Willa's Wild Life
Willa's Wild Life is a French-Canadian animated television 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 (and 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 |
| 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 |
| Composers | Geoff Bennett Andre Hirz Ben Johannesen |
| Country of origin | Canada France |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (13 produced) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Dan Yaccarino Pilippe Delarue Scott Dyer Doug Murphy Paul Robertson |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies | 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 (Jordan Todosey) is the main character of the series, who has many exotic animals, much to her father's discomfort. She has many 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 in a green shirt, a red sweater and a green headband.
- Dooley (Samantha Reynolds) is Willa's next-door neighbour and best friend. He often gets caught up in Willa's adventures. He helps Willa learn lessons during their adventures. He is usually seen wearing a purple T-shirt, yellow pants and thick, round glasses.
- Dad (Peter Keleghan) is Willa's single father. He 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. There's not enough evidence to know who Willa's mother is. Willa's parents are either divorced, or her mother died.
- 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 (Lauren Collins) has a pale skin tone and long blonde hair, red lipstick and pink clothes. She has a red poodle named Susu.
- Kara (Sunday Muse) has a light skin tone and long red hair, purple lipstick and purple clothes. She has a purple poodle named Kuku.
- Lara (Alyson Court) is African and has long brown hair, green lipstick and green clothes. She has a green poodle named Lulu.
- Evelyn (Lisa Norton) is Willa's friend. She 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.
- Mr. Tremble (Dwayne Hill) is the assistant principal at Willa's class. He 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.
- Ms. Delilah Vanderwinkle (Jayne Lewis) is Willa's other next-door neighbor. She 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."
- The Mailman appears in some episodes and is mostly scared by Gus.
- Tiffy Tootle (Alyson Court) is a famous blonde-haired girl with decorative pigtails. She 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.
Animals
- Gus (Danny Wells) 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.
- Jenny (Yanna McIntosh) is a giraffe. She 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.
- Inky (Dwayne Hill), Blinky (Jay T. Schramek), and Bob are penguins. They 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 how real-life penguins eat herrings for survival.
- Koko (Katie Bergin) is a kangaroo from Australia. She has a pink bow on her head and keeps many things in her pouch, such as 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.
- Steve (Dennis Fitzgerald) and Edie (Jayne Lewis) 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.
- Wallace (Dwayne Hill) is a walrus. He 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.
- Samuel (Dennis Fitzgerald) is a camel. He 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.
- The Bunnies are dozens of rabbits in different colours. They are green, orange, blue, pink, and many more bright colours. They 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 (Dwayne Hill) is a bear. Before he 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.
- Tiny (Darren Frost) and Lou (Dwayne Hill) are elephants. Of all the animals, they 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 they are brothers. They do not like to give elephant rides unless Willa wants them to. They live in the garage.
- 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, they are snooty.
- Sparkle is Evelyn's pet spider. She is orange and red, and only appears in Spider Girl.
- Tangerine is Ms. Vanderwinkle's pet cat. Tangerine is orange, and 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]
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 at IMDb
- Qubo schedule
- Qubo description
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