Jump to content

Winx Club

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 64.231.193.87 (talk) at 21:45, 24 June 2007 (→‎The Specialists). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Winx" redirects here. For the radio station in Easton, Maryland, see WINX-FM.

Winx Club is an Italian animated television series created by Iginio Straffi and produced by Rainbow S.p.A.. It features the adventures of six teenage fairies who use magic to defend themselves and protect the Realm of Magix from evil. The show is aimed at children age 5-12,[1] but has also attracted many teenagers and even adults.


Winx Club
File:Winxclublogo.png
First season title screen from the 4Kids Entertainment version
Created byIginio Straffi
Country of originItaly
Original languagesItalian, English, USA English, German, Spanish, French, Polish, Greek, Turkish, Finnish, Welsh, Dutch etc.
No. of episodes68 (list of episodes)
Production
Running timeApprox. 22 min each
Original release
NetworkRAI
ReleaseJanuary 28, 2004

Template:Infobox TV ratings

Story

Season 1

Main article: Winx Club (season one)

An ordinary girl from the planet Earth, Bloom lives a perfectly normal, happy life in the city of Gardenia, until the day she meets Stella, a princess from the planet Solaria. Coming to Stella's aid, Bloom discovers that she has magical powers. Stella tells Bloom all about Alfea, the best school for fairies in all the realms, and Bloom finally starts her adventure. At Alfea, Bloom forms the Winx Club, which consists of herself, Stella, and their three friends and roommates: Musa, Tecna, and Flora. The Specialists, Brandon, Riven, Timmy, and Sky, are introduced a little later and quickly become the girls' good friends and love interests. The Trix, Icy, Darcy, and Stormy, are witches from Cloudtower, the witch equivalent to Alfea, who are on a quest for the power of the Dragon's Flame which ties their fates inexorably with the Winx Club's. Bloom also begins to learn the secrets of her past.[1]

Season 2

Main article: Winx Club (season two)

The Winx girls begin their second year in Alfea after summer vacation. They meet a new fairy, Layla, who requests their help in rescuing her pixie. Lord Darkar is holding a group of pixies hostage to find out where the Pixies' Village is. He is after the four pieces of the Codex (one each in Pixie Village, Redfountain, Cloudtower, and Alfea) which open the portal to the Realm of Realix where the Ultimate Power is.

Season 3

Template:Future tvshow information

Main article: Winx Club (season three)

Banished to the Omega Dimension, the Trix release and escape with Valtor ("Baltor" in the 4Kids version), a sorcerer partially responsible for the destruction of Bloom's home realm, Sparx and cooperate on plans to invade several areas in the realm of Magix and seek vengeance on those who imprisoned them, stealing each realm's magic treasure and power source. The Winx Club begin their third year in Alfea and learn of their unique Enchantix transformations which are acquired by exhibitions of courage and selflessness in situations each will soon encounter.

Note: As of 30th March, Season 3 has finished its run in Rai 2 in Italy.

Feature Film

Rainbow has announced the production of a computer generated feature film, Winx Club - Il Segreto Del Regno Perduto (The Secret Of The Lost Kingdom) set to be released in December 2007. The plot of the film is unknown but is expected to take place after the events of the third season and revolve around Bloom's origins.[2]

A trailer is available at http://www.winxclubthemovie.com.

Episode list

Main article: List of Winx Club episodes

Winx Power

In September 2005, the "Winx Power" Winx Club musicals began in Italy. Due to a successful run at the box office, the musicals are now on tour in the Netherlands.[3][4]

Main Characters

See also: List of minor Winx Club characters

Winx Club

File:Winxclubandpixies.jpg
The Winx Club and Pixies. Top row, from left to right: Amore, Stella, Tecna, Digit. Second row, from left to right: Lockette, Bloom, Flora, Chatta. Bottom row, from left to right: Piff, Layla, Musa, Tune.


Bloom: Bloom, the protagonist of the show, is a blue-eyed, red-haired fairy, she grew up and lived an ordinary life on Earth in Gardenia until the age of 16, when she discovered her dormant magical powers after coming to the aid of another fairy, Stella. Bloom is tempered and very friendly, she has an creative mind and always cares about others. She helps always her friends and can not imagine how it would be without them. Bloom isn't the leader, but she is always the person, that has good ideas and full of love. When reaching Alfea she discovers her powers over fire come from the dragon's flame, called the Dragon Fire, which she is the guardian over.

Flora: Flora is a very kind-hearted and sensitive with a passion for nature and life. Girlish, introverted, and sensitive, she is always a sweet, loyal friend, and doesn't believe in hurting others or the environment. She has many plant-based hobbies, and as a result, her room resembles a greenhouse. She mainly wears floral patterns of pink and green. She has the power of Nature, which allows her to use plants in her attacks and natural predators to exterminate pests. She is from the planet Linphea's fifth moon of Marigold. She is very loyal, caring, beautiful and intelligent. She can also hear voices of plants.

