64 Zoo Lane
64 Zoo Lane is a children's animated television series created by Belgian-born English author An Vrombaut. The series is co-produced by French animation studio Millimages and British-based Zoo Lane Productions in association with ZDF and ZDF Enterprises. La Cinquième, The Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Company, Sofica Cofanim and CBeebies, with the participation of France 5 /France Télévisions.
The first two seasons aired from 1999 to 2003. After a seven-year hiatus, the series returned in 2010 for another two seasons, ending in 2013. A total of 104 episodes were produced.
Synopsis
The series follows a 7-year-old girl named Lucy who lives next door to a zoo at 64 Zoo Lane. Each night, she is told a story by her animal friends. Characters include Georgina the big & friendly Giraffe, Nelson the Elephant, Tickles and Giggles the Monkey twins, Boris the Bear, and Molly the Hippopotamus. The programme emphasizes friendship and responsibility. At the story's end, friendly morals are discussed, then once it's bedtime, Georgina deposits Lucy back into bed via her bedroom window.Opportunities for learning: exploring language and vocabulary are enhanced by the use of intonation and expression in the character's voices and the themes of the animals' stories support social and emotional issues, including friendships and helping and caring for others. The creator of the TV series, An Vrombaut, also wrote and illustrated six 64 Zoo Lane picture books based on stories from the TV series.
Episodes
Characters
Main characters
- Lucy – A 7-year-old human girl.
- Georgina the Giraffe – A giraffe with blue-coloured dots. She gets carried away with her long neck tricks and gets all knotted up during her life in Africa.
- Nelson the Elephant – A light yellow-green-coloured elephant, who is Nigel's uncle.
- Molly the Hippopotamus – A blue-coloured hippopotamus.
- Giggles and Tickles the Monkeys – two playful prankster monkeys though their practical jokes can sometimes cause trouble.
- Boris the Bear – a brown grizzling bear from North America.
African characters
- Nathalie the Antelope – An antelope who loves to dance and jump around.
- Audrey the Ostrich – An ostrich who is very wise and often gives advice to other animals.
- Reginald the Lion – A lion whose naps would often get disturbed. While not napping, he is often seen licking a bone.
- The Snip Snip Bird – A green-coloured bird, who lives at the top of the mountain. He resembles a peacock because of his big, beautiful tail.
- King Snake
- Victor the Crocodile – A grumpy crocodile who acts cruel but deep down he cares about others.
- Kevin the Crocodile – A young crocodile who is friends with Toby and Doris.
- Doris the Duck – A young duck who is friend with Kevin and Toby. She is very helpful but she can also be a little bossy.
- Toby the Tortoise – A blue-coloured tortoise who is a little self-conscious because of being slow.
- Isabel the Flamingo
- Mirabelle the Flamingo
- Annabelle the Flamingo
- Herbert the Warthog – A warthog who is fond of watermelons. He is a great musician and loves bathing in mud, but sometimes he is messy and never cleans up.
- Zed the Zebra – A zebra who runs very fast.
- Alan the Aardvark – An aardvark who is usually seen eating ants.
- Ronald the Rhinoceros – A rhinoceros who likes breaking rocks into pieces.
- The Tic Tic Bird – A colourful bird, who is Ronald's best friend.
- William the Weaverbird – A bird who is often seen building a nest.
- Pauline the Pelican – A pelican who is fond of fish. She is a little clumsy but also very nice and friendly.
- Nigel the Elephant Calf - A calf who is Nelson's nephew.
- Harry the Hyena
- Edna the Hyena
- Hyena Pups Holly and Johnnie
- Seamus the Stork – A stork who flies very fast.
- Eddie the Hippopotamus – A young and mischievous hippopotamus who is Molly's nephew.
- Henrietta the Hairy Hippopotamus – A furry hippopotamus who is Molly's cousin. Due to hair all over her body, she is bullied by her friends.
- Cleopatra "Patsy" the Porcupine
- Casper the Chameleon – – Casper is a cheeky chameleon who likes to camouflage. Ignoring Granddad Chameleon's warning, he gets into trouble.
- Granddad Chameleon
- Dennis the Dromedary – A curious young dromedary.
- Gary the Dromedary – Dennis's uncle.
- Dr. Gordon Gorilla – Dr. Gordon Gorilla is Africa's physician and Giggles and Tickles' uncle. He helps Georgina untie her neck after a show-off one day.
- Esmerelda the Snake – A snake who collects shells and likes having everything clean. Unfortunately her home is destroyed by a sandstorm.
- Cousin Chuckles the Monkey - Giggles and Tickles' cousin.
- Lily the Ostrich – A young girl ostrich who is Audrey's daughter and Doogal's big sister.
- Doogal the Ostrich – A young boy ostrich who is Audrey's son and Lily's little brother.
- Rosie the Rhinoceros
- Petula the Parrot
North American characters
- Melanie the Moose – A female moose with antlers. She is clumsy, but kind.
- Beverly the Beaver – A beaver that is often trying to perfect her dam. She speaks with a US accent.
- Randolph the Raccoon – A raccoon who grows a yield of mushrooms. He speaks with a Southern drawl.
- Barbara the Bison – A baby bison.
- Chipmunks Alfie and Charlie
- Mr. and Mrs. Bison – Barbara's parents.
South American characters
- Adam the Armadillo – An armadillo who likes to roll.
- Jazz the Jaguar
- Leopoldo the Llama
- Taco the Toucan
- Annie the Anaconda
- Duddley the Sloth
- Itchy Quatzel the Mysterious Mountain
- Tallulah the Toucan
Australian characters
- Joey the Kangaroo – A young kangaroo who has trouble in learning to jump but finally learnt to do so.
- Jimmy the Kangaroo – A young kangaroo who used to bully Joey, but later they become friends.
- Kangaroos Janet and Elvis - Joey's parents.
- Janice the Kangaroo
- Wally "Two-Trees" the Wombat - A very old wombat
- Mr. Platypus
- Julie the Kangaroo - Jimmy's mother.
- Ribbit the Frog
- Phoebe the Koala – A young koala who is friends with Jimmy and Joey. She is very shy and self-conscious.
- Carrie the Cockatoo
North Pole characters
- Snowbert the Polar Bear – A polar bear who is Boris' northern cousin. He used to live alone until he meets Sidney the Seal. He likes making ice sculptures.
- Sidney the Seal – A seal who befriends Snowbert.
Ocean characters
- Jamie the Baby Puffin - A young puffin who can cause silly chaos.
- Puffins Thomas, Sharon and Lewis, Bob Saker, and Anna Bentinck )
- Hercule Moustache the Walrus
- Thelma the Whale
- Gunnar the Seagull
- Jack Big Claw the Crab
Asiatic characters
- Bao Bao the Giant Panda
- Gertie the Goat
- Cassandra the Crane
- Horace the Hare
- Confuse-us the Carp
Broadcast
On April 26, 2012, BBC Worldwide acquired the worldwide licensing rights to the series outside France from Millimages.
Home media
France
DVDs of the series have been released by companies like France Télévisions Distribution and Millimages themselves.United Kingdom
A VHS release from Buena Vista Home Entertainment was planned for release in 2001, but was cancelled for unknown reasons.In 2004, Maverick Entertainment signed a UK home video agreement with Millimages, and released three VHS/DVDs of the series.
On August 26, 2013, Abbey Home Media released a DVD called "The Story of the Jungle Ball", containing nine episodes from the fourth season.