How did Butch and Sundance hit the headlines in 1998?

sequoianoir

A couple of Mochyn's relatives made a break for it. [Mar 25 04 6:30 PM] sequoianoir writes: The pair of Tamworth Ginger pigs, worth only £40 at market, escaped last week while being unloaded from a lorry at an abattoir in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. They squeezed through a hole in a fence and swam to freedom across the River Avon. The search for the pair became a media circus with several tabloid newspapers fighting for exclusive rights to the story. But the Daily Mail appears to have its snout in front of its rivals. It was the Mail who recaptured Butch, who turned out to be a sow, on Thursday night in the garden of Harold and Mary Clarke's two acre garden at Tetbury Hill, near Malmesbury Britain's most rebellious pig, which should be bacon and pork chops by now, will spend the weekend in a comfortable vet's surgery having outwitted the slaughtermen. Sundance was finally recaptured on Friday afternoon after more than a week on the run Two springer spaniels were used to flush it out of a dense thicket and a trained marksman fired several tranquiliser darts into it to bring it down. Sundance was later taken to a vet's surgery in nearby Malmesbury, where he has been put under lock and key http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/47671.stm Mar 25 04, 6:27 PM

MaggieG 5

Yay, DB! Is it true that they're going to make a film about them or have I made that up? Mar 25 04, 6:36 PM

Brinjal

It would make a good Disney film as long as they didn't end up as bacon. Mar 26 04, 12:03 AM

Senior Moments

That would be one of Disney's rasher decisions. Movies with ham actors are not usually any good. I may bet 50p that they will call it 'Sty Wars.' Mar 26 04, 2:07 AM

sequoianoir

Their story has been made into a TV program. It will be shown on Easter Monday 12 April 2004 BBC 1 - 6.30-7.30pm The Legend Of The Tamworth Two Kevin Whately heads the cast of an enchanting comedy-drama loosely based on the real-life adventures of Butch and Sundance, two plucky pigs who tried to save their own bacon when they went on the run from a Wiltshire abattoir. Eight talented pigs play the roles of the famous fugitives, whose thespian skills have been enhanced by computer-generated animation, by Tim Haines, who worked on the BBC’s acclaimed series, Walking With Dinosaurs. As Butch and Sundance make a run for it, the ineffectual but well-meaning local bobby, Dusty, is hot on their trotters. When he eventually corners the runaways, Dusty’s heart rules his head and he simply lets them escape. The euphoric, ginger porkers race into the sunset and, as nightfall descends, they stumble upon some sleeping hippies. Apr 05 04, 6:49 AM

sequoianoir

They drink some beer to quench their thirst and then have a vision of a wild boar, who orders Butch and Sundance to go to Tamworth to seek out their mother, which they do after a good night’s sleep. Meanwhile, Dusty inadvertently sets off a media frenzy when he tells his girlfriend, Jenny, a local journalist, about the tearaway pigs. She sees the headlines and persuades her editor to run a story. Before long, the fugitive porkers are national and international news. Jenny, the police and a motley brigade of journalists are in hot pursuit – everyone wants to find the celebrities and save them from becoming just another bacon buttie. As media attention reaches fever pitch, the strangely lupine and malevolent slaughterhouse boss, Wolf, arrives to trap and then cart the twosome back to the abattoir. The hunt begins in earnest. Will the intrepid duo be able to foil Wolf’s plans and reach their mother at Tamworth? Or is it simply their destiny to be served up with apple sauce? Kevin Whately plays Wolf, Danny Boyd plays Dusty and Emma Pierson plays Jenny. Natasha Day, James Dodd, Frances Barber and Brian Blessed have voiced the animals. Apr 05 04, 6:50 AM