{"id":6693,"date":"2021-11-03T17:00:18","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T16:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1489070"},"modified":"2021-11-03T17:37:09","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T16:37:09","slug":"animal-narrators-connections-to-each-episode-revealed-plus-first-look-at-trailer","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/animal-narrators-connections-to-each-episode-revealed-plus-first-look-at-trailer\/","title":{"rendered":"Animal narrators\u2019 connections to each episode revealed \u2013 plus first look at trailer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Lidia Molina-Whyte\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 03 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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A brand new wildlife documentary is coming to Netflix<\/a> later this month, and some famous faces have been enlisted to narrate the fascinating dive into the complexities of the natural world.<\/p>\n

The series, titled Animal, looks as epic as it sounds, judging by the trailer below. And it seems David Attenborough has some tough competition in the voiceover department, too.<\/p>\n

The first season will consist of four episodes, each focusing on a different species, while a second season will follow suit in 2022 utilising the same format.<\/p>\n

Lending their voices to the first series will be\u00a0Bryan Cranston for Dogs, Rashida Jones for Big Cats, Rebel Wilson for Marsupials and Pedro Pascal for Octopus. Season two will see Andy Serkis take on Apes, Anthony Mackie talk Birds and David Harbour and Uzo Aduba discuss Bears and Dolphins.<\/p>\n

And, if you thought these high-profile names were chosen at random for the job, think again. In an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Animal producer Bill Markham\u00a0revealed each actor shared a \u201cunique connection\u201d with the animals in their episode.<\/p>

\u201cWe felt that having one narrator to write all of the episodes wouldn\u2019t be a fair ambassador of all the different species,\u201d Markham explained. \u201cSo what we thought was finding narrators who would fit the personalities and the characters of the animal groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to explain how Pitch Perfect actress Wilson, for example, was perfect for the Marsupials episode. \u201cObviously she\u2019s Australian and she loves marsupials and spends quite a lot of time, I think, helping out koalas and so on,\u201d he said. \u201cBut also, they\u2019re quite a quirky bunch, the marsupials. So her character really fit with this slightly tongue-in-cheek group of animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The programme also touches on \u201c21st century context\u201d, with Wilson\u2019s episode covering the impact of the bushfires in Australia. \u201c[Rebel] brought real genuine sensitivity to those kind of stories,\u201d Markham added. \u201cShe knows what they\u2019re like, she\u2019s been in the smog in Sydney and all the rest of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Wilson\u2019s connection to Australia makes sense, the other narrators\u2019 bonds to the animals they were chosen for are slightly more unusual.<\/p>\n

Octopus may not be the first thing that comes to fans\u2019 minds when they think of Pedro Pascal, but it turns out the actor loves the creatures.<\/p>\n

\""Pedro\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Pedro Pascal narrates the Octopus episode in Animal season one<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

\u201cIn the programme, we sort of treat [octopus] as an alien, you know, that they\u2019re like the crickets from other planets. Of course, Pedro is in The Mandalorian<\/a> which people know him for,\u201d Markham said, before revealing that Pascal was delighted to be chosen for the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019m so glad you chose me for this because I absolutely love octopus. When I was a kid, I caught one on a beach and put it into a bucket and then whenever I was turning to look at it, it would duck down. But if I turned my back on it, it would try to escape\u2019,\u201d Markham told RadioTimes.com<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Pascal told the producer he hadn\u2019t eaten octopus or squid since, because he \u201cjust loves these creatures\u201d.<\/p>\n

Breaking Bad\u2019s Cranston is on dog duty, which comes after he starred in Wes Anderson\u2019s Isle of Dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Bryan is] very doggy (laughs),\u201d Markham said. \u201cHis character really kind of comes across. He\u2019s pretty laid back but amazing. He\u2019s the dog\u2019s bollocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that Mackie was chosen for the Birds episode, since he played The Falcon in the MCU before recently taking on the Captain America mantle, while Serkis has lent his body and his voice to not one but two famous cinematic apes \u2013 King Kong and Cesar in Planet of the Apes \u2013 so his casting for the Apes episode is a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does all of this motion capture where he tries to mimic those animals, so he\u2019s spent quite a bit of time trying to get into the mind of apes,\u201d Markham said, \u201cand that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do in these programmes, which is a bit different maybe to other wildlife, trying to get into the mind of these animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know and love them, but do we really know them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Take a look at the trailer below before you get to know them a little better later this month.<\/p>\n