Wide-Eye

Wide-Eye
Genre	Children's television show
Written by	Jimmy Hibbert Diane Redmond Jan Page Jo Allen
Directed by	Neil Fitzgibbon
Voices of	Anton Rodgers Tim Woodward Jane Horrocks Maria Darling Jimmy Hibbert
Narrated by	Tim Woodward
Theme music composer	Keith Hopwood
Composer	Keith Hopwood
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producers	Theresa Plummer-Andrews (BBC) Anne & Ian Miles (Abbey Home Media)
Producer	Clive Juster
Running time	10 minutes per episode (approx.)
Production companies	King Rollo Films Abbey Home Media
Original release
Network	CBeebies
Release	2003 – 2005

Wide-Eye is an animated children's television series based on award-winning audio books and set in fictional Natterjack Forest. The television series consists of 26 10-minute episodes and is about a wise old owl who lives in a tree with his young son, Little Hoot, and their energetic girlfriend, Flea. The programme was first launched at MIPCOM in 2003. Wide Eye is scheduled for a re-run in 2018.

Characters

• Wide Eye (the title character) – A wise guardian owl who lives in the tallest tree in the forest. Fatherly, gentle and reliable, he watches over all the animals to make sure they are all safe and happy.
• Little Hoot – A yellow-eyed owl who is Wide Eye's son. He is brave and strong, has a vivid imagination, can see in the dark and is eager to learn, although like many children, he is sometimes daunted by new challenges.
• Flea – A small, red white-eyed flea who is Little Hoot's girlfriend. She has an enchanting nature, can jump the highest and is always ready to join in with Little Hoot's adventures.
• The Natterjack Toads – Several green and orange toadlets who live and play at Natterjack Pond.
• Mother Natterjack – A female orange toad who is mother of the Natterjack Toads.
• Great Grandma Toad - Another female orange toad who is grandmother of the Natterjack Toads. She wears purple glasses and often cooks food for the toadlets to share.
• Father Natterjack – A male green toad who is father of the Natterjack Toads. He appears in quite a few episodes.
• 99 the Centipede – Lives in a burrow. Easily distracted, he tries his best to count and match his many pairs of boots, but he keeps losing count and is forced to start over and over again.
• Conchita the Chinchilla - The dancing and singing soul of the party who lives under the roots of a tree. With her exotic Chilean clothing and her charming accent, she enjoys cooking food for all the forest animals to share.
• Rangatang the Ape – Runs a shop somewhere in Natterjack Forest.
• Hetty Hornet – A female stinging bee who likes things to be clean and tidy. She always tries to keep the forest animals on their toes by handing out useful little tasks to keep them busy.
• The Fireflies - Several nocturnal fireflies who appear every night of the year in Natterjack Forest.
• Wily Komodo – The villain who always causes mischief in Natterjack Forest. He lives in a rocky den with his young son, Baby Komodo, and because time is never on his side, he causes nothing but mayhem wherever he goes.
• Baby Komodo – Wily Komodo's accident-prone young son who likes swimming. He drinks out of a beaker of milk in some episodes, but he gives up later. Although he desperately wants to be as silly as Wily, his main skills are dribbling, running, and din-making! If there is a crisis, mess or a mix-up anywhere in the forest, the chances always are that Baby Komodo won't be far away.
• Batwing the bat - Is Wily Komodo's spy. She sleeps upside down in a rocky cave and can fly by night, but she never bumps into anything.

Voice Cast

• Anton Rodgers - Wide Eye, Mother Natterjack, Great Grandma Toad, Father Natterjack
• Maria Darling - Little Hoot, Hetty Hornet, Toadlet #1, Conchita, Batwing
• Jane Horrocks - Flea, Toadlet #3, Baby Komodo
• Jimmy Hibbert - Toadlet #2, 99, Rangatang, Wily Komodo
• Tim Woodward - The narrator - Never seen. Used only as a voice-over.

