A Kind of Magic (TV series)

A Kind of Magic
Genre	Children's Animation
Created by	Charile Skanker Xilam Michel Coulon Arthur de Pins Linda O'Sullivan
Directed by	Charles Vaucelle
Music by	Herve Laviander
Opening theme	A Kind of Magic by Queen
Composer	Herve Laviander
Country of origin	France
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26
Production
Producer	Marc du Pontavice
Production companies	Xilam Disney Television France France 3
Original release
Network	France 3 Disney Channel France Super RTL
Release	2006 – 2009

A Kind of Magic (known as Magic in France) is a French animated television series created by Michel Coulon, based upon Arthur de Pins's original design. It was produced by French animation company Xilam Animation, directed by Charles Vaucelle, character design by David Gilson.

The story deals with a kid named Tom and his family's problems, including his sister Cindy, who is crazy after every boy she sees, his toad 'His Highness', his evil Aunt Ferocia who wants to turn him evil as well, and his parents who have been exiled from Fairyland and now have to live on Earth.

The series first aired in 2008 on Disney Channel (France, then Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Asia, and Latin America), then France 3 (France), Gulli (France), Super RTL (Germany), Mediaset (Italy), VRT (Belgium), TSR (Switzerland) and ABC (Australia).The series has been an instant hit and was rated the most popular series at the 2007 MIPCOM Junior trade show, attracting over 280 buyers.

Plot

All voices given are for the English version.

The story follows the life of Willow the fairy (voiced by Kelly Sheridan), and her reformed ogre husband Gregore (Trevor Devall), who are not allowed to get married as per Fairyland rules. They move out to Planet Earth, where they try and fit into society as normal human beings with their children, Tom (Erin Mathews) and Cindy (Kelly Sheridan) (named after Tom Thumb and Cinderella) and their Aunt Ferocia (Pauline Newstone).

Characters

Main characters

Tom

Clever, spontaneous and mischievous, Tom has the presence of mind of a boy who has had to take care of himself from very young. Thanks to his limitless imagination and instinctive quick reflexes, he is able to convince anyone of anything. This skill is very useful to his absent-minded family members who are always forgetting they no longer live in a world of magical creatures.

Willow

In spite of having been banished from the only home she knew, Willow doesn't worry. Being a fairy who has lived in the land of happy endings has given her an eternal optimism that she retains in her life with her family. The harsh realities of her new home are unable to shake her confidence that Good will always triumph over Evil. She is lighthearted and carefree and doesn't let the world get her down.

Gregory

Gregory finds it hard to live in the hard economic reality of the real world. Despite being an ogre, he is a sweet, benevolent, and gentle father. He's more sensitive to his responsibility than his wife Willow, but both are so disconnected from reality that their children tend to be the ones that resolve the problems created by their parents.

Cindy

Stubborn, rebellious, and very romantic, Cindy knows that a better future awaits her. In the land of fairy tales she was responsible for cleaning the sewers of the kingdom, but in the real world, she dreams of grand projects and a more agreeable life. Like all adolescents, she worries about being accepted by the other children at school. In general she opposes the use of magic because she considers it distasteful, but she makes use of it when it helps her accomplish what she wants.

Ferocia

Unlike the other members of the family, this witch finds her deportation unbearable. She feels nostalgic for her old country and dreams of finding a way to recover her powers and return to the kingdom to wreak havoc and restore terror. She hates almost everything about the real world, except crimes, reality shows, and driving her motorcycle. She is always in a bad mood and shouts furiously when she speaks.

His Highness

Tom's pet is an extremely ugly toad, but he always has an regal expression and moves with the airs of a prince. In spite of his appearance and low profile, he is a real snob. He refuses to hunt insects and lives in a mineral water bath.

Secondary characters

Uncle Genie

He always travels via the communications network and most of the time emerges from Cindy's cellphone. He helps his nephew Tom in tricky situations. He is very friendly and worries about others.

Jojo

Tom's best friend doesn't know that his friend's family is a fairy tale family. Sometimes he thinks Tom keeps secrets from him, which causes him to become angry and mistrust his friend.

Candy

A little neighbor girl who always sees strange things when one of the family leaves or enters the house. When she is surprised by something magical, she screams to call her mother to tell or show her what she has seen, but her mother never sees what has happened.

Grandma and Grandpa

A pair of smelly and stinky ogres. They always want the family to be smelly, rude, and greedy, which they are not. Most of the time they want to teach their grandson ogre lessons, like how to hunt animals for food, how to smell bad, etc.

Episode list

1 * Memory Gaps

2 * Meet The Parents

3 * Trust

4 * Framed!

5 * Big Love

6 * Uncle Sandman

7 * The Ventriloquist

8 * Wishing Powder

9 * What Big Teeth You Have

10* Ugly, Idle & Nasty

11* When An Ogre Loves A Fairy

12* A Dogs Life

13* A Fairytale Wedding

14* The Truth, Nothing But The Truth

15* An Awkward Visit

16* Family Matters

17* Peekaboo Tom

18* The Wand's Burial

19* Lovely Dragon

20* Baby-Sitting

21* Whatever You Wish

22* Daddy Un-Cool

23* Deep Freeze

24* Mosquito Fairy

25* Only Child

26* Home Sweet Home