How the BBC brought Cenozoic mammals to life with goat noises and complex animatronics
In short: Following the success of Walking with Dinosaurs, the BBC launched Walking with Beasts in 2001. This ambitious miniseries recreated the Cenozoic era using a blend of computer-generated imagery and intricate animatronics. To achieve realism, sound designers mixed animal noises, while animators tackled the difficult challenge of rendering fur and facial expressions.
Created by Tim Haines and produced by the BBC Science Unit, Walking with Beasts was a six-part documentary series designed to showcase the rise of mammals after the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs. With a budget of £4.2 million, the production team faced significant technical hurdles. Unlike dinosaurs, mammals possess complex features like fur, whiskers, and eyebrows, which made both CGI and animatronic modeling substantially more difficult to execute convincingly.
The production relied on two years of full-time research by geologist Paul Chambers and zoologist Alex Freeman, who selected six distinct settings based on fossil evidence. To bring these creatures to life, the team at Framestore collaborated with researchers to ensure accurate movement, while Crawley Creatures built over 40 animatronic elements. When real-life sounds were unavailable, sound designer Kenny Clark created creature noises by manipulating recordings of modern animals; for instance, Megatherium was voiced by pitch-shifted goat sounds, and Indricotherium by a mix of bear and rhinoceros noises.
The series was a significant success, attracting 8.5 million viewers for its premiere and winning awards including a Primetime Emmy and a BAFTA. Beyond the screen, the project expanded into a multimedia franchise, including a companion book, a 2007 traveling exhibition, and even a 2001 CD-ROM game titled Operation Salvage. Despite some criticism regarding the narration style and the inherent appeal of mammals compared to dinosaurs, the series remains a landmark in nature documentary production.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Walking with Beasts
- Also: Wikidata — Walking with Beasts · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — Walking with Beasts: Operation Salvage · CC0
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