Flanimals
Encyclopedia
Flanimals is a children's book series written by comedian Ricky Gervais
. The book, illustrated by Rob Steen
, depicts a list of seemingly useless or inadequate animals, and their behaviour.
The cover Flanimal is the Grundit. The book is published by Faber and Faber
, which has also published the sequels More Flanimals
, Flanimals of the Deep
and Flanimals: The Day of the Bletchling
. Flanimals: Pop Up was published October 2009 by Walker Books in the UK and March 2010 by Candlewick Press in the US.
Several models of different Flanimals are available on the official site.
-based writer and artist John Savage issued a High Court
writ
, claiming that the original book is based on his own work, Captain Pottie's Wildlife Encyclopedia. The writ claims Savage's artistic and literary copyright
has been infringed by Gervais. A spokeswoman for Gervais said the concept and illustrations existed before Savage's work.
had commissioned a television series based on the books, which had a predicted air date of 2009, but it was later scrapped.
On April 28, 2009, Variety
reported that a 3-D
, computer-animated
feature film is in production at Illumination Entertainment
, known for its 2010 summer blockbuster Despicable Me
. Gervais will exec produce the film and also lend the voice to the lead character.
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
. The book, illustrated by Rob Steen
Rob Steen
Rob Steen is the illustrator of the books Flanimals, More Flanimals, Flanimals of the Deep, Flanimals: The Day of the Bletchling and Flanimals Pop-Up. Other work includes The Thing's in Ted's Head, Afterlife for Tokyopop and various issues of Elephantmen for Image Comics. He lives in New York...
, depicts a list of seemingly useless or inadequate animals, and their behaviour.
The cover Flanimal is the Grundit. The book is published by Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, which has also published the sequels More Flanimals
More Flanimals
More Flanimals is the sequel to Ricky Gervais' book Flanimals.Like Flanimals, the book features around 30 species of Flanimal, illustrated by Rob Steen, which make up their own imaginary ecosystem....
, Flanimals of the Deep
Flanimals of the Deep
Flanimals of the Deep is the third book in the Flanimals series from British comedian Ricky Gervais and illustrator Rob Steen...
and Flanimals: The Day of the Bletchling
Flanimals: The Day of the Bletchling
Flanimals: The Day of the Bletchling is the fourth book in the Flanimals series from British Comedian Ricky Gervais and Illustrator Rob Steen....
. Flanimals: Pop Up was published October 2009 by Walker Books in the UK and March 2010 by Candlewick Press in the US.
Several models of different Flanimals are available on the official site.
List of Flanimals
- Blimble Sprent – a fast-moving Flanimal without arms that sprints around everywhere to avoid its destination and dies of exhaustion.
- Blunging – a hadrosauridHadrosauridHadrosaurids or duck-billed dinosaurs are members of the family Hadrosauridae, and include ornithopods such as Edmontosaurus and Parasaurolophus. They were common herbivores in the Upper Cretaceous Period of what are now Asia, Europe and North America. They are descendants of the Upper...
-like Flanimal that lives in big family groups. - Clunge Ambler – an apeApeApes are Old World anthropoid mammals, more specifically a clade of tailless catarrhine primates, belonging to the biological superfamily Hominoidea. The apes are native to Africa and South-east Asia, although in relatively recent times humans have spread all over the world...
-like Flanimal that hugs everything it sees. - Coddleflop – a mushy puddle which protects itself by flipping on to its head.
- Flemping Bunt-Himmler – a mimicMimicIn evolutionary biology, mimicry is the similarity of one species to another which protects one or both. This similarity can be in appearance, behaviour, sound, scent and even location, with the mimics found in similar places to their models....
of the Mernimbler, only wider and flatter. - Frappled Humpdumbler – an octopusOctopusThe octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
-like Flanimal who scrundles along the other. - Glonk – a reptilian humanoidReptilian humanoidReptilian humanoids comprise a common motif in mythology, folklore, science fiction, fantasy, conspiracy theories, ufology, and cryptozoology.-Male:...
Flanimal who does absolutely nothing and dies. - Gum Spudlet – a Flanimal resembling the Coddleflop and is food for the Grundit.
- Grundit – a dopey heavily-built Flanimal with a bump on its head.
- Hemel Sprot – a fast Flanimal that always looks where it's been. It is shown as a green blob, which moves using its two legs/feet. It looks backwards while moving forwards and is the prey of the Sprot Guzzlor.
- Honk – a small Flanimal that sleeps most of the time, waking randomly to emit a loud honk.
- Mernimbler – a furry small Flanimal but if you say it's cute and stroke it will transform into its adult stage
- Adult Mernimbler – an aggressive goblinGoblinA goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...
-like adult stage of the Mernimbler. - Munge Fuddler – a crabCrabTrue crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
-like Flanimal that 'fuddles' everything it sees. - Munty Flumple – a dopey optimist that falls in love with anything.
- Offledermis – a Flanimal born inside-out to avoid its own smell and has its heart above its inside-out eyeballs and constantly leaks.
- Plamglotis – an apeApeApes are Old World anthropoid mammals, more specifically a clade of tailless catarrhine primates, belonging to the biological superfamily Hominoidea. The apes are native to Africa and South-east Asia, although in relatively recent times humans have spread all over the world...
-like Flanimal that swallows its hands to walk. - Plumboid Doppler – a Flanimal with green eyestalks and a lumpy squint-sack.
- Print – a humanoidHumanoidA humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
Flanimal that dives off things and always lands on its head. - Puddloflaj – a large water balloonWater balloonA water balloon or water bomb is a latex rubber balloon filled with water. They are commonly used in water balloon fights and as a practical joke device.-History:...
-like Flanimal who is often ridden by the Grundit. - Sprine Bloat-Trunker – a Flanimal that is created by a splunge pipe in the Sprog and Hemel Sprot recycling factory where it also is recycled.
- Sprog – an aggressive beetrootBeetrootThe beetroot, also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet or informally simply as beet, is one of the many cultivated varieties of beets and arguably the most commonly encountered variety in North America, Central America and Britain.-Consumption:The usually deep-red roots of beetroot are...
Flanimal. - Sprot Guzzlor – a large Flanimal that preys on Hemel Sprots.
- Underblenge – a Flanimal that cannot move because of supposedly irresistible suction on its underside.
- Wobboid Mump – a blind eye in jelly looking for the reason of its existence.
Originality dispute
In August 2010, NorwichNorwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
-based writer and artist John Savage issued a High Court
High Court
The term High Court usually refers to the superior court of a country or state. In some countries, it is the highest court . In others, it is positioned lower in the hierarchy of courts The term High Court usually refers to the superior court (or supreme court) of a country or state. In some...
writ
Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
, claiming that the original book is based on his own work, Captain Pottie's Wildlife Encyclopedia. The writ claims Savage's artistic and literary copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
has been infringed by Gervais. A spokeswoman for Gervais said the concept and illustrations existed before Savage's work.
Adaptations
Originally ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
had commissioned a television series based on the books, which had a predicted air date of 2009, but it was later scrapped.
On April 28, 2009, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reported that a 3-D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
, computer-animated
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
feature film is in production at Illumination Entertainment
Illumination Entertainment
Illumination Entertainment is an American film production company, founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007. It is owned by Universal Studios and based in Santa Monica, California. It is best known for its 2010 animated feature Despicable Me.- History :...
, known for its 2010 summer blockbuster Despicable Me
Despicable Me
Despicable Me is a 2010 American computer-animated 3D comedy film from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment that was released on July 9, 2010 in the United States. The film features the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, and...
. Gervais will exec produce the film and also lend the voice to the lead character.