Stella: Stella is the light-hearted, fashion-loving fairy. She has long blonde hair and hazel eyes and has a great sense of style. She has come from the planet Solaria, her name means "star." She is a talkative student who often gets average or low grades, but always pulls through with help from her friends. She is often spontaneous, and doesn't like to plan things out, but she knows when the other fairies really need her help. Stella is also infamous amongst the Alfea fairies for blowing up a laboratory (trying to invent a new shade of pink) and being kept back a grade, thus she is a year older than all the other Winx Club fairies. Stella mostly wears orange, pink, and green. She has the power of the Sun and the Moon because her mother represents the moon and her father, the sun. She's from the planet Solaria where it never rains.

Musa: Musa loves all forms of music, and in spite of putting up a tough front, isolating herself, and often being pessimistic, she is a loyal friend with a tragic past. In spite of her sloppy nature, Musa has the best grades of the entire Winx Club except Tecna. She is pale, Asian in appearance, with blue-black pigtails and blue eyes. Musa mostly wears red, blue, and purple. She has the power of Music, and she gets her energy from all kinds of music. She comes from the planet Melody.

Layla : Layla is the Princess of Andros ("Tides" in the 4Kids version). She has a restless, rebellious, tomboyish nature. Layla is a good athlete, fighter, dancer, and wind-raider rider. She is also a feminist, and thus opposes Riven, a chauvinist. She mostly wears green, khaki, and purple. She has the power of Fluids, and has the ability to manipulate a pink fluid called "Morfix" to take on any form she chooses. She joins the Winx Club in season two.

Tecna: Tecna is always logical and rational, and has trouble expressing her emotions. She speaks in a technical and unemotional manner. She enjoys playing video games and pulling apart hardware, as she is extremely intelligent and strong in technology and mathematics. She can act cold and rational at times but always tries to do what's right. She mostly wears green although her favourite color is purple. She has the power of Technology and can control everything provided by Technology. She comes from the planet Zenith.

The Trix

Main article: The Trix (Winx Club)

The Trix are an evil trio of teenage witch sisters who attended the Cloudtower School For Witches, which rivals Alfea. They are the enemies of the Winx Club.

  • Icy The eldest of the trio, her name refers to her powers of Ice. She is quite charismatic. She despises Bloom and is most competetive with her.
  • Darcy The middle of the trio, Darcy works with all forms of darkness, as her name suggests ("Darcy" meaning "Dark One"). She is the smartest of the Trix. She enjoys tormenting "pathetic pixies." In season two, she is most aggressive towards Musa.
  • Stormy The youngest of the trio, her powers involve wind, storms, and other weather. She has a bad temper. She has the worst temper of the group and is very impatient.

The Specialists

Main article: List of minor Winx Club characters § The Specialists

The Specialists are a group of students who attend an all-boys school near Alfea, Redfountain School For Specialists. Several Specialists have become the boyfriends of the Winx girls.

  • Helia An artistic student, he is a great pilot and a pacifist, although his grandfather, Saladin, is the Headmaster of Redfountain. He has long black hair tied into a loose ponytail. He is also very romantic and wonderful. He is very good at lazer string glove and tries to help everyone with it. He is Flora's boyfriend.
  • Brandon Sky's squire, a great swordsman and ladies' man. He has short brown hair. He is Stella's boyfriend.
  • Timmy The geek of the group, from a long line of scientists. He has short ginger hair. He is Tecna's boyfriend. He is shy, sweet, and smart.
  • Riven A lone wolf, very competitive and good at sports. He has short red spiked hair. He is a chauvinist; he and Layla, a feminist, are in opposition. He is Musa's boyfriend.
  • Sky The prince of Eraklyon, he feels stifled by his position. He has medium blond hair. He is Bloom's boyfriend. As he loves Bloom, he refuses to marry Princess Diaspro, the girl of his parents' choice. Instead he shits all over her face making her die of suffacation

Monsters

Main article: List of Winx Club monsters

The Realm of Magix

The Realm of Magix is an alternate universe where most of the series unfolds. It is an enchanted and highly technologically-advanced universe of hospitable planets populated by fairies, witches, heroes, and monsters.

Alfea

The Alfea School for Fairies is a young girls' boarding school for fairies in training. All of the Winx girls met and resided here and had a close relationship with its principal, Ms. Faragonda. At Alfea, fairies learn to fight evil, help their planets, or, in many cases, become queens of their planets.

Cloudtower

The Cloudtower School for Witches is a young girls' boarding school for witches in training, and for most of Season 1, it was the residence for the Trix witches. At Cloudtower, the witches learn about witchcraft.

