Silverwing is a 2003 adventure fantasy animated series based on Kenneth Oppel's novel of the same name. The traditional animated series has elements of computer animation.
Contents
Synopsis
Years before the migration, the animals of birds and beasts, started a Great War for the balance of nature and territories to all species. The bats, having not picked a side during the war, were exiled to the dark of night, never to fly during the day again. but Shade goes on a journey to reason with them.
Characters
Bats
Shade (voiced by Bill Switzer): A travelling Silverwing bat who separated from the colony.
Marina (voiced by Sharon Alexander): An exiled Brightwing bat who Shade befriends.
Goth (voiced by Michael Dobson): A cannibalistic bat. He and Throbb escape the laboratory.
Throbb (voiced by Richard Newman): Goth's brother in-law.
Frieda (voiced by Pam Hyatt): The banded chief elder of the colony.
Bathsheba (voiced by Shirley Millner): A selfish member of the Silverwing elders. She later betrays the colony.
Ariel (voiced by Randall Carpenter): Shade's mother whose mate, Cassiel left the colony.
Mercury (voiced by Ian James Corlett): Frieda's loyal guardian and the leader of female bats.
Chinook (voiced by Matt Hill): One of Shade's friends.
Zephyr (voiced by Richard Newman): A blind albino bat living in the cathedral spire.
Scirocco (voiced by Ian James Corlett): The charismatic shapeshifting leader for the colony of banded bats in the mountain cabin.
Penelope (voiced by Randall Carpenter): One of the banded bats, whom Shade rescued.
Hector (voiced by Lee Tockar): Chinook's father and one of the Silverwing elders.
Breeze (voiced by Stevie Vallance): One of Shade's friends.
Others
Brutus (voiced by Richard Newman): The leader of the owls. He later renounces the war.
Orestes (voiced by Richard Ian Cox): Brutus' son. He later helps the bats redeem other animals.
Atlas (voiced by Michael Dobson): Brutus' owl assistant.
Ursa (voiced by Candus Churchill): A spirit bear who later becomes the leader of beasts opposing the wolves.
Luger (voiced by Lee Tockar): The leader of the wolves whom Goth recruited.
Remus (voiced by Richard Ian Cox): The selfish king of the rats and Romulus' brother.
Romulus (voiced by Lee Tockar): Remus' brother. He later replaces Remus as king.
Episodes
The episodes were released in the miniseries format as three television films, with new endings created for the first two parts. They included A Glimpse of the Sun, Towers of Fire and Redemption.
Production
The series was produced by Bardel Entertainment, with additional work done by the Philippine Animation Studio. It was originally distributed by Bardel and B Wooding Media.
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.
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. The website had over 20 games available by mid-2004, while the planned season was quietly shelved later that year.
Release
Broadcast
Silverwing was commissioned by and first aired on Teletoon in Canada in autumn 2003.
In the United States, the series was shown on Toon Disney's Jetix block in autumn 2005, with Jetix later airing the show internationally.
Home media
The full series has been released on DVD in the United States (Funimation) and the United Kingdom.
Reception
Silverwing has had mostly positive reception.
Animation Magazine ran a six-part series about the show in 2003, viewing it as "a grand miniseries" that "really raises the bar in TV animation". 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.
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."