"I know what's happened, she's fallen
     down that old well!..."
 

    It's another perfect day in the park, and whilst the rabbits play "Monkey Swings"
    on the branches of a tree, Percy is in his hut, preparing a picnic lunch. It's his
    day off, you see. Before he departs, though, he has to caution one of the rabbits
    when she cartwheels blindly into his hut. "You should be a bit more
   careful!" he urges.

    Word of the impending picnic quickly spreads, and one by one, the park
    animals join Percy on his walk, hoping for a tasty treat. But Percy doesn't
    mind. He pitches up by an old stump and drinks in the day. Only the rabbits
    are lagging behind. They're still playing games, pretending to be leaping hares.
    But what's this? Our silly girl rabbit has bounded blindly again, and this time
    she's tumbled down the old park well!

    Thus begins another animated adventure for Percy and his animal pals. The
    slim story gets by mainly on cuteness, with lots of little details to savour, and
    some splendid one-liners from Percy, who's once more voiced with perfection
    by Jim Broadbent:

    "I think she's alright, but she's not a happy bunny!"

    The little girl rabbit's is quite obstreperous and really quite lovely. At first she
    catches up on a log, propped halfway down the well. But the stroppy doe
    makes off down a side tunnel, taking her deeper underground and face to face
    with a canny toad and a worrying choice of exits.

    It all turns out fine, of course, and a lesson is duly learned (almost). Little
    viewers will lap it up without question, but us bigger viewers will also enjoy
    the way the animals try to sneak food out of Percy's basket, and how
    that wily old Fox reappears with a sandwich crust in hand, midway through
    the rescue. Nick Butterworth's picture book story has been fleshed out
    with those scenes in Percy's hut, and that guiding Toad has hopped in
    from the development pool somewhere, but the adaptation is really as
    flawless as ever. The Percy films are always a delight to watch. They
    blend their gentle stories with a little light humour and just a pinch of
    drama to make them perfect viewing for tots and toddlers and adults
    alike ...   

 

     See also

     Percy the Park Keeper: After the Storm
     Percy the Park Keeper: One Snowy Night
     Percy the Park Keeper: The Secret Path
     Percy the Park Keeper

 

     Further reading

    Tales from Percy's Park: The Rescue Party
     The 2003 softback edition...

 

     Percy on DVD

     "The Rescue Party" is available as part of a UK double-bill:

     The Secret Path & The Rescue Party
                 Region 2 / double-bill / HIT Ent. / April 2007


     Then there's the tv series:

     Percy the Park Keeper: The Classic Collection
                Region 2 / ten episodes / HIT Ent. / January 2004

     Children's Favourites
                Episodes from the series are also included on several
                compilation DVDs from HIT Entertainment...

 

     a Grand Slamm Children's Film Production
      for HIT Entertainment PLC

      based on the book by Nick Butterworth

      produced & directed by Ginger Gibbons

     exec prods:     Peter Orton (for HIT)
                           Kate Fawkes (for HIT)
     adaptation:     Nick Butterworth, Kate Fawkes                      
      music:            Bob Heatlie

     Grand Slamm  
     prod man:       Margo Marchant
     storyboard:     Nobby Clarke
     backgrounds:   Mike Hill, John Millington, Gunther Herbst
     head of
      layouts:          David Kenyon
     layout:           Jacques Gauthier, John Cooper,
                          Sue Butterworth

     Varga Studio
     series prod:    Andras Erkel, Jeno Vass
     anim dir:        Igor Lazin
     charac sup:    Istvan Zold
     prod mans:    Sandor Paulik, Petra Szabo
     spfx:             Sandor Toreky

     sound editor: Terry Brown
     asst editors:  Jamie Martin, Charlotte Evans
     sound
      post-prod:     Magmasters, Billy Mahoney
     sound rec:     The Tape Gallery, Simon Capes
     post prod:     The House
     music cons:   Jim Doyle    
     voices:          Jim Broadbent (Percy)
                         Enn Reitel (Squirrel / Badger)
                         Kate Harbour (Owl / Girl Rabbit)
                         David Hart

 

      On the web


      Grand Slamm Childrens Films
      Percy's here, together with Angelina, Kipper and the rest of
      Grand Slamms' animated productions...