The Silver Brumby (TV series)
| The Silver Brumby | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Cartoon series |
| Created by | Elyne Mitchell (original), Jon Stephens and Judy Malmgren |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 39 |
The Silver Brumby is an Australian animated children's television series written by Jon Stephens and Judy Malmgren based on Elyne Mitchell's Silver Brumby books. A total of thirty-nine episodes were produced by Media World between 1994 and 1998 and these were broadcast on CBBC in the United Kingdom and RTE in Ireland.[1]
The episodes featured Thowra, a silver colt, his brothers Storm and Arrow and their friends the bush animals in their continued quest to resist the Men's efforts to capture them.
The series was remade into a feature length film by Media World Features and Lions Gate Home Entertainment with Barnholtz Entertainment in 1993. The title was changed to "The Silver Stallion," and starred Russell Crowe and Caroline Goodall. The Australian based film was directed by John Tatoulis and produced by Colin J. South, and went on to win 5 Film Festivals.
Characters
- Thowra - The "Silver Brumby". A calm, good hearted horse who values his friends. He is often chased by the Man.
- Storm - Brother of Thowra. A loyal and kind horse and brother of Thowra who stands by his side in the event of trouble.
- Arrow - Brother of Thowra. An arrogant and jealous horse who seeks an opportunity to prove himself better than Thowra, but often gets himself trapped. Occasionally he will assist Thowra when trouble affects him too.
- Boon Boon - A kind and understanding horse and Brolga's oldest daughter, who loves Thowra and is disturbed by any trouble in the wild.
- Brolga - A very bitter horse who fiercely protects his herd and does not welcome Thowra or his friends.
- Aranda - The Brolga's favourite mare.
- Yooralla - A young foal who joins Thowra's herd.
- Yarraman - Thowra's father, former "King of the Cascade Brumbies" - killed by the Brolga.
- Currawong - A chattering and observant bird, and Brolga's official spy.
- Wombat - A grumpy, griping wombat who goes on a path without looking ahead and blaming both humans and animals for making his progress difficult. His weakness into helping others is flattery and pestering. He has a wife and two children.
- Mrs. Dingo - A Dingo who is mother to two pups - Bindi and Warri. She is wary of any danger that comes in the bush and has a lot of respect for Thowra.
- Benni - A old grey Kangaroo and a close friend of Thowra's. He has a wife named Silky and a daughter.
- Mopoke - A wise owl who gives advice to Thowra and his friends but talks in poetic rhyming couplets.
- Emus - A couple of loudmouth emus who gossip and mostly talk to each other.
- Golden - A Palomino filly, brought to the bush by the Man and she is briefly freed by Thowra.
- Skink - A small green skink who never speaks or makes noise but always accident prone.
- Whipbird -
- The Man - An unnamed human who spends much of the year in his hut in the High Country. He frequently tries to catch brumbies - particularly Thowra. He rides his own personal black horse named Echo.
- The Old Prospector - A kind and generous man who has lived in the bush for a very long time. He pans for gold in the river and aids the animals as often as he can spare.
- Charlie - The Old Prospector's grandson - a kind and generous boy who loves the Bush and animals as much as his grandfather.
- The Trappers - A pair of men who come to the High Country to trap and shoot animals.
