Wide-Eye
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| Wide-Eye | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television show Comedy |
| Written by | Jimmy Hibbert Diane Redmond Jan Page Jo Allen |
| Directed by | Neil Fitzgibbon |
| Voices of | Anton Rodgers Jane Horrocks Maria Darling Jimmy Hibbert |
| Narrated by | Tim Woodward |
| Theme music composer | Keith Hopwood |
| Composer | Keith Hopwood |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom Ireland |
| 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 – 2004 |
Wide-Eye is an animated children's television series based on award-winning books and set in the (fictional) Natterjack Forest. The television series consists of 26 10-minute-long episodes, made between 2003 and 2004. The programme is about a wise, old owl who lives in a tree with his young son, Little Hoot, and his bouncy girlfriend, Flea.
Characters
Main Characters
- Wide Eye (The Title Character) – A wise old 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. Voiced by Anton Rodgers
- Little Hoot – A yellow-eyed owlet who is Wide Eye's son. He has a vivid imagination and is eager to learn, although, like many children, he is sometimes daunted by new challenges. Maria Darling voices him.
- Flea – A small, red and bouncy white-eyed flea who is Little Hoot's girlfriend. She has an enchanting nature, and she is always ready to join in with Little Hoot's adventures. Jane Horrocks voices her.
Supporting Characters
- The Natterjack Toads – Several green and orange toadlets who live and play at Natterjack Pond. Voiced by Maria Darling, Jimmy Hibbert and Jane Horrocks.
- Mother Natterjack – A female orange toad who is mother of the Natterjack Toads. Voiced by Anton Rodgers
- 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. Voiced by Anton Rodgers
- The Sun - A yellow, spherical disc-shaped sun which sometimes appears in every single episode. It is only seen shining in the sky by day, just like an ordinary sun, but, although it only seems to move and can hurt the animals's eyes and make them go blind, it is by far the most important energy source for life in the forest.
- The Moon - A white, spherical rocky ball which appears during, at the beginning and end of various episodes. It is sometimes seen shining in the sky at night, no matter what its phase, and, as you'd expect from an ordinary moon, it is always lit up by the sun and always seems to change shape. Little Hoot and Flea enjoy zooming to it.
- Father Natterjack – A male green toad who is father of the Natterjack Toads. He appears in quite a few episodes. Voiced by Anton Rodgers
- 99 – An orange and white centipede who lives in a burrow. Never confident, and mostly in a muddle, his many feet are always getting tangled up. Easily distracted, he always tries his very best to count and match his many pairs of boots, but no matter how hard he tries, he keeps losing count and is forced to start over and over again! Voiced by Jimmy Hibbert
- Conchita – A white and blue chinchilla who lives under the roots of a tree. With her exotic Chilean clothing and her charming accent, she is the colourful life and soul of the forest. She dances and sings as well as cooking food for all the forest animals to share. Voiced by Maria Darling
- Rangatang – A male orange orangutan who runs a shop somewhere in Natterjack Forest. Voiced by Jimmy Hibbert
- Hetty Hornet – A stinging wasp who likes things to be clean and tidy. Voiced by Jane Horrocks
- Fireflies - Several fireflies who only appear at night-time in Natterjack Forest. Notably, the fireflies make sounds instead of saying words.
- Wily Komodo – The villain who always causes mischief in Natterjack Forest. He appears in almost every episode, lives inside 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. Jimmy Hibbert voices him.
- Baby Komodo – Wily Komodo's accident-prone 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 his father, Wily, his main skills are dribbling, drooling and even din-making! If there is a mess or a mix-up anywhere in the forest, the chances always are that Baby Komodo won't be far away! Jane Horrocks voices him.
