Dick King Smith was a remarkably prolific author. Although he did not publish his first book until the age of 56 he went on to complete more than a 120 before his death in 2011. Despite his popularity in print however, Dick King Smith saw very little of his work adapted for the screen.
In 1990, his story Martin’s Mice was adapted for the long-running BBC television series Jackanory, shown over five episodes and read by the actor Nick Wilton. Like the majority of Dick King Smith’s work, Martin’s Mice is a humourous animal tale, this one concerning a kitten who makes friends with mice.
The next television adaptation was for ITV, a live-action version of the book Harry’s Mad, telling the story of a boy and his talking parrot. The series, which starred Gareth Parrington as Harry (the boy) and the voice of Anthony Asbury as Madison (the parrot) ran for 35 episodes between 1993 and 1996.
An All Star Cast for a Dick King Smith Adaptation
Another popular book to make the transition to the small screen was The Fox Busters, which spawned an animated series in 1999. The Foxbusters was only loosely based on the source material, a tale of chickens who learn to fight back against foxes. It featured a strong voice cast led by Whoopi Goldbery, Joanna Lumley and Jane Horrocks.
The only other television adaptation to date has been The Queen’s Nose, first broadcast on the BBC in 1995. The story follows the fortunes of Harmony Parker (played by Victoria Shalet in the television show) a girl who is given a magic coin which grants her seven wishes. The first three series of the show were closely related to the book of the same name, although later series diverged significantly.
The Sheep Pig Becomes Babe
If few of Dick King Smith’s books have been remade for television, even fewer have made the leap to the big screen. This is even more surprising considering the first to do so, The Sheep Pig, was transformed into the massively successful Babe (1995). The charming tale of a pig brought up as a sheep dog, Babe was a huge hit and met with widespread critical approval. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, although it won only one, for Best Visual Effects. It also won a Golden Globe as Best Musical or Comedy.
The animals were a mix of real farm animals and animatronic creations, given life by a talented voice cast led by Christine Cavanaugh as Babe. Starring alongside them was James Cromwell, who made a notable impression as Farmer Hoggett. So successful was Babe that it spawned a sequel, Babe: Pig in the City (1998) Although it retained many of the characters from the original, this story was not directly based on anything written by Dick King Smith. It was less well received by critics, a fate suffered by many sequels. However, Babe had been a hard act to follow, and while Pig in the City may suffer in comparison, it is a perfectly satisfactory yarn in it’s own right. Most of the cast from the first movie was retained, although Elizabeth Daily replaced Cavanaugh in the title role.
The Water Horse
In spite of the success of Babe, the film industry did not pursue it’s interest in Dick King Smith, and it was not until 1997 that another of his books was used as source material for a movie. Set during World War Two, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is a version of the Loch Ness Monster myth, in which a young boy, Angus (Alex Etel) befriends a strange creature which hatches from an egg. While perhaps not rivalling Babe, the film was a critical and commercial success, garnering mostly favourable reviews, and performing well at the box office. The visual effects were particularly praised, as was the performance of Etel, who held his own alongside established actors such as Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin.
Realistic talking animals may have seemed groundbreaking in 1995, but technological advances have now rendered them commonplace. Hopefully this will lead to more Dick King Smith stories being adapted into films, where they have proven to be as well-loved as they are on the page. With more than 120 books to choose from, there is a wealth of opportunity which has so far remained largely untapped.
Jonathan Squirrell - Jon Squirrell is a freelance writer and 3-dimensional cartoonist currently living on Humberside. As well as writing for Suite 101, Jon ...
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