British television show for pre-school children
ZingZillas |
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Show logo |
Created by | Barry Quinn, Stephen Cannon, Alan Robinson |
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Developed by | CBeebies in association with BBC Studios, Barry Quinn, Stephen Cannon, Alan Robinson |
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Directed by | Tom Poole Richard Bradley Helen Scott Dominic Macdonald Michael Towner Iwan Watson |
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Music by | Banks & Wag |
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Country of origin | United Kingdom |
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Original language | English |
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No. of series | 4 |
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No. of episodes | 104 |
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Executive producers | David Collier Dominic Macdonald Tony Reed |
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Running time | 22 minutes (series 1 & 2), 11 minutes (series 3 & 4) |
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Network | CBeebies |
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Release | 5 April 2010 (2010-04-05) – 11 June 2012 (2012-06-11) |
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ZingZillas is a British television programme created by Barry Quinn, Stephen Cannon and Alan Robinson, aimed at young children, broadcast on the BBC pre-school channel CBeebies, which ran from 5 April 2010 to 11 June 2012.
Overview
ZingZillas is a puppet music show aimed at children ages 6 and under. It is set on a monkey-shaped tropical island where everyone joins in to create music magic. They use musical influences from all over the globe from rock to soul, jazz to samba, big band to orchestra.
In every episode from series 3, they wake up and ask Todd for an idea for the day's song. This segment is called ZingJam, where DJ Loose announces it's time for a ZingJam, then the Zingboppers, the Moaning Stones, the Beach Byrds, and finally the Zingzillas shout "ZingJam" in the tune of the theme song and DJ Loose tells one of the Zingzillas to push the button and activate the TV. Todd uses his ideas machine but it always breaks down, or other things happen. They are visited by a different musical guest.[citation needed]
Original music for the series has been composed by Banks & Wag.[citation needed]
On Monday, 30 August 2010, "Do You Didgeridoo?" was released on an EP, alongside the "ZingZillas Theme Tune" and "Bhangra Beat", reaching #1 in the iTunes Children's Chart.[citation needed]
On Monday 4 October 2010, "ZingZillas: The Album" was released on CD and as a digital download, reaching #1 in the iTunes Children's Chart on the first day. The recording features guest tracks by musical luminaries who have appeared on the show including cellist Julian Lloyd Webber flautist James Galway and jazz vocalist Cleo Laine.[citation needed]
On 28 February 2011, CBeebies began broadcasting a 20 part series of five-minute spinoff programmes entitled "Zingzillas Zingbop" which is hosted by DJ Loose, where a small group of children (known as Zingboppers) go to Zingzilla Island and are taught to dance to a Zingzillas song. The Zingboppers then participate in the final Zingbop.[citation needed]
On 11 June 2012, ZingZillas aired its last episode "Picnic Day".[citation needed]
Characters
Each ZingZilla has their own personality:[1]
- Zak (lead vocals/harmonica) is a gorilla who is the lead singer. Zak is the oldest ZingZilla and has a positive attitude. He is serious, confident and likes taking risks. He is played by Jeremiah Krage[2] and Jack Andrews and voiced by Michael Offei.
- Tang (lead guitar/backing vocals) is an orangutan who plays guitars (acoustic & electric) and backing vocals. He thinks creatively and is never afraid of asking for help whenever there's a problem. He is played by Nick Kellington and voiced by Gary Jordan.
- Panzee (bass/keyboard/backing vocals) is a chimpanzee who plays bass, keyboards and backing vocals and loves to dress up. She is sensitive, fun and always ready to try something new. She is played by Victoria Bovingdon and voiced by Sarah-Jane Honeywell.
- Drum (drums/backing vocals) is a monkey who plays drums, percussion and backing vocals. She is the youngest ZingZilla. She loves exploring sounds and enjoys making rhythms and noise. She is very sensitive to the mood of music. She is played by Rachelle Beinart, Cecily Fay and Amy Collins and voiced by Penni Tovey.[3]
Other characters
- Todd is a middle-aged mandrill and the 'father figure' of the ZingZillas. He is helpful, inventive and accident-prone. He is played and voiced by Aiden Cook.
- Auntie Dot is a relation of Todd. She is played and voiced by Penni Tovey.
- DJ Loose is the island's sloth. He plays the ZingZillas music made by real people in the glade. He is puppeteered and voiced by Mark Jefferis and Josh Elwell.
- The Beach Byrds (Maxine (blue), Patti (purple) and Laverne (pink)) are tropical birds who work in the coconut hut and say everything tunefully. They also sing the disaster song (in Good To Be Me the ZingZillas sing it)
- The Moaning Stones are similar to the standing moai heads on Easter Island. Although four are shown, only the middle pair called Mr. Granite and Mr. Gravel talk and count coconuts in the coconut clock.
Series overview
Series 1 (2010)
Series 2 (2010)
Series 3 (2011–2012)
Series 4 (2012)
DVD releases
Release name
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UK release date
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Notes
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Welcome to the Island
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Monday 4 October 2010
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Despite being filmed in HD no Blu-ray release
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World Music Tour
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Monday 15 November 2010
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Despite being filmed in HD no Blu-ray release
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Welcome to the Island
This DVD contains five episodes[5] (note that it's not the first five of the series, although there's a lot of overlap):
- Didgeridoo Hullabaloo (Series 1, Episode 1)
- Operatic Todd (Series 1, Episode 6)
- Rock Guitar (Series 1, Episode 3)
- Auntie Dot’s Dash (Series 1, Episode 4)
- A Great Place to Live (Series 1, Episode 11)
Extras: Musical instrument game and character profile.
World Music Tour
This DVD contains five episodes:[6]
- Bhangra Beats (Series 1, Episode 8)
- Welcome Beach Byrds (Series 1, Episode 14)
- Keep Your Castanets (Series 1, Episode 17)
- Disappearing Drum (Series 1, Episode 16)
- Bam-Boo! (Series 2, Episode 3)
Extras: Interactive game
References
External links