Silverwing
DVD cover[1]
Genre
Based onSilverwing
by Kenneth Oppel
Written by
  • Gary Jones
  • Richard Side
Directed byKeith Ingham
Voices of
Composers
  • Brian Carson
  • Ari Wise
Country of origin
  • Philippines
  • Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerCathy Schoch
EditorDon Briggs
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkTeletoon
ReleaseSeptember 6 (2003-09-06) –
December 14, 2003 (2003-12-14)

Silverwing is a 2003 animated television series based on Kenneth Oppel's novel of the same name. It has 2D and 3D animation hybrid.[2][3]

Synopsis

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, so Shade sets out on a journey to reason them.

Characters

Bats

  • 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.

Others

  • 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

  • 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.
  • Marina keeps her band throughout the series, whereas it is removed near the end of the novel.

Episodes

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]

No.TitleOriginal air date (Teletoon) [6]
1"A Glimpse of the Son"September 6, 2003 (2003-09-06)
After Shade inadvertently breaks the law, the owls destroy Tree Haven.
2"No Bat is an Island"September 7, 2003 (2003-09-07)
After being separated from the colony while migrating, Shade ends up on an island and meets Marina. He asks her to meet Frieda.
3"Pigeon Court"September 14, 2003 (2003-09-14)
Shade and Marina evade the pigeons at the city.
4"Bat in the Belfry"September 21, 2003 (2003-09-21)
Zephyr teaches Shade how to use echo projection.
5"Dark Alliance"September 28, 2003 (2003-09-28)
After meeting Goth and Throbb, Shade and Marina learn that the two are killing animals.
6"Friends in Deed"October 5, 2003 (2003-10-05)
Orestes frees Shade and Marina, and escape from the group of owls. After Orestes drives the bats from the power station, Goth gets electrocuted and falls unconscious.
7"Everything Is Not Black and White"October 12, 2003 (2003-10-12)
Shade and Marina ask Ursa to defend the animals from the wolves after a bear cub's mother is killed. Meanwhile, Goth regains consciousness.
8"Deception"November 2, 2003 (2003-11-02)
Shade and Marina continue evading Goth and Throbb, while Bathsheba briefly becomes the leader.
9"I'm with the Band"November 9, 2003 (2003-11-09)
At the mountains, Shade and Marina save a group of banded bats from Goth and Throbb, who steal the rest of the bands. Meanwhile, the colony arrives at the airport.
10"Rats"November 23, 2003 (2003-11-23)
After Romulus defeats Remus at the junkyard, Shade and Marina reunite with Orestes. As the colony and Bathsheba leave, Ariel, Frieda and Mercury survive the airport.
11"Strange Batfellows"November 30, 2003 (2003-11-30)
After distracting Goth and Throbb, Shade and his allies leave the mine.
12"Hibernaculum"December 7, 2003 (2003-12-07)
After arriving at Hibernaculum, Shade reunites with the colony, and Goth and Throbb recruit the wolves.
13"Day of Judgment"December 14, 2003 (2003-12-14)
After the bears defeat the wolves and Goth is killed by collapsing icicles, the animals congratulate the bats and permit them to fly outside night or day.

Production

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]

Release

Broadcast

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]

Home media

The full series has been released on DVD in the US[1] and the UK.[14]

Reception

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

Year Association Category Nominee Result Ref.
2004 Gemini AwardsBest Original Music Score for a Dramatic SeriesBrian Carson, Ari WiseNominated[18]
2004 Vancouver International Digital Festival (Vidfest[19])Interactive Design: EntertainmentWebsite: silverwing.tv2nd[20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Silverwing: Season 1 Set". Amazon.com. June 5, 2007.
  2. ↑ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 552. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. 1 2 "Silverwing". www.pasi.com.ph.
  4. 1 2 Ball, Ryan (5 October 2004). "MIPCOM: Silverwing to Fly as Trilogy".
  5. 1 2 Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 552. ISBN 9781538103746.
  6. ↑ "Television Program Logs". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2016-03-02. Alt URL
  7. 1 2 Ball, Ryan (11 October 2005). "Bardel Features Sold to Toon Disney".
  8. 1 2 "B WOODING MEDIA, LTD". 5 June 2004. Archived from the original on 5 June 2004.
  9. ↑ "Bardel Animation LTD. : Portfolio". 23 June 2001. Archived from the original on 23 June 2001.
  10. 1 2 Ball, Ryan (11 March 2003). "Bardel's Silverwing to Unfold at MIPTV".
  11. ↑ "B WOODING MEDIA, LTD". 10 October 2004. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004.
  12. ↑ Kenny, Joanne (October 11, 2005). "Bardel toon trio breaks into US". C21 Media.
  13. ↑ "Thursday, March 30th, 2006". 30 March 2006.
  14. ↑ "Silverwing - The Movie Trilogy". 28 April 2008 – via Amazon.
  15. ↑ "Stevie Vallance - Press". stevievallance.com.
  16. ↑ "Silverwing - TV Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. 18 August 2006.
  17. ↑ "Why Don Bluth is Perfect for Silverwing". 2 January 2017.
  18. ↑ "Awards Database". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. November 3, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Bardel Entertainment". 14 July 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
  20. ↑ "Interactive Design Room : VIDFEST, Vancouver International Digital Festival". 17 July 2004. Archived from the original on 17 July 2004.
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