Episodes
| # | Title | Summary | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Friends of the High Country | Thowra befriends Boon Boon. Later he tries to save his small herd from the Man, but he manages to capture two foals. Thowra then gets chased by Brolga, Arrow left to face his wrath. | |
| 2 | Wombats to the Rescue | Determined to prove courage, Arrow tries to rescue the captured foals, but gets himself caught along with Storm by the Man. Thowra convinces the wombats to help them rescue them. | |
| 3 | Lost in the Snow | In the middle of winter, two skiing children Tom and Anne fall and get lost in a ravine. Thowra leads Anne to the Man to rescue them. | |
| 4 | Flight To Freedom | The Man embarks on a new hunt for the wild horses. With the combined efforts of Boon Boon, Storm, Arrow, Thowra and Brolga they all manage to elude capture. | |
| 5 | Old Prospector Saves a Friend | Hunters have arrived to shoot dingoes for their tails. The traps they set are a danger to other animals too. A Prospector is giving the animals a helping hand against this threat, especially Benni and Silky's injured daughter. | |
| 6 | Benni Returns the Favour | Benni and Silky reclaim their daughter from the Prospector. Thowra gets caught in a chase by the Man barely escaping. Meanwhile the prospector has a nasty fall and Benni requests Thowra to the lead the Man to him. | |
| 7 | Racing against the Wind | A racehorse Ebony, is encouraged by Currawong to challenge Thowra. Ebony evades the Man but he runs into Brolga. Together Ebony and Thowra escape Brolga and get on good terms. | |
| 8 | The Sight of Golden | The Man has brought to the country a Palomino Filly named Golden. This catches the attention of Thowra. With help from Storm, Thowra frees Golden into the wild. | |
| 9 | Golden in Trouble | While Golden learns about and enjoys the country and meeting new friends, the Man seeks to reclaim her. Golden is almost cornered by the Man, but Thowra arrives to divert him. | |
| 10 | A Wombat on the Road | Men with a bulldozer have come to clear a path, through the bush. An accident diverts the stream. The prospector sorts out the problem and rescues Wombat's missing son. | |
| 11 | Fire | The Hunters have returned, but the bush catches fire from their camp. Arrow does not take heed and gets trapped, but Thowra rescues him and the emus. The fire is finally out when the rain comes. | |
| 12 | Golden Goes Home | A wild boar enters the bush. The Man goes out to hunt that boar after it took his cattle. Golden feels vulnerable, so she returns to the Man. The animals manage to drive the boar away. | |
| 13 | Seeking a Legend | IIinga seeks the legendary Thowra. Each of Thowra's friends share information about him, while Thowra visits Golden. IIinga angers Brolga into fighting Thowra, but Thowra leads him to fall into a river. | |
| 14 | Spring | ||
| 15 | To Catch a Brumby | Thowra raises Yooralla and teaches her about the bush. The Prospector's son captures Boon Boon. Thowra follows their trail down the plains to begin a rescue attempt. | |
| 16 | Swimming to Safety | Charlie frees Boon Boon and Thowra leads her back to safety in the High County. After taking refuge on an island in the middle of a fast-flowing river, Thowra and Boon Boon await rescue by Arrow. | |
| 17 | A Leap Into Legend | Mrs Dingo's son Warri goes missing and Thowra, Boon Boon and Benni help to look for him. They eventually find the missing dingo pup in a hidden valley. Thowra later uses this valley to evade the Man. | |
| 18 | Charlie Heads for the Mountains | ||
| 19 | Charlie Helps a Friend | While trying to follow Thowra during a storm, Yooralla gets into trouble but is rescued by the Old Prospector and his grandson Charlie. | |
| 20 | In it Together | Currawong and Mopoke get caught in a trap set by the two trappers. | |
| 21 | Trappers Go Home | Thowra and Benni organise the creatures of the High Country to help drive-out the two trappers once and for all. | |
| 22 | Wombat in Trouble | ||
| 23 | Wombat Goes on Holiday | ||
| 24 | Arrow Makes a Friend | ||
| 25 | Arrow Goes South | ||
| 26 | Golden Returns | ||
| 27 | Long Hot Summer | ||
| 28 | An Unwelcome Stranger | ||
| 29 | Foals in Trouble | ||
| 30 | The Brolga Wants a Fight | ||
| 31 | Charlie Saves the Brumbies | ||
| 32 | Emus Get a Break | ||
| 33 | Trapped in the Snow | ||
| 34 | Youngsters' Winter Woes | ||
| 35 | An Unexpected Encounter | Arrow is getting flustered from the harsh winter. The prospector gets trapped in his own house buried in snow. Thowra heads south to summon help, which Arrow is in need later. | |
| 36 | The Cave of Wonder | After an earthquake occurs, Arrow hides in the waterfall cave from the Man. Thowra learns his destiny as he searches for Arrow. Brolga pursues them but the wombats unwittingly help them. | |
| 37 | A Bothersome Nuisance | ||
| 38 | Getting Together | Arrow assumes leadership over the herd, taking them to Misty Lake, where some mysterious creature lingers revealed by Thowra to be a Bunyip. Brolga swears revenge after Currawong informs him. | |
| 39 | The Final Encounter | Brolga challenges Thowra hearing that Boon Boon is his mate, which also arouses envy in Arrow. Thowra takes the challenge and eventually emerges victorious putting Brolga in exile. |