn't match with her onscreen animation, and I find that so distracting.

RATING: 11

Farthing Wood Deaths Revisited: Series 2 - White Deer #2

The Farthing animals hold a meeting to discuss the death of the white deer and what should be done about it.  Speedy (Whistler's mate) questions why the Farthing animals should feel so obliged to get involved with the situation, pointing out that the poachers have yet to prove a threat to any of them.  However, earlier that winter when conditions were at their harshest, the deer had been gracious enough to share their hay with the Farthing Wood herbivores, so Fox reasons that they now owe it to the herd to help them out against the human threat.  The Farthing animals thus organise a nightly vigil, in which they maintain a look-out for any signs of human activity around the park.  When Fox spies the poachers approaching, he barks out a warning to the deer herd.  Ultimately though, it comes a little too late.  Most of the herd are able to flee to safety, but the poachers still manage to pick off one of the slower-moving stags.

HORROR FACTOR: 9. A pretty brutal death, in that it occurs onscreen, contains visible blood, and is followed by a particularly grim moment in which one of the poachers is seen running up to its crumpled body with a knife in hand.  Mind you, I think that having access to freeze frame technology makes all the difference here.  Whilst screencapping images from my DVD, I had the opportunity to observe just how nasty some of the individual frames of the unfortunate stag as it drops down dead really are.

NOBILITY FACTOR: 2.  As before, no one wants die just to satisfy a couple of trigger-happy thugs who get their kicks from illegally gunning down rare wildlife.

TEAR-JERKER FACTOR: 4. No violin strings this time, but the choice of background music is still fairly emotional.

RATING: 15

Farthing Wood Deaths Revisited: Series 2 - White Deer #1

The next three deaths all involve incidental extras rather than established characters, but I suppose that, following my entry on the two unidentified blue foxes who died during the farm raid, I'm committed to covering these now too.  Besides which, the deaths in question are really too important/gruesome for me to just pass over.

White Deer Park was apparently overseen by a single human known only as the Warden, whom the animals had learned to semi-trust, despite their instinctive fear of anything two-legged and with opposable thumbs.  Unfortunately, the Warden falls ill during winter and is taken to hospital, leaving the park unguarded and open to raids from a pair of nefarious poachers, who reckon that they can pick off a few of the park's famous white deer herd in his absence.  Frankly, I find it odd that no one was sent to watch over the park in the Warden's stead, as it seems somewhat unbelievable to me that managing an entire park would be treated as solely his responsibly, but then I cannot claim to possess any direct knowledge as to how such places operate in reality.

The first of these killings happens off-screen and is merely over-heard by the Farthing animals.  They go to investigate and find a dead deer lying in the snow.

HORROR FACTOR: 5. The death itself occurs off-screen, but we get a good enough glimpse of the deer's body in the aftermath, and the splash of blood around its throat looks fairly gruesome.

NOBILITY FACTOR: 2. Took one for the herd, but entirely for the indulgences of a couple of devious humans who shouldn't even have been there in the first place.  That they just left the deer's body to rot implies that they were killing purely for the fun of it.

TEAR-JERKER FACTOR: 5. Ordinarily it's hard to mourn for random extras, but damn, the violin strings in this case do a wonderful job of milking the situation.

RATING: 12

Time for another fun fact - the Poachers were the only human characters to get their own "how to draw" profile in an issue of Farthing Wood Friends.  Then again, they were among the very few humans in the series whose faces we actually saw.

Death of a Speechwriter (A Sweet Disaster)

"Death of a Speech Writer" by David Hopkins from Sleeping Weazel on Vimeo.

Death of a Speechwriter was David Hopkins’ directorial contribution to the Sweet Disaster series, which he also conceived, produced and penned a number of the scripts for.  Much gratitude to Sleeping Weazel, the Boston-based theatre production company originally founded by Hopkins, for hosting the film upon their Vimeo account, so that I not only had the opportunity to see it, but am also able to share it with ease.

Of all the films in the Sweet Disaster series (or rather, the four that I’ve seen – Paradise Regained continues to elude me), this one stands out as easily the most minimalist.  There’s no particularly elaborate plotting or animation here, just a clever script and effective direction that combine to create a chilling scenario in which a speechwriter (voiced by Tony Robinson) is haunted, posthumously, by the empty clichés which have helped sow the seeds of his own destruction. Soundbites from the writer’s latest pro-nuclear arms speech are juxtaposed with his lifeless body in a jumbled, disorientated fashion, revealing not only the hollowness of the words, but also the sweltering chaos they've been tailored to shroud under the guise of control and formality.

