"Listen to that! - Still, a spot of rain
     never did any harm..."
 

    It's Autumn in the park, and Percy the Park Keeper is sweeping up the fallen
    leaves, give or take a few helpful hindrances from his animal friends. The clouds
    overhead are beginning to broil ominously, but there's no cause for alarm, the
    forecasters are only predicting "a light breeze". Oh, but that "breeze" soon develops
    into a full blown storm, with jet black skies and lightning flashes. The next morning,
    calamity is revealed. The animals' Oak tree home has been toppled by the storm.
    What on earth are they to do?

    Nick Butterworth's 1992 picture book is brought to life by Ginger Gibbons and
    his Grand Slamm team. It's a faultless adaptation, really, dripping with charm
    and warmth. Jim Broadbent excels as the voice of Percy. He can be authoritative,
    and indeed quite firm,on occasion, but he is always, always caring and concerned
    for the well-being of his animal friends. It's a lovely turn. Percy scoops the animals
    into his big green wheelbarrow and helps them look for a new home. The woods
    are too dark and spooky, and the shrubbery lacks big trees or roots to burrow
    around. Then, as they pass over the little stream, they topple off the rickety
    bridge towards an anxious outcome...

    Of course there's a happy ending, with a new treehouse home. But there's also
    an extra resolution between Owl and one of the Squirrels. And a final coda,
    in which Percy plants new acorns, from which new tree houses might grow.

    "After the Storm" was first broadcast on Boxing Day 1997, on ITV. In all,
    Grand Slamm adapted four Percy stories into animated specials. And they
    followed them up with a 13 x 10mins series. The quality remains consistently
    high throughout...

   » There's a fabulous sequence during the storm. It's set inside Percy's shed as
       he partakes of his usual cocoa and biscuits whilst the heavens rage outside.
       Each time the lightning flashes he spills his drink and drops his biscuits.
       He counts the seconds between the thunderclaps, excitedly ...anxiously...
       It's a gem of a sequence!

 

     See also

     Percy the Park Keeper: One Snowy Night
     Percy the Park Keeper: The Rescue Party
     Percy the Park Keeper: The Secret Path
     Percy the Park Keeper

 

     Further reading

    After the Storm               
     The original 1992 hardback book by Nick Butterworth...

    Tales from Percy's Park: After the Storm               
     The 2003 softback edition...

 

     Percy on DVD

     "After the Storm" isn't currently available on UK DVD, but two
      of the other Percy specials are in stores:

     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 books 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 Paulix, 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)
                         David Hart

 

      On the web


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