- Batwing – A sassy, purple-eared bat who is Wily Komodo's arch-spy. She occasionally passes on gossip about the other forest animals and sleeps upside down in a rocky cave. Voiced by Maria Darling
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Toad In A Teapot" | 13 October 2003 | |
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Great Grandma Toad gets imprisoned in a teapot by Wily Komodo. Little Hoot and Flea, (together with the Natterjack Toad Family,) save the day! | |||
| 2 | "Little Hoot Learns To Fly" | 29 September 2003 | |
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Little Hoot keeps getting into scrapes because he cannot fly, so Wide Eye decides that it is time for flying lessons. Little Hoot clings onto the low branch, but he is gradually persuaded to climb higher, until he reaches the very top branch. | |||
| 3 | "Rangatang's Shop" | 24 November 2003 | |
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Wide-Eye tells Little Hoot and Flea about how Rangatang came to Natterjack Forest and opened his shop. | |||
| 4 | "Spotty Little Hoot" | 1 December 2003 | |
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Little Hoot wakes up one day with a sore throat, a high Celsius temperature, and some big, red spots all over his face and body. Mother Natterjack and Batwing cure Little Hoot, and then Flea gets ill. | |||
| 5 | "The Weather Machine" | 20 October 2003 | |
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While trying to find out about a "forest feast", Wily Komodo mistakes a Weather Machine for a Flying Machine. | |||
| 6 | "The Jolly Natterjack" | 17 November 2003 | |
| 7 | "Komodo's Crossing" | 15 December 2003 | |
| 8 | "Snapdragon Monster" | 10 November 2003 | |
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Little Hoot and Flea dig a great big hole, hoping to catch a Snapdragon Monster, but they trap Wily Komodo instead. | |||
| 9 | "99's Boot" | 8 December 2003 | |
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When Flea goes missing after a game of Hide-And-Seek, the forest animals stage a search party and find her, (along with 99's Boot,) in a most unexpected place! | |||
| 10 | "Conchita's Party" | 27 October 2003 | |
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Little Hoot and his friends prepare a welcome home party for Conchita the chinchilla, who is coming back from her holiday in Chile. But Wily Komodo, Baby Komodo and Batwing, have other ideas! | |||
| 11 | "Message In A Bottle" | 6 October 2003 | |
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Little Hoot and Flea pretend that they are stranded on a desert island. | |||
| 12 | "Wondrous Wishing Tree" | 6 October 2004 | |
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It is Autumn in Natterjack Forest and Wide-Eye the owl has a bout of flu, which a special-but-deciduous tree helps cure. | |||
| 13 | "Hetty Hornet Gets Busy" | 7 October 2004 | |
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Hetty Hornet is very busy, running the forest Postal Service, and it gets even more demanding when the wind mixes up the letters. | |||
| 14 | "Time For Bed" | 8 October 2004 | |
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Little Hoot cannot sleep, because he thinks that there is a monster on the loose. | |||
| 15 | "Firefly Moon" | 11 October 2004 | |
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Pretending to be astronauts, Little Hoot and Flea try to capture the moon. | |||
| 16 | "The Natterjack Band" | 12 October 2004 | |
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Little Hoot and Flea recruit their friends from the forest for their band. | |||
| 17 | "Batwing's Cave" | 13 October 2004 | |
| 18 | "Zoom To The Moon" | 14 October 2004 | |
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Little Hoot and Flea build a rocket to fly to the moon in. | |||
| 19 | "The Special Club" | 15 October 2004 | |
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Little Hoot and Flea organise a special club for anybody in Natterjack Forest who has a special talent, but things don't turn out quite as planned. | |||
| 20 | "A Winter Surprise" | 18 October 2004 | |
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Natterjack Forest is transformed into a Winter Wonderland, in the middle of Summer! | |||
| 21 | "The Natterjack Forest Fair" | 19 October 2004 | |
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Everyone in Natterjack Forest prepare for the Spring fair, everyone that is - except Wily and Baby Komodo. | |||
| 22 | "Big Baby" | 5 October 2004 | |
| 23 | "Great Grandma's Birthday" | 4 October 2004 | |
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The forest residents decide to organise a big party for Great Grandma's 100th birthday, but things don't turn out quite as expected. | |||
| 24 | "The Forest Regatta" | 20 December 2003 | |
| 25 | "A Snowy Owl" | 3 November 2003 | |
| 26 | "The Big Sleep" | 20 October 2004 | |
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It is Winter in Natterjack Forest, and the forest residents are getting ready for hibernation. | |||
UK Releases
VHS
In 2004, Wide-Eye was released on VHS, recommended by Tempo Pre-School and released by Abbey Home Media. Apparently, 4 animated stand-alone VHS releases were (and still are) available in the United Kingdom.
DVD
In 2005, Wide-Eye was released on DVD, again recommended by Tempo Pre-School and released by Abbey Home Media. Apparently, 3 animated stand-alone DVD releases were (and still are) available in the United Kingdom.