Shoebox Zoo/Characters

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Marnie McBride

The Hero, Marnie McBride moved from Denver, Colorado to Edinburgh, Scotland with her dad after her mother Rosemary died of unknown causes. On her eleventh birthday, Marnie is given the Shoebox Zoo by an elderly man and is revealed to be The Chosen One with the goal to find the Book of Forbidden Knowledge and restore the Shoebox Zoo to their human forms after being trapped as toy animals for eleven-hundred years. Marnie is not exactly the most nicest hero and at times comes across as the Alpha Bitch and a Jerkass. She gains strong magical powers, but goes through a dark period in Season 2 when she is corrupted by the dark magic of the book. She has Age-Appropriate Angst, but often breaks down whenever her mother is brought up.

  • Age-Appropriate Angst: Marnie's mother died when she was ten and spends the next year mourning her mother's death. She often acts quite aggressive and mean, particularly towards the Shoebox Zoo, treating them like they're a bother for most of the time.
    • This is turned Up to Eleven in the second season, particularly in Episode 24 where she angrily confronts her father and asks if he meant what he said about being willing to do anything to resurrect Rosemary.
  • Alliterative Name
  • Alpha Bitch: Marnie acts like this trope towards the Shoebox Zoo for most of the show, but gets out of it by the end of the second season.
  • Big No: Does it twice in Episode 12, once when Edwin opens the book, and again when Wolfgang dies.
  • Captain Obvious: Marnie can be bright at times, but has a tendency to express the obvious at times.
  • The Chosen One
  • Creepy Child: Marnie becomes this in Season 2 when she is corrupted by the book's power. She snaps out of it though.
  • Dreaming of Things to Come: Marnie has dreams of the past and the future, but mostly of the past.
  • The Heroine
  • Heroic BSOD: Marnie has numerous throughout the show. Most notably when Wolfgang dies, when Toledo's origins are revealed, and when Aurora steals the Book.
  • Memento MacGuffin: Marnie's necklace is one of Edwin's tail feathers, created by her mother when she was a girl.
  • Rain of Arrows: Marnie is shown to be a skilled archer, and uses this to destroy the book.
  • Refusal of the Call: Marnie downright refuses to participate in the quest until halfway through the first season.
  • Shock and Awe: Marnie displays an ability to fire electricity in Season 2.
  • Teleporters and Transporters
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Marnie earns this a lot, as she is not exactly the most nicest hero ever. She often misteats the Shoebox Zoo and is quite stroppy and mean.
    • In Season 2, Marnie turns evil. She traps Bruno in a rock, tortures Wolfgang's spirit, and disintegrates Nathaniel to gain the book with the intention to resurrect her mother.

Kyle Stone

Marnie's best friend introduced in Season 2. Kyle is of Native American descent and is very proud of his people's traditions, participating in a powwow. His grandfather Nathaniel is the Medicine Man, and is to inherit the duty and powers of the medicine man. He gains it on his twelfth birthday, gaining the ability to awaken Hunter. He ends up becoming Marnie's enemy when she turns evil.

Michael Scot

A 900-year old wizard, alchemist, mathematician and scholar, Michael Scot is very much responsible for most of the events in the shows backstory. He is based on a scholar of the same name. He created the Book of Forbidden Knowledge to store his own knowledge of alchemy and magic, and created a homunculus called Toledo. However, his son Wolfgang, bitter at his father's obsession with the book, stole it along with his friends Edwin, Bruno and Ailsa, and cast it into the sea (almost). Michael punished them by turning them into toy animals and would sleep until the Chosen One found the book and awakened them with their own magic.

At first he is a Grumpy Old Man, being very aggressive, grouchy and mean towards Marnie and shouts a lot in their first official meeting. He eventually turns into The Obi-Wan, helping Marnie on her quest to find the book and eventually becomes a father figure to her, mainly due to his relationship with Marnie's mother when she was a child, believing she was the Chosen One. He decides to properly aid Marnie after he failed to save her mother from dying. He manages to make peace with Wolfgang thanks to Marnie. In Season 2, Michael and McTaggart, his loyal servant, go to America to keep an eye on Marnie but Toledo returns as a ghost and kills Michael.

