Danny, the Champion of the World is a 1975 children's book by Roald Dahl. As in many of Dahl's books, the main character is a child protagonist who is imaginative and intelligent. This story is based on Dahl's adult short story "Champion of the World" which appears in "Claud's Dog". Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Basic Characteristics There is some debate as to what constitutes childrens literature. ... Roald Dahl (IPA: ]) (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a Welsh novelist, short story writer and screenwriter, who rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the worlds bestselling authors. ...

Plot

Danny's mother died suddenly when he was only four months old and from then on he lived with his father in an old caravan at the back of a filling station, where his father fixed cars. By the time Danny was seven years old, he was able to maintain motor vehicles. A travel trailer or caravan is a trailer towed behind a road vehicle (or even a horse) to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable, sheltered and protected than a tent (although there are fold-down tent trailers [1]) . It provides the means for people to have their... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Car redirects here. ...

Danny's father owned the filling station, and it was the only piece of land for miles around that was not owned by a wealthy but unpleasant local man called Mr. Victor Hazell. After Mr. Hazell threatened Danny and Danny's father subsequently refused to give him service, Mr. Hazell attempted to have the father and son run off their land. This caused Danny's father to bear a grudge against Mr. Hazell. When Danny was nine years old his father went to poach pheasants from Hazell's Wood. One night Danny woke up to find his father missing, but he later returned home and explained what he had done. Danny's father then let him into a secret of poaching: pheasants love raisins, and placing a raisin inside a 'sticky hat' (a piece of paper rolled into a cone shape with glue on the inside) is the perfect trap in which to catch a pheasant. The other trick that Danny's dad told him was the horse hair trick. You had to stick in a horse's tailhair in raisins and when the pheasant tries to swallow it, it wouldn't go down his throat. As a result, it would not be able to move its feet which is when you snatch it away. Genera Ithaginis Catreus Rheinartia Crossoptilon Lophura Argusianus Pucrasia Syrmaticus Chrysolophus Phasianus † See also partridge, quail Pheasants are a group of large birds from the order Galliformes. ... For other uses, see Poaching (disambiguation). ... Alternate uses: Raisin (disambiguation) A Raisin is a sun-dried or artificially dried grape, used in cooking and baking. ...

One evening, Danny's father went poaching and promised to be back no later than 10:30 p.m. Danny, waking later that night, discovers his father's absence. Fearing the worst, he sets out into the woods to find him, trapped down a hole with a broken ankle, and is able to rescue him by virtue of a customer's car.

While Danny's father is recovering from his injury, they hear that Mr. Hazell's pheasant-shooting party is approaching. They decide to humiliate him by luring all the pheasants away from the forest, so there will be no pheasants to shoot. Danny suggests that they should put sleeping tablets inside raisins which the pheasants will then eat, and when this is done they hide the sleeping pheasants in a local women's house by taking a taxi. The women then brings all the sleeping pheasant in a baby cradle, but as she is walking toward them, the pheasants began to wake up and fly, but they droopily fall back down. An angry Hazell arrives at the filling station just as the pheasants are waking up. With the help of Sgt. Samways, William and Danny herd the groggy birds onto Hazell's car, ruining the paintwork (and interior). Once the pheasants have woken completely, they fly away from the scene - in the opposite direction of Hazell's wood. This article is about a community of trees. ...

Danny is hailed as a champion by his father and Sgt. Samways, but their victory is a bittersweet one, due to the fact that all the pheasants flew away. But Doc Spencer shows them six pheasants still asleep from eating to many raisins inside the caravan. They each receive two pheasants, except the Doc, who didn't want any.

