Willa's Wild Life
Willa's Wild Life is a French-Canadian children's animated series based on Dan Yaccarino's book An Octopus Followed Me Home. It is about a girl named Willa (Jordan Todosey) who has a giraffe, a camel, two elephants, an alligator, and many more zoo animals. The series originally aired on Qubo in the United States (which has been put back on Qubo's schedule as of 2019), YTV in Canada and France 3 in France. The series is Flash-animated with Toon Boom Harmony.
| Willa's Wild Life | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy Supernatural Slice of life |
| Created by | Dan Yaccarino |
| Written by | Steven Sullivan Dan Yaccarino |
| Directed by | Gary Hurst (Canada) Catharine Méziat (France) |
| Starring | Jordan Todosey Danny Wells Samantha Reynolds Dwayne Hill Darren Frost Sunday Muse Lisa Norton Peter Keleghan Katie Bergin Jay T. Schramek |
| Composer(s) | Geoff Bennett Andre Hirz Ben Johannesen, for TTG Music |
| Country of origin | Canada France |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (13 produced) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Dan Yaccarino Pilippe Delarue Scott Dyer Doug Murphy Paul Robertson |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Nelvana Futurikon Googly Digital Media (animation) Telefilm Canada Radio Canada LLC Les Productions Dargaud |
| Release | |
| Original network | YTV (Canada) France 3 (France) Qubo (United States) |
| Picture format | 1080i (16:9 HDTV) |
| Original release | October 4, 2008 – February 6, 2009 |
Characters
People
- Willa is the main character of the series, who has many exotic animals much to her father's discomfort. She also has lots of wacky adventures and learns lessons along the way. Because of her adventures, she often gets into trouble. Willa is kindhearted and caring and never tries to hurt her friends' feelings. She is usually seen with a green shirt, a red jumper and a green headband. She appears in every episode and is voiced by Jordan Todosey.
- Dooley is Willa's next-door neighbor and best friend. Dooley often gets caught up in Willa's adventures. He helps Willa learn lessons during their adventures. Dooley is usually seen wearing a purple T-shirt, yellow pants and thick, round glasses. He is voiced by Samantha Reynolds.
- Dad is Willa's single father. Dad is uncomfortable with the animals around the house, but knowing how Willa cares for them and how helpful they can be, he lets her keep them. He helps Willa learn lessons along the way. He is usually seen with an orange vest, long-sleeved blue shirt, brown pants, and glasses. He loves and cares for Willa. He apparently has a crush on Ms. Vanderwinkle. His real name is never revealed. And there's no enough evidence to know who's Willa's mother. It's either Willa's parents are divorced or her mother died. He is voiced by Peter Keleghan.
- Sara, Kara, and Lara are friends (for over a year[1]) who look, dress, and act the same and think they are cooler than everyone.[2] They often bully Willa, Dooley and Evelyn, and use the wrong names, calling Willa "Wanda/Wendy/Willetta/Wilma/Winifred/Winona" and Dooley "Danny/Dickie/Donnie". They are members of the dance club, practice ballet[3] and all own dogs.
- Sara has a pale skin tone and long blonde hair, red lipstick and pink clothes. She has a red poodle named Susu. She is voiced by Lauren Collins.
- Kara has a light skin tone and long red hair, purple lipstick and purple clothes. She has a purple poodle named Kuku. She is voiced by Sunday Muse.
- Lara is African and has long brown hair, green lipstick and green clothes. She has a green poodle named Lulu. She is voiced by Alyson Court.
- Evelyn is Willa's friend. Evelyn frequently gets into Willa's adventures. She seems to be grumpy all the time and gets discouraged easily. With Willa and Dooley's help, she learns to have fun and be happy. Evelyn is tall, has red hair and is usually seen wearing a long-sleeved turquoise shirt, and capri blue jeans. She is voiced by Lisa Norton.
- Mr. Tremble is the assistant principal at Willa's class. Mr. Tremble easily gets into Willa's adventures. He is usually seen wearing an orange toupee, a brown jacket and blue pants. When he is in Willa's adventures, he often loses his toupee. He is voiced by Dwayne Hill.
- Ms. Delilah Vanderwinkle is Willa's other next-door neighbor. Ms. Vanderwinkle is usually seen with a long-sleeved pink shirt, a flowered dress, and cat-eye glasses. She has an orange cat named Tangerine, and a nephew named Buzzy whom Willa babysits in "Baby It's You." Ms. Vanderwinkle's first name was revealed in "Willa & Dooley Sitting in a Tree." She is voiced by Jayne Lewis.
- The Mailman appears in some episodes and is mostly scared by Gus.
- Tiffy Tootle is a famous blonde-haired girl with decorative pigtails. Tiffy makes her only appearance in Willa's Wonderful Life and near the end of this episode, she sees her biggest fan Willa and her family makes pizzas. She is voiced by Alyson Court.
Animals
- Gus is an alligator. He is rude and obnoxious. Whenever he has a chance, he tries to eat the Bunnies, but is always caught by either Willa or one of the other animals. He sleeps under Willa's bed. Gus is always hungry, being an alligator. He is voiced by Danny Wells.
- Jenny is a giraffe. Jenny is the wisest of the animals. She helps Willa during her adventures and acts as a mother figure to Willa since Willa's mother is not around. Due to her size, Jenny sleeps outside. She is voiced by Yanna McIntosh.
- Inky, Blinky, and Bob are penguins. Inky, Blinky, and Bob are the least intelligent of all the animals. Bob cannot speak, he just makes gestures accompanied by trombone sounds. They call Willa "Gladys." They are very good at ice skating. They sleep in the freezer. They also have a love for herrings, like hoe real-life penguins eat herrings for survival. In every episode they are always involved with something. Inky is voiced by Dwayne Hill and Blinky is voiced by Jay T. Schramek.
