64 Zoo Lane

64 Zoo Lane is a British-French children's cartoon created by An Vrombaut which was shown on CBBC, CBeebies, and also aired on Noggin and PBS Kids Sprout. It is made by the company Millimages.

Plot

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

The cartoon emphasizes friendship and responsibility. At the story's end, friendly morals are discussed, then bed-time is declared. Georgina deposits Lucy into bed via the bedroom window (later episodes show Lucy yawning then sleeping soundly in bed; in the original episodes she would be lulled to sleep by the storytelling itself).

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).

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. Voiced by Bob Saker.

Tickles and Giggles, two very silly monkeys known for mischief. They also can be very curious.

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.).

Residents of Africa

Nathalie, an antelope fulfilled with the attitudes of being curious. She is a gazelle.

Audrey, an agony ostrich known to be a mother. She is the mother of two baby ostriches.

Reginald, a very grumpy lion who gets disturbed during afternoon naps.

The Snip-Snip Bird, a green stork-like bird (or secretary bird) who is a major resident of Africa.

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.

Kevin, another green crocodile. He is always seen alongside Toby and Doris.

Toby, a turquoise turtle who lives alongside Doris.

Doris, a typical yellow duck whose attitude is a bit cheeky.

Henrietta, Molly's hairy cousin who got taunted by the other hippos.

Dennis, a dromedary camel who lives in the desert. He has a nephew named Gary.

"Fuzzy", a red tarantula who tries to eat Henrietta. He thinks Henrietta is a housefly.

Zed, a zebra and the fastest runner of Africa. His stripes are black and purple.

Herbert, a warthog who likes to play on a set of musical rocks. He lives in a muddy burrow and loves to eat potatoes with worms.

Harry, a hyena and the husband of Edna. He is the father of two hyena pups.

Ronald, a black rhinoceros whose love interest is Rosie. He always has a bird on his back (just like what a real rhino does).

The Tic-Tic Bird, a bird and the best friend of Ronald.

Doctor Gordon, the most famous doctor in Africa. He is a gorilla and the uncle of the two monkeys.

Alan, an aardvark whose occupation is eating ants.

Seamus, a white stork and an expert fish hunter. 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.

William, a weaver bird and the majordomo of Africa.

King Snake, a purple snake who is very hard to spot. One can tell his voice in other episodes is actually him.

Isabel, a pink flamingo who speaks with an Italian accent. She is a neutral resident.

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.

Eddie, a blue hippo and the nephew of Molly.

Mirabelle and Annabelle, two pink flamingos and students of the marsh. They, like Isabel, speak with Italian accents.

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.

Rosie, Ronald's love interest. She also has a bird on her back.

Edna, the wife of Harry. She is the mother of two hyena pups.

Holly and Johnnie, two hyena pups who love frolicking around Africa.

Casper, a chameleon who is known to do mischief in changing colours. His grandfather warns him that this skill is not a game.

Granddad Chameleon, Casper's granddad.

Petula, a green parrot who resembles one of the Australian parrots.

Nigel, the nephew of Nelson. He is a bit naughty.

Lily, the daughter of Audrey.

Doogal, the brother of Lily.

Residents of Australia

Ribbit, a green frog who speaks with an Australian accent.

Joey, a typical kangaroo. As his name suggests, he is a young kangaroo.

Janet and Elvis, the parents of Joey.

Julie, the mother of Jimmy. She is pale grey.

Jimmy, the son of Julie.

Janice, the son of three nameless triplets.

Mr. Platypus, as his name suggests, is a brown platypus.

Wally, an elderly shaman. He is a wombat.

Phoebe, a koala and an unlucky resident.

Carrie, an inhabitant of the beach of Australia. She is the only known cockatoo.

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.

Sidney, a nearby friend of Snowbert. He is a harp seal.

Residents of South America

Adam, an armadillo whose home is native to the mountains. It is revealed he has a mother in Season 1.

Jazz, a snooty jaguar who likes to pick on Adam. His most famous relationship is with Leopoldo the llama. 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.

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 Jim Cummings (impersonating Rickey Boyd).

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.

Residents of North America

Melanie, the only female moose with antlers.

Beverley, a beaver who is overprotective on her beaver dam for ages.

Randolph, a raccoon and a mushroom farmer. He speaks with a Southern drawl accent.

Alfie and Charlie, two chipmunks who are very different. The chipmunks are not named until Season 3.

Barbara, a young calf who is separated from her family. She is a bison calf.

Mr. and Mrs. Bison, two adult bison who live with Barbara. Voiced by Dian Perry 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. Also voiced by Jim Cummings.

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.

Thelma, a sperm whale who is used for transportation. She didn't speak until Season 3.

Jack, a red crab who has a large claw. He and the other crabs did not speak.

Gunnar, a seagull who soars around the Atlantic Ocean.

Residents of Asia

Cassandra, a red-crowned crane who is the master of cooking.

Bao Bao, a very friendly panda who has a fond of hugging.

Gertie, a wild mountain goat who eats grass in the mountains.

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.

Series

Season 1-2

When Vrombaut was ready to animate her giraffe artwork, development for the series has begun. The development was done in Millimages in France. When development was done, the series had its premiere in Cbbc. The series was renewed for a second season in 2003 and ended in 2004. When the second series ended, the series continued its reruns on Cbeebies.

Season 3-4

After the series continued its reruns, Millimages revived the series in Adobe Flash. The main difference is that some characters have different tones. The revival of the series began in 2010 and the series ended in 2013. This series introduces new characters from a new region: Asia. The first resident from Asia to appear is Cassandra. North America is also giving a new setting based on a North American desert (possibly taking place in Texas.

U.S. Broadcast

The series is also shown in the United States. The series had its first U.S. premiere in the former preschool channel Noggin. Some characters are given American accents. In addition, all words pronounced by British people are given American pronouncing. The first and second series were only broadcast in the U.S. When its run ended on Nick Jr., the series was moved to Sprout. Sprout aired reruns from Season 1 and 2. However, the series ended its broadcast on 2013 of September.

The American voice editing was done by Lobster Films. The difference is that Kevin was voiced by Dan Russell in order to make him sound like an actual male voice. Ciara Janson gave Lucy an American accent. Megg Nicol and Dian Perry lent their voices on five characters: Georgina, Tickles, Giggles, Audrey, and Nathalie. Lucy's mother also has an American accent (voiced by Dian Perry).

Since the program is not currently on air, four episodes can be viewed on demand. Season 3 and 4 have yet to start airing on the U.S..

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.

It was nominated for the best pre-school show 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 Disney Playhouse. It also had a positive response in RTÉ 2 in Ireland and Australia in ABC 1 and ABC 2.

Reception

The series received positive reviews from some viewers all across United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, Spain, and France. It received a mixed response during its broadcast on Nick Jr.