John Downer Productions Ltd.

An award-winning media company specialising in wildlife television, feature films and commercials

Animal Winter Games

  • Client
    BBC 
  • Commentary
    John Motson and Jonathan Pearce 
  • Format
    SD 
  • Producers
    Philip Dalton & Tilly Scott-Wilson 
  • Director
    John Downer 
  • First Aired
    5 February 2006 
Following on from the award-winning Animal Games comes another first, Animal Winter Games. The World’s top animal athletes compete alongside human Winter Olympic champions. In the giant slalom the gentoo penguin takes on the indestructible ‘Herminator’ himself, Hermann Maier. This perky penguin competitor is the only animal apart from humans to ski on two legs.

Meanwhile, on the ski jump current gold medallist Simon Ammann faces fierce competition from a flying squirrel; and in the cross country the reindeer suddenly reveals its secret ‘weapon’ – an energy-saving prancing technique.

In true Olympic style, sport commentators, John Motson and Jonathan Pearce, bring their live commentary skills to the animal arena. Animals from the chilly regions of the Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine regions compete alongside humans in 7 events; cross-country, giant slalom, ski jump, sledging, ice skating, ice hockey and a unique event to the Games, the cold endurance.

Everything you see in Animal Winter Games is real. Spectacular animal behavior is seamlessly blended with record breaking human Olympic triumphs, in a dazzling winter wonderland of snow-capped mountains and ice sculptures. The result is a fast and furious battle for gold, in which human Olympic champions take on the greatest winter athletes of the animal world.