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64 Zoo Lane is a British-French children's cartoon created by An Vrombaut. It was shown on CBBC and many other channels. It is produced by the company Millimages in association with Zoo Lane Productions.

Summary

64 Zoo Lane

From left to right: Lucy, Georgina, Nelson, Boris, Tickles and Giggles, and Molly.

This cartoon features a 7-year-old girl named Lucy who lives at 64 Zoo Lane, next door to a zoo. Each night, Lucy is told a story by the animals present there. The animals include Georgina the Giraffe, Nelson the Elephant, Tickles and Giggles the Monkeys, Boris the Bear, and Molly the Hippopotamus.

In other episodes, Lucy is greeted by other animals in the zoo besides the other six. They range from Victor (the first visitor), Ribbit, and other animals from other regions (such as Carrie, Herbert, Gunnar).

The cartoon emphasises friendship, responsibility, and other social skills (such as science, morals, respect, etc.). At the end of each story, the animals give out morals to Lucy. When bedtime is declared, Georgina deposits Lucy into bed via the bedroom window. Later episodes show Lucy yawning then sleeping soundly in bed. Sometimes, Lucy would be lulled to sleep by the storytelling itself. Each episode featuring Lucy ready for bed is different.

Characters

Main Characters

  • Lucy, a human girl who lives in a house near the zoo. She is seven years old and has many friends far from her house. Voiced by Ciara Janson (Season 1-2), Alice Hearing (Season 3), and Lara Wollington (Season 4). In the US re-dub, Ciara Janson voiced Lucy, but with an American accent.
  • Lucy's mother, as her name suggests, is the mother of Lucy. Though we never see her appearance, we only hear her voice in the starting of every episode. Voiced by Anna Bentinck in UK and Dian Perry in US.
  • Georgina, a giraffe considered to be the last neighbor to have a tall height. She is seen knocking on the window of Lucy's house in almost every episode. In Season 2, it is revealed that Georgina has a grandmother. Voiced by Adrienne Posta in the UK and Dian Perry in the US.
  • Boris, a brown bear who is the wisest neighbor from North America. In North America, his bed is made out of grass. He also uses honey for his tea. He speaks with a Scottish accent. Voiced by Lewis McLeod in Season 1-2 and Matt Wilkinson in Season 3-4.
  • Tickles and Giggles, two very silly monkeys known for mischief. They also can be very curious. Voiced by Adrienne Posta and Anna Bentinck in the UK, re-dubbed by Emma Tate and Lorelei King (uncredited) in the US.
  • Molly, a blue hippo and the wisest friend of Lucy. She has a cousin named Henrietta. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Nelson, a green elephant and a wise storyteller. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Narrators, who tell the story. The narrators who tell many stories are all animals. Voiced by various actors (Keith Wickham, Anna Bentinck, etc.).

Other Residents of 64 Zoo Lane

  • Mr. Spider, a spider that scared Lucy.
  • Toy Box, a box that cannot tell any stories. It is Lucy's favourite toy.
  • Lola, Lucy's doll who was to be a princess.