TV Movie

Overview

In 1989, a TV movie of the book was made by Thames Television, with major actors including Jeremy Irons, Cyril Cusack and Robbie Coltrane starring and directed by Gavin Millar. The movie was a family affair of sorts, given the fact that Jeremy Irons plays the Father, Samuel Irons, his son, plays Danny and his father-in-law, Cyril Cusack plays the affable country doctor in the movie. Danny, Champion of the World cover by Quentin Blake // Danny, the Champion of the World For the 1989 film, see Danny, the champion of the world (movie) Danny, the Champion of the World is a book for children by British author Roald Dahl about a boy called Danny Smith. ... This is a list of television films produced for the cable network Disney Channel. ... Thames Television was a franchise holder of the British ITV television network, serving London on weekdays between 1968 and 1992. ... Jeremy John Irons (born September 19, 1948) is an Academy Award, Tony Award, Screen Actors Guild, two-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning English film, television and stage actor. ... Cyril Cusack (November 26, 1910 – October 7, 1993) was an Irish Shakespearean actor, who appeared in more than 90 films [1]. Born in Durban, Natal, South Africa he was the son of a sergeant in the mounted police and an actress. ... For the jazz saxophonist, see Ravi Coltrane. ... Gavin Millar is a Scottish film director. ...

Differences

As with many books adapted for television and cinema, the film version of Danny, the Champion of the World has a number of significant differences to the book.

• Names: In the book, Danny's surname is never given, and his father's name (William) is mentioned few times, leading people to believe that he is unnamed. In the film, Danny's surname is Smith, and his father's name, William, is said frequently.

• Danny's lateness for school: Danny was late for school twice. The first time he was let off with a verbal warning from Captain Lancaster (his teacher, a former army captain who insisted upon using his wartime title). On the second occasion, he was punished with 1,000 lines. In the book, it was never mentioned that he had been late for school.

• The date of the story: The film was set in 1955, which suggests that Danny was born during the mid to late 1940s. A reference in the book to a 1933 Austin Seven motor car states that the vehicle was 40 years old, so Roald Dahl had obviously set this stage of the story at 1973 - Danny was nine years old at the time, which means that he was born in 1964.

• The escape from Hazell's Wood: In the book, Danny and his father escape from Hazell's Wood at around 3:00 a.m., to avoid being pulled out by Mr Hazell at 6:00 a.m. - this is what the keepers had said. In the film, Danny rescued his father from the pit just before the keepers and Mr Hazell arrived. They also got away in the car just in time to avoid being caught; the noise of the engine had attracted the attention of Mr Hazell and his keepers.

• Confrontation with Mr.Hazell: In the film, Mr. Hazell guessed that the man who escaped from the pit was Danny's father, and reported him to the local policeman. When the local policeman (Sgt. Samways) came to visit Danny and his father, he made up a version of events by stating that the cause of Danny's father's broken ankle was falling down his caravan steps. Mr Hazell later turned up with his keepers and warned Danny's father that he would be shot if he trespassed on his land again. In the book, none of this happened because Mr Hazell did not know that Danny's father was the man in the pit.

• Danny's detention: In the film, Danny fell asleep during class and was kept behind after school by Captain Lancaster. He was finally allowed home after all the children had gone, but was ordered to run 20 laps of the playground first. While Captain Lancaster had his back turned, Danny climbed over a wall and ran home. Captain Lancaster soon figured out what had happened, and climbed over the wall in hope of catching up with Danny, only for his trousers to rip. Mr Snoddy, the headmaster, then appeared and Captain Lancaster announced his immediate resignation. In the book, none of this happened.

• Hazell's scheme: In the book, Hazell's desire to buy the land and drive out Danny and his father appears to be a simple matter of greed and resentment. In the film, however, it becomes apparent that he is planning on selling his entire estate so that a new town may be built - and that the filling station and caravan, being the only piece of land that he did not own, was the final hurdle. The developer had been under the impression that William was about to sell his property, but when it becomes apparent at the film's climax that this was not the case, he informs Hazell that the deal is off. An angry and humiliated Hazell leaves the celebrating crowd with the words "Damn you, Smith....damn you all!"

Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Mini is the name of a rather petite car produced from 1959 to 2000, and the name of a newer one known as New MINI launched in 2001. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ...

Editions

• ISBN 0-435-12221-5 (hardcover, 1977)
• ISBN 0-14-032873-4 (paperback, 1988)
• ISBN 0-224-03749-8 (hardcover, 1994)
• ISBN 0-14-037157-5 (paperback, 1994)
• ISBN 0-224-06469-X (paperback, 2002)
• ISBN 0-375-81425-6 (hardcover, 2002)
• ISBN 0-375-91425-0 (library binding, 2002)
• ISBN 0-141-31132-0 (hardcover, 2004)