Farmkids

Farmkids
Promotional poster
GenreAnimation
Children's
Comedy
Directed bySorin Oancea
Voices ofLouise Brehmer
Liz Buchanan
Tiffany Lamb
Todd Levi
Danny Murphy
Andrew Buchanan
Bill McDonald
Bryan Probets
John Harmon
Warren Humphreys
Scott Strachan
Opening theme"FARMkids!"
ComposerCliff Bradley
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producersIan Jones
Scott Strachan
ProducersJill Pattinson
Ian Jones
Andrew Gibson
Running time12 minutes
Original release
Release2008 (2008)

Farmkids (styled as FARMkids) is an Australian animated children's comedy television series about pampered zoo animals accidentally being shipped to a dude ranch. Thirteen episodes were broadcast in Series 1 and another thirteen in Series 2,[1] both of which aired in 2008.

Premise

The series is based around the irony of farm animals who know nothing about living in the countryside. They are a bunch of fastlane pampered city animals who live a star studded life in a popular nursery petting zoo, but their lives take a funny unexpected turn when they are suddenly relocated. To top it off their new home is nothing like one would expect from a simple old farm. At its core, this series is aiming at twisting and repackaging a strong and timeless farm theme into a fast, edgy comedy. Dude Ranch, the FARMkids new home, is a place where the old, modern and twilight zone elements meet to make this a way out of the ordinary environment. This is not the average city slickers on the Old MacDonald type of situation; Farmkids represents a twisted and very entertaining approach to a time tested theme.

Voice cast

  • Louise Brehmer as Bean, Poppit and Punky
  • Liz Buchanan as Frizz and Splat
  • Tiffany Lamb as MooLoo
  • Todd Levi as Gilly
  • Danny Murphy as Buster
  • Andrew Buchanan as Doogie, Rodd and Russ
  • Bill McDonald as Dumpster
  • Bryan Probets as Drumstick
  • John Harmon as Phill
  • Warren Humphreys as Carlos
  • Scott Strachan as Stretch

Episodes

Series One (2008)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Fresh Country Air"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea & Jill Willis2008 (2008)
Dumpster's body odour is escalating out of control, except no-one has the heart to tell him. The FARMkids try to trick him into improving his personal hygiene. After a series of comical salon treatments, car washes and finally catapulting him into the ozone layer we discover it's his toxic cologne that is causing the nasty side effects.
22"The K9 Factor"Sorin OanceaRobert Adams2008 (2008)
Doogie wants to be called "Wolverine", after his favourite comic book canine hero, but Dumpster thinks he would be a better canine hero than Doogie - the challenge is made. Who will win and will Doogie's ego be able to cope if he's beaten by his best buddy Dumpster?
33"Face Off"Sorin OanceaPhil Lloyd2008 (2008)
The age old chestnut - "traditional versus modern" clash head on and Buster and Drumstick debate methods of farming. Buster orders some farm technology over the internet to "improve" their lifestyle and prove his point to Drumstick, only to find that the FARMkids come face to face with robotic versions of themselves. At first things seem better, until the robots' hidden agenda is revealed.
44"Law and Disorder"Sorin OanceaHelen Wentland2008 (2008)
MooLoo's make-up bag has been stolen and Doogie and Buster are eager to play detective. Rod is brought to trial as the prime suspect and Splat as the witness. That is until Splat is cross-examined revealing a new twist to the case.
55"The Giant Alien Tomato Attack"Sorin OanceaStu Connolly & Sorin Oancea2008 (2008)
The FARMkids tune into the radio to hear that giant alien tomatoes are attacking Earth - chaos and panic breaks out. As the FARMkids hole up in the barn to protect themselves, panic turns to paranoia. Will sanity prevail and who will save them from the giant alien tomato attack?
66"Small Gaseous Planet"Sorin OanceaNick McGee & Sorin Oancea2008 (2008)
Always hungry Dumpster eats some of the radioactive ooze from a crashed NASA satellite. Much to the dismay of the FARMkids, this gives Dumpster gas of super bovine strength - but too much for him to handle. Poppit makes him a butt reactor to control himself which allows him to become a super hero... or so he thinks.
77"MooLoo's Big Day"Sorin OanceaJill Willis2008 (2008)
MooLoo wakes up on her birthday expecting everyone to think that today is as important to them as it is to her. Slowly she realises this just isn't so. Why are the FARMkids so unkind? Or are they?
88"Bad TV"Sorin OanceaRobert Adams & Sorin Oancea2008 (2008)
Poppit finds an old TV at the rubbish tip which turns all the FARMkids into couch potato TV zombies. The FARMkids become addicted to television - what will they watch? Why has the remote got so much power? And more importantly whoever controls the remote control controls what's on television and everything else. The battle for the remote begins.
99"Bean and Gone"Sorin OanceaJill Willis2008 (2008)
Bean, the youngest FARMkid always seems to be in the way. One day Bean just disappears and wonders how long it will take everyone to notice? Will the other FARMkids really care? Will the FARMkids look at Bean differently after this adventure?
1010"Little Farm of Horrors"Sorin OanceaStu Connolly & Sorin Oancea2008 (2008)
Poppit's entry into the Pumpkin Contest is ridiculed and rejected. She invents a machine to create her new winning pumpkin to show all the FARMkids. How big does the pumpkin grow and will it swallow up Dude Ranch?
1111"Splat is Back"Sorin OanceaHelen Wentland2008 (2008)
1212"The Old Rooster and the Sea"Sorin OanceaHelen Wentland2008 (2008)
1313"The Legend of One Eyed Jack"Sorin OanceaPhil Lloyd2008 (2008)

Series Two (2008)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
141"Who's Fooling Who?"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
152"A Fuss Over Russ"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
163"Blinded by the Light"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
174"The Long Road to China"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
185"Mobile Madness"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
196"Dude Ranch Boot Camp"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
207"The Biz"Sorin OanceaSteve Pratt (2)2008 (2008)
218"PapaRatzi"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
229"Barn 54"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
2310"Beautiful Wild Thing"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
2411"The Unlucky Charm"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
2512"Festival and Festivities"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)
2613"The Classroom"Sorin OanceaSorin Oancea2008 (2008)

DVD release

In 2008, 3 DVDs were released entitled Chaos in the Country, Dude Ranch Boot Camp, and Hair, Wool, Feathers, and Fur.[2]

Awards and nominations

As of November 2008, FARMkids and finalists in the Atom Awards for Best Children's Television Series.[3]

References

  1. ^ http://www.farmkids.com/series1.htm#episodes Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, http://www.farmkids.com/series2.htm#episodes Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010TDRSC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DPC4ZU https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010TDRSM
  3. ^ "FARMkids News". Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2008.