Residents of Africa

  • Nathalie, an antelope fulfilled with the attitudes of being curious. She is a gazelle. Voiced by Adrienne Posta in the UK, re-dubbed by Megg Nicol (impersonating Fran Brill) in the US.
  • Audrey, an ostrich serving as the mother of two baby ostriches. Voiced by Anna Bentinck in the UK, re-dubbed by Megg Nicol in the US.
  • Reginald, a lion which seems to be very grumpy. He is known for disliking animals disturbing his nap. Voiced by Lewis McLeod in Season 1-2 and Matt Wilkinson in Season 3-4.
  • The Snip-Snip Bird, a green stork-like bird (or secretary bird) who lives in Africa. Voiced by Lewis McLeod in Season 1-2 and Matt Wilkinson in Season 3-4.
  • Victor, a green crocodile known for being mean and nasty to other animals. He is considered the true antagonist of Africa while Reginald is the false antagonist. Voiced by Keith Wickham (impersonating Tim Curry).
  • Kevin, another green crocodile. He is always seen alongside Toby and Doris. Voiced by Anna Bentinck in the UK, re-dubbed by Dan Russell in the US.
  • Toby, a turquoise turtle who lives alongside Doris. Voiced by Bob Saker.
  • Doris, a typical yellow duck whose attitude is a bit cheeky. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • Henrietta, Molly's hairy cousin who got taunted by the other hippos. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Dennis, a dromedary camel who lives in the desert. He has a nephew named Gary. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • The Jungle Spider, an unnamed red spider who tries to eat Henrietta. He thinks Henrietta is a housefly. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Zed, a zebra and the fastest runner of Africa. His stripes are black and purple. Voiced by Lewis McLeod in Season 1-2 and Matt Wilkinson in Season 3-4.
  • Herbert, a warthog who likes to play on a set of musical rocks. He lives in a muddy burrow and loves to eat watermelons and potatoes with worms. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Harry, a hyena and the husband of Edna. He is the father of two hyena pups. Voiced by Lewis McLeod in Season 1-2 and Matt Wilkinson in Season 3.
  • Ronald, a black rhinoceros whose love interest is Rosie. He always has a bird on his back (just like what a real rhino does). Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • The Tic-Tic Bird, an oxpecker and the best friend of Ronald. Voiced by Bob Saker (speaking) and Dan Russell (singing).
  • Doctor Gordon, the most famous doctor in Africa. He is a gorilla and the uncle of the two monkeys. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Alan, an aardvark whose occupation is eating ants. He is also capable of using his snout as a trumpet. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Seamus, a white stork and an expert fish hunter. He flies in the sky to imitate the sounds of an aeroplane. He is a brave animal rescuer. Voiced by Dan Russell (impersonating Jonathan Guy Lewis).
  • Pauline, a pelican who likes to pick on the flamingos. She is a bit impatient, but she learns how to figure out what is wrong. She has a friend named Isabel. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • William, a weaver bird and the majordomo of Africa. Voiced by Bob Saker (speaking) and Dan Russell (humming and scatting).
  • King Snake, a purple snake who is very hard to spot. One can tell his voice in other episodes is actually him. Voiced by Keith Wickham (impersonating Tim Curry).
  • Isabel, a pink flamingo who speaks with an Italian accent. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • Esmeralda, a snake whose diet is watermelons. Not only she is a homemaker in her burrow, but also has amnesia as revealed in Season 3. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • Eddie, a blue hippo and the nephew of Molly. Voiced by Lewis McLeod.
  • The unnamed python, a python that acts hostile to those who slide on his head. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Mirabelle and Annabelle, two pink flamingos and students of the marsh. They, like Isabel, speak with Italian accents. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Patsy, also known as Cleopatra. She is a visitor whose residency is from the Blue Mountain. She is thought to be a lioness, but instead, is a porcupine. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Rosie, Ronald's love interest. She also has a bird on her back. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Edna, the wife of Harry. She is the mother of two hyena pups. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Holly and Johnnie, two hyena pups who love frolicking around Africa. Voiced by Adrienne Posta and Anna Bentinck.
  • Casper, a chameleon who is known to do mischief in changing colours. His grandfather warns him that this skill is not a game. Voiced by Lewis McLeod.
  • Granddad Chameleon, Casper's granddad. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Chuckles, the cousin of Giggles and Tickles. He doesn't like jokes much like Giggles and Tickles. Voiced by Lewis McLeod.
  • Petula, a green parrot who resembles one of the Australian parrots. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • Nigel, the nephew of Nelson. He is a bit naughty. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Lily, the daughter of Audrey. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • Doogal, the brother of Lily. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.

Residents of Australia

  • Ribbit, a green frog who speaks with an Australian accent. Voiced by Dan Russell.
  • Joey, a typical kangaroo. As his name suggests, he is a young kangaroo. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Janet and Elvis, the parents of Joey. Voiced by Adrienne Posta (Janet) and Bob Saker (Elvis).
  • Julie, the mother of Jimmy. She is pale grey. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Jimmy, the son of Julie. Voiced by Lewis McLeod.
  • Janice, the son of three nameless triplets. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • Mr. Platypus, as his name suggests, is a brown platypus. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Wally, an elderly shaman. He is a wombat. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Phoebe, a koala and an unlucky resident. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • Carrie, a cockatoo that lives in Australia. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • Koala Mama, the mother of Phoebe. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.

Residents of the North Pole

  • Snowbert, the Arctic cousin of Boris. He is a polar bear that used to be lonely. He is friends with Sidney. Voiced by Bob Saker (impersonating Peter Cullen).
  • Sidney, a nearby friend of Snowbert. He is a harp seal. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Mr. Icy Flipper, a motionless sculpture that looks like Sidney.

