Silverwing (TV series) (original) (raw)
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Animated television series
| Silverwing | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover[1] |
|
| Genre | Animation Fantasy |
| Based on | _Silverwing_by Kenneth Oppel |
| Written by | Gary Jones Richard Side |
| Directed by | Keith Ingham |
| Voices of | Bill Switzer Sharon Alexander Randall Carpenter Richard Newman Michael Dobson Pam Hyatt Shirley Millner Richard Ian Cox Ian James Corlett Matt Hill Lee Tockar Candus Churchill Stevie Vallance |
| Composers | Brian Carson Ari Wise |
| Country of origin | Philippines Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Cathy Schoch |
| Editor | Don Briggs |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | Philippine Animation Studio Bardel Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | Teletoon |
| Release | September 6 (2003-09-06) –December 14, 2003 (2003-12-14) |
Silverwing is a 2003 Filipino–Canadian animated series based on Kenneth Oppel's novel of the same name. The traditional animated series has elements of computer animation.[2][3]
Years before the migration, the animals started the Great Battle for the balance of nature and territories to all species. The bats were exiled from choosing sides, but Shade goes on a journey to reason them.
- Shade: (Bill Switzer) A travelling Silverwing bat separated from the colony.
- Marina: (Sharon Alexander) An exiled Brightwing bat whom Shade befriended.
- Goth: (Michael Dobson) A cannibal bat. He and Throbb escape the laboratory.
- Throbb: (Richard Newman) Goth's brother in-law.
- Frieda: (Pam Hyatt) The banded chief elder of the colony.
- Bathsheba: (Shirley Millner) A selfish member of the Silverwing elders. She later betrays the colony.
- Ariel: (Randall Carpenter) Shade's mother whose mate, Cassiel left the colony.
- Mercury: (Ian James Corlett) Frieda's loyal guardian and the leader of female bats.
- Chinook: (Matt Hill) One of Shade's friends.
- Zephyr: (Richard Newman) A blind albino bat living in the cathedral spire.
- Scirocco: (Ian James Corlett) The charismatic shapeshifting leader for the colony of banded bats in the mountain cabin.
- Penelope: (Randall Carpenter) One of the banded bats, whom Shade rescued.
- Hector: (Lee Tockar) Chinook's father and one of the Silverwing elders. He reunites with the colony at Hibernaculum.
- Breeze: (Stevie Vallance) One of Shade's friends.
- Brutus: (Richard Newman) The leader of the owls. He later renounces the war.
- Orestes: (Richard Ian Cox) Brutus' son. He later helps the bats redeem other animals.
- Atlas: (Michael Dobson) Brutus' owl assistant.
- Ursa: (Candus Churchill) The Kermode bear who later becomes the leader of beasts opposing the wolves.
- Luger: (Lee Tockar) The leader of the wolves whom Goth recruited.
- Remus: (Richard Ian Cox) The selfish king of the rats and Romulus' brother.
- Romulus: (Lee Tockar) Remus' brother. He later replaces the latter as king.
Differences from the novel
[edit]
- In the novel, Orestes is King Boreal's son, but is changed for Brutus for the series.
- In the novel, Throbb dies in a thunderstorm, but he survives throughout the series.
- In Sunwing, King Boreal forgives the colony of bats. In the series, Brutus does the same thing.
- In the novel, Throbb is Goth's traveling companion, but they are brothers-in-law in the series.
- In the novel, the beasts do not become embroiled in the owl-bat conflict, except in the series.
- Shade cannot echo project in the novel, but makes a similar ability in Sunwing.
- In the novel, Marina's band gets removed near the end, while it is kept throughout the series
Note: The episodes were released in the miniseries format as three television films, with new endings created for the first two parts.[4] They included A Glimpse of the Sun, Towers of Fire and Redemption.[5]
The series was produced by Bardel Entertainment, with additional work done by the Philippine Animation Studio.[3] It was originally distributed by Bardel and B Wooding Media.[4][7][8]
Early plans as of 2001 consisted of a theatrical movie with a budget of US$25–30 million to be co-produced with the UK's Melwood Pictures, followed by a US$5 million TV series developed with participation from an unspecified American broadcaster.[9]
A second season of 13 episodes was announced to be in development in 2003, along with an online video game website with 13 levels to match the episodes.[10] The website had over 20 games available by mid-2004,[8] while the planned season was quietly shelved later that year.[11]
Silverwing was commissioned by and first aired on Teletoon in Canada in fall 2003.[7]
In the United States, the series was shown on Toon Disney's Jetix block in autumn 2005,[12] with Jetix later airing the show internationally.[13]
The full series has been released on DVD in the US[1] and the UK.[14]
Silverwing has had mostly positive reception.
Animation Magazine ran a six-part series about the show in 2003,[10][15] viewing it as "a grand miniseries" that "really raises the bar in TV animation".[1] Common Sense Media described Silverwing as a "great kids' series" and gave it 4 out of 5 stars, adding however that its "complex, political story themes" may present difficulties for younger children.[16]
An encyclopedic review considered the series to be relatively accurate to the text, despite minor changes. "The program conducted its affairs well without stumbling and therefore stands as a high point in the often creatively checkered world of Canadian television animation."[5]
In contrast, one reviewer found the show to have poor animation and significant differences from the source material, particularly in terms of darker elements, while only praising the voice acting as "fantastic".[17]
Awards and nominations
[edit]
| Year | Association | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Gemini Awards | Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series | Brian Carson, Ari Wise | Nominated | [18] |
| 2004 | Vancouver International Digital Festival (Vidfest[19]) | Interactive Design: Entertainment | Website: silverwing.tv | 2nd | [20] |
- ^ a b c "Silverwing: Season 1 Set". Amazon.com. June 5, 2007.
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 552. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ^ a b "Silverwing". www.pasi.com.ph.
- ^ a b Ball, Ryan (5 October 2004). "MIPCOM: Silverwing to Fly as Trilogy".
- ^ a b Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 552. ISBN 9781538103746.
- ^ "Television Program Logs". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2016-03-02.[_dead link_] Alt URL
- ^ a b Ball, Ryan (11 October 2005). "Bardel Features Sold to Toon Disney".
- ^ a b "B WOODING MEDIA, LTD". 5 June 2004. Archived from the original on 5 June 2004.
- ^ "Bardel Animation LTD. : Portfolio". 23 June 2001. Archived from the original on 23 June 2001.
- ^ a b Ball, Ryan (11 March 2003). "Bardel's Silverwing to Unfold at MIPTV".
- ^ "B WOODING MEDIA, LTD". 10 October 2004. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004.
- ^ Kenny, Joanne (October 11, 2005). "Bardel toon trio breaks into US". C21 Media.
- ^ "Thursday, March 30th, 2006". 30 March 2006.
- ^ "Silverwing - The Movie Trilogy". 28 April 2008 – via Amazon.
- ^ "Stevie Vallance - Press". stevievallance.com.
- ^ "Silverwing - TV Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. 18 August 2006.
- ^ "Why Don Bluth is Perfect for Silverwing". 2 January 2017.
- ^ "Awards Database". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. November 3, 2016. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
- ^ "Bardel Entertainment". 14 July 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
- ^ "Interactive Design Room : VIDFEST, Vancouver International Digital Festival". 17 July 2004. Archived from the original on 17 July 2004.
- Silverwing at IMDb