Zowie Intertainment was a smart toy publisher that spun out of Paul Allen's Interval Research in 1998 and initially operated under the name of Mirvo Toys while it developed its initial projects. In 1999 it released its first products, Ellie's Enchanted Garden and Redbeard's Pirate Quest, before being bought out by the LEGO® Group in 2000. Under the name of the "LEGO® Lab" it then developed LEGO® Circus, LEGO® Playhouse, and LEGO® Creator Racer before its closure in late 2000.
Well, it's interesting to me because most people want to talk about Pong and that stuff. And I've done a bunch of things, I've been lucky to do that, disrupt a bunch of industries, and Zowie was one of the more fascinating projects I was in. It is remarkable, and most people don't know about it, but the technology was way beyond what you should put in a child's game.
Redbeard's Pirate Quest
Join Errol, Nika, and Ollie as they embark on a pirate adventure to help Captain Redbeard recover his stolen treasure. Fend off enemy skeleton pirate ships and frightening sea monsters, and navigate the ship through iceberg mazes and surprising obstacles on the open sea.
Ellie's Enchanted Garden
Ellie’s beloved stuffed animals become her playmates as they come to life in her magical garden. Flowerbeds appear and change colors, and Ellie and her friends, Lily and Bingo, dance together to the latest tunes and play familiar schoolyard games such as hopscotch, jump-rope, and hide and seek.
Ellie's Enchanted MovieMaker
Ellie's Enchanted MovieMaker was a planned add-on to Ellie's Enchanted Garden intended to allow children to make movies using Zowie's technology. It would have worked by recording speed and voices while the player moved around physical toys, which together would have made a film.
Ultimately, the add-on got canceled while Mudpuppy Studios was developing the software component in 2000 after the LEGO® Group bought out Zowie Intertainment. Various elements from it were initially considered for inclusion in LEGO® Kidpad earlier in 1999 but didn't get used.
Muppets From Space
Ellie’s beloved stuffed animals become her playmates as they come to life in her magical garden. Flowerbeds appear and change colors, and Ellie and her friends, Lily and Bingo, dance together to the latest tunes and play familiar schoolyard games such as hopscotch, jump-rope, and hide and seek.
