Willa's Wild Life

Willa's Wild Life
Format	Childrens television series
Created by	Dan Yaccarino
Written by	Steven Sullivan Dan Yaccarino
Directed by	Gary Hurst (Canada) Catharine Méziat (France)
Starring	Jordan Todosey Peter Keleghan Katie Bergie Dwayne Hill
Composer(s)	Geoff Bennett Andre Hirz Ben Johannesen, for TTG Music
Country of origin	France Canada
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2 (renewed for a third season)
No. of episodes	26 (13 produced)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Dan Yaccarino Pilippe Delarue Scott Dyer Doug Murphy Paul Robertson
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Futurikon Nelvana
Broadcast
Original channel	TF1/Télétoon (France) YTV/Nickelodeon (Canada) qubo (USA)
Original run	2008 – present

Willa's Wild Life is an animated television series that first aired on ABC2 in 2008, then on Qubo and Nickelodeon Canada in 2009. The show is based on Dan Yaccarino's book An Octopus Followed Me Home. It is about a 9 year old girl named Willa (Jordan Todosey) who has some very unusual pets. She has, so far, acquired a giraffe, two elephants, an alligator, and many more exotic animals. The show airs on Qubo at 12:00 am, 6:00 pm and 12:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, 8:30 am on Thursdays at ION Television, and 12:30 pm at NBC on Saturdays.^[1] New episodes for Willa's Wild Life will air on Qubo.

Characters

People

• Willa is the main character of the series. Willa has many exotic animals much to her father's discomfort. She has many wacky adventures and learns lessons along the way. Because of her adventures she often gets into trouble. Willa is kindhearted and caring and never tries to hurt her friends feelings. She is usually seen with a green and red dress, and a green hairband. She also appears in all episodes.
• Dooley is Willa's next door neighbor and best friend. Dooley often gets caught up in Willa's adventures. He helps Willa learn lessons during their adventures. Dooley is usually seen wearing a purple T-shirt, yellow pants, and thick, round, glasses.
• Dad is Willa's father. Dad is not comfortable with the animals around the house, but knowing how Willa cares for them he lets her keep them. He helps Willa learn lessons along the way. He is usually seen with a orange sweater vest, blue sleeves, brown pants, and glasses. He loves and cares for Willa. He apparently has a crush on Ms. Vanderwinkle. His real name is never revealed.
• Sara, Kara, and Lara are snooty, conceited girls who often bully Willa, Dooley, and Evelyn. Sara, Kara, and Lara always mistake Dooley and Willa's names. For instance, they call Willa "Wilma", "Willeena", and "Wendy". And call Dooley "Danny", "Dondi", and "Dickie". Sara has a light skin tone, long blonde hair, and wears anything that is red. Lara has a pale skin tone, long red hair, and wears anything that is purple. Kara has an olive skin tone, long brown hair, and wears anything that is green.
• Evelyn is Willa's friend. Evelyn frequently gets into Willa's adventures. She seems to be grumpy all the time and gets discouraged easily. With Willa and Dooley's help she learns to have fun and be happy. Evelyn is tall, has red hair and is usually seen wearing a long-sleeved turquoise shirt, and blue capris.
• Mr. Tremble is the assistant principal at Willa's school. Mr. Tremble easily gets into Willa's adventures. He is usually seen wearing an orange toupée, a brown jacket, and blue pants. When he is in Willa's adventures he often loses his toupée.
• Ms. Delilah Vanderwinkle is Willa's other next door neighbor. Ms. Vanderwinkle is usually seen with a long-sleeved pink shirt, a flowered dress, and cat-eye glasses. She has an orange cat named Tangerine, and a nephew named Buzzy who Willa babysat in Baby It's You. Ms. Vanderwinkle's first name was revealed in the episode "Willa & Dooley Sitting in a Tree."
• The Mailman appears in some episodes and is mostly scared by Willa's alligator, Gus.
• Tiffy Tootle is a famous blond girl with decorative pigtails. Tiffy only appears in Willa’s Wonderful Life and near the end of this episode, she sees her biggest fan Willa and her family make a lot of pizzas by tossing.

Animals

• Gus is an American Alligator. He is rude and obnoxious. Whenever he has a chance he tries to eat the Bunnies but is always caught by either Willa or one of the other animals. He sleeps under Willa's bed.
• Jenny is a Masai Giraffe. Jenny is the wisest of the animals. She helps Willa during her adventures. She acts as a mother figure to Willa since Willa's mother isn't around. Due to her size Jenny sleeps outside.
• Inky, Blinky, and Bob are Chinstrap penguins. Inky, Blinky, and Bob are the dumbest of the animals. Bob does not speak at all. They call Willa "Gladys". They are very good at ice skating. They sleep in the freezer. In each episode they're always in the middle of something.
• KoKo is a Red Kangaroo. KoKo is from Australia. She has a pink bow on her head and keeps many things in her pouch. For instance, she keeps makeup products, scissors, and a signed photograph of a famous kangaroo named Willard Wallaby. She sleeps in the living room.
• Steve and Edie are two harbour seals that used to be in show business before living with Willa. Steve's skin is darker than Edie's. Edie has a flower hair clip on her head. They sleep in the bathtub.
• Wallace is a walrus. Wallace is the oldest of all the animals. He likes to tell stories about his adventures in the Arctic before moving in with Willa. He sleeps with Steve and Edie in the bathtub.
• Samuel is a bactrian camel. Samuel is the most sophisticated of the animals. He rides Willa to school everyday. He sleeps with KoKo in the living room.
• The Bunnies are thousands of rabbits in different colors. The Bunnies are green, orange, blue, pink, and many more bright colors. The Bunnies can't speak but they squeak and giggle all the time. They sleep everywhere in the house.
• Burt is a grizzly bear. Before Burt lived with Willa and the other animals he lived in Russia. He is usually seen sleeping. Burt sleeps with KoKo and Samuel in the living room.
• Tiny and Lou are two Asian elephants. Of all the animals Tiny and Lou are the most immature. Tiny is blue and has a high-pitched voice. Lou is yellow and has a low-pitched voice. It is unknown if Tiny and Lou are brothers. They don't like to give elephant rides unless Willa wants them to. Tiny and Lou sleep in the garage.
• Susu, Kuku, and Lulu are Sara, Kara and Lara's pet poodles. Susu is red, showing that she is Sara's dog. Kuku is purple, showing that she is Kara's dog. Lulu is green, showing that she is Lara's dog. They act snooty just like Sara, Kara, and Lara.
• Sparkle is Evelyn's pet spider. Sparkle is orange and red. Sparkle is female. Sparkle only appears in Spider Girl
• Tangarine is Ms. Vanderwinkle's pet cat. Tangarine is orange. Tangarine only appears in Over the Fence

Awards

In 2010 Art Director Adrian Thatcher received a Daytime Creative Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for his work on Willa's Wild Life.^[2]

References

1. ^ http://www.nbc.com/saturdays-on-nbc/ NBC's saturday morning TV guide
2. ^ http://www.daytimeemmys.tv/oda/servlet/fileOpenStatus?file=37th%20Daytime%20Emmy%20Awards%20NOMINATIONS__0.4797551463298908.doc&hash=0.09625771364984503 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Nominations, Page 47

External links