Red fountain

The Red fountain School for Heros is a boys' boarding school for the next heros, one forest away from Alfea. It teaches fighting and the use of technology. The Red fountain boys are taught how to go on dangerous missions and to fight for their respective planets. Red fountain and Alfea have a close relationship, and Miss Faragonda and Saladin have a long history that involves Bloom's past.

Variations

The original Italian version of the Winx Club was dubbed for international distribution by Rai International, but was later redubbed by US-based 4Kids corporation which modified the show to make it more suitable for an American audience. The original dub is commonly referred to as being the "UK" (which is ironic, because the UK airs the 4Kids version) or "Rai English" version and is primarily screened in southeast Asia, including Singapore and Malaysia, while the 4Kids version is more common in English-speaking countries in the West (although Australia airs the 4Kids version).

While the 4Kids version contained the same basic plot and characters as the original versions, it was altered to appeal to a younger audience (6-11 years old). To accomplish this, 4Kids altered the dialog to include references to pop culture, fashion, and other issues familiar to pre-teen audiences. Expressions and idioms were added or changed to their American equivalents, and extra narration was added to explain situations or to put a different slant on them. Music was added or changed to make scenes seem more lively or upbeat. [5]

In addition to altering the series to make it more familiar to domestic viewers, 4Kids also altered several scenes or plot elements in order to better suit local sensibilities. An example is located in the episode "Crypt of the Codex" (Original English version)/"Reaching for the Sky" (4Kids version). One of the main characters (Timmy) aims a weapon at the series' primary antagonists (The Trix) but loses hope and is unable to bring himself to fire; his hesitation forces a second character (Tecna) to retreat. In the 4Kids adaptation, the character cannot fire because he is under the influence of a magic spell, and the second character leaves to get help. Other changes include a general weakening of romantic elements contained within the show, and the removal or alteration of references to the lead character's late parents, so as to lessen the emotional impact that this might have on younger viewers.

North American voice actors (4Kids TV)

Others Credited

Broadcasting

Since its Italian premiere on January 28, 2004, on Rai 2 in Italy, Winx Club has been broadcast on six continents.

It is also broadcast on cable and satellite networks in USA, Latin America, Brazil, Spain.[6] Australia (Cable TV), Southeast Asia,[7] Philippines[8] (Cable TV), India and Taiwan, airs on Cartoon Network (Cartoon Network Asia currently airs both the first and second season of the show). In the United Kingdom, Benelux and Scandinavia, it is shown on Nickelodeon.[9]In Germany, Winx Club is shown on RTL II and Nick. In Belgium it is aired on VT4, in Hungary on RTL Klub and in Poland on ZigZap.

The version that has been edited by 4Kids and voiced with their voice actors airs in almost all English-speaking countries that have aired the show, with only a handful of exceptions (India, Singapore and New Zealand); in most other countries, the unedited version airs.

Merchandising

General

In the United States, 4Kids Entertainment holds the licensing rights to the series and has licensed the Winx Club name and image to an assortment of children's apparel and books. Toys such as dolls made by Mattel and a card game created with Upper Deck Entertainment are available at mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart and Toys R Us.

In Europe, Italian candy manufacturer Ferrero has started to distribute plastic Winx figurines as prizes in their Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs.

Video Games

Winx Club has been made into video games for the Playstation 2, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PC, all published by Konami.

Winx Club video games include:

DVD Collection

In North America, the entire first season of the Winx Club is available as a five-disc collection. The first of the series, Winx Club Volume 1 Welcome to Magix, was released on July 12, 2005.

In Europe, various DVD releases of the show are available in several different languages, and they cover the show up to its 2nd season. The Italian DVDs, in particular, also feature the less-broadcast English dub.

In Australia, the company Magna Pacific has released Winx Club DVDs of the entire first season and volumes 1 to 3 of season 2. It is the 4Kids version.

In Singapore, the company Vinci has distributed Winx Club DVDs of the entire first season of the original English dub. A six DVD box set is available at SGD$96.90 or at SGD$19.90 per volume.

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b Rainbow S.p.A. "Winx Club". Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  2. ^ Rainbow S.p.A. "FEATURE FILMS". Retrieved 2006-11-12.
  3. ^ Rainbow S.p.A. "Winx Power Music Show". Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  4. ^ Winx Club On Tour. "Winx Club On Tour". Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  5. ^ A comparison between the US and UK versions of the episode "The Shadow Phoenix"
  6. ^ Before airing on the Cartoon Network, it had aired on Telecinco in Spain.
  7. ^ Also in Singapore, MediaCorp's TV Channel "Central" had aired it on "Kids Central" block. Also Ntv7 had aired it in Malaysia (Terrestrial).
  8. ^ In the Philippines, it airs on ABS-CBN.
  9. ^ In terrestrial, TV2 airs it.

Broadcaster websites

Unofficial Links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Winx_Club&oldid=140385850"