Bristol Zoo is the latest addition to A Time Traveller’s Guide to Bristol, the innovative web and mobile phone application made by production firm Arthur Cox and supported by South West Screen.
A Time Traveller's Guide to Bristol uses archive footage to show the changing face of the city across a number of locations including Stokes Croft, Park Street, Broadmead, Castle Park, Redcliffe and the Harbourside. The Zoo is the seventh to be featured.
Visitors to the site and app see footage dating as far back as 1910 when the Harbourside area was a working port, through the Bristol Blitz. There is even a glimpse into the future to see whether any Banksy graffiti art dotted around the city will remain.
The footage from Bristol Zoo includes polar bears, giraffes and lions from the days when it kept large animals and came from the Bristol Records Office, the BBC, the zoo itself and more than 25 individuals who donated their home movies.
Arthur Cox, based at Spike Island, was launched in 2002 by Sally Arthur and Sarah Cox and has since grown in size and diversity to become home to many award-winning directors and animators working in stop-frame, 2D hand-drawn animation, Flash and cut out as well as CGI and live-action.
The Time Traveller's project was initially funded by South West Screen as part of the Digital Film and Archive Fund, which is a UK Film Council Lottery project set up to increase public access to regional screen heritage.
It is also funded and supported by Arts Council England, Bristol City Council, SS Great Britain, Aardman and Destination Bristol.