- KoKo is a kangaroo from Australia. She has a pink bow on her head and keeps many things in her pouch. For instance, she keeps makeup products, scissors and a signed photograph of a famous kangaroo named Willard Wallaby. She sleeps in the living room. KoKo is the girliest of the animals. She is voiced by Katie Bergin.
- Steve and Edie are two seals that used to be in show business before living with Willa. Steve's skin is darker than Edie's. Edie has a flower hair clip on her head. They give a performance every week in Willa's backyard and are talented musicians. They sleep in the bathtub. Steve is voiced by Dennis Fitzgerald and Edie is voiced by Jayne Lewis.
- Wallace is a walrus. Wallace is the oldest of all the animals. He likes to tell stories about his adventures in the Arctic before moving in with Willa. He sleeps with Steve and Edie in the bathtub. He is voiced by Dwayne Hill.
- Samuel is a camel. Samuel is the most sophisticated of the animals. Willa rides on his back to school every day. He sleeps along with KoKo in the living room. He is voiced by Dennis Fitzgerald.
- The Bunnies are dozens of rabbits in different colors. The Bunnies are green, orange, blue, pink, and many more bright colors. The Bunnies do not speak but they squeak and giggle all the time. They usually give out kisses when they are happy. They sleep everywhere in the house. Almost none of them are officially named, as Willa simply refers to them as "bunny" or "the bunnies".
- Bert is a bear. Before Bert lived with Willa and the other animals he lived in Russia. He is usually seen sleeping. Bert sleeps along with KoKo and Samuel in the living room. He is voiced by Dwayne Hill.
- Tiny and Lou are elephants. Of all the animals Tiny and Lou are the most immature. Tiny is blue and has a high-pitched voice while Lou is yellow and has a low-pitched voice. It is unknown if Tiny and Lou are brothers. They do not like to give elephant rides unless Willa wants them to. Tiny and Lou sleep in the garage. Tiny is voiced by Darren Frost and Lou is voiced by Dwayne Hill.
- Susu, Kuku and Lulu are Sara, Kara and Lara's pet poodles. Susu is red, showing that she is Sara's dog. Kuku is purple, showing that she is Kara's dog. Lulu is green, showing that she is Lara's dog. Like their owners, Sara, Kara and Lara, Susu, Kuku and Lulu are snooty.
- Sparkle is Evelyn's pet spider. Sparkle is orange, red and female. Sparkle only appears in Spider Girl.
- Tangerine is Ms. Vanderwinkle's pet cat. Tangerine is orange. Tangerine only appears in Over the Fence.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Happy Willa's Dad's Day / Willa's Wild Pony Tale" | 4 October 2008 |
| 2 | "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Vet? / Lone Gone to Hong Kong" | 13 January 2009 |
| 3 | "Willa's Wild Walk / Willa's Top Dogs" | 14 January 2009 |
| 4 | "Willa Sets the Stage / Willa in the Wilderness" | 15 January 2009 |
| 5 | "Willa Willa Everywhere / Party Animals" | 16 January 2009 |
| 6 | "Unbearable Bear / Willa's Fun Raiser" | 17 January 2009 |
| 7 | "An Alligator Ate My Homework / Hammering Away" | 18 January 2009 |
| 8 | "Hidden Treasure / Up, Up and Away" | 19 January 2009 |
| 9 | "Disappearing Act / Great Eggspectations" | 20 January 2009 |
| 10 | "It Came from the Attic / Over the Fence" | 21 January 2009 |
| 11 | "Willa's Bedtime Story / The Jenny Bus Fuss" | 22 January 2009 |
| 12 | "Baby It's You / Willa's Bad Hare Day" | 23 January 2009 |
| 13 | "Willa's Wild News / Willa's Journal" | 24 January 2009 |
| 14 | "Spider Girl / Willa On Ice" | 25 January 2009 |
| 15 | "Pas de Dooley / Perfect Partners" | 26 January 2009 |
| 16 | "Don't Let Go / Vet for a Day" | 27 January 2009 |
| 17 | "Willa's Not So Peaceable Kingdom / Go to Sleep Bert" | 28 January 2009 |
| 18 | "Nurse Willa / Willa and Dooley Sitting in a Tree" | 29 January 2009 |
| 19 | "Company's Coming / Growing Pains" | 30 January 2009 |
| 20 | "Willa Awards / To Ski or Not to Ski" | 31 January 2009 |
| 21 | "Dad's Big News / Little Miss Fitness" | 1 February 2009 |
| 22 | "Walk a Mile in Alligator Shoes / A Tall Walrus Tale" | 2 February 2009 |
| 23 | "The Girl Who Cried Ouch / When Dad's Away" | 3 February 2009 |
| 24 | "Feathered Friends / Forgetting Sara" | 4 February 2009 |
| 25 | "Willa's Sleepover / High Flying Willa" | 5 February 2009 |
| 26 | "Willa's Wonderful Life / Big Brother Gus" | 6 February 2009 |
Awards
In 2010 Art Director Adrian Thatcher received a Daytime Creative Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for his work on Willa's Wild Life.[4]
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gollark: Or just moar coar.
gollark: Plus, H.264 is nonfree.
gollark: My computer can encode VP9 at at least something like 0.25x!
gollark: 9 < 0.8x
References
- Sara. "Party Animals". Willa's Wild Life.
I still can't believe it's been a whole year since we met
- Kara. "Party Animals". Willa's Wild Life.
And discovered how much cooler we are than everybody else!
- "Willa Willa Everywhere". Willa's Wild Life.
- 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Nominations, Page 47
External links
- Willa's Wild Life at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- Willa's Wild Life on IMDb
- Qubo schedule
- Qubo description
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