The Shoe People is an animated television series which was first broadcast in the United Kingdom in April 1987 on TV-am. It went on to be broadcast in sixty-two countries around the world.
It was the first animated series from the Western world to be broadcast in the former Soviet Union in 1989 and became so popular there that it sold over twenty-five million Shoe People books.
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 revealed things 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 show's characters were designed by Rob Lee, an illustrator from Cardiff who had previously designed the characters for TV series such as SuperTed and Fireman Sam.
The theme song was written and sung by Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues.
The story
In a shoe repair shop, a shoe mender tries to repair all the shoes he gets, but sometimes he cannot repair them all. He does not throw away these shoes; instead, 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 whose owners never came back for them. 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 and boots come to life, the back wall disappears and Shoetown appears, where all the shoes and boots live.
The characters were voiced by Philip Whitchurch and Jo Wyatt (Olwen Rees in Welsh). Jo voiced the female characters in the sequel series, The New Adventures of the Shoe People, while Phillip voiced the male characters. Jo's father Martin also produced a vinyl record of the series as well as owning Bright Music, the company that produced the music for the series.
Characters
Original characters
- P.C. Boot â The policeman of Shoetown who lives in 'Shoe Street Police Station'. He is dedicated to his duty of maintaining law and order. He is very formal and likes to over-explain things, much to the annoyance of others. He talks with a little bit of a lisp. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Charlie â A clown shoe who lives on the corner of Shoe Street. He lives in a circus tent called 'The Little Big Top', and likes to juggle and perform magic tricks. He also likes to make people laugh. The other Shoe People have to be careful when talking to him, as he either pulls funny faces, or squirts water at them through the fake flower on his hat. He has many unusual ideas that are useful for helping others in Shoetown. It is unknown how Charlie came to live in Shoetown, but he is happy. Charlie is also very friendly, caring, fun, generous, and one of the kindest residents of Shoetown. He is always there to cheer his friends up and many times has helped save his friends from danger and other problems. He is also an excellent trapeze artist. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Trampy â A worn out Irish boot with a hole in his toecap who is a bit scruffy. He lives next door to Charlie in a house with a crooked chimney, called 'Tumbledown House', which has not been painted or maintained in years and has an overgrown garden. He loves to relax and spend time in his natural garden. He is good-natured and friendly and likes to keep the peace between the other inhabitants of Shoetown. He likes to go on walks in the country with Margot and Baby Bootee and tell them stories. He also likes having his friends from the countryside drop by for tea. He has a soft spot for Margot. It has been speculated that Trampy â being Irish and dishevelled â is actually a gypsy or traveller who has left his travelling roots behind. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Sergeant Major â An army boot who lives in 'Drill Hall' and still thinks he is in the army; he was in the Foot Regiment. He likes everything to be neat and tidy and shouts a lot. The grass in his garden is mown in perfect lines, he even measures the width of them, and all the plants stand to attention. The trouble is, he lives next door to Trampy, and gets very annoyed when the overgrown garden next door grows into his garden. At least once a day he complains to Trampy about it, but never takes any real action. He often calls Charlie "Stupid Clown", but he always comes to watch his circus act. He hates being called Sarge. Despite his grumpy, bossy manner, he does have a soft side which he rarely shows. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Margot â A pink ballet slipper who lives in 'Swan Lake Cottage' and loves to dance. She looks after Baby Bootee. When she first arrived at the Shoe Repair Shop, she had a big tear in her side and she thought she would never dance again. Luckily for her, the Shoe Repairer had other ideas and fixed her until she was good as new. She was then put back into the shop window to wait for the little girl who brought her in, to collect her, but she never came back. Now she has a new life in Shoetown and she loves to put on shows for everyone. The show hints that Trampy has a crush on her. She is voiced by Philip Whitchurch in the 1987 series and Jo Wyatt in the 1992 series.
- Wellington â A blue Wellington boot who loves being wet and lives in 'Puddle Villa'. He loves water so much that he has drilled holes in the guttering of his house and stands underneath it when it rains. He hates being called a Welly. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Baby Bootee â A pink baby shoe with a yellow pacifier in her mouth who is looked after by Margot at Swan Lake Cottage. She does not do much, apart from loving the teddy bear that Charlie won for her at the fair. She is voiced by Philip Whitchurch in the 1987 series and Jo Wyatt in the 1992 series. Mischievous, curious, and playful as any baby can be, she can also be very naughty.
- Sneaker â A sneaker who likes to sneak around and take things without asking people, hence why he looks like a stereotypical burglar and talks in a sneaky tone of voice. He also likes to do odd jobs for people. There is a wanted poster of him on the outside of Shoe Street Police Station. He has his own yard and his catchphrase is, "Sneaker by name, sneaker by nature!" He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Gilda Van Der Clog â A yellow Dutch clog with a red floral design who lives in a windmill and needed Charlie and P.C. Boot's help to remove a bird's nest from her windmill sails, and then made a picnic for all the Shoe People after their mystery tour. She is voiced by Philip Whitchurch in the 1987 series and Jo Wyatt in the 1992 series.
