I LOVED this thing back when it was on. I was the right age when it was on. Haven't seen the thing in years, but somehow it seems like the show Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was the spiritual sequel to Zoobilee Zoo.
OK update, I recently decided to go back and check out
Zoobilee Zoo. You know what, it holds up! The performers had such a tremendous sweetness about them, yet also manage to sneak in the occasional snark here and there. You could tell there was some brains behind the writing. I think I liked the Bill der Beaver guy (yay puns!) most. The kind of character kids might not notice initially, but as you get older you realize he was the sharpest character on the show, lol. Talkatoo also, I'm always glad when female characters are funny and not just "the girl." Plus, there's Ben Vereen who clearly thinks he's still in
Pippin. I keep waiting for him to start singing, "Join Us!" Lol
I did get an
Adventures in Wonderland vibe, just a little more rough around the edges (it pays to be Disney
). But you know there was definitely a notable shift in design styles from the '80s to the '90s in general.
Zoobilee Zoo is from 1986, and everything has this sort of moody, atmospheric look to it. You could tell there were actual artists behind the scenes trying to entertain themselves, not just pander to demographics (not unlike
Fraggle Rock's designs). Don't get me wrong,
Adventures in Wonderland is creative too, but everything there has that "we need to be
perfect!" Disney sheen.
Just compare how the sky and ground look on the two shows.
Zoobilee Zoo's sky is a dark, muted purple, with the occasional trippy pink highlights. The ground looks like a concrete floor. I'm reminded of those concrete/metal/wooden jungle gyms when I was a kid that always felt slightly dangerous, but you loved risking your life anyway, lol. When I think of '80s kids entertainment, I always think of that slightly edgy, almost melancholy vibe. They seemed to understand that childhood isn't all bright and cheery. There are uneasy, thoughtful moments too, and that was OK.
1992's
Adventures in Wonderland has a much brighter blue sky, heck
everything's a lot brighter, and the ground looks much more glossy and safe. It's like in the '90s, all the experimental artists were kicked out and replaced with a much more commercial aesthetic. Adults seemed to scramble and make sure everything was nice and safe for the youngins.
Even with the costumes, there are differences.
Zoobilee Zoo's costumes are (again) muted colors, and everything's surprisingly baggy. Which actually kinda makes sense; these are animals with fur. In
Adventures in Wonderland, everything's a lot (again) brighter and fitted better. Yes, that's clearly so the performers can move about effectively, but let's be honest, they also did it because it "looks" better.
Again, don't get me wrong, I love
Adventures in Wonderland. The writing was probably a bit more polished on that show (again Disney
). But you have to give shows like
Zoobilee Zoo credit for paving the way.