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.

The Animals of Farthing Wood is an animated children's series following the journey of a group of animals as they leave their original habitat due to it being destroyed by man, and travel to the safety of a nature reserve. Three series' of the show were produced, the first showing the journey, and the latter two focusing on the animals lives after arriving in White Deer Park.Rather than using comedy and humour to attract the attention of it's audience, AoFW uses its strong storyline and characters, the two things for which the show is best remembered and still far above any children's show even today.During the series multiple main characters are killed off, often in violent ways, and because they were so well written and voiced, the deaths were even more emotional. Anyone I talk to about this show today remembers the moment the Hedgehogs were run over even if they can't recall anything else, and remember it as something which when they watched as a small child made them cry a lot.I applaud the storyline for being as realistic as possible and not hiding the grim realities of nature, like so many other kids shows. Animals of Farthing Wood taught children about the difficulties faced by animals in their struggle to survive, such as the numerous threats posed by man and nature, two things which claimed many lives across the series. Even the basic premise of the show was a result of mankind destroying the animals home.This is probably why this show is so well remembered and popular today, because it told it like it is and had a brilliant narrative, actually teaching children something important about animal cruelty and nature. I can only guess at the number of children who watched this or read the book and were deeply affected by it, but I know I was one of them.I liked the first series the most. The great journey to White Deer Park was the most varied and entertaining, and the part of the show which most people remember. Series 2 was also good, but it tried to include too many characters, and so some of the originals such as Mole ended up getting neglected. Series 3, with it's different animation style, weaker story, and only a handful of original cast was the worst of the 3, however was still watchable, and ended well.I hope some day this is released on DVD and constantly re-run on TV, as children today should have the privilege of seeing this pure classic, and experiencing the happiness and sorrow that came with it, as I and so many others did. No other children's show has this much emotional and cognitive impact.

*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 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