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Stars of Shoebox Zoo unveiled
Peter
Mullan, Jason Connery, Alan Cumming and Simon Callow are just
a few of the big names signed up to star in an ambitious new family
series that follows the mystical adventures of a young American
girl in Scotland as she gets to grips with the mysteries of her
Shoebox Zoo.
Young
Canadian actress Vivien Endicott-Douglas is joined by a host
of stars from big and small screen in Shoebox Zoo, which sees her
uprooted from her home in Canada after the death of her mother and
relocated to Edinburgh with her father, played by Jason Connery
(The Blue Room).
It
is on her 11th birthday that Vivien's character Marnie is given
a present from the mythical Scottish alchemist Michael Scott, played
by Peter Mullan (The Magdalene Sisters, Orphans, My Name
is Joe), which will inevitably change her life forever.
Davie
McKay (My Name is Joe, Braveheart) plays the character McTaggart,
servant to the Great Michael Scot and narrator for the 26-part series
which is filmed on both sides of the Atlantic.
The
essential elements which make up the shoebox are the wonderful carved
Celtic animals which come to life and help Marnie on her epic quest.
The
stars providing the voiceovers and also giving the animals their
unique character and personalities include:
Rik
Mayall (The Young Ones, The New Statesman) as the voice of Edwin
the Eagle;
Simon
Callow (Notting Hill, Shakespeare in Love) as the voice of Wolfgang;
Siobhan
Redmond (Holby City, Beautiful People) as the voice of Ailsa
the Adder;
and
Alan Cumming (Xmen 2, GoldenEye) as Bruno the Bear.
Shoebox
Zoo fuses classic drama with state of the art CGI animation by taking
viewers on a magical adventure in search of the alchemist's Book
of Forbidden Knowledge, lost a millennium ago in the borders of
Scotland.
The series - developed over the last 16 months by CBBC Scotland,
Blueprint Entertainment and Scottish writer Brian Ward - is a joint
production between CBBC Scotland, Blueprint Entertainment, CBC,
BBC Canada and UK Treaty.
It
starts filming in Edinburgh this week.
The
project will then move to Alberta in Canada to complete the 26-part
series in partnership with local production company Alberta Film
Works.
The
series will be shown on CBBC in the UK; CBC and BBC Kids in Canada;
and will be distributed outside of Canada by BBC Worldwide.
Executive
Producer Claire Mundell said: "We'’ve got a brilliant
cast together for a fantastic fantasy series that will showcase
modern Edinburgh and the Borders of Scotland to a national and international
audience.
"We
are sure children at home and abroad will come to love the adventures
of Marnie in Shoebox Zoo."
It
will air in the UK and Canada in autumn 2004 and subsequent international
sales may follow.
A full
length feature version of Shoebox Zoo is also in development.
Notes
to Editors
New
roles for BBC programme heads (09.06.03)
All the
BBC's digital services are now available on Freeview,
the new free-to-view digital terrestrial television service, as well
as on satellite and cable. Freeview
offers the BBC's eight television channels, interactive services
from BBCi, as well as 11 BBC radio networks.
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