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Little Wizards

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Little Wizards
Created byLen Janson
Chuck Menville
StarringCharles Adler
Joey Camen
Peter Cullen
Katie Leigh
Danny Mann
Scott Menville
Amber Souza
Frank Welker
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producersLee Gunther
Margaret Loesch
ProducerMarija Miletic Daïl
Running time30 minutes
Production companyMarvel Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 26, 1987 (1987-09-26) –
1988 (1988)

Little Wizards, also called Young Wizards,[1] is a 1987–1988 American animated series, created by Len Janson and Chuck Menville and produced by Marvel Productions and New World International.[2]

Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide, which also includes Marvel Productions. The series is not available on Disney+.[3][4][5]

Plot

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The series follows the fortunes of Dexter, a young prince without a crown, whose father, the old king, is dead. Soon after that, the evil wizard Renvick stole the crown and proclaimed himself king. He ordered his servants to imprison Dexter for fear that he would get in his way. However, Dexter fled into the woods, where he was found by the good magician Phineas, who rescues him. Phineas lives with a young dragon called Lulu. When preparing a potion, Dexter unwittingly caused an explosion bringing to life three monsters endowed with magical powers – Winkle, Gump and Boo.[6]

Characters

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Main

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  • Dexter – a young prince without a crown, whose father, the former king is dead. He fled into the woods, where he was rescued by the good magician and teacher Phineas.[6] He won a singing sword.
  • Phineas Willodium – a magician and teacher, which he saved the prince Dexter from the hands of the evil wizard Renvick.
  • Lulu – Phineas' dragon[6]
  • Three monsters accidentally created by Dexter[6]
    • Winkle – a cheerful, childlike pink monster who can make herself fly after taking a deep breath.
    • Gump – a grumpy orange monster who can shapeshift into other objects, but still retains many of his own features.
    • Boo – a timid, cowardly blue monster who can turn invisible, except for his eyes.
  • Renvick – an evil wizard, which he stole the crown from the late king, the father of the young prince Dexter and proclaimed himself king.[6] He hates Phineas and the Little Wizards. At all costs he wants to beat them, but he doesn't always succeed.

Recurring

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  • Clovie – a young servant girl. She holds the secret to Renvick and her mother and she helps the Little Wizards. She is probably in love with Dexter.
  • William – Clovie's pet sparrow.

Production

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Len Janson and Check Menville created the show for Marvel Productions[6] and developing it for ABC. ABC had brought in consulting company Q5 Corporation to help develop the show along with other series for the 1987–1988 season. Q5's consultants consist of psychology PhDs and advertising, marketing and research professionals.[7]

The show was promoted as a part of the third annual ABC Family Fun Fair, which brings the voice talent of the characters to perform highlights of their show. The show stopped in Oklahoma City Friday August 28 through Sunday August 30, 1987.[8]

Episodes

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No. Title
1"The Singing Sword"
2"The Ugly Elfling"
3"Everything’s Ducky"
4"Zapped From The Future"
5"I Remember Mama"
6"The Unicorn’s Nada"
7"A Little Trouble"
8"A Dragon Tale"
9"Things That Go Gump in the Night"
10"The Gump Who Would Be King"
11"Puff-Pod Blues"
12"Boo’s Boyfriend"
13"Big Gump’s Don’t Cry"
Prince Dexter is turned into a frog.

References

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  1. ^ Carmody, John (May 5, 1987). "THE TV COLUMN". Washington Post. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  2. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 368–369. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. ^ "U.S. Copyright Public Records System".
  4. ^ "Disney+ and Missing Saban Entertainment & Fox Kids-Jetix Worldwide Library - StreamClues". 14 September 2022. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Liste - BVS Entertainment | Séries".
  6. ^ a b c d e f Imbesi, Pete (May 5, 2017). "15 CLASSIC Cartoons Marvel SECRETLY Produced". CBR. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  7. ^ Haithman, Diane (September 3, 1987). "How Image Makers Shape Kids' TV : Q5 Firm Advises ABC on the Look and Style of Cartoon Shows; Some Writers Call It Intrusion". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  8. ^ "ABC Family Fun Fair planned at city mall". The Oklahoman. August 23, 1987. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
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