The Shoe People

The Shoe People
Voices of Philip Whitchurch
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes 52
Production
Running time 5 mins
Broadcast
Original channel TV-am
Original run April 1987 – 1988

The Shoe People was an animated television series which was first broadcast in the UK in April 1987 on TV-am. The Shoe People went on to be broadcast in 62 countries around the world.

It was the first series from the West to be shown in the former Soviet Union and became so popular there that they sold over 25 million Shoe People books.[1]

The Shoe People was created by James Driscoll, who got the inspiration for the show from noticing that the style and appearance of people's shoes told you about their owners' personalities. He then wondered what stories these shoes could tell about themselves when they were new and when they had gradually worn out.

The theme song for The Shoe People was written and sung by Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues.

A second series titled 'The New Adventures of The Shoe People' consisting of 26 episodes was commissioned using a number of new characters, however there is little known information as to how the episodes became in the public domain.

The Story

In a Shoe Repairs Shop, not too far away, the Shoe Mender tries to repair all the shoes he gets, but sometimes he cannot repair them all. But he does not throw away these shoes, he puts them in the back room of the shop.

These join the other shoes and boots he could not bear to throw away and the ones where their owners never came back for them but this room has a secret. Every night when the Shoe Mender locks up the shop, he makes sure the back room door is shut. This door does not shut very easily and when he slams it shut, the strangest thing happens. A large cloud of dust from the room fills the air and when it settles, the Shoes come to life and the back wall disappears and Shoe Town appears.

Just below Toecap Hill is Shoe Town, where all the Shoes and Boots live.

The characters were voiced by Philip Whitchurch and Jo Wyatt (Jo does the female voices in the Shoe People sequel, the New Adventures of the Shoe People, while Phillip does all the male voices).

Original Characters

New Characters

Original Episodes

Only 26 episodes were broadcast on TV-am as part of its 'Wide Awake Club' from April 1987.

# Title Summary
1Can You Keep a Secret? The introduction of the Shoe People and Their places in their world of Shoe Town
2 Sergeant Major We are introduced to Sergeant Major, his penchant for smartness and drill practice, and his trouble with his neighbour, Trampy.
3 A Day at the Seaside Some of the Shoe People take a trip to the seaside, but Flip Flop gets washed out to sea and Charlie and Trampy must rescue her.
4 Trampy We are introduced to the kindly and generous Trampy, and his untidy lifestyle.
5 Trampy's Birthday Surprise
6 Margot Margot, the ballerina at Swan Lake Cottage, is fully introduced, and performs a garden ballet for her friends.
7 Charlie We are introduced to Charlie the clown, who lives at the Little Big Top. It also turns out that Sergeant Major wants a word with Charlie - has Charlie squirted him with his flower once too often?
8 A Rainy Day Problem
9 Tea at the Little Big Top
10 Fun and Games in the Park
11 Charlie's Car
12 P.C. Boot to the Rescue
13 Trampy's Dream
14 The Fair Comes to Shoetown
15 Delay at Shoetown Railway Station A tree falls across the track at the railway station, and Mr Potter, the station master, calls on the help of PC Boot and Sergeant Major. In the end, however, it is Charlie who comes up with the right solution.
16 Sneaker A simple job for Margot by Sneaker (that is clearing off the leaves on Margot's thatch roof with Charlie's tightrope and Trampy's ladder) brings a warning from P.C Boot.
17 The Windmill Has Stopped A nest is on the windmill. It's down to PC Boot and Charlie to find a solution for the sails to be moving again.
18 A Job for Wellington After a burst pipe in Shoetown Police Station, there is only one person fit enough to fix the leak and help PC Boot escape.
19 Margot's Mirror On a surprise visit to Margot's house, Charlie breaks a mirror by accident. The only way to replace it is to find one of his own mirrors from the circus, which does not have the normal "mirror" effect.
20 The Missing Jumble
21 The Paper Chase After laying a paper trail for P.C Boot, Margot, Charlie and Baby Bootie, Trampy settles down for an afternoon nap. However Sergeant Major interrupts the trail mistaking the paper for litter, until he finds Trampy who explains about the trail. Can Sergeant Major save the day?
22 Where's Baby Bootee
23 Trampy Mows the Lawn Trampy offers to mow Sergeant Major's lawn but all does not go to plan, which leaves the lawn looking like a pile of spaghetti. Charlie has an ingenious plan to help Trampy cover up the mistake.
24 The Great Sledge Race The residents of Shoe Town gather on the hill for the Annual Great Sledge Race. With a number of different sledges, the competition is as close as it's ever been. However one resident doesn't have a sledge at all!
25 The Mystery Tour
26 Our Very Own Circus

The New Adventures of The Shoe People

A new title sequence accompanies the second series showcasing many of the new characters.

