Zigby
| Zigby | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin |
France Germany |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 7 mins. |
| Production company(s) | Yoram Gross |
| Release | |
| Original network |
France 5 ZDF Rai 1 Rai 2 Rai 3 Telefriuli MTV Cartoon Network Toon Disney Jetix |
| Original release | April 2009 – March 2015 |
Zigby the zebra is an anthropomorphic children's fictional character created by Scottish-born English author Brian Paterson.[1] Zigby appears in a series of picture books and board books as well as in a 3D animated television series. The show currently airs on Treehouse TV, and was previously aired on Playhouse Disney and CBeebies.
Zigby lives in a tree house in Mudwater Creek, on a lush tropical island. In a typical book or episode, the enthusiastic zebra "trots into trouble" through his slightly eccentric behaviour. He is followed by his friends McMeer the meerkat and Bertie Bird the anxious guinea fowl.
Books
The following picture books for ages approximately 2–5 years[2] were published by HarperCollins:
- Zigby Camps Out (2002)
- Zigby Hunts for Treasure (2002)
- Zigby and the Ant Invaders (2003)
- Zigby Dives In (2003)
- Zigby and the Monster (2005)
Four board books (Go-Kart, The Picnic, The Birthday Party, Toy Box) appeared in 2004 with the same publisher. As of early 2005, 350,000 copies had been sold in 15 countries.[3]
Television series
The development of an animated series based on the character was announced in 2005.[3] 52 3D animated episodes of 11 minutes each were coproduced by companies in Australia, Singapore and Canada.[4][5] The series specifically targets 4 to 5 year olds with a wider target audience of 3 to 6 year olds. The series shown on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (25 March 2009 - 3 January 2015)[4] and Canadian Treehouse TV.[4] It was also acquired by German ZDF,[5] BBC-produced CBeebies and by France 5[6] also Univision's Planeta U. It was produced by Yoram Gross' Flying Bark Productions and Thunderbird Films.
References
- ↑ Brian Paterson Archived March 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. – HarperCollins Author Profile.
- ↑ "Four-legged friends lead the way in new books", The Herald-Mail, July 9, 2004
- 1 2 Ball, Ryan (February 17, 2005), "Zigby to Earn Stripes from Yoram Gross-Em.TV", Animation Magazine.
- 1 2 3 Grove, Chris (April 17, 2007), "Popular Zigby Making International Move With Co-Prod", Animation Magazine
- 1 2 "Three New Shows For Germany's ZDF", AWN Headline News, April 10, 2008.
- ↑ France 5 acquires free TV rights to 3-D Animated Preschool Series ‘Zigby’ Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine..