Zou (TV series)
Zou is a French animated children's television series inspired by the books of Michel Gay made by the Cyber Group Studios. It is broadcast by Disney Junior (UK & Ireland), Disney Junior (Latin America), and PBS Kids Sprout as well as NBC Kids (United States).[1] The series of episodes, lasting 10 minutes each, are transmitted two at a time, the second immediately after the first one, except on PBS Kids Sprout, where the episodes are shown individually. The characters include Zou, Elzee, Mum, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Mr Zoey, Zinnia, Zac and Elzee's mum.
Premise and format
Zou is based on a young zebra named Bizou, whose nickname is Zou, and his family. Most episodes contain Zou's name in the title, with the exception of "A Halloween Hunt," "Elzee's Fashion Show," "Pirates and Fairies," "Goldie the Sunflower," "The Big Race," and "The Very Windy Day."
The episodes usually take place at Zou's house or in his backyard. Zou lives with his mother, father, grandparents, and great-grandmother in a typical suburban town, but this town is special as its population is entirely zebras! His family is always there for him whenever there's a problem, whether it's an issue with his friends and other family members or just that he needs a fun, new game to play.
Every episode, even the main title sequence, ends with the characters laughing and a white background with a small circle-shaped highlight of one of the main characters or plot points in the episode.
Characters
- Bizou (Zou): A young and fun-loving zebra who's age is in the 9-11 range. Zou is generally clad in a white T-shirt under yellow overalls. He is the main protagonist of the show, and shows interest in many career paths. A running plot of the show is that Zou exits school at the beginning of the episode. Then Zou mentions interest in a certain career. He is then countered by Elzee stating "I though you wanted to be a (other career path)." Zou responds by saying "That was last week, now I want to be a (new career path.)"
- Poc: A Quaker parakeet, and Zou's constant companion. It is unclear whether he is considered a pet or a "person", since several signs of anthropomorphism are shown in his character, and yet he cannot talk. Also, it seems like the show's conception of "humans" is reserved to zebras only. He lives inside what looks like a cuckoo clock in Zou's bedroom.
- Elzee: Zou's next door neighbour and best friend. Elzee is generally clad in a long purple dress. Her ears seem to be rather large, in comparison to the other characters, and even make her slightly taller than Zou. She is far more sensible than Zou and often contradicts his outrageous ideas, but still joins in. She seems to harbour a romantic attraction to Zou, often acting shy or giggling embarressedly when he compliments her. She is a bit more of a tomboy than Zinnia, and seems to enjoy soccer, often taking part in Zou's extravagant activities. In the English version of the show her voice is portrayed by Roisin Gadd.
- Zinnia: Zou's cousin. She's a budding ballerina who sometimes tends to be snooty and stuck-up. She is never seen without dance clothes on and is more feminine in comparison to Elzee who is a bit more tomboyish. It seems that she is an unofficial antagonist of the show.
- Zak: An eager and excitable young zebra, and another of Zou's friends. He is generally clad in a red T-shirt, with what appears to be a lime green letter "J" on it, and khaki shorts. His father is Mr. Zoey. No mother of Zak has ever been mentioned.
- Dad: Zou's father.
- Mum ("Mom" in the U.S. version): Zou's mother, who often calls him by his full name, "Bizou".
- Grandpa: Zou's paternal grandfather. He is a rather handy zebra, usually found in the garage, building something.
- Grandma: Zou's paternal grandmother. She is often found baking cakes and other confections.
- Nana: Zou's great-grandmother. She often gives Zou big, sloppy kisses on the cheek.
- Uncle Xavier: Zinnia's father.
- Aunt Zelda: Zinnia's mother.
- Mr. Zoey: The local shopkeeper/postman, and Zak's father. He is friendly and helpful.
Broadcast
Zou originally premiered on PBS Kids Sprout on September 2, 2013.[2] The series airs on Disney Junior channels in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
Episode list
| # | Title[3] | Airdate |
| 1 | "Zou the Chef" | 4 May 2014 |
|---|---|---|
| Zou helps Grandma bake a cake for Mother's Day, but Dad accidentally eats it. Zou decides to make another cake on his own, with disastrous consequences. | ||
| 2 | "Zou Goes Camping" | 2 September 2013 |
| Zou and Elzee prepare to go on a camping trip in Zou's back yard. | ||
| 3 | "Zou Goes Mountaineering" | 8 September 2013 |
| Zou and Grandpa pretend that to mountaineers, and that the stairs are a mountain to climb. | ||
| 4 | "Zou's Ant Farm" | 9 September 2013 |
| Zou decides he wants a pet and tries his luck at owning an ant farm. | ||
| 5 | "King Zou" | 4 September 2013 |
| Zou declares the house "Zouland", and makes himself king. Mum and Dad set him some challenges before he can officially become king. | ||
| 6 | "Zou the Postman" | 5 September 2013 |
| Zou tries his luck at delivering mail to his family and neighbours. | ||
| 7 | "Zou's Drum" | 10 September 2013 |
| On his birthday, Zou gets a drum from his uncle Ziggy. Unfortunately, his loud playing disturbs the family. | ||
| 8 | "Zou's Teething Ring" | 7 September 2013 |
| Zou tries to hide his old teething ring before Zinnia discovers it and makes fun of him. | ||
| 9 | "Zou Leaves Home" | 3 September 2013 |
| Zou is told he's making too much noise, so he decides to leave home. | ||
| 10 | "Zou's Mission to Mars" | 12 September 2013 |
| Zou and Elzee, with Grandpa's help, pretend they are astronauts on their way to Mars. | ||
| 11 | "Goldie the Sunflower" | 11 September 2013 |
| Zou brings home his classes' sunflower, Goldie, to take care of over the weekend, but then he worries that Goldie is sad. | ||
| 12 | "Zou the Detective" | 6 September 2013 |
| Inspired by his favorite TV show, Zou plays at being a detective, apart from Nana's missing dentures. | ||
| 13 | "Zou and the Camera" | 26 October 2013 |
| Zou borrows his dad's camera to complete a school assignment. | ||
| 14 | "Elzee's Fashion Show" | 23 June 2012 |
| When Elzee shows Zou her new dress, she and Zou decide to have a fashion show. | ||
| 15 | "Zou and the Doctor" | 15 September 2013 |
| Poc is sick, and needs to go to the doctor. Zou tries to calm down the terrified bird, only to be scared himself when he learns he needs an injection. | ||
| 16 | "The Daily Zou" | 14 September 2013 |
| Zou makes his own newspaper, but has trouble finding a good story. | ||
| 17 | "Zou the Artist" | 13 September 2013 |
| Zou attempts to enter an art competition at the park, but when he copies his friends' arts, he makes his arts into a collage. | ||
| 18 | "Zou's Scarecrow" | 16 September 2013 |
| Zou and Grandpa decide to make a scarecrow to protect his seeds, but when they do, they upset Poc by scaring him. | ||
| 19 | "Zou's Promise" | 18 September 2013 |
| Zou makes a number of promises, but finds it hard to keep them. | ||
| 20 | "Zou's Walkie Talkie" | 19 September 2013 |
| Zou gets a pair of walkie talkies, and uses them to communicate with his family members. | ||
| 21 | "Super Zou" | 21 September 2013 |
| Zou becomes a superhero, even when he helps Nana who is stuck up the stairs in the middle of the night. | ||
| 22 | "Zou and the Rainbow" | 17 September 2013 |
| Zou and Elzee try to find the end of a rainbow and create an original surprise when they attempt to find a pot of gold. | ||
| 23 | "Zou's Cherry Pie" | 20 September 2013 |
| Zou bakes a cherry pie for a contest, but Grandpa loses his garage keys among the cherries. | ||
| 24 | "A Halloween Hunt" | 27 October 2013 |
| Unable to go to the town's Halloween costume party because of rain, Zou, Elzee and Zinnia hunt for the ingredients for Grandma's Halloween cookies. | ||
| 25 | "Zou and the Caterpillar" | 27 September 2013 |
| While helping Grandpa harvest potatoes, Zou and Zinnia find a caterpillar. Zinnia is scared at first, but Grandpa shows her how a caterpillar can become a butterfly. | ||
| 26 | "Zou and Zonk, the Giant Dinosaur" | 24 September 2013 |
| Zou, Elzee and Grandpa build a dinosaur out of cardboard boxes, pillows and a sheet. | ||
| 27 | "Zou's Soccer Match" | 25 September 2013 |
