The Shoe People! at the Cartoon Archive

Sh-Sh-Sh-Shoe People!

Shoe People was a very popular five minute cartoon aimed at 3-5 year old viewers that ran on ITV during 1987 and 1988. There were 26 episodes in total written and created by James Driscoll.

James stated that he got the idea for Shoe People from looking at various people's shoes and thinking about how they reflected the characteristics of their owners, and even more so thinking about the stories they could tell. So Shoe People was born . . .

The Shoe Repair Shop was owned by the Shoe Repairer (Three year olds may not have understood the word cobbler!) who loved shoes so much that even when he received shoes that were beyond repair or that were left unclaimed he could not bring himself to throw them away. Instead the Shoe Repairer stored all of these unwanted shoes in the back-room of his shop. Every night when he locked up, the shoes would then magically come to life and the back walls of the shop would drop away to reveal ToeCap hill and beyond that ShoeTown and the homes of the Shoe People.

The song for The Shoe People was written and performed by Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, and James Driscoll also co-created Fireman Sam and worked on the SuperTed cartoons. Itis also widely touted around the internet that the Shoe People was the first Western tv show to be broadcast in the Soviet Union? Absolutely no idea if this is true, but it sounds interesting!

PC Boot

The first thing you notice when you re-watch Shoe People is how well the narrator (Philip Whitchurch) brings the shoes to life. PC Boot has got a slight lisp and is quite painstakingly meticulous in all his dealings, in Shoe Town he is the Law!

Sergeant Major

Sergeant Major still thinks he's in the army, he loves to shout and lives in the Drill Hall which he keeps incredibly spick and span. Unfortunately Sgt Major's closest neighbour is Trampy who doesn't have quite the same approach to housekeeping.

Charlie

From the second Charlie is introduced by PC Boot in episode One he lives up to his name and squirts water at the police officer. Charlie is liked by all of the residents in Shoe Town, he lives in the Little Big Top and entertains his neighbours with magic tricks, tight rope acts etc.

Margot

Margot lives in the rose cottage featured above. Margot, like her former owner is a ballerina and is the only lady shoe that regularly occurs in the story (there are others such as Rian a Welsh Shoe that appears once or twice) but not many.

Sneaker

Sneaker is my favourite shoe, he speaks a little like Michale Caine and is the lovable rogue of Shoe Town. As you will see if you watch the episodes nothing too disturbing really happens in Shoe Town, but if there is trouble afoot (forgive the pun!) then Sneaker is probably at the bottom of it.

Trampy

Trampy lives in Tuble-Down House next to Charlie and Sgt Major. He is the shoe with visible signs of dis-repair, but he seems comfortable with having a hole in his toe-cap! Trampy has an Irish accent is the most good-natured Shoe in Shoe Town often keeping peace between the other residents.

Wellington

Wellington loves water. He lives in a house that is basically a huge water-slide called Puddle-Villa.

The Rest!

There are many other incidental characters within Shoe Town, but those featured here are the best of the rest! They are Sneaker, Sid Slipper and Gilda Van Der Clog. The Stilleto and the Elvis Presley like shoe I'm not sure of! If you remember drop me a line at webmaster@thecartoonarchive.com

The Shoe People: Facts

Originally Aired: Apr1987 - Dec1988
Episodes: 26 episodes
Length: 5 mins
Created By: James Driscoll MBE
Lyrics: Justin Hayward
Voices: Philip Whitchurch

The Shoe People: Resources

Memorabilia site looking at The Shoe People computer game and magazine articles written at the time.

The Shoe People: Lyrics

Every time you're skipping down the street.

Think about the shoes upon your feet, today.

It's a magic world when your toes uncurl.

Sh-sh-sh-shoe people

What've you got between you and the ground,

When you want to dance or simply run around.

There's some friends down there to take you everywhere.

Sh-sh-sh-shoe people

The Shoe People: Episode Guide

Can You Keep a Secret
Sergeant Major
A Day at the Seaside
Trampy
Trampy's Birthday Surprise
Margot
Charlie
A Rainy Day Problem
Tea at the Little Big Top
Fun and Games in the Park
Charlie's Car
P.C. Boot to the Rescue
Trampy's Dream
The Fair Comes to Shoetown
Delay at Shoetown Railway Station
Sneaker
The Windmill Has Stopped
A Job for Wellington
Margot's Mirror
The Missing Jumble
The Paper Chase
Where's Baby Bootee
Trampy Mows the Lawn
The Great Sledge Race
The Mystery Tour
Our Very Own Circus

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