Noah's Island

Plot

The series follows a community of animals on a floating island that was originally part of the Canadian coastline before being struck by a flaming meteorite. Their leader is a polar bear named Noah. The community includes a pair of woolly mammoths called Salomi and Mammothsbody, as well as a group of animals from a closed-down zoo who survived the sinking of a cargo ship. The island floats because of a core of molten magma called the 'Fire-Bowl', formed from the meteorite. Noah uses the Fire-Bowl to steer the island across the ocean, following a map drawn by Salomi's father that leads to Diamantina, an uncharted island in the Indian Ocean where the animals can be safe from humans. During their quest, Noah and the community pass by several continents, rescuing animals in peril wherever they go.

Characters

Noah is a male polar bear who discovers the floating island while adrift on an ice floe in the North Atlantic Ocean, and is elected captain for his strong leadership skills. He is eccentric yet ambitious, aiming to turn the island into a safe haven for all animals. Mammothsbody and Salomi are two elderly woolly mammoths thawed from Arctic ice by the meteorite's heat. Mammothsbody is slow and simple-minded; Salomi is strong-willed, shrewd, and aggressive.

A recurring joke has Mammothsbody constantly proposing marriage to Salomi, who rejects him until they marry at the end of the first series, though she continues to talk down to him. Sparky is a male white rabbit who never speaks, communicating through hand gestures and facial expressions; his small size is played for comedy, often by a larger animal accidentally crushing him. The Vulture Patrol includes an elderly senile vulture called The Squadron Leader, his daughters Shirley and Mildred, and later a handsome but dim-witted male vulture named Him.

Him and Shirley become mates and have a chick called Baby Chick Bird. Rocco is a brash but virtuous male gorilla who serves as the island's Chief Surgeon, having learned basic medicine from zoo vets. He grieves for his mate Hetty, who died when the cargo ship sank, but eventually starts a relationship with another gorilla named Gertie. Woomera is a female red kangaroo who works in the infirmary with Rocco; she is caring but stubborn and often argues with the reckless Rocco.

Nab is an anxious but well-meaning male orangutan who speaks in a stereotypical Scottish accent and watches over the Fire-Bowl, calling himself the Chief Engineer. Jasper is a male proboscis monkey who assists Nab in the Fire-Bowl chamber; he never speaks, communicating through monkey sounds translated by whoever he speaks to, and is always referred to as a 'gibbon' by other characters. The Valve Rhino is a simple-minded male rhinoceros who uses his strength to push the Fire-Bowl's valve systems; he is usually calm but prone to violent outbursts when others voice annoyance at his habit of saying 'Pom-pom-pom-piddle-pom-pom'.

Reg is an arrogant male mandrill who longs to be human, often trying to walk on two legs and read books, though he is illiterate and can only look at pictures. He is good friends with Rocco but shows little consideration for others, regarding himself as superior for being 'almost human'. Early in the first series he is portrayed as a rogue, but later becomes more of a comic relief character. Ursula is a female Eurasian brown bear who speaks in a stereotypical Welsh accent; she is a self-centred gossip with little regard for others, and despite being a different species of bear, she has romantic feelings for Noah.

Chang is a soft-spoken and timid female giant panda, close friends with Ursula, though they frequently argue about trivial things; she knows how to perform hypnosis to sedate Rocco's patients but often fails. The Problem Walrus is a laid-back male walrus who spends time lounging on the beach and offers a counselling service, listening to problems and offering philosophical advice. Tabby and Ena are female hyenas who act as Reg's bodyguards; during the first series, each gives birth to one mischievous pup, the first babies born on the island, though the father drowned when the cargo ship sank.

Carmen is an awkward female aardvark sensitive about her long nose and tongue; she can be aggressive but is usually mannered and well-tempered. Agatha is a female giraffe who is a snob, looking down on other animals, but she assists with events requiring giraffe skills; overall she is ill-tempered but still cares. Rescued animals include Sacha, a friendly male Russian desman who always tries to help with his catchphrase 'oiski poiski', despite being seen as an annoyance; he performed in a circus in Spain and dreams of starting his own circus with insects, training a beetle named Jeremy.

Gertie is a female gorilla born and raised in captivity, rescued by Noah and the Problem Walrus from a cargo plane that crashed on a reef; she and Rocco initially don't get along but eventually form a relationship and have a daughter named Tina after Diamantina. Wommie is a male wombat who joins after helping Woomera find a bandicoot in the Australian Outback; he is brave, adventurous, and has little sense of danger, often attempting life-threatening stunts for fun.

Tusker is a male African elephant calf brought to the island by the Vulture Patrol after being separated from his herd in a desert; his herd, including his 100-year-old Grandfather, arrives shortly afterward and is shown to have joined the community, though after the episode 'Search for the Baby Elephant', the herd never appears again with no explanation. Grandfather Elephant is a 100-year-old male African elephant who gives wisdom and knowledge of ancient Africa; his age catches up with him and he goes out to sea to die, asking Salomi and Mammothsbody to watch him along with the baby elephant's mother.

The Lion is a male African lion with no name saved after being shot by poachers. Wowee is a pampered female French poodle who was travelling with her owners on a boat that washed up on the island's shores during a storm; her owners are never found, and she joins Reg's gang, becoming one of his fondest admirers, seeing him as the closest thing to a human on the island.