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Dom Robinson reviews
- Cert:
- Cat.no: KK 41002
- Running time: 123 minutes
- Year: 1981
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 26
- Sound: Mono
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: None
- Fullscreen: 4:3
- 16:9-Enhanced: No
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £9.99
- Extras : Scene index, “Do Not Touch”
Director/Writer:
- Nicholas Spargo
Music:
- Tony Kinsey
Narrator:
- Kenneth Williams
The Complete Willo The Wisp is anotherof Kult Kidz‘s compilations for an entire series of children’smagic which has been released on DVD.
If you’ve been down to the woods today you may have spotted some littlecreatures in the forest in the form of the aforementioned Willo the Wisp,the nosy gossip and storyteller, Evil Edna, the wicked witch that’s aTV set, Mavis Cruet, the too-fat-to-fly fairy, Arthur thecynical, down-to-earth caterpillar, The Moog, the simple, stupidsausage dog, Carwash, the pompous and short-sighted cat andThe Beast, once a “pwince” but now a beast.
All 26 near-5-minute episodes are here, including :
- The Bride-Groom: The Beast, previously a “pwince”, is all setto marry Mavis, but how can she marry a beast who can’t pronounce his “r”s ?
- Food for Thought: Arthur encounters a bookworm who’s far moreintelligent than he is, as is demonstrated when he’s confronted with aquestion, “Did you know Henry VIII’s sixth wife was Catherine Parr?”.He replies, “And his seventh was called Betty”.
- Holidays: Mavis wants to get her swimming costume on, while Arthurprefers tree-climbing. Some aliens appear, as they do, and whisk him awayon a rocket-powered magic mushroom (so half the BBC *ARE*on drugs then?)
- The “You Know What”: The Moog gets a flea and is told to keep itas a pet, but when Mavis tries to magic it away everyone wants to leavebecause her magic always goes wrong.
- Christmas Box: ‘Tis the season to be jolly, but it won’t be whenSanta is turned into a red frog!
The episodes included are :
1. The Bride-Groom
2. Edna’s Secret
3. Food for Thought
4. Holidays
5. The Dragon
6. The Wish-Bone
7. The Chrysalis
8. The Magnet
9. Wugged Wocks
10. The Flight of Mavis
11. The Thoughts of Moog
12. The Joys of Spring
13. Games with Edna14. The Hot, Hot Day
15. Halloween
16. The Gnome
17. Boring old Edna
18. The “You Know What”
19. The Bean-Stalk
20. Cats and Dogs
21. The Midas Touch
22. The Viqueen
23. The Potion
24. The Beauty Contest
25. Magic Golf
26. Christmas Box
A perfect picture we have not been given, but children’s TV production valuesweren’t concerned with HDTV and anamorphic widescreen back in 1981,so if you can get past all the print defects there is a watchable showunderneath. I was unable to determine the average bitrate, but it isfree of artifacts.
The sound is very scratchy as each episode begins, but oh, the memoriesof the theme tune! Once you understand that the DVD is a penny short of atenner and it’s the content that counts, you’ll soon forgive them fora lack of Dolby Digital Surround EX 6.1 🙂
Extras :
Just one to speak of: a red “Do Not Touch” sign amongst the extras. I’llleave you to find out what it does.
Sadly there are no subtitles, but the chaptering is fine with one for eachof the 26 episodes. Don’t zoom through them too fast though as the DVD justcrashes your machine otherwise.
There’s a small amount of animation as Evil Edna zaps someone when you gothrough the individual chapters and changes their appearance.
Another cheap DVD compilation and another must-buy, it’s that simple andit joins the likes ofThe Complete Flumpson the digital home format.
I shall look forward to more output from Kult Kidz in the near future. TheOfficial Kult Kidz Websitegives info on many other favourites from yesteryear such as Crystal Tippsand Alistair, Mary Mungo and Midge, Hector’s House, Ludwig, Fred Bassett,Mr. Magoo, Willo The Wisp, Fingerbobs and…. wait for it… Bod!
The next titles are likely to include another compilation of various shows,plus a DVD each of Bod and Bagpuss.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.