Despite the film's minimalist set-up, it's not without its quirks.  One of the more curious elements of the film is the odd, disembodied growling heard in the early stages, reminiscent of a wild beast entering and prowling the premises - and which, by presumably no coincidence, is identical to the ominous rumblings of a particularly terrifying character featured in Babylon, the Sweet Disaster film directed by Aardman’s Peter Lord and David Sproxton.  Both films use a common sound to signify the horrors of nuclear destruction, giving it a monstrous presence that's here made particularly eerie by its lack of any corporeal form.  We sense that there is something else present in the room with the deceased speechwriter, circling him and contemplating his demise, yet it remains entirely out of view.

In the next shot, we become aware that there is now a figure seated at the table, revealed largely in silhouette, and the spools of the tape recorder are shown to be turning - evidently, we have jumped back to an earlier point in time, with the speechwriter alive and listening to his recorded notes.  As the camera continues to circle the room, the film intermittently switches back and forth between the speechwriter in life and death, the latter signified not only by his sprawled-out corpse, but by the motionlessness of the tape recorder, and the washed-out, pale brown colours of his environs post-attack.  As with Dreamless Sleep, the film purposely omits any sequence depicting the moment of devastation itself.  We are left merely with the juxtaposition of the preceding scene and the aftermath, the common link being the jumble of soundbites which plays continuously over both - a chaotic slew of false assurances that rings particularly hollow in a world reduced to lifeless, smoking rubble.

The Animals of Farthing Wood Annual 1994

Blogging about the ongoing carnage of cute cartoon animals can get awfully disheartening at times, so I’ve decided to take a small break and focus upon one of the few pieces of Farthing Wood merchandise that I presently have to hand – The Animals of Farthing Wood Annual 1994, published in 1993 by World International Publishing.  I had a copy of this annual growing up, which is presently stored away somewhere at my parents’ house, along with every dog-eared issue of Farthing Wood Friends and a few other nostalgic goodies that I regrettably don’t have access to right now.  I came across a second-hand copy of this and picked it up, not merely to satisfy my own thirst for a quick nostalgia fix, but because I thought that it might make a lovely present for my nieces when they’re old enough to read it. I see from the inner cover page that this copy once belonged to someone named Danielle, who'd already filled out most of the puzzles and activities.

The annual is interesting, in that it tells an alternate version of how the animals journeyed from their rapidly-diminishing home in Farthing Wood to the safety of White Deer Park, with one particularly notable difference being that nobody here dies.  The stories, written by John Escott and illustrated by Jane Swift, are also a lot lighter in nature than the original series - the level of threat is fairly minimal throughout, and the humans they meet are mostly harmless.  Curiously, Mr. Hedgehog not only survives in this version of the journey, but is treated as something of a major character, landing himself the central role in one of the stories therein (“Flying Hedgehog!”) and being the focus of an animal facts page.  I’ve stated previously how devastated I was as a child when he and his mate met their grisly fate in the TV series, and I was always grateful to this annual for helping to take the sting off that a little, by resurrecting the character and giving him his own fluffy little escapade.  Note that there’s also no explanation here as to how Vixen joins the group – she just shows up in time for the final story.  Whistler the heron does not feature at all in the annual’s version of the story.

In addition to the lighter tone, the “rules” of this particular Farthing universe seem to be a fair bit looser, in that the animals often display far more direct knowledge of human society, technology and culture than they really should have access to.  The entire “In the Picture” story, for example, rests upon the rather dubious notion that the animals not only understand what a camera is, but that they also know about wildlife books and magazines, to the extent that they can even name a few specific titles (Weasel fantasises about appearing in the pages of Nature News).  During “Fox and The Burglar”, I found myself questioning why the animals should know or even care what a burglar is – surely one human is as dangerous as the next when you’re a wild animal, regardless of what side of the law they fall on?

Here’s a breakdown of the contents therein:

"Meet the Animals" – An introductory story detailing the final days of Farthing Wood and how the animals come to set out on their journey.  Essentially, this is a simplified version of the very first episode of the TV series, with the animals holding an emergency meeting in Badger’s sett and finding solidarity via the Oath of Mutual Protection.  The only particularly significant detail omitted here is any explanation as to how Toad should know of White Deer Park’s existence or how to get here.  In the annual’s version of events, he apparently just happens to know. 

"Fox and The Burglar" – While the other animals are sleeping inside a factory, Fox decides to have a look around and accidentally sets off the building’s burglar alarm, attracting unwelcome police attention.

 "Animal Facts – The Fox" – A few facts about the real-life counterparts of Farthing Wood’s cunning and resourceful leader. 

"Toad in Trouble" – Toad takes a tumble down a cattle grid and becomes trapped.  After various unsuccessful attempts to free him, Owl finds a rickety old fence and has the ingenious idea of having the animals insert it into the cattle grid for Toad to use as a ramp.  With Toad liberated, the animals continue on their journey, and Badger comments how useful it would be if every cattle grid came equipped with a ramp so that any small animals that fall in needn’t be stuck there.  Obviously there’s an explicit message here aimed at whoever is responsible for designing those things. 

