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64 Zoo Lane

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64 Zoo Lane (Western Animation)
Bedtime, Lucy!note 

"Hello! I'm Lucy. I live at 64 Zoo Lane, and I have some very special neighbours. Look!"
Lucy's Opening Narration in the theme song

64 Zoo Lane is a British/French children's TV series created by An Vrombaut that ran for 2 seasons from 1999 to 2003 on CBeebies in the United Kingdom. Produced by Millimages and Zoo Lane Productions, the series follows seven-year-old girl Lucy, who lives right next door to the zoo. After her mum calls her for bedtime, Lucy climbs on her giraffe mother figure's back to visit the zoo. There, she listens to her animal friends Nelson the elephant, Molly the hippo, Boris the bear, and the monkeys Giggles and Tickles, telling stories to help her fall asleep.

In the U.S., the series received an American English dub and aired as part of the Fox Family Channel'snote  short-lived "It's Itsy Bitsy Time!" series in 1999. It later premiered on Noggin in 2005. The series would later air on Sprout in 2012, and lasted for one more year before it ceased airing.

The series got Un-Canceled in 2010, and the third season aired on February 6. One last season of the show aired between 2012 and 2013, and the series ended.


This show contains examples of the following tropes:

  • Aardvark Trunks: Usually averted with Alan the Aardvark, whose snout is accurately drawn. However, one episode has him using his snout as a trumpet, causing it to contract in size every time he blows a tune.
  • Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: For example, Nelson the Elephant is green and Alan the Aardvark is orange.
  • Annoyingly Repetitive Child: In "Nelson the Elephant", a younger Nelson jumps off a ledge several times (calling it the "umpa-jumpa game"), but it inconveniences his neighbors, especially since his immense weight causes great tremors. He refuses to stop because it's too fun for him, so they trick him into jumping on a trampoline to break him of the habit.
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Done in "Joey the Kangaroo" where Lucy is listing what was bad about her school day, and ends off by saying she can't skip, much to the zoo animals' surprise.
  • Artistic License – Biology:
    • Ronald the rhino has one horn and lives in Africa, although both African species (black and white rhinos) have two horns, while the ones with a single horn (Indian and Javan rhinos) live in Asia.
    • Similarly, Giggles and Tickles are African monkeys with prehensile tails, which only New World monkeys are supposed to have.
    • Melanie the moose has antlers despite being female.
    • Harry the hyena has floppy ears like a hound and a long curled tail like a monkey.
    • Duddley the sloth from The Story of Adam the Armadillo moves on the ground like any other mammal, despite that being very alien behavior for real life sloths; one of the slowest animals in the world that spends almost their entire lives in trees.
    • Likewise to the above, Joey the kangaroo just walked on his two feet before learning how to jump. Kangaroos can't move their legs independently the way most animals could (except while swimming).
    • Hercule Mustache, a walrus, has his tusks separate from his mouth (like an elephant), rather than protruding from his mouth. 
  • Beary Friendly: Despite his forgetfulness, Boris is still a kindly bear. Snowbert the polar bear is just as kind and even befriends Sidney the seal.
  • Cats Are Lazy: Reginald the lion naps a lot and is grouchy whenever he's disturbed.
  • Connected All Along: All of the main animals barring Boris used to live in Africa.
  • The Corruptor: Victor tries to teach Kevin how to be a "proper crocodile" by being mean and nasty. But Kevin soon realizes he would much rather be himself.
  • French Jerk: Hercule Mustache started out as a downplayed version of this, having a French accent and a snooty, pompous personality before the latter was phased out.
  • Genial Giraffe: Georgina seems to be Lucy's secondary parental figure, and it shows.
  • Green Gators:
    • Kevin the crocodile has bright green skin and dark green spikes on his back.
    • Victor the crocodile has dark green skin and light green spikes on his back.
  • Hidden Heart of Gold: Victor is probably the biggest jerk in the show, struggling to apologize for hogging the watering hole and thank the animals for cleaning his teeth. But once he comes around, he shows a nicer side (even if temporarily).
  • Honorable Elephant: Nelson, while rough around the edges, is still an amiable fellow.
  • Huggy, Huggy Hippos: Like the other zoo animals, Molly the hippo is kind and friendly.
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Every episode begins with the pattern "The Story Of..."
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Characters such as Reginald and Hercule Mustache are initially presented as grumpy, but grow to appreciate their friends.
  • Known by the Postal Address: 64 Zoo Lane is named after the titular house, which is situated next door to a zoo.
  • Mischief-Making Monkey: Giggles and Tickles love to play pranks on the other animals.
  • Never Smile at a Crocodile: Victor plays this straight, being a large crocodile who bullies other animals and believes all crocodiles should be like him. Kevin, the smaller croc, averts this, befriending other animals and defending them from Victor by biting his tail.
  • Palette Swap: Snowbert looks just like Boris except with white fur. Lucy even thought he was Boris when first meeting him.
  • Parental Substitute: Georgina is commonly seen as Lucy's secondary parental figure (her actual mother is heard calling her to bed in the intro).
  • The Place: The series is set at 64 Zoo Lane, where Lucy lives, and titled after it.
  • Predator-Prey Friendship: In general, all of the animals get along as friends (most notably Kevin the crocodile with Doris the duck and Toby the tortoise, Snowbert the polar bear with Sidney the seal, and Reginald the lion with the other savanna dwellers).
  • Russian Bear: Boris the bear speaks with a Russian accent, although he's from North America.
  • Sweet Seal: Sidney the seal, who does tricks and befriends both Snowbert and Hercule Mustache.
  • Title Theme Tune: 64, 64, 64 Zoo Lane...
  • Three Shorts: In the US airings on Noggin, two episodes would play back to back.
  • Token Human: Lucy, the one human ever physically shown among a cast of talking animals.
  • Verbal Tic: Sidney the seal barks as he talks.
  • Warm-Hearted Walrus: Hercule Mustache is a zigzagging type. He complained a lot during his trip to the North Pole, but ultimately put his negativity aside and grew to appreciate his trip. He was also once portrayed as a Fun-Hating Confiscating Adult to the puffins, but later became a Reasonable Authority Figure towards them, helping the littest puffin Jamie overcome his thumb (feather) sucking habit, supervising them on a field trip, and telling them to be on their best behavior.

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