Editing Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (section)

==Production==
The Skippy TV series was produced by Fauna Productions. During 1963, British film director [[Michael Powell]] had visited Australia to preproduce his film, ''[[They're a Weird Mob (film)|They're A Weird Mob]]''. There, he met actor and theatre businessman [[John McCallum (actor)|John McCallum]] and legal expert Bob Austin, who used their local knowledge to find financing from Australian backers. The film did well, and McCallum and Austin together with veteran Australian producer Lee Robinson went on to set up Fauna Productions. The business made its reputation with Skippy, produced in association with [[Frank Packer]]'s TCN Channel 9 Sydney. Fauna Productions went on to produce the TV series ''Barrier Reef'' and ''Boney'', as well as the feature film ''[[Nickel Queen]]''. Fauna Productions is still in business, now being run by two sons of the founders, Philip Austin and Nick McCallum. It holds copyright over the original Skippy TV series, while the Nine Network holds the trademark.<ref>Austin, 2014 {{Incomplete short citation|date=March 2024}}</ref><ref name="nswshr-1944" />

Most episodes were directed by Max Varnel or Eric Fullilove, with scripts written by Australian writers. Producer Lee Robinson said, "Each story has the underlying thought, which is the preservation of wildlife".<ref name="Skippy" /><ref name="nswshr-1944" />

Accomplished musician, band-leader, and composer Eric Jupp was responsible for the theme and incidental music for Skippy. "It took me a few days to write the Skippy theme," said Jupp. 'I'd already written three or four versions and then rejected them. But the effort has proved worthwhile because about 30,000 records of the theme have been sold in Australia alone.'.<ref name="Skippy" /><ref name="nswshr-1944" />

===Location filming===
The series was shot in northern Sydney, on then undeveloped [[Public land#Commonwealth countries|Crown land]] west of Namba Road now known as [[Waratah Park]]. Permission to film and build structures on the site was given by [[Warringah Council]].<ref>Warringah Shire Council Minutes Special Meeting 5 July 1983 p26</ref> Also necessary was the cooperation of the newly created [[NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service]], under government minister [[Tom Lewis (Australian politician)|Tom Lewis]], and the Ku-ring-gai Chase Trust to allow access to a further {{convert|500|acre|ha|0|order=flip}} within the adjacent [[Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park]].<ref name=nswshr-1944/> Following preparatory work, filming commenced in May 1967.

The ranger headquarters and residence was purpose-built for the series and used for both exterior and interior scenes. Power and water supply had to be connected and roads constructed, together with a helipad and helicopter-servicing area. Other national parks were also used for filming, as well as the streets and beaches of Sydney and surrounding districts. "The Australian bush provided an excellent scenic backdrop, which was much appreciated by local and overseas viewers alike."<ref name="Skippy" /><ref name="nswshr-1944" />

===Animal actors===
Between 9 and 15 kangaroos were used for each show. The apparent manual dexterity was often achieved by using separate arms in the hands of human operators. Skippy's trademark "tchk tchk tchk" noise was entirely fictional. Kangaroos make no such sounds, but some sort of sound was needed for the series, and someone came up with the idea of clicking tongues to make the sound. To this day, many people believe that kangaroos make "tchk tchk" noises.<ref name="Skippy" /><ref name="nswshr-1944" /> To make Skippy move her mouth, supposedly creating the vocalisations, production staff gave the kangaroos chocolate, chewing gum, or grass, and in some cases, an elastic band around the lower jaw.

A menagerie of other animals and birds was used for the show, including dingoes, possums, emus, galahs, and koalas, all trained and managed by Scotty Denholm, a former NSW police-dog trainer. In theory, there was only one Skippy, but in reality, many stand-ins were used. "Like people, some kangaroos are brighter than others," said producer Dennis Hill. Nonetheless, limits exist as to what one can get a kangaroo to do. Often, the actors could be noticed patting the kangaroo to get her to move, or holding her to prevent her moving. Kangaroo-paw bottle openers, of a type that could be purchased at any souvenir shop, were used for close-up scenes of Skippy opening doors or picking up objects. Also, a stuffed kangaroo from a taxidermist was used for scenes from behind, or when Skippy was required to jump into a confined space such as the helicopter.<ref name="Skippy" /><ref name="nswshr-1944" />