Residents of South America

  • Adam, an armadillo whose home is native to the mountains. It is revealed he has a mother in Season 1. He likes to roll into a ball. Voiced by Lewis McLeod in Season 1-2 and Matt Wilkinson in Season 3-4.
  • Jazz, a snooty jaguar who likes to pick on Adam. His most famous relationship is with Leopoldo the llama. He speaks with a Hispanic accent. Voiced by Dan Russell (impersonating Jerry Nelson and Matt Vogel).
  • Leopoldo, a South American llama and the goofiest of Jazz's group. Voiced by Lewis McLeod in Season 1-2 and Matt Wilkinson in Season 3-4.
  • Duddley, a two-toed sloth who has been shown only once. Voiced by Bob Saker.
  • Taco, a Toco toucan who likes to pick on Adam. The name has no use to the food. Voiced by Dan Russell (impersonating Bruce Lanoil).
  • Annie, an anaconda who is thought to be a monster of the forest. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • The Mysterious Mountain, the only mountain who is able to speak. He has a treasure on the top, which can only be accessed for those who share his treasure. Voiced by Bob Saker.
  • Tallulah, a very friendly toucan who lives in a tree full of red flowers. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.

Residents of North America

  • Melanie, the only female moose with antlers. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • Beverley, a beaver who is overprotective on her beaver dam for ages. She speaks with an American accent. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Randolph, a raccoon and a mushroom farmer. He speaks with a Southern drawl accent. Voiced by Bob Saker.
  • Alfie and Charlie, two chipmunks who are very different. The chipmunks are not named until Season 3. Voiced by Matt Wilkinson and Dan Russell in Season 3. Alfie is voiced by Keith Wickham in Season 4.
  • Barbara, a young bison calf who is separated from her family. She is a bison calf. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Mr. and Mrs. Bison, two adult bison who live with Barbara. Voiced by Laurence Bouvard (uncredited) and Dan Russell.

Residents of Mossy Bay Island

  • Hercule Mustache, a very large walrus who migrated from the North Pole. He speaks with a French accent. Voiced by Dan Russell (impersonating Jim Cummings).
  • Gunnar, a seagull who soars around the island. He is the coach of the football matches. Voiced by Dan Russell.
  • Thomas, Sharon, Lewis, and Jamie, four puffins who live in Mossy Bay. Thomas is the leader, Sharon is the bravest, Lewis is the youngest, and Jamie is the smallest. Voiced by Lewis McCleod (Thomas, Season 2), Bob Saker (Lewis, Season 2-4), and Anna Bentinck (Sharon and Jamie, Season 2-4). Thomas is voiced by Keith Wickham in Season 3-4.
  • Thelma, a sperm whale who is used for transportation. She didn't speak until Season 3. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Jack, a red crab who has a large claw. He and the other crabs did not speak.

Residents of Asia

  • Cassandra, a red-crowned crane who is the master of cooking. Voiced by Adrienne Posta.
  • Bao Bao, a very friendly panda who has a fond of hugging. Voiced by Dan Russell.
  • Gertie, a wild mountain goat who eats grass in the mountains. Voiced by Anna Bentinck.
  • Horace, a wild hare who is always busy. Voiced by Keith Wickham.
  • Confuse-us, a Chinese carp who lives in the pond. He is summoned when the gong is hit. Voiced by Keith Wickham.

Development

Early Drawing of 64 Zoo Lane

An early drawing of 64 Zoo Lane. Note that the two monkeys seen in this image are early prototypes of Giggles and Tickles who have different designs in the final version of the series.

Development of 64 Zoo Lane began in 1993 after An Vrombaut won an award for her first two shorts, Little Wolf and When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Tiger. The reason why Vrombaut picked this series was because of her interest in animals and zoos - particularly taking inspiration from the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium during her childhood.

While in production, Vrombaut used several classic children's stories as an inspiration for the series from Aesop's Fables as well as several other traditional folk stories, and of course, "Just So Stories" by Rudyard Kipling. Other stories that Vrombaut used for research were the Raven Tales from Inuit mythology, Anansi the Spider, Nogwaja the Hare, and the story of a flying tortoise from African folklore. In addition to these aforementioned literatur, Vrombaut also used several animated films (such as Disney's The Jungle Book and The Lion King) to get an inspiration for making her own stories. Thus, this inspired Vrombaut to create 64 Zoo Lane after feeling inspired from the films and stories about animals.

