Noah's Island

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For other uses of Noah, see Noah (disambiguation)

Noah

Noah's Island (1997-1999) was an animated TV serial made by the creators of The Animals of Farthing Wood and commissioned by the European Broadcasting Union. It was directed by Philippe Leclerc and Alan Simpson and written by Elphin Lloyd-Jones and John M. Mills. Each episode, of which there were 39, ran for 28 minutes. The series focused on the adventures of a polar bear named Noah (voiced by Ron Moody) and a bunch of other animals who had escaped the dangers of living with humans to find themselves on a mysterious floating island, a piece of land which has broken away from the Canadian coastline. The island becomes a sanctuary for a number of homeless animals. They work out how to to get the island to co-operate with them and set off on a quest to find an uncharted island called Diamentina, while picking up other animals in peril along the way. Once they arrive there, it turns out to be more sinister than they imagined. Although not as successful as Farthing Wood, it was fairly popular on Saturday mornings, particularly with its younger target audience. The series was praised for its characterization, imaginative storylines and for introducing ecological themes in a way that delighted children.

1 Characters
2 List of Episodes (incomplete)
3 Quotes
4 Cast
5 Trivia
6 Inaccuracies
7 See Also
8 External Links

[edit] Characters

Noah - The title character, this lovable, yet eccentric polar bear is looked upon as the leader by many of the other animals and his thus elected Captain of the island. They turn to him when they need advice or help. He is ambitious and idealistic, wishing to turn the island into a safe haven for endangered animals. He develops a very close relationship with Sacha. Noah's most noatable catchphrase is "Oh deary be."
Sacha - This loyal, kind, humble, selfless, friendly, kind and cheerful desman is always willing to be of assistance but is mostly ignored by a lot of the other animals, with the exception of Noah whom he develops a close friendship with. It may be said that the relationship between the two is similar to that witnessed between Badger and Mole in The Animals of Farthing Wood. He has a habit of incurring the wrath of others (even Noah) but is always willing to make up for any mistake he makes. Sacha has worked as a circus animal before he arrives on the island and has a dream to open up his own Island Circus. He wishes to use his performing skills to provide entertainment for the other islanders. His catchphrase is "Hoyski Poyski".
Carmon - A female aardvark who always seems to speak through her long nose. She is friends with Sacha and has a sweet tooth for ants, termites or any creepy crawly.

Noah holds Sacha aloft in his left paw.

Rocco - A silverback gorilla who is the island doctor due to his medical experience helping the vet back at the zoo. His best friends on the island are Wombera and Reg. Rocco is often found thinking about his lost wife Hetty. However, she is soon forgotten when he meets Gurtie...
Gurtie - Another gorilla who is saved by Noah and the Problem Walrus from a plane that crashes on a reef off-shore from the island. Gurtie has what seems to be a northern English accent and is quite a fountain of knowledge on the island which she usually has obtained from her "telly" in the zoo. By the end of the show's airing she has become Rocco's mate and they have a son together. Gurtie and Wombera do not often see eye to eye.
Wombera - A stubborn, strong minded kangaroo. Wombera was a nurse to baby joeys back in Australia before she joined the zoo so hence becomes a nurse alongside Rocco the island doctor. She is good friends with Rocco but is not too keen on Reg. Wombera has a very pronounced Australian accent.
Reg - A big-headed, arrogant mandrill whose lifelong ambition is to become closer to his human relatives. Reg will often be seen reading a book or walking on two legs in order to 'be more human.' He is good friends with Rocco but generally remains by himself in a secluded part of the island with his two "doggies" which are actually hyenas!
Mammothsbody - A slow, simple-minded male mammoth with a great passion to marry Salomi. Alas in the first series he is always rejected. In the second series he finally succeeds.
Salomi - A long suffering female mammoth from Mammothsbody's relentless proposals of marriage. Salomi is often found painting in the island's caves and is a strong-willed character. It is her father's map that leads the animals to Diamentena.
Problem Walrus - The Problem Walrus is the island's councillor and often has one or two of the animals telling him their problems. He spends his time on the beach participating in his most favourite pastime, sleeping.
Jasper - A primate of some description who always speaks 'ape' which is then translated into English by whoever he may be speaking to. Jasper is quite low in the pecking order on Noah's Island and often gets involved in awkward but funny situations.
Nab - A neurotic orangutan who is chief engineer of the island's "firebowl." He is the uncle of Jasper and speaks with a Scottish accent.
Ursula - A stubborn Russian brown bear who has a crush on Noah and whose best friend is a panda. She speaks with a Welsh accent!
Sparky - A panda who is best friends with Ursula.
Wombat - Wombat is a member of the island that the gang picked up in Australia whilst rescuing a bandicoot. He is a hyperactive character with virtually no sense of danger and is often seen attempting some kind of life-threatening stunt in his efforts to have fun, such as surfing a shark! Wombat, like Wombera, has an obvious Australian accent.
Him (Vulture Patrol) - The most featured vulture in the show; 'Him' was the name given to him by the head of the vultures when he was selected to marry the squadron leader's daughter. 'Him' is a fairly dim-witted bird who usually says no more than "Erh."
Hetty - Rocco's mate (wife) who was drowned in the shipwreck that brought all the animals to the island. She only appears once in the very first episode but is often referred to throughout by Rocco.
Bunny - A little white rabbit who seems to be a mute and communicates with the others by hand/paw gestures. He has a cameo appearance in most episodes.
Rhinoceros - Quite a simple character who is the island's chief "firebowl" valve operator due to his strength. Does not often say much apart from "pom, pom, piddle!" and has occasional outbursts of anger.