The Episodes

No.	Title	Original airdate
1	"Toad In A Teapot"	16 March 2018 (2018-03-16)
Wily Komodo imprisons Great Grandma Toad in a teapot to give the Natterjack Toads a nasty surprise.
2	"Little Hoot Learns To Fly"	9 March 2018 (2018-03-09)
Wide-Eye teaches Little Hoot how to fly. Little Hoot gains courage to fly, which he uses to his advantage.
3	"Rangatang's Shop"	30 March 2018 (2018-03-30)
Little Hoot and Flea listen to their favourite story about how Rangatang came to Natterjack Forest and "set up" his corner shop.
4	"Spotty Little Hoot"	6 April 2018 (2018-04-06)
Little Hoot has caught a case of the measles. Mother Natterjack and Batwing cure Little Hoot, and then Flea gets ill.
5	"The Weather Machine"	20 April 2018 (2018-04-20)
While trying to find out about a forest feast, Wily Komodo mistakes a Weather Machine for a Flying Machine.
6	"The Jolly Natterjack"	4 May 2018 (2018-05-04)
Inspired by Father Natterjack's story about a sunken ship, Little Hoot and Flea learn to swim at Natterjack Pond before looking for treasure.
7	"Komodo's Crossing"	18 May 2018 (2018-05-18)
Wily Komodo tries to gain food by scaring Little Hoot and Flea from under a newly built bridge crossing.
8	"Snapdragon Monster"	1 June 2018 (2018-06-01)
Little Hoot and Flea dig a big, deep hole, hoping to catch a Snapdragon Monster, but they trap Wily Komodo instead.
9	"99's Boot"	8 June 2018 (2018-06-08)
Wily Komodo steals one of 99's boots, which Flea is hiding in. Before long everyone notices that Flea is missing and they set out to find her as well as 99's missing boot. Eventually, both lost things turn up in the most unexpected of places!
10	"Conchita's Party"	15 June 2018 (2018-06-15)
Little Hoot and his friends prepare a welcome home party for Conchita, while Wily Komodo plans to crash it.
11	"Message In A Bottle"	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Little Hoot and Flea pretend that they are stranded on a desert island.
12	"Wondrous Wishing Tree"	7 September 2018 (2018-09-07)
It is Autumn in Natterjack Forest and Wide-Eye has a bout of flu, which a special-but-deciduous tree (eventually) helps cure.
13	"Hetty Hornet Gets Busy"	14 September 2018 (2018-09-14)
Hetty Hornet is very busy, running the forest postal service, and it gets even more demanding when the wind mixes up the letters, causing everyone in the forest to receive the wrong messages. Hetty Hornet has a lot of sorting to do!
14	"Time For Bed"	2 November 2018 (2018-11-02)
It is Bedtime in Natterjack Forest, but Little Hoot cannot sleep, because he thinks that there is a monster on the loose. At least Flea thinks that that isn't true.
15	"Firefly Moon"	19 October 2018 (19 October 2018)
Pretending to be astronauts, Little Hoot and Flea try to capture the moon.
16	"The Natterjack Band"	26 October 2018 (2018-10-26)
Little Hoot and Flea recruit their friends from the forest for their band.
17	"Batwing's Cave"	28 September 2018 (2018-09-28)
Little Hoot and Flea visit Batwing's secret cave, but sadly, they are not alone.
18	"Zoom To The Moon"	5 October 2018 (2018-10-05)
Little Hoot and Flea build a rocket to fly to the moon in.
19	"The Special Club"	12 October 2018 (2018-10-12)
Little Hoot and Flea organise a special club for anyone in Natterjack Forest who has a special talent, but, as usual, things don't turn out quite as expected.
20	"A Winter Surprise"	9 November 2018 (2018-11-09)
The forest is transformed into a Winter Wonderland, in the middle of Summer!
21	"The Natterjack Forest Fair"	16 November 2018 (2018-11-16)
Everyone in Natterjack Forest prepare for the Spring fair.
22	"Big Baby"	6 July 2018 (2018-07-06)
It is Spring in Natterjack Forest, and there is one very interesting new arrival - a gigantic egg!
23	"Great Grandma's Birthday"	29 June 2018 (2018-06-29)
Great Grandma Toad's 100th birthday goes wrong, when Uncle Jolly's invitation goes missing, thanks to Wily Komodo.
24	"The Forest Regatta"	22 June 2018 (2018-06-22)
Natterjack Pond seems to have dried up because Wily and Baby Komodo have built a dam, which threatens to spoil a specially planned regatta.
25	"A Snowy Owl"	30 November 2018 (2018-11-30)
The forest is lying under a blanket of snow, leaving the Natterjack Toad Family homeless as their lake is frozen.
26	"The Big Sleep"	23 November 2018 (2018-11-23)
It is almost Winter in Natterjack Forest, and the forest animals are getting ready for hibernation.

UK Releases

VHS

In 2004, Wide Eye was released on video, recommended by Tempo Pre-School, released by Tempo Video, made by Abbey Home Entertainment and distributed by Abbey Broadcast Communications. Apparently, 5 animated VHS releases were (and still are) available in the United Kingdom.

DVD

In 2005, Wide Eye was released on DVD, recommended by Tempo Pre-School, released by Tempo Video, made by Abbey Home Entertainment and distributed by Abbey Broadcast Communications. Apparently, 3 animated DVD releases were (and still are) available in the United Kingdom.