Production for the series began in 1998. Around the time Vrombaut was at Millimages, she was unable write the stories just by herself. Vrombaut collaborated with a small team of artists, animators, and scriptwriters who wrote unique stories for the episodes of the series to help her contribute to animation.

Series

Season 1-2

Development for the series began in 1998 and was done by French animation studio Millimages. The series had its premiere in CBBC (and later aired on CBeebies) and was later renewed for a second season in 2002 and ended in 2003. When the second series ended, the series continued its reruns on CBeebies.

Both seasons contained closed captioning particularly for the hearing impaired depending on the channel that broadcasts the series - although not all of them exactly matched the audio and spoken dialogues.

Season 3-4

After the series continued its reruns, the series is revived in Adobe Flash in 2009. Production began in 2008 and aired on 2010. The main difference is that some characters have different tones. The third series was dedicated for the loss of John Grace and Jill McGreal who died during production. The revival of the series began in 2010 and the series ended in 2013.

The animation used for the third and fourth series is Adobe Flash, unlike in the first two seasons which were animated in traditional animation. The opening song is different than the original one. Some characters were given major redesigns in Adobe Flash (for example, Alfie and Charlie). This season also introduces from a new region, Asia, which did not appear until the fourth season of the series.

Like in the first two seasons, the third and fourth seasons contained closed captioning particularly for the hearing impaired depending on the channel that broadcasts the series - although not all of them exactly matched the audio and spoken dialogues.

U.S. Broadcast

The series was also shown in the United States with an alternate redub with American accents. The series had its first U.S. premiere on the now-defunct "It's Itsy Bitsy Time" block on Fox Family (now Freeform as of 2016). Unlike in many other broadcasts, only the title 64 Zoo Lane was shown as well as the episode titles. The series later premiered in the former preschool channel in Noggin on January 3, 2005 airing reruns of the first and second seasons and like in its Fox Family broadcast, it used the redub with American accents.

Some characters were inserted American accents in this version. In addition, all words pronounced in British English pronunciations were redubbed given American pronunciations. Only the first and second seasons of the series were only broadcast in the U.S. When its run ended on Nick Jr. on January 2, 2012, the series was moved to Sprout on August 27, 2012. Sprout aired reruns from Season 1 and 2 and to date, Season 3 and 4 were never broadcast on this channel before it ended its run. However, the series ended its broadcast on Sunday, September 1, 2013. After the series ended its broadcast on Sprout, it used to be available on Sprout's On Demand service on some cable networks (such as Verizon Fios); however, the show was removed from the On Demand service when the channel was rebranded as Universal Kids in Fall 2017.

The American voice editing was done by Lobster Films. Ciara Janson reprised her role as Lucy an American accent in this version. Megg Nicol and Dian Perry lent their voices on three characters: Georgina, Audrey, and Nathalie respectively giving them American accents. Kevin, who was voiced by Dan Russell, was also inserted with an American accent in order to make him sound like an actual male voice. Emma Tate and Lorelei King (uncredited voice actresses) did the voices of Giggles and Tickles in the US version. Additionally, Lucy's mother, despite not making an onscreen appearance in the series also has an American accent (also voiced by Dian Perry).

Awards

  • During its first broadcast on CBBC, the TV show has become a popular hit for best animation, best character designs, and best original animations.
  • The series was nominated a BAFTA award and won "Best Pre-school Series" at the British Animation Awards.
  • It was nominated for the best pre-school series animated in Britain.
  • In 2010, it became the winner of TV France International. It has many viewers during its broadcast in Europe and Australia. The highest-grossing number of viewers is in Poland on the children's channel in MiniMini. It also became a winner of many views all across Britain from CBeebies, BBC 2, and Playhouse Disney. It also had a positive response in RTÉ 2 in Ireland and Australia in ABC 1 and ABC 2.

Baraem/Jeem TV Broadcast

It Was Aired Beetween Baraem and Jeem TV.

Reception

The series received positive reviews from some viewers all across United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Poland, Spain, United States, Latin America, and Brazil.

Trivia

  • This is the first Millimages series to have an Adobe Flash revival.
  • This is the first Millimages series to have a separate English version (UK and US). The second is Archibald the Koala (which was shown on Sprout, exclusively on demand).
  • This is the first animated series made by An Vrombaut.

See Also

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