There are many other animal characters on Noah's Island, many of whom join the Island and then only make a select number of further appearances throughout the entire series. Some of the more established characters are as follows: A lion that speaks with a English accent; a grumpy giraffe; two hyenas who always laugh; a cockroach; the rest of the Vulture Patrol; a stuck-up French poodle that falls in love with Reg; a dodo that joins the Vulture Patrol, a sloth that arrives on the island after it collides with South America.

[edit] List of Episodes (incomplete)

All episodes were written by Steve Walker.

[edit] Series 1

Episode 1.01 "The Lost Zoo"[1] - A fireball from the sky causes Noah's home to break free from the Canadian coastline and float away. Now adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, the island runs out of steam in dangerous and freezing waters. Noah is ready to try anything to set the lava flowing again. Elsewhere a ship carrying a collection of animals bound for foreign zoos sinks in the middle of the ocean, leaving many of the surviving caged animals shipwrecked.

Episode 1.02 "Reg Draws a Map"[2] - The island is beset with territorial disputes. Having won the animals interest, Noah is continuing with his efforts to get them to co-operate as one community. However Reg, believing Noah to be crazy with his eccentric ways, protests against it with his own idea of each animal having their own individual country on the island. When the two animals both argue over their different ideas, Reg wins. Noah is left by himself. While some of the remaining animals try to sort out their problems, Noah recruits a small band of animals who are assigned certain jobs around the volcano. Meanwhile, all of the animals are finding it difficult to adjust to their new territories after suffering setbacks. They crawl back to Noah eventually realising that he was right about them working and living together as a family.

Episode 1.03 "Sacha Finds a Home"[3] - Noah has a shower with the help of Mammothsbody, who uses his trunk as a hose. Noah explains his intentions to the mammoth of rescuing more animals from Spain as they pass the Iberian peninsula. But as Mammothsbody prepares to refill his trunk with water, a jellyfish lodges itself in his trunk and is accidentally sucked up! Noah has to rush the distressed mammoth to the infirmary where he finds Rocko lying across the operating table, Woamera impatiently attempting to remove him. Upon seeing the stricken patient, the kangaroo knocks Rocko off the table. Rocko fists the jellyfish from Mammothsbody's trunk. At that moment Salomi enters and Mammothsbody proposes to her, but once again he is rejected as the female mammoth spots the jellyfish. A heartbroken Mammothsbody goes to Problem Walrus to seek advice on the matter but the walrus puts him down, telling him he is 'slow, dim, witty and clueless'. Later the island becomes home to a Russian desman named Sacha.

Episode 1.04 "Sacha's Busy Day" [4] - The island runs aground.

