An Inverness music production company has landed a commission from the BBC to write and produce the theme music for Shoebox Zoo , BBC's new family drama filmed in Scotland and Canada which is due to begin screening later this month.

Take a dash of Toy Story, a pinch of the magic and mystery of the Lord of the Rings, and mix with the wonder of The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe and you are some way to understanding the ingredients which make up the new family drama Shoebox Zoo .

The 13-part series boasts big name actors such as Peter Mullan (The Magdalne Sisters, Trainspotting), Alan Cumming ( X-Men, Spy Kids, Goldeye), Simon Callow (Four Weddings and a Funeral), Rik Mayal (The Young Ones), Siobhan Redmond (Sea of Souls), Bill Patterson (Foyle's War, The Canterbury Tales) and Jason Connery (Smallville, Robin of Sherwood).

Fusing state-of-the-art CGI (computer generated imagery) animation with classic family drama, the look and feel of the series is quite unlike any other series seen on British television.

This charming and magical tale, which fuses real-life drama with state-of-the-art CGI animation, follows the adventures of 11-year-old American Marnie McBride as she gets to grips with her new life in Scotland and struggles to cope with the death of her mother.

On Marnie's 11th birthday her life takes a dramatic turn when she is led into an old junk shop and finds a dusty shoebox containing four beautifully carved animals, which spring to life at her command.

Marnie and her new friends - Ailsa the Adder, Bruno the Bear, Edwin the Eagle and Wolfgang the Wolf - embark on an adventure in search of the Book of Forbidden Knowledge, lost over a thousand years ago.

Metrophonics, which is based near Inverness, was set up by composer Lorne Balfe, with assistance from Inverness and Nairn Enterprise and the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust.

Composer Lorne Balfe has already written the theme to BBC 1's soap River City as well as music to ITV's William and Mary starring Martin Clunes (Men Behaving Badly) and The Last Detective starring Peter Davidson (Dr Who). Lorne has also recently provided additional music for several Hollywood films: King Arthur starring Keira Knightley and Clive Owen, Hotel Rwanda starring Nick Nolte and Joaquin Phoenix.

Lorne Balfe of Metrophonics said he was delighted with both the recent commission and the support and encouragement his company had received from INE.  He added:  "Shoebox Zoo , is the most talked about project in the television industry at the moment and I am delighted to have been successful in pitching against the top UK music companies to get what is our biggest commission yet.

"Everyone at HIE and the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust has been hugely supportive.  This backing has given me the extra confidence and financial assistance required to help establish this new company.

To contact Metrophonics email info@metrophonics.com

Shoebox Zoo is on BBC1 at 4:35pm on September 21st and at 4:30 on September 26th. Also on CBBC at 6:30pm on September 6:30pm

Relevent web links

http://www.bbc.tv/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/08_august/23/shoebox.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shoeboxzoo/index.shtml