Edinburgh Zoo does Trainspotting

It is known as one of the most iconic opening scenes in modern cinema – Trainspotting’s Renton and his hapless sidekick Spud running full tilt along Edinburgh’s Princes Street.

Now, in a hilarious homage to the ‘Choose Life’ scene that kick-started Danny Boyle’s 1996 cult classic, RZSS Edinburgh Zoo has recreated the film’s curtain raiser with panda and penguin mascots reprising the famous sprint.

Shoppers watched in bemusement as the mascots re-enacted Ewan McGregor and Ewen Bremner’s infamous slalom through the Capital during recent filming for the 40-second video. In the video’s opening sequence, the panda drops his bamboo before beginning to race his penguin pal around Edinburgh city centre, finally arriving at Edinburgh Zoo.

The release of the video, premiered on YouTube, marks the launch of the new T2 movie release on DVD as well as the closing weekend of the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the start of the Scottish school summer holidays.

The footage is accompanied by an on-screen monologue in the mode of Trainspotting

Choose Scotland, Choose Edinburgh, Choose visiting the giant pandas, Choose meeting a meerkat, Choose brilliant birds, Choose the penguin parade, Choose Tiger Tracks, Choose a great day out, Choose Edinburgh Zoo!

Barbara Smith, Chief Executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), said: “Trainspotting contains some of Edinburgh’s most iconic characters and we decided to bring them together with a few of our own. It’s been tremendous fun making our parody and we hope the public enjoy watching it as much as they enjoy visiting RZSS Edinburgh Zoo this summer.”