Willo the Wisp

Willo the Wisp
Willo the Wisp Titles (BBC Series)
Genre	Children's Animation
Written by	Nick Spargo (1981 series) Bobbie Spargo (2005 series)
Voices of	Kenneth Williams (1981 series) James Dreyfus (2005 series)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	Two
No. of episodes	52
Production
Running time	5 minutes
Production company(s)	Nicholas Cartoon Films (1981 series), Spargo Films & Double:Take (2005 series)
Release
Original network	BBC1 (1981 series) Playhouse Disney (2005 series)
Original release	14 September 1981 – 7 December 2005

Willo the Wisp is a British cartoon series originally produced in 1981 by the BBC and narrated by Kenneth Williams. It became popular with children and adults as it bridged the gap between the end of weekday children's programming and the early evening news.

The series was written and directed by Nick Spargo and produced by Nicholas Cartoon Films in association with the BBC and Tellytales Enterprises. The character of Willo the Wisp originated in an educational animation created by Spargo for British Gas plc in 1975 and the stories were set in Doyley Woods, a small beech wood in Oxfordshire, near the director's home.

Kenneth Williams provided voices for all of the characters. The principal narrator, Willo the Wisp, was a blue floating creature drawn as a caricature of him, while the name refers to the ghostly light will-o'-the-wisp from folklore. The other main characters were Arthur the caterpillar (as a gruff cockney), Mavis Cruet, a plump clumsy fairy with an erratic magic wand, and the principal antagonist Evil Edna, a witch in the form of a walking, talking television set who could zap people with her aerials.

Other characters included Carwash, a snooty bespectacled cat (based on Noël Coward), with the catchphrase, "My eyes are not first-class, you know", The Moog, a supposed "dog" who is unable to think for himself, Twit, a small bird, The Beast, a former prince turned into a hairy shambling creature by Evil Edna, gnomes, the Astrognats (a group of bugs who explore outer space by means of their toadstool rocket), the Bookworm and a regiment of toy soldiers.

Each of the original 26 episodes lasted approximately 5 minutes and were broadcast at 5:35pm on BBC1, continuing a tradition of short cartoons (such as The Magic Roundabout and The Wombles) being shown on weekdays between the end of the main children's programming for that afternoon, and the BBC Evening news at 5:40pm. The series was repeated on satellite channel Galaxy in 1989 and on Channel 4 during the early 1990s.