Episode 1.05 "Elephant Trouble"[5]

Episode 1.06 "The Search for the Baby Elephant"[6]

Episode 1.07 "Doggies"[7]

Episode 1.08 "The Shipwrecked Desman"

Episode 1.09 "Born To Be Wild"

Episode 1.10 "How To Be A Bear"

Episode 1.11 "Woomera Runs Away"

Episode 1.12 "The Skating Rhinoceros"

Episode 1.13 "A Dodo Do-da Day "

Characters from left: Sacha, Noah, Vulture Patrol Squadron Leader, Wombera, Ursula, Sparky

[edit] Series 2

Episode 2.01 '"?'"

Episode 2.02 "?"

Episode 2.03 "?"

Episode 2.04 "?"

Episode 2.05 "?"

Episode 2.06 "?"

Episode 2.07 "?"

Episode 2.08 "?"

Episode 2.09 "?"

Episode 2.10 "?"

Episode 2.11 "?"

Episode 2.12 "?"

Episode 2.13 "?"

[edit] Series 3

Episode 3.01 "?"

Episode 3.02 "?"

Episode 3.03 "?"

Episode 3.04 "?"

Episode 3.05 "?"

Episode 3.06 "?"

Episode 3.07 "?"

Episode 3.08 "?"

Episode 3.09 "?"

Episode 3.10 "?"

Episode 3.11 "?"

Episode 3.12 "?"

Episode 3.13 "?"

[edit] Quotes

 Hoyski Poyski!"

- Sasha

 "Oh dearly be, oh deary be"

- Noah

 "Pomb, pomb, piddle pom, pomb, pomb"

- Rhino

 "I'm Rocko, and I must say that I am not one for bears!"

- Rocko

 "Now look here you big upperty Ape! This my island...and if I say we are going to live together in piece and harmony...that is precisely what we've going to do! Got it?! Grrrrr.....!"

- Noah

 "Strurp mate!"

- Woamera

 "Now see what you done guardie, who is going to run the fireball properly huh?"

- Noah

 "Up aboard, ladies and gents, or we will be buried alive."

- Camel

 "(Mute) - waves hands"

- Sparky

 "I haven't a clue, I could do with a banana right now!"

- Nab

 "Hummm, it seems Salomi will die if she goes to Diamantina and yet you were only trying to save her, so I'm not going to punish you.....But never, ever, do anything like that again, without asking me! Don't even sneeze, got it?!"

- Noah

 "A female gorilla! It's a female gorilla in there!"

- Problem Walrus

 "I hate to say this, for the first time in my life, but you're wrong Noah! We must go back!"

- Rocko

 "Call me that once more, bonny lad, and you'll regrade it!"

- Guardie

 "I'm gaurdie goosberry, if that's what you mean."

- Guardie

 "You mean....Oh you wee, beastly, giant Bafoon! Help Rhinoceros, Do something! Rhinoseros: Err..Pomb pomb piddle?"

- Nab

 "Mammothsbody! You're making less sense then usual!"

- Noah

 "What kind of monkey business is this?"

- Noah

 "He said there's a whirlpool at the port side and that Sacha has just gone down it!"

- Nab

 "Excuse me, could you save an endangered rodent?"

- Sasha

[edit] Cast

Ron Moody - Noah
Sally Grace - Various Animals

Sacha is approached by Jasper as Rocco, Noah and Reg look on.

[edit] Trivia

There were a total of 39 Noah's Island episodes, the exact same number of episodes as was produced of The Animals of Farthing Wood.
The series is still broadcast on Irish children's television channel The Den on Tuesday and Thursday, but the episodes are shown at the early hour of 6:00a.m.[8]

[edit] Inaccuracies

Despite being faithful to the natural environment, Noah's Island can still include inaccuracies.

Reg constantly makes a claim in every episode he's "almost human". Since he's a mandrill, he cannot be "almost human" because mandrills are monkeys. Rocco and Nab would be closer to being "almost human" because Rocco is a gorilla and Nab, an orangutan, is a very close relative of humans. Both gorillas and orangutans are apes.
Russian desmans are not rodents; they are more closely related to hedgehogs.