Line #5 Literature/TheFantasticFlyingJourney


1	[[quoteright:318:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_fantastic_flying_journey.png]]
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3	''The Fantastic Flying Journey'' is a children's book by Creator/GeraldDurrell, illustrated by Graham Percy. It tells the story of the Dollybutt children, Emma, Conrad and Ivan, and their adventures around the world in their Great-Uncle Lancelot's balloon, the Belladonna, as they search for their missing Great-Uncle Perceval, who vanished two years before while studying gorillas in Africa. Along the way, the children and Lancelot talk to the various animals they meet with the aid of a mysterious grey powder, an invention of Perceval's which enables them to communicate with animals.
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5	Two years after the original book, Durrell wrote a sequel, ''The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure'', in which Lancelot and the children travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in pursuit of the evil Sir Jasper Collywobble.
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7	In 2001, an animated children's series was produced in the UK, based on the book. It [[AdaptationExpansion expanded the plot]], and added a villain who pursued the Dollybutt family on their journey to get her hands on the magical powder that enables them to talk with animals.
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10	!!This series provides examples of:
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12	* AnimalStereotypes: Some are PlayedStraight, some are {{Averted}} and some are {{Deconstructed}} - see specific ones below.
13	* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: ''Tanystropheus'' is referred to as a dinosaur, even though it actually belonged to an ancient order of reptiles called Protosauria. It also appears to have an appetite for humans, even though in real life it was probably a fish-eater.
14	* AuthorAvatar: Great-Uncle Lancelot's appearance and mannerism resembles Gerald Durrell a lot. In the Hungarian translation he's even [[DubNameChange renamed]] Great-Uncle ''Gerry''.
15	* BambooTechnology: The Belladonna runs entirely on this, and is even ''made of'' bamboo.
16	* BearyFriendly: Polar Bear is surprisingly friendly with the protagonists considering that she's both a predator and a [[MamaBear mother]].
17	* BewareTheNiceOnes: The ''Scolosaurus'' in ''The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure''. Very timid and friendly, but he's still an ankylosaur who will put up a fight against a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' when pushed too far.
18	* BigBad: Sir Jasper Collywobble is this in the second book.
19	* CoolAirship: The Belladonna, which is 100% eco-friendly and runs on BambooTechnology. Becomes even cooler in the sequel where it gets upgraded with a TimeMachine.
20	* CoolOldGuy: Great-Uncle Lancelot, despite his eccentricities, is a pretty great fellow.
21	* CowardlyLion: The ''Scolosaurus'' is a very timid dinosaur, but once he overcomes his fear, he puts up a fight against the ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' as only a fully-armored ankylosaur can.
22	* DarkerAndEdgier: The second book. In the first book there was NoAntagonist and no deaths, and most animals were relatively friendly with the protagonists; the second has an EgomaniacHunter as its BigBad, many dinosaurs are hostile, and the one of the first scenes is a pack of ''Coelophysis'' killed by an erupting volcano.
23	* TheDragon: Throttlethumbs in ''The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure''.
24	* DumbMuscle: Throttlethumbs is Collywobble's strong but dim-witted henchman.
25	* EgomaniacHunter: Sir Jasper Collywobble. After hunting all big game of our time, he goes back in time to hunt for even greater trophies.
26	* EvilDuo: Sir Jasper Collywoble is a cunning EgomaniacHunter. Throttlethumbs is his DumbMuscle henchman.
27	* FamilyThemeNaming: Lancelot and Perceval are both named after characters from the Myth/ArthurianLegend.
28	* TheFantasticTropeOfWonderousTitles: Both books have titles like this.
29	* GentleGiant: So many examples. Gorilla, Elephant, Blue Whale, Killer Whale, Polar Bear, Bison and Boa Constrictor in ''The Fantastic Flying Journey''; ''Plateosaurus'', ''Diplodocus'' and ''Scolosaurus'' in ''The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure''.
30	* GentleGorilla: Despite his menacing initial appearance, Gorilla and his family are quite friendly to Lancelot and the children once they learn the humans mean no harm.
31	* GreenAesop: It's a Gerald Durrell book after all.
32	* HeadButtingPachy: When the protagonists visit the Cretaceous period, they observe two male ''Pachycephalosaurus'' engaging in head-butting combat over a harem of females.
33	* HerbivoresAreFriendly: Zigzagged in the first book, with the gorilla, elephant, musk ox etc. being friendly but a few herbivores such as the rhino being hostile. Played mostly straight in the second book, with the herbivorous dinosaurs being friendly and the carnivores being hostile.
34	* KillerGorilla: {{Discussed}}, and then ultimately {{averted}} with Gorilla. He first appears hostile, but just tries to scare the humans away, and becomes rather friendly once he learns the humans don't mean any threat.
35	* NoAntagonist: The first book has no overarching villain; the biggest threat to the characters are some of the more hostile animals.
36	* PredatorsAreMean: Mostly averted in the first book, where many of the carnivores (e.g. Killer Whale, Polar Bear and Boa Constrictor) are acknowledged to be carnivores, but are very friendly with the main characters. Played straight in the second book, where all carnivores (''Coelophysis'', ''Tanystropheus'', ''Allosaurus'' and ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'') are villains, trying to eat the main human cast - the only friendly carnivore is the pterosaur ''Gnathosaurus''.
37	* PrehistoricMonster: While modern animals, even more dangerous ones, are usually portrayed in a positive light in the first book, the second book shows carnivorous dinosaurs as monstrous beasts with an appetite for humans.
38	* RandomEventsPlot: The first book doesn't have an overarching story. Each chapter follows this formula: Lancelot and the kids arrive to an exotic location where Percival was last seen, encounter some strange animals and get into some shenanigans, learn that Percival already left, and move on to the next location.
39	* RhinoRampage: Rhinoceros is one of the more antagonistic animals.
40	* SavageWolves: The wolves attack a herd of musk oxen; the heroes drive them away with fireworks, but discuss that the wolves [[PredationIsNatural aren't evil, just hunting for food]].
41	* SmellySkunk: Great-Uncle Lancelot gets sprayed by one in South America. It's a surprisingly polite one who keeps apologizing after he realizes Lancelot isn't a predator.
42	* SnakesAreSinister: Played straight with the spitting cobra that attacks one of the twins. Averted with Boa Constrictor, who is a GentleGiant complaining about the bad reputation of his species.
43	* TimeMachine: In the sequel, the Belladonna is upgraded into this.
44	* TimeTravelersDinosaur: Lancelot and the children travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in pursuit of the evil Sir Jasper Collywobble. Naturally many different species of dinosaurs appear.
45	* TranslatorMicrobes: The powder that allowes the characters talk to animals.
46	* WorldTour: In the original book, the kids travel around the world with Lancelot in search for Percival.
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Context Literature / TheFantasticFlyingJourney