"Which Animal?" – A Farthing Wood-themed crossword puzzle. Danielle had already filled out the answers in this particular copy. 

"Be Seen!" – The animals narrowly avoid becoming roadkill while travelling alongside a narrow road in the early hours of the morning.  Owl spots a cyclist wearing luminous armbands so that traffic can see him, and the animals comment upon the ingenuity of this human invention.  One of the more openly didactic stories of the annual, this is obviously geared toward highlighting the importance of wearing luminous clothing when travelling near roads in the dark. 

"Cover the Animals" – A Farthing Wood-themed game you can play with a friend, a die and twelve small pieces of cardboard. 

"In The Picture" – When Weasel spies a wildlife photographer taking snapshots of the local scenery, the animals all clamour to have their pictures taken.  I’ve already outlined just how much of a stretch the entire concept of this one is, so I’ll just confess that, despite my reservations, this story is probably my favourite of the lot.  There’s something very refreshing about seeing the Farthing Wood characters involved in such a silly, totally inconsequential slice-of-life yarn, of the sort that they could never have in the series proper.  Not to mention that the ending, which involves Mole ruining everything for everyone, is an absolute hoot. 

"Flying Hedgehog!" – Frustrated with life on the ground, Mr. Hedgehog fantasises about being able to fly like a bird, but ends up discovering just how dizzying life in the air can be when he unwittingly snuggles up inside the basket of a hot-air balloon.  Fortunately, Kestrel is on hand to help bring him back down to earth.  As stated, Mr. Hedgehog is sadly a rather ill-fated character in the series proper, so it’s comforting to know that somewhere there’s a parallel universe in which he fares a lot better.  Since Kestrel is apparently able to carry him in this particular universe without any difficulty, there’s actually no reason why that motorway-crossing mishap from the series would have to happen here at all.  Also, it occurred to me that Mrs. Hedgehog seems to be pretty much non-existent throughout this book. 

"Animal Facts – The Hedgehog" – Facts about those adorable, parasite-ridden little urchins. 

"Have you seen this Bird?" – Information about various birds found around the British Isles, along with spaces for you to record the dates and locations of your personal sightings.  Curiously, none of the Farthing Wood birds (kestrel, long-eared owl, pheasant, heron) are featured here. 

"Helping Hands" – The animals seek shelter upon a farm during a turbulent storm, and Badger saves a runaway piglet from drowning in a river.  Meanwhile, strong winds cause damage to the roof of the barn that the animals are sleeping in, and Fox becomes trapped under some of the resulting rubble.  Fortunately, the mother of the piglet that Badger saved is able to return the favour by using her bulk to lift the wreckage off of Fox. 

"A Country Walk" – A board game based upon following the Countryside Code. 

"Snakes Alive!" – A very short story in which Adder thinks that she hears the hissing of another snake and goes in search of it, only for it to turn out to be a punctured milk float tyre.  Also, milk bottles fall on her in a rather painful-looking manner. 

"Animal Facts – The Adder" – Facts about Farthing Wood’s most feared predator. 

"Have you seen this Flower?" – Information about different varieties of wild flower found around the British Isles, with a space to record the dates and locations of your personal sightings.  Danielle doesn’t appear to have had that much luck with finding many of these. 

"Mole’s Free Ride" – Mole becomes separated from the other animals and winds up inadvertently hitching a lift inside a removal van.  By a stroke of excellent fortune, the van happens to be heading in the exact direction that the animals are travelling (if it hadn’t then Mole would most certainly have been lost forever), so once Mole has escaped from the human children who were surprised to find him nestled inside their toy box, he’s able to reunite with his friends simply by lingering around long enough for them to catch up.  Badger apparently never noticed that Mole had slipped off of his back, although such behaviour is hardly out of character for him – it happened once or twice in the TV series too. 

"Animal Facts – The Badger" – Facts about Farthing Wood’s benevolent sage. 

"Countryside Clues" – A countryside-themed crossword puzzle.  Once again, Danielle had beaten me to solving this one.

"Rescue Bells" – The final story of the annual, this one involves the animals getting trapped inside a church, and is obviously reminiscent of the penultimate episode of Series 1.  Instead of ruining a wedding, however, here the animals manage to escape by ringing the church bells, causing the old man who works at the church to come running.

The story then concludes rather abruptly, with the final page assuring us that the animals made it safely to White Deer Park.

And that’s The Animals of Farthing Wood Annual 1994.  I’m not sure how many Farthing Wood annuals there were in total, but I had at least two more of these in my childhood (one of which involved the animals arriving at White Deer Park to find that it was submerged in flood waters and having to enter by riding on bin lids pushed along by friendly ducks, or something along those lines). Should I happen to come across any copies, or should I get the opportunity to root through my nostalgia nest at the old family home any time soon, I'll be sure to take a look at them here too.