Willo the Wisp facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Willo the Wisp
Willo the Wisp Titles (BBC Series)
Genre	Children's Animation
Written by	Nick Spargo (1981 series) Bobbie Spargo (2005 series)
Voices of	Kenneth Williams (1981 series) James Dreyfus (2005 series)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	Two
No. of episodes	52
Production
Running time	5 minutes
Production company(s)	Nicholas Cartoon Films (1981 series), Spargo Films & Double:Take (2005 series)
Release
Original network	BBC1 (1981 series) Playhouse Disney (2005 series)
Original release	14 September 1981 (1981-09-14) – 7 December 2005 (2005-12-07)

Willo the Wisp is a fun British cartoon series. It first came out in 1981 on the BBC. A famous actor named Kenneth Williams did all the voices! The show was very popular with both kids and grown-ups. It was often shown right before the evening news. A second series was made in 2005.

The Original Series (1981)

The first Willo the Wisp series was created by Nick Spargo. He wrote and directed it. The stories take place in a magical place called Doyley Woods. This small forest was inspired by a real wood near Nick Spargo's home.

Meet the Characters

Kenneth Williams was amazing because he voiced every single character in the show!

• Willo the Wisp: He's the main narrator and a blue, floating creature. He looks a bit like Kenneth Williams himself! His name comes from an old folk tale about a ghostly light.
• Arthur the Caterpillar: A grumpy but lovable caterpillar with a strong accent.
• Mavis Cruet: A clumsy fairy who is a bit plump. Her magic wand doesn't always work the way she wants it to!
• Evil Edna: The main bad guy! She's a witch who looks like a walking, talking television set. She can zap people with her aerials!

Other fun characters include:

• Carwash: A fancy cat who thinks he's very important.
• The Moog: A dog who isn't allowed to think for himself.
• Twit: A tiny bird.
• The Beast: A prince turned into a hairy creature by Evil Edna.
• The Astrognats: Little bugs who explore space in a mushroom rocket.

Episode Adventures

Each of the first 26 episodes was about 5 minutes long. They were shown on BBC1 in the late afternoon. This was a tradition for short cartoons, like The Magic Roundabout.

Here are some of the exciting episodes:

• "The Bride-Groom"
• "Edna's Secret"
• "Food For Thought"
• "Holidays"
• "The Dragon"
• "The Wishbone": The Moog finds a magic wishbone and wishes he could think. Evil Edna tries to take it!
• "The Chrysalis": Arthur tries to become a moth, but Evil Edna tries to mess things up with a spell.
• "The Magnet"
• "Wugged Wocks"
• "The Flight of Mavis"
• "The Thoughts of Moog": The Moog starts thinking, and Evil Edna tries to use it against him.
• "The Joys of Spring"
• "Games With Edna": Arthur uses "Caterpillar Magic" to play a game with Evil Edna!
• "The Hot Hot Day"
• "Halloween": It's Evil Edna's birthday, and everyone tries to keep her from turning them into frogs!
• "The Gnome"
• "Boring Old Edna"
• "The You Know What"
• "The Bean-Stalk"
• "Cats and Dogs": Evil Edna makes it literally "rain cats and dogs" in the forest!
• "The Midas Touch"
• "The Viqueen"
• "The Potion"
• "The Beauty Contest"
• "Magic Golf"
• "Christmas Box"

The New Series (2005)

A second series of 26 episodes was made in 2005. James Dreyfus did the voices this time. The new series kept the same style, but some things changed:

• Willo no longer looked like Kenneth Williams.
• Mavis the fairy was slimmer, but still couldn't fly easily.
• Evil Edna was a modern widescreen TV. She had more channels and new powers, like grabbing things with electricity!

The second series was shown on Playhouse Disney in the UK.

More Episode Adventures

Here are the episodes from the second series:

• "Moon on a Stick"
• "The Toothache"
• "The Nature Walk"
• "Feed the Birds"
• "The Magic Bone"
• "The Knotted Handkerchief"
• "The Little Cloud"
• "The Mind Reader"
• "The Fancy Dress Ball"
• "Bowling for Carwash"
• "The Knee-Knocking Tree"
• "The Best Friend"
• "The Tiddle Me Wink"
• "The Makeover"
• "The Miracle"
• "The Love Bug"
• "The Wobbly Wood"
• "The Doyley Hunt"
• "The Cocoa Demon"
• "The Beauty Spot"
• "The Curse of Celebrity"
• "The Lost City of Polenta"
• "The Woodwind"
• "The Vegetable Garden"
• "The Art Class"
• "Here Comes the Judge"