ZingZillas is a music show aimed at children ages six and under. It is set on a monkey-shaped tropical island where everyone joins in to create music magic. They use musical influences from all over the globe from rock to soul, jazz to samba, big band to orchestra. A yellow submarine is sometimes seen in the sea near the island. One episode contains what appears to be a view from the submarine through its periscope. In a recently started 5-minute version called Zingzillas Zingbop, the submarine goes very near the viewpoint, showing children inside the submarine through its portholes; those children later take part in the programme's singing and dancing session, as if the submarine is the usual transport for guests to and from the island. The main characters are primates: Zak, Tang, Panzee and the youngest, Drum. They are mentored by music guru DJ Loose and they create their unique ZingZilla sound just in time for their daily performance which is called 'The Big Zing'. A coconut clock counts down the time to the Big Zing and breaks each programme into four parts. In every episode they are visited by a different musical guest. The ZingZillas always discover their musical guests in a 'glade' in the jungle and they take inspiration from these guests, incorporating them and their sounds into The Big Zing. Original music for the series has been composed by Banks & Wag. On Monday 30 August 2010, "Do You Didgeridoo?" was released on an EP, alongside the "ZingZillas Theme Tune" and "Bhangra Beat", reaching #1 in the iTunes Children's Chart. On Monday 4 October 2010, "ZingZillas: The Album" was released on CD and as a digital download, reaching #1 in the iTunes Children's Chart on the first day. The recording features guest tracks by musical luminaries who have appeared on the show including cellist Julian Lloyd Webber flautist James Galway and jazz vocalistCleo Laine. On 28 February 2011 CBeebies began broadcasting a 20 part series of 5 minute spinoff programmes entitled "Zingzillas Zingbop" which is hosted by DJ Loose, where a small group of children go to Zingzilla Island and are taught to dance to a Zingzillas song. The Zingboppers then participate in the final Zingbop. Every Zingbop performed is of course "the best Zingbop ever".
Characters
Each ZingZilla has their own personality:
Panzee loves dressing up. She is sensitive, fun and always ready to try something new. She is a chimpanzee who plays bass, keyboards and backing vocals, played by Victoria Bovingdon and voiced by Sarah-Jane Honeywell.
Tang thinks creatively and is never afraid of asking for help whenever there's a problem. He is an orangutan who plays guitars and backing vocals. He is played by Nick Kellington and voiced by Gary Jordan.
Drum is very young at heart. She loves exploring sounds and enjoys making rhythms and noise. She is very sensitive to the mood of music. She resembles a golden lion tamarin who plays drums, percussion and backing vocals, is played by Rachelle Beinart, Cecily Fay and Amy Collins and her voice is by Penni Tovey.
Other characters
Todd is the ‘father figure’. Helpful, inventive, accident-prone and loveable. He is a mandrill, Todd is performed and voiced by Aiden Cook.
Auntie Dot is a relation of Todd's and whose voice is by Penni Tovey
DJ Loose Is the island's sloth DJ. He plays the ZingZillas music made by real people in the glade. DJ Loose is Puppeteered and voiced by Mark Jefferis and Josh Elwell
The Beach Byrds are tropical birds who work in the coconut hut and say everything tunefully.
The Moaning Stones are similar to the standing moai heads on Easter Island. Although four are shown, only the middle pair called Granite and Gravel talk. All four heads jet into the sky near the end of each episode signalling the start of the "big zing".