Toledo

Juan Roberto Montoya de Toledo, or just "Toledo the Shapeshifter", is the Big Bad of the show (until the Dawn Queen arrives). A suave, bald man with a fetish for white, and a deep hatred for Michael, Toledo appears to have spent much of his 1,100 year existence in Spain, since he often uses Spanish words in his sentences. He is quite powerful, possessing shapeshifting abilities and powers matching those of Michael. He often reminds Michael that "my power is your power" and he means it. It is revealed that Toledo is actually a homunculus created via alchemy and the four elements by Michael after he made the book, and appeared to have been treated like garbage.

Toledo desires the book to cover the world in darkness, likely to get back at Michael. He is quite polite but hides a nasty temper, calling Marnie "girl child" and Wolfgang "little wolfie". At the end of Season 1, Toledo suffers a Disney Villain Death but returns in Season 2 as a ghost, now desiring to create the Dawn Queen and conquer the world with the book. He is destroyed at the end of the show along with the book.

Edwin de Wyntor

The leader of the Shoebox Zoo, filled to bursting with British Stuffiness. He takes the form of a metal eagle toy, sporting a Cool Helmet and a fear of flying. Edward is very pompous, snobbish and proud, hinting he may have come from an upper class family. However, he deeply wishes to be human again and cares for the rest of his group, even though he often insults them, distrusting Wolfgang, arguing with Ailsa and repeatedly patronising Bruno's intelligence. He's quite the Glory Seeker, but his lack of knowledge regarding the modern world makes him a hilarious Fish Out of Water, freaking out at most things, most notably when he learns that heroes are flying to America after he assumed they would take a ship.

One of his tail feathers is used as a magical sensor necklace by Marnie. In Season 2, after breaking his wing, Edwin is fixed up by Marnie's grandpa and learns to fly.

Bruno

The Big Guy of the Shoebox Zoo, Bruno takes the form of a stone bear toy. Good-hearted, selfless and a little bit thick at times, Bruno is Marnie's biggest supporter and never loses faith in her. He is loyal, kind and has strong beliefs in goodness and justice. He's also voiced by Alan Cumming.

Ailsa

The Chick of the Shoebox Zoo, Ailsa takes the form of a golden/metal adder toy. Cynical, impatient but intelligent, Ailsa appears to want to be human the most, likely because she is the oldest of the toys. She often argues with Edwin and Marnie, and becomes quite manipulative in Season 2.

Wolfgang Scot

The mysterious and deceptive fourth member of the Shoebox Zoo, Wolfgang takes the form of a bue and golden-painted wooden wolf toy. He is actually the son of Michael as explained in The Reveal, resenting his father when he became obsessive with the book and ignored his son and other students. Wolfgang and the others stole the book whilst chased by Toledo, losing it, and then were turned into toys by Michael who still bares a grudge against them 1,100 years on. Wolfgang hates being made of wood, claiming everything tastes like sawdust, and he has a fear of fire.

Wolfgang sides with Toledo out of spite towards Michael selecting Marnie as his Chosen One when it should have been him. He eventually changes his alleigances when Marnie discovers his relation to Michael, father and son making peace with one another. However, Toledo attacks Marnie's house when she finds the book and murders Wolfgang by tossing him into her fireplace. He later appears as a ghost trapped in the spirit world, but is resurrected by Marnie in the last episode.

Hunter the Horse

The Sixth Ranger of the Shoebox Zoo, introduced in Season 2. Hunter is not a human trapped in a toy, but instead a spirit who can materalise in a Native American dancing stick carved into a wooden wild horse. Hunter is taller than the other toys, and is a wild and free-spirited person but has a strong sense of justice. He has a tendency to introduce himself in a long series of titles before ending in "and the guy who just..." before referring to the current situation. He can also turn into a real horse. He's voiced by Simon Callow.