- Flip Flop â A brown flip-flop who went to the seaside with Trampy, Sergeant Major, Baby Bootee and Charlie. When she got swept away by the tide, Charlie (with his shoelace) and Trampy pulled her to safety on the rocks. She is voiced by Philip Whitchurch in the 1987 series and Jo Wyatt in the 1992 series.
- Mr. Potter â The station master of The Shoetown Railway Station who rang up P.C. Boot to warn him about a tree that had fallen onto the railway tracks and nearly cancelled the other Shoe People's train journey before Charlie bought an elephant named Bertha over from the Shoetown Zoo to help remove the tree. He is the only original character who doesn't make any appearances in The New Adventures of the Shoe People. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Sid Slipper â An elderly green slipper who likes to go to the park with the other Shoe People. In the episode 'Where's Baby Bootee', he falls asleep under a tree while keeping an eye on Baby Bootee and while Margot was buying ice cream. In The New Adventures of the Shoe People, he owns his own garden and vegetable patch. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Marshall â A cowboy boot who loves listening to country music, loves watching Western films and does a safekeeping around Shoetown. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
New characters
- Beverley â A beautiful shoe from Los Angeles who likes cheerleading and wears a gorgeous blonde ponytail in her hair and earrings on her sides. She is voiced by Jo Wyatt.
- Bebop and Alula â A 1950s couple who love to dance to rock and roll music. Bebop has his hair styled like Elvis Presley and Alula has her hair up in a ponytail. They appeared in the original series but weren't named until The New Adventures of the Shoe People. They are similar to Danny and Sandy from the musical Grease. Bebop is voiced by Philip Whitchurch and Alula is voiced by Jo Wyatt.
- Morris â A miner who works underground Shoetown. He loves digging and even has a light on his hard hat. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Sir Toby Boot â The world's best actor who loves anything to do with the theatre. He always has a good personality and likes to perform the works of Shakespeare. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Dr. Merryweather â The Shoetown doctor who takes care of the residents in Shoetown and makes them feel better. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Sacha â A Russian boot. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Farmer Fred â A farmer who works on the farm. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Coach â He likes sport, especially baseball. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- Officer Malone â a cop from New York City who works with P.C. Boot. When he first arrived in Shoetown, he arrested most of the Shoe People for what he thought was troublemaking, however he let them go after P.C. Boot told him that the real trouble makers were the Boot Boys. He is voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
- The Boot Boys â A trio of roller skates sometimes referred to as The Rollerskate Gang. Their names are Spike (the leader), Ace (the silly one), and Rowdy (the dopey one). They love to cause trouble in Shoetown and are always up to no good. They are voiced by Philip Whitchurch.
Original episodes
The first series consisted of 26 episodes which were broadcast on TV-am as part of its 'Wide Awake Club' from April 1987.
The New Adventures of the Shoe People
A second series, The New Adventures of the Shoe People, showcasing many of the new characters, was made by FilmFair, for TV-am in 1992.
American dub
The Shoe People was broadcast in the United States on Nickelodeon as a segment on their pre-school TV series Eureeka's Castle. The series was redubbed with American accents and a female narrator, and a female voice actress was added to the voice cast.
Changes by Nick Jr.
When all 26 episodes of The Shoe People in 1987 aired on Nick Jr. UK from 2001 to 2002, the Fairwater Films/The Shoe People Ltd copyright in 1987 was replaced by FilmFair Ltd, with the restoration handled by CiNAR Studios UK. FilmFair's copyright can be seen at the end of each episode on The Shoe People Complete Series DVD. The same FilmFair copyright screen can also be seen on the 1992 version of the said programme, also on Nick Jr. UK, when they aired the later series in spring 2002.
VHS releases
Since their broadcasts on TV-am in 1987, Tempo Video (through its 'Children's Stories' sub-label and distributed by MSD Video Ltd) released five separate VHS tapes between 1987 and 1989, including three 40 minute videos with eight episodes on each one and a couple of 30 minute videos as part of activity packs with six episodes on each of them.
Between 1989 and 1990, W.M. Collins Video released two special edition VHS tapes.
In late 1989, MSD Video Ltd released a single video containing eight stories from the series which was distributed by W.M. Collins for and on behalf of Avon Cosmetics.
On 5 November 1990, Wienerworld Presentations released two combined videos with 13 stories on each.
There were no video releases of The New Adventures of the Shoe People (1992 series). The first series is available on DVD. Other products included books and plush toys along with a special edition chocolate bar issued by Cadbury.
Title by country
- English: The Shoe People (1987âÂÂ1988)
- Welsh: Pobl Tresgidie (1989)
- Croatian: CipeliÃÂi (1993)
- Russian: ÃÂþÃÂþô ñðÃÂüðÃÂúþò
- Slovenian: Ã
 olenÃÂki
- Icelandic: Skófólkið
- Czech: Ã
 krpálkov
- Serbian: æøÿõûøÃÂø
- Poland: W Bucikowie
International broadcast
- TVAM, The Children's Channel and S4C â United Kingdom
- ABC, ABC Kids, Ten Network and Nickelodeon â Australia
- TV2 â New Zealand
- La Cinq â France
- TVP3 Regionals - Poland
Computer game
A children's educational computer game, First Class with the Shoe People, was released for various platforms in 1991 by Gremlin Interactive.
References
External links