The Animals of Farthing Wood is a British animated children’s show that features some shockingly traumatizing deaths of its characters. Based on the series of books by Colin Dann, The Animals of Farthing Wood sees a group of woodland animals forced to flee their home, the Farthing Wood, after it is paved over. The animals band together, putting aside natural instincts and old animosities to make their way to White Deer Park, a nature reserve. Premiering in 1993 and running for three seasons, The Animals of Farthing Wood is a classic of children’s television that has mature themes about the environment and life and death.
The Animals of Farthing Wood could often be a genuinely frightening TV show for kids, and its unflinching depiction of animals dying was often upsetting and plainly depicted. It isn’t unusual to see animated blood spray, guns fire, and animals react in horror to their friends dying in shocking ways. The series could be compared to Watership Down in its naturalistic violence, but that movie is clearly an animated production meant for adults. The Animals of Farthing Wood is particularly traumatizing because it’s ostensibly for children. Every animal death is not only brutal, but it usually involves a cute character that the young audience has grown attached to.
The Badger Dies Of Old Age
Badger is the secondary protagonist of the series and is the oldest and wisest of the animals, capable of making peace whenever a fight breaks out. In season 2, Badger’s old age catches up with him, and he passes away from natural causes. It’s a somber scene as the animals make a tomb for their beloved elder. A stalwart member of the clan from the very start, Badger’s death in particular affects Fox who now has to lead without the wisdom of his old friend.
Mr. & Mrs. Hedgehog Are Run Over By A Truck
Mr. and Mrs. Hedgehog do not make it long into The Animals of Farthing Wood. Early in the series, the pair are the last to cross a large roadway and Mr. Hedgehog’s instincts cause him to freeze. Mrs. Hedgehog runs to him and tells her husband everything will be alright before they curl into balls and are run over by a truck as the other animals look on horrified. It’s a truly terrifying moment in children’s TV as the truck approaches and the Hedgehogs accept their fate.
The Pheasants Are Killed & Eaten By A Farmer
Once the animals cross out of suburbia, they believe they’re safe from manmade dangers but upon reaching a farm, the farmer begins hunting them. He shoots one of the pheasants and eats her for dinner. In a very disturbing choice, the pheasant’s husband discovers the fate of his wife moments before the farmer shoots him as well. Unlike the animals killed by hunters and poachers, it’s the pheasants who put themselves in harm’s way by resting in the farmer’s yard.
The Baby Mice Are Impaled By The Shrike
Mr. and Mrs. Fieldmouse are two of the animals who leave Farthing Wood to journey to the new reservation. On the way there, they give birth to three baby mice. In one of the most disturbing visuals of the series, a shrike swoops in and captures all three baby mice, and impales them on a thorn bush. Each mouse is shown with a thorn sticking out of their body, covered in blood. Even more disturbing, this represents the real-life behavior of the shrike in the wild (via Audubon).
Dreamer Fox, Mrs. Rabbit, Mrs. Hare, & Mrs. Vole Are Mauled By Scarface
Even though the animals find refuge from humans and industry in White Deer Park, they aren’t all completely safe. Scarface is a blue fox with a scar down his eye, and he’s the leader of the foxes already living in White Deer Park when the Farthing Wood animals arrive. The villainous fox mauls Dreamer Fox, Mrs. Rabbit, Mrs. Hare, and Mrs. Vole in his fight to rid his woods of the new animals. Sometimes others are witness to his violence and other times, the animals come across their friends’ lifeless bodies. Only humans and domesticated animals attack as viciously as Scarface, making his kills particularly shocking.
Mrs. Fieldmouse Is Mistakenly Killed By Kestrel
Mrs. Fieldmouse is killed in a tragic manner, especially considering she already watched her three children be taken by the shrike. As part of their pact to journey to White Deer Park, the animals of the Farthing Wood promise that they will not hunt each other any longer. Kestrel, a bird of prey, is a loyal member of the group and works hard to resist his base instincts. Unfortunately, once the animals reach White Deer Park, Kestrel gives in to his nature and swoops down on Mrs. Fieldmouse, mistaking her for an ordinary mouse, not part of their group. Her death traumatizes Kestrel — and the audience.
Sinuous Is Strangled By A Rat
Sinuous, a male snake with a pattern on his snout that looks like a mustache, is one of the good animals from the Farthing Wood. In the fight against the rats in White Deer Park, Sinuous kills many of them. However, his days of fighting eventually tire him out, and he is choked to death by one of the large brown rats who strangles the snake while he sleeps. Sinuous’ tail flails around violently before flopping down, lifeless. It’s a brutal end but one not entirely surprising considering how willing Sinuous was to engage in violence himself.
Bold Is Shot & Attacked By Dogs & Dies From His Wounds
Bold is the son of Fox and Vixen, the main characters of The Animals of Farthing Wood, and in season 2, he leaves White Deer Park to make his own way in the world and seek a mate. His time outside the nature reserve is filled with danger, and after suffering attacks from a farmer who shoots his leg and two greyhounds who maul him, Bold weakly returns home. Bold passes away from his injuries but not before he mates with another fox, completing his goal from the start.
A Rabbit, A Deer & Two Foxes Are Killed By Hunters
In between the Farthing Wood and White Deer Park, hunters and poachers camp out, and over the course of the series, they shoot a deer, a rabbit, and two foxes. Each of the animals’ deaths involves a close-up of a gun taking aim and firing, usually followed by a shot of the animal’s lifeless body being roughly picked up like a trophy as other animals watch in horror. The deer’s death is particularly violent, as the actual wound is shown. The deer throws its head back as blood explodes on the screen and the animal gruesomely flips over onto the ground.
Scarface & Bounder Are Bitten By Adder And Die From Her Poison
Scarface and his son Bounder don’t escape the violence of The Animals of Farthing Woods. Adder, a poisonous snake who has traveled from the Farthing Woods, is mistakenly told to kill Scarface’s son, Bounder, and she does so with a lethal bite to the leg. In revenge, Scarface bites off the end of Adder’s tail, creating a lasting feud between the two. At the end of season 2, Adder spies Scarface drinking in the stream and sneaks up to bite his paw. Scarface collapses, promising his children will avenge him. It’s a destructive circle of violence that’s emblematic of the mature themes present throughout The Animals of the Farthing Wood.
