Widget | |
---|---|
![]() Widget | |
Genre | Animated comedy |
Created by | Peter Keefe [1] |
Directed by | Tom Burton |
Presented by | Calico Creations Zodiac Entertainment |
Voices of | Russi Taylor Jim Cummings Kath Soucie Dana Hill |
Theme music composer | Dale Schacker |
Country of origin | United States South Korea |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 65 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Peter Keefe |
Producer | Tom Burton |
Running time | 30 minutes per episode (approx.) |
Production companies | Calico Creations Zodiac Entertainment |
Original release | |
Network | Syndication, USA Network (USA) KBS (South Korea) |
Release | 29 September 1990 – 12 December 1991 |
Widget (also known as Widget the World Watcher) is an animated children's television series created by Voltron creator Peter Keefe, directed and produced by Tom Burton of Zodiac Entertainment, which debuted in syndication on September 29, 1990. [2] The series ran for two seasons; in the first season (1990), it aired once a week (usually on Saturday or Sunday), and in the second season (1991), the series expanded to weekdays. The show featured environmentalist themes and was recognized by the National Education Association as recommended viewing for children. [3]
The show focused on a short purple extraterrestrial from the planet Widget who could shapeshift by spinning like a spinning top into different forms. He and a group of young human friends - brothers Kevin and Brian, and their teenage sister Kristine - protect the natural environment from those who wish to plunder or harm it. Later on they are joined by fellow shapeshifter Half-Pint, Widget's mischievous and overly-curious cousin. Widget is frequently accompanied by the Mega Brain, an intelligent but somewhat clumsy being who appears as a floating head (with a transparent cranium) and floating hands. [4]
The show was produced by Calico Creations to teach children about the dangers of pollution. Each episode would have Widget contending with a villain from either Earth or outer space wishing to exploit Earth's environment or natural resources, like Dr. Dante, Mega Slank, and his evil twin, Ratchet. In this respect, Widget, the World Watcher is very similar to Captain Planet and the Planeteers and Toxic Crusaders , as all those heroes attempt to save the Earth from ecological disaster. As in those series, Widget occasionally fought against malicious entities spawned by copious pollution. For example, in one episode Widget battled a fellow shapeshifter; a sentient but hostile life form, disguised as a toxic ooze/slick, who was contaminating Earth's beaches and oceans.
The TV series ran for 65 episodes: 13 in the first season, and 52 in the second season. The animation for the show was produced by South Korean studio; Sei Young Animation.
It also aired on TVO, CFA and Le Canal Famille in Canada and later on ITV, The Children's Channel, Sky One and Channel 4 in the UK, TV3 in Sweden, RTÉ1 and RTÉ2 in Ireland, Sjónvarpið in Iceland, Fun Channel in Chile, Bop TV, SABC1 and M-Net in South Africa, Saudi 2 in Saudi Arabia, Dubai 33 in the United Arab Emirates, KBS, KBS2 and American Forces Korea Network in Korea, Syndication, USA Network and UniMás (with the Spanish-dubbed version aired on Toonturama weekend morning block) in United States, TV1 and TV3 in Malaysia, Channel 55 in Bahrain, Canal+ and FR3 in France, ZBC TV in Zimbabwe, Channel One in Russia, Channel 5 in Singapore, KUAM-TV in Guam, NBC in Namibia, Swazi TV in Eswatini, TVP1, TVP2 and TVP Polonia in Poland, TV2 and TV3 in New Zealand, ProSieben and Armed Forces Network (with the original English recorded version) in Germany, TV3 in Estonia, IBC in the Philippines, RTB in Brunei, Canale 5 in Italy, Channel 2 in Israel, the ABC in Australia, Canal Panda in Spain and ANT1 in Greece.
# | Title | Air Date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Widget's Great Whale Adventure" | 29 September 1990 | |
Widget reluctantly travels to Earth and he saves a whale caught by some poