Willo the Wisp

The series was written and directed by Nick Spargo and produced by Nicholas Cartoon Films, in association with the BBC and Tellytales Enterprises. The character of Willo the Wisp originated in an award-winning{{cite web Kenneth Williams provided voices for all of the characters. The principal narrator, Willo the Wisp, was a blue floating creature drawn as a caricature of Williams, while the name refers to the ghostly light will-o'-the-wisp from folklore. The other main characters were Arthur the caterpillar, as a gruff cockney; Mavis Cruet, a plump, clumsy fairy with an erratic magic wand; and the principal antagonist, Evil Edna, a witch in the form of a walking, talking television set, who could zap people with her aerials. Other characters included Carwash, a snooty bespectacled cat who was based on Noël Coward with the catchphrase "My eyes are not first-class, you know"; The Moog, a supposed dog who is not allowed to think for himself; Twit, a small bird; The Beast, a former human prince turned into a hairy shambling creature by Evil Edna; the Astrognats, a group of bugs who explore outer space by means of their toadstool rocket; the Bookworm; gnomes; and a regiment of toy soldiers. Each of the original 26 episodes lasted approximately five minutes and was broadcast at 5:35pm on BBC1. This continued a tradition of short cartoons and stop-motion animation series, such as The Magic Roundabout and The Wombles, being shown on weekdays between the end of the main children's programming for that afternoon and the BBC Early Evening news at 5:40pm. The series was repeated on satellite channel Galaxy in 1989 and on Channel 4 during the early 1990s. Credits • The Voices of: Kenneth Williams • Music by: Tony Kinsey • Script and Direction: Nicholas Spargo • Animation: Ron Murdoch, Ted Percival, Mike Pocock • Devised and Designed by: Nick Spargo • Editor: Michael Crane • Backgrounds: Mary Spargo • Camera: Chris King • Production Assistant: Andrea Fontaine • Trace & Paint: Lynne Sachs & Ian Sachs • Produced by: Nicholas Cartoon Films Ltd • Processed by: Rank Film Laboratories Ltd ==Revival series (2005)==

A revival series of 26 episodes (5 minutes each) was produced by Bobbie Spargo in 2005, and voiced by James Dreyfus. Although it maintains the style of the original, alterations include: • Willo no longer being a caricature of Williams, but rather one of Dreyfus. • Mavis being slimmer (although still too heavy to fly). • Evil Edna being a widescreen television, with a wheeled stand instead of the original's metal legs, and many more channels, and had more powers, one example is using her electricity to grab somebody, similar to Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. The revival series aired on Playhouse Disney UK. ==Episodes==

Series 1 (1981) Series 2 (2005) ==Home media==

On the Kult Kidz Gold DVD, there was an extra video "Do Not Touch" which featured the last part of "Cats and Dogs", where Evil Edna makes the screen blank. In January 2008, a promotional DVD containing all 26 episodes from Series 1 was distributed by The Times newspaper. In August 2024, the revival series was released on home media in the UK for the first time, together with the first series, on a two disc set with both DVD and Blu-ray versions available. Both versions contained a special feature on the first series disc: the full 1975 original appearance of Willo the Wisp in the award-winning Super Natural Gas animation. ==References==