| When Zou, Elzee and Zak are playing a game of football in the park, Poc feels left out because he's been mixing up the players by whistling. | ||
| 28 | "Zou's Bicycle" | 26 September 2013 |
| After seeing Elzee on her new bike, Zou asks for one too. Grandpa fixes up his old bike and gives it to Zou, who learns that new things aren't always better. | ||
| 29 | "Zou's Dance" | 22 September 2013 |
| Zinnia talks Zou into a entering a dance contest. He partners up with Elzee, with surprising results. | ||
| 30 | "Zou's Pantomime" | 28 September 2013 |
| After a pantomime in the park is cancelled, Zou decides to make one of his own, with a little help from his friends and family. | ||
| 31 | "Zou's Circus" | 29 September 2013 |
| Zou, Elzee and Zak decides to make a circus. Zack has trouble finding an act that suits him, until he discovers his skill as a clown. | ||
| 32 | "Zou Up High" | 14 October 2013 |
| Grandpa gets Zou and Elzee tickets for a hot-air balloon ride. Zou is scared at the idea of being up so high, until Grandpa helps him see otherwise. | ||
| 33 | "Zou's Bucket" | 3 October 2013 |
| Zou suggests the family have a water-saving "bucket day", but things don't go quite as planned. | ||
| 34 | "Zou's Rainy Day" | 18 October 2013 |
| When the family's trip to the seaside is cancelled due to rain, Zou must find another way to have fun. | ||
| 35 | "Zou and the Easter Bunny" | 14 April 2014 |
| Zou and Elzee decide to go looking for the Easter Bunny. | ||
| 36 | "Zou and the Elephant Rescue" | 1 October 2013 |
| After watching a news report about an escaped elephant, Zou sets out to trap the animal. | ||
| 37 | "Zou and the Stripey Things" | 6 October 2013 |
| After learning about "stripey things" in school, Zou becomes scared of anything with yellow-and-black stripes. | ||
| 38 | "Zou the Clown" | 15 October 2013 |
| After hearing about circuses from Mr. Zoey, Zou becomes a clown, and tries to cheer up a sad Elzee. | ||
| 39 | "The Big Race" | 9 October 2013 |
| Zou's hopes for having a pedal-car race with Elzee are dashed when his dad twists his ankle, and Zou has to help look after him. | ||
| 40 | "Pirates and Fairies" | 13 October 2013 |
| While the friends are playing at the park, Zou and Zinnia disagree about what are "boy's games" and "girl's games". | ||
| 41 | "Zou's Garage Sale" | 8 October 2013 |
| Zou dcides to sell some of his old toys at the family's garage sale, but regrets doing so afterwards. | ||
| 42 | "The Fancy Dress Party" | 2 October 2013 |
| Zou's plans to win a fancy dress contest at Elzee's keep getting dashed, as each costume he tries is already being worn by someone else. | ||
| 43 | "Zou's Robot" | 12 October 2013 |
| Zou rushes to gather enough cereal box tokens to win a toy robot. | ||
| 44 | "The Very Windy Day" | 4 October 2013 |
| Zou and Grandpa use an old windcheater to fix Zou's kite. | ||
| 45 | "Zou's Magpie" | 30 September 2013 |
| When one of Mum's silver earrings goes missing, Zou searches for the culprit. | ||
| 46 | "Zou's Trip" | 12 October 2013 |
| Zou makes a pretend car of the new washing machine's box, and, together with Elzee, Zinnia and Zak, takes a pretend trip to the seaside. | ||
| 47 | "Zou's Comet" | 5 October 2013 |
| Zou and his family prepare a party to celebrate the passing of the Zebra Comet, which only comes by once every eighty years. | ||
| 48 | "Zou's Aquarium" | 10 October 2013 |
| Elzee gives up going to the aquarium in order to look for her lost bear, Gizmo. Zou & Grandpa make Elzee a pretend aquarium to cheer her up. | ||
| 49 | "Zou and the Power Outage" | 16 October 2013 |
| Zou and Elzee cannot play computer game due to no electricity and must find other things to entertain themselves with. | ||
| 50 | "Zou Owns Up" | 17 October 2013 |
| Zou accidentally breaks zak's red race car and is scared to tell him. | ||
| 51 | "Zou the Magician" | 23 September 2013 |
| Zou accidentally makes Poc disappear. | ||
| 52 | "Zou Says Sorry" | 7 October 2013 |
| Zou says sorry. | ||
References
- ↑ http://www.sproutonline.com/shows/zou
- ↑ "TV Program". sproutonline.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ↑ http://digiguide.tv/programme/Childrens/Zou/852684/season-all/
External links
- Zou at the Internet Movie Database