  • Catch Phrase: Hunter's often introduces himself with a spiel of I Have Many Names. He names himself as being related to numerous Native Americans, whilst claiming to be spirit of the horse dance, a war horse, Keeper of the Book of Many Secrets, etc. He then exclaims that he is "the guy that just..." (e.g. spilt red wine all over your [Michael] table). This doubles as a Running Gag.
    • He then gives up on it in the final episode when Wolfgang asks who he is.
  • Cool Horse: As a toy and as a real horse.
  • Magical Native American: Well, a Native American spirit to be exact.
  • Nature Spirit
  • Rousing Speech: Hunter convinces the Shoebox Zoo to help save the world, complimenting on each of their good traits (aside from Ailsa who he can't seem to find any good traits for).
  • Spirit Advisor

William McTaggart

Michael Scot's loyal manservant, McTaggart aided the Shoebox Zoo to steal the book, taking it to an ancestor of Marnie's mother who tossed the book into the sea. As punishment, McTaggart was imprisoned in Michael's dungeon for eleven years and then cursed with immortality until the book is found. He works for Toledo in the first season as a mole for Michael. In the second season, after Michael's death, McTaggart is transformed into a weasel by Toledo but is changed by Edwin and Ailsa who convince him to take up his master's staff and fight Toledo and the Dawn Queen. Unfortunately, McTaggart is defeated in battle by Toledo (in Aurora's body), and plunges to his death down the Falls of Fate.

Nathaniel Stone

Kyle's grandfather and the Medicine Man, Nathaniel communicates with the spirit world and has his own form of magical powers. He spends the first four or so episodes of Season 2 as a Mysterious Informant until his connection to Kyle is revealed. Nathaniel is wise and powerful, capable of bringing Hunter to life. He is a descendant of Chief Stonebear, who was given the book by Marnie's ancestor Angus McBride but tosses it down a waterfall after realising it has dark magic within. Nathaniel believes the book must be destroyed instead of merely being hidden to save the world.

  • The Atoner: In a sense after his ancestors failed to destroy the book.
  • Braids of Action
  • Faking the Dead: Nathaniel is seemingly disintegrated by Marnie when she finds the book, but is revealed to be alive the next episode.
  • Hey, It's That Guy!: Gordon Tootoosis is an actual Native American and played the part of a medicine man in Disney's Pocahontas. British viewers may also know him as Joe from Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
  • It's the Only Way: Unlike his ancestors who merely hid the book, Nathaniel believes the book must be destroyed and attempts to do this in Episode 24.
  • Magical Native American
  • Mysterious Informant: His identity aside from being the Medicine Man isn't revealed until Episode 5 of the second season. He does a lot of scenes simply staring at characters from afar.
  • Nice Hat: He sports a cowboy hat for most of the show.

Aurora Dexter

A 40-something Fortune Teller and psychic who hosts a TV show where she helps people communicate with the spirit world. She wishes to go up in the world and work on the "big network", or return a failure to her hometown Valentine, Nebraska. She has a daughter named Becky. It is revealed she was born on November 11th, making her a potential chosen one. That is, a Chosen One for the second prophecy in which the Dawn Queen will rise and use the book to destroy the world.

Toledo ensures the second prophecy is realised and possesses Aurora to become the Dawn Queen's host, creating some Gender Bender madness. Toledo gains the book, turning Aurora into the Dawn Queen. She gains her dream of a new show on a major network but it only lasts one episode due to the events of the last episode, Marnie destroying the book, Toledo and the Dawn Queen's evil whilst Aurora survives.

  • Bigger Bad: You thought Toledo was bad, the Dawn Queen is worse. He wanted to rule the world, she wants to destroy it.
  • Demonic Possession: Toledo possesses her, leading to some Gender Bender fun, and making her wear Indian-themed clothes.
    • Aurora is then possessed by the Dawn Queen's evil influence.
  • Disintegrator Ray: Aurora disintegrates her audience on her network show with her mind!
  • Fortune Teller: She has her own TV show, a phone-in spiritalist show called "Above and Beyond".
  • Phony Psychic: Kyle believes her to be one. That is until Wolfgang makes contact with her, causing her to faint.
  • Tarot Motifs: Aurora tries to read her destiny via tarot cards, each one having 11 on the cards just as the clock chimes eleven o'clock.
  • This Is Sparta: Aurora's first words to the live audience of her network show: "I-HAVE-COME!"
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