I know we’re on hiatus, but I promised myself I’d only write something on this for The Dot and Line if no other place I pitched took the bait. Congratulations, readers! You’re part of the one community on the internet that really cares about the important things: Dudley Moore voicing an animated talking globe.
In the 1990s, cartoons were hitting their stride, and even National Geographic wanted a piece of the pie. Enter Really Wild Animals, a children’s nature documentary series that ran on CBS and, later, the Disney channel for five years. The premise is simple: an anthropomorphic globe named Spin, voiced charmingly and goofily by the inimitable comedian and star of such classic films as the original Bedazzled, Foul Play, 10, and Arthur, takes viewers on a variety of ventures into the wilderness across the world, all while making very English dad jokes. Also, Billy West shows up sometimes, performing a number of voices across the show’s 26 hour-long episodes.
Those episodes take viewers into natural habitats worldwide, from the Mojave Desert in “Amazing North America” to the jungles of Borneo in “Adventures in Asia.” The show gave Moore plenty of chances to crack animal-related puns and go on silly tangents that have since, of course, been given the internet parody treatment, and was also peppered with 80s-style original songs that were all totally ridiculous. Yet, while it’s framed as cute and funny and while some of the science is a tad outdated, it’s surprising how hard-hitting the show can be about such issues as deforestation and the global climate. There is an episode in which Spin’s “side,” South America, is burning because of man-created forest fires meant to create room for more “civilization.” In a world that will likely be in its death throes before the end of the next fifty years or so, it matters that shows like this tried to make the terrors of humankind’s apathy toward the natural world clear to kids so long ago.
Having once been a science-obsessed child fascinated by fauna — specifically dinosaurs, but really any animals — and raised by a father who loved quirky British humor, this show swiftly became one of my favorites growing up. The show was a great vehicle for learning about nature as a kid. As an adult, it is truly spectacular to watch while, uh, under a certain vegetal influence — and a lot of it is on YouTube, so that’s pretty easy to do.
So, get to it, all you really wild animals out there!
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