Shoebox Zoo

This much hyped Canada/Uk co-production aired in 2004 on BBC ONE as a children's fantasy TV series with cutting edge special effects. It concerns the destiny of a Canuck girl, recently relocated to Scotland after the death of her mother, after she finds a box full of walking, talking miniature animals: an eagle, a bear, a snake and a rather sneaky wolf. She discovers from an old wizard that she is 'The Chosen One' and, with the aid of her new friends, must battle against an evil Shapeshifter to find an ancient book that could hold mankind's fate in the balance..

There, I've just made the plot go about ten times faster than it actually does during the course of the programme. In reality it takes about half the episodes of the first series (The second is unseen by me) to get anywhere near the quest, in which far too many pointless scenes and aimless talking have been added to space out the run. Maybe this would have been better condensed into a six-part arc. Worse, in my opinion the girl (Vivian Endicott Douglas) who plays the main character (Marnie) is a pretty rotten actress, she lacks charisma and doesn't exactly impress with her wooden delivery. The young Scottish lady who plays the supporting role 'Laura' (Krystina Coates) would have been a much better choice.. but I guess as this series was mainly bankrolled with Canadian dollars, they wanted someone from their home nation as the focal point.

Tony Donaldson and Peter Mullan ham it up as the representatives of evil and good respectably, and David McKay is amusing as the Shapeshifter's lackey, coming up with many of the drama's best lines. The computer animated beasts are great, all perfectly voiced by the likes of Rik Mayall and Alan Cumming in such a way you forget it's them and you just become absorbed in the personalities. It's just a shame that they're not on-screen for longer, because when they're absent.. things tends to get a bit dull.

One thing I must mention is I had just finished watching 'The 10th Kingdom' on DVD before coming to 'Shoebox Zoo', and it is every way a superior production to this. Both have very similar aspects, like the magical fantasy setting and having young females in the lead roles, but where T10K scored was having a sympathetic heroine who could do things for herself, where as Marnie in TSZ comes across as a whiny brat who is helped out at every turn by the good wizard Michael Scot. Some 'Chosen One'!! Subsequently I didn't much care whether she found the book or not, and only lasted the course because of the animals and the odd funny moment provided by Mr Mckay. There's some very good and original ideas here, but too much padding to go with it. A little note addressed to the makers: Remember, it's always QUALITY, not QUANTITY that matters.

I had seen "Shoebox zoo" as a kid, though I don't think I've ever seen it in full - I'm slightly familiar with the second, America-set season, and pretty much not at all with the first, Scotland-set one. In the years since, I've tried to find that series from memory, and eventually did, after a false start with another "girl talks with talking figurines" series "Wonderfalls". Now, however, I have watched it in full- ehm, well, no, not really, but I tried. S2 of this show was mind-numbing with its plotholes and incoherent worldbuilding, so I skipped large chunks at a time. Still, I've seen enough to pass judgement, which is: "SZ" is an incoherently written mess that alternates between unfathomably boring (mostly S1) and ridiculously moronic (both seasons). In fact, S1 is almost the platonic ideal of the concept of "a story about nothing told badly". S2, meanwhile, is actually a bit more dynamic, Marnie being allowed to venture out more - literally and metaphorically. The Quest in it is therefore not quite as undermined by the tiny cast of indifferently self-sabotaging characters and similarly pathetic amount of sets of S1. However, the world loses increasingly more coherence and believability even as the characters begin to learn the basic principles of goal-attainment.

Now, it's not without good sides. The child actors (majority of the cast) are pretty decent and come across as rather believable, with the lead, Marnie, and S2's Becky being especially charming. The adult actors are likewise decent, though impress less, not beleaguered by the tyranny of low expectations. The series can occasionally (less rarely in S2) be atmospheric and intriguing. Finally, it is a little bit less childish than one would assume, between its heavy focus on Marnie's grief from losing her mother through a slight serving of blood and violence to the moral grayness of Marnie's transformation in S2.

But that writing, man. Its saving grace in S1 is just that we know little: the series can muddy the waters on how exactly the magic works, what limits the participants and where their loyalties lie. As we learn more, the complete nonsense that is this writing becomes ever more apparent, all while the dodgy special effects worsen the impression even further. The characters do as little as possible, unless to set an obstacle in front of their own goals, but there aren't really stakes anyway, and nothing quite follows anything else logically, so why shouldn't they just have fun with the whole thing? Well, because it makes it difficult for the audience to have fun, that's why!

My ratings by season: S1: 3 S2: 2.

A thoroughly entertaining children's program with enough interest to keep adults watching too. It was well reviewed in the upmarket press which also laments that the "US invasion ends golden age of children's TV". Well this program goes some way to redress that, and other more recent programs such as Merlin and Doctor Who do too! Thank goodness for the BBC which, while not perfect, does at least manage to put out some top drawer entertainment for those of us, both children and adults who do not speak in monosyllables, can cope with having our thoughts provoked and are capable of following a plot.

I won't rehash the storyline as others have done that. The young lead actress gives a very good performance as a child who has been bereaved by the loss of her much loved mother, and further traumatised by being uprooted by her father from her home friends and family and taken to live in Scotland, is it any wonder she is moody, petulant and emotional? The rest of the characters are fun, a hissable villain, an otherworldly wizard from years ago, his humorous sidekick, and the wonderful characters of the zoo itself. Ally that with the beautiful Scottish landscape and some fine cinematography and you are in for a treat.

All I would say that as it is squarely aimed at children this program acquits itself well. All the children I have spoken to about it loved the program, as did I and many of my adult friends. Overseas friends who I have sent the program too also tell me the same, so it would seem to have a pretty universal appeal (great Christmas present!).

shoebox zoo is brilliant. who ever said that Vivian Endicott Douglas was a bad rotten actress, you are very wrong she is the best actress i have ever seen. well in programmes anyway. you should be ashamed of your self writing that. that gutted me reading that. if you really think she is that bad ( WHICH SHE IS NOT ) she is only 13 years old trying to play a girl who lost her mother, talking to toys. which are real according to Marnie but in real life we all no that there not. i just want to say to you what planet are you from? and yes I'm talking to the person who wrote that stupid paragraph about her being a bad actress!!!

Shoebox Zoo is an enjoyable, yet flawed fantasy series. The enchanted creatures are the stealers, thanks to the talented vocal cast & the animators. The villain, Toledo, provides menace & humour in equal measure. However Marnie is a hateful protagonist, throwing tantrums at the slightest provocation & often mistreating the "Zoo." She is impossible to sympathise with. I also dislike Michael Scott, who also abuses the animals. I thought John Roberts, arrogant & mysterious, was the best of the children involved. The episodes are at their best when the creatures are on screen. The school scenes (excepting those with John Roberts) only bog down the story. The narration is irritating and unnecessary. There are some parts that are predictable for older viewers, but also some genuine surprises. I was disappointed by the ending though. However I will definitely be watching Season Two, if only for the delight of seeing & hearing the fantastic, animated ensemble.