Shoebox Zoo
Synopses of the first
two episodes
Episode one – The Magic is Awakened
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It's the worst birthday of Marnie McBride's life.
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Still grieving from her mom's death and Marnie's recent
move from Colorado to Scotland, she sees no reason to celebrate turning
11, despite Dad's best efforts.
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But, unbeknownst to Marnie, she's about to be touched
by a dangerous and irresistible magic.
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When Dad wants to stop in an old junk shop, Marnie begrudgingly
agrees, unaware that her fate lies inside.
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The mysterious man behind the counter seems out of place
somehow, and Marnie waits for Dad tentatively by the door.
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When the strange man encourages Marnie towards a shoebox,
she opens it cautiously and finds it filled with four toy animals –
a snake, a bear, a wolf and an eagle.
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As the clock strikes 11, the man rushes Marnie and Dad
out of the shop, insisting Marnie take the toys as a birthday gift.
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"How did he know it was your birthday?" asks
Dad. Marnie shrugs.
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The next day, Marnie finds herself drawn to the toys.
She cleans them up and sets them out on the counter, playing at magic
words that would make them come alive.
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To her shock, she does wake them up – but just
as quickly, the animals – the Shoebox Zoo – are frozen once
again.
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Unable to explain her newfound powers, Marnie goes to
return the Shoebox Zoo to the junk shop, and stops dead when she rounds
the corner of the alley and realises that the shop has disappeared!
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Episode two – Friend or Foe?
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It's Marnie's first day of school in Scotland. Not only
is she the new kid, but she's late, and having trouble finding her class.
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Marnie could not feel more out of place, not to mention
the strange birthday gift from the man at the junk shop – the Shoebox
Zoo – toys that come alive and talk to her.
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After Marnie discovers the Shoebox Zoo have hitched
a ride in her backpack, a couple of bullies overhear her, and try to
take them away.
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She steps up to protect the Shoebox Zoo, not fully understanding
the power that draws her to them.
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When her sinister new classmate, John Roberts, hypnotises
the bullies and hands Marnie back her toys, she is unsure whether to
feel relieved or put off from the help of this unlikely ally.
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Back at home, Marnie pressures the Shoebox Zoo for answers,
and discovers that the four were students of the great alchemist Michael
Scot.
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They were human once, eleven hundred years ago! Now
trapped in the form of carvings, the only way for them to become human
again is to recover Michael Scot's great work: The Book of Forbidden
Knowledge.
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It's a lot to believe and Marnie is glad to be distracted
by Dad calling her to go pick up a package: a belated birthday present
from Marnie's grandma and grandpa.
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Unbeknownst to Marnie, the waking of the Shoebox Zoo
has attracted the attention of Michael Scot's nemesis, Toledo the Shapeshifter,
and he's waiting inside the depot for her.
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