# Title Summary
N/ACoconut Crazy
N/ABeehive Yourself
N/AGhosts in the Windmill
N/AThe Show Must Go On
N/AMarshall's Round Up
N/AYour in the Army Now
N/ARock and Rolled
N/AWellington On Ice
N/ASergeant Major's Spot of Bother
N/ASid's Marrow
N/AInjun Trouble
N/AWellington the Babysitter
N/ABack in the Old Ball Game
N/ASergeant Major Looses His Voice
N/ACharlie the Pilot
N/AFrom Russia With Snow
N/ARacing Uncertainties
N/AA Quiet Day in Showtown
N/AFools for Fitness
N/AAnchors Aweigh
N/AShoes in Space
N/AThe Purple Ploople
N/ADr. Marryweather's Day Off
N/AMarshall's Bar-B-Q
N/AIce Cream Sundae
N/AAll At Sea

Changes by Nick Jr

When all 26 episodes of the Shoe People series in 1987 aired on Nick Jr. from 1999 to 2000. the Fairwater Films/The Shoe People Ltd copyright in 1987 was changed to FilmFair Ltd and the restored by CiNAR Studios and International Studios. the FilmFair copyright can be seen at the end of each episode on The Shoe People Complete Series DVD.

VHS Releases

Since their broadcasts on TV-am in 1987, Tempo Video (with its 'Children's Stories' range of cartoon shows on video and distributed by M.S.D Video Ltd) released 24 of the 26 episodes on video, except for The Mystery Tour and Our Very Own Circus which went on a 30-minute video in 1988 (Cat No.V8805) with Sgt Major, Margot, Sneaker and Trampy's Dream

VHS video title Year of release Episodes
The Shoe People (V9026) 5 October 1987 Can You Keep A Secret, Sergeant Major, A Day at the Seaside, Trampy, Trampy Mows the Lawn, Margot, Charlie, A Rainy Day Problem
The Shoe People- P.C. Boot to the Rescue (V9061) 22 February 1988 Tea at the Little Big Top, Fun and Games in the Park, Charlie's New Car, P.C. Boot to the Rescue, Trampy's Dream, The Fair Comes To Shoe Town, Delay at Shoe Town Railway Station, Sneaker
The Shoe People- Shoe Town Stories (V9114) 5 September 1988 The Windmill Has Stopped, A Job for Wellington, Margot's Mirror, The Missing Jumble, The Paper Chase, Where's Baby Bootee?, The Great Sledge Race, Trampy Mows the Lawn

Between 1989 and 1990 W.m. Collins Sons and Co.Ltd released a couple of special edition videos

VHS video title Year of release Episodes
The Best of The Shoe People (92562) 4 September 1989 Charlie's Car, Trampy's Dream, The Fair Comes to Shoe Town, Delay at Shoe Town Railway Station, Sneaker, Can You Keep A Secret, A Day At the Seaside, Margot, A Rainy Day Problem, Where's Baby Bootee?, The Great Sledge Race, Trampy Mows the Lawn
The Shoe People Bumper Video (94012) 13 July 1990 The Mystery Tour, Sneaker, Trampy Mows the Lawn, Margot's Mirror, Trampy's Birthday Surprise, Trampy's Dream, Sergeant Major, The Windmill Has Stopped, A Day at the Seaside, Charlie's Car, The Missing Jumble, Our Very Own Circus, Where's Baby Bootee?

On 5 November 1990, Wienerworld Presentations released two combined fun packed videos with 13 stories on each of them.

VHS video title Year of release Episodes
The Shoe People Bumper Special (WNR 2015) 1990 Can you Keep a Secret?, Trampy, Trampy's Dream, Delay at Shoe Town Railway Station, PC Boot to the Rescue, the Mystery Tour, a Job for Wellington, Margot, a Rainy Day Problem, Charlie, Where's Baby Bootee?, Charlie's Car, the Fair comes to Shoe Town
Great Adventures of the Shoe People (WNR 2016) 1990 A Day at the Seaside, Sergeant Major, Trampy Mows the Lawn, Sneaker, the Missing Jumble, Trampy's Birthday Surprise, Margot's Mirror, The Paper Chase, Tea at the Little Big Top, The Great Sledge Race, Fun and Games in the Park, The Windmill has Stopped, Our Very Own Circus

Apparently No videos of the New Adventures Of The Shoe People (1992 series) were ever released.

References

  1. The Shoe People - The Complete Series DVD, The Shoe People Fact Files, Revelation Films Ltd., 2004

External links