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ZingZillas

British television show for pre-school children From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ZingZillas
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ZingZillas was 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.

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Overview

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ZingZillas is a puppet music show aimed at young children. It is set on a ape-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. It was then commissioned for a second series. [citation needed]

On 11 June 2012, ZingZillas aired its last episode "Picnic Day".[citation needed]

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Characters

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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 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 Sarah-Jane Honeywell and Victoria Bovingdon and voiced by Penni Tovey.
  • 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 Cecily Fay and Rachelle Beinart 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 Aidan 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 (Series 1 & 2) and Josh Elwell (Series 3 & 4).
  • 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. While Gravel is cheerful and optimistic, Granite is grouchy, pessimistic, but well-meaning.
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Episodes & guest performers

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Series overview

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Series 1A (2010)

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Series 1B (2010)

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Series 2A (2011–2012)

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Series 2B (2012)

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DVD releases

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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):

  1. Didgeridoo Hullabaloo (Series 1, Episode 1)
  2. Operatic Todd (Series 1, Episode 6)
  3. Rock Guitar (Series 1, Episode 3)
  4. Auntie Dot’s Dash (Series 1, Episode 4)
  5. 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]

  1. Bhangra Beats (Series 1, Episode 8)
  2. Welcome Beach Byrds (Series 1, Episode 14)
  3. Keep Your Castanets (Series 1, Episode 17)
  4. Disappearing Drum (Series 1, Episode 16)
  5. Bam-Boo! (Series 2, Episode 3)

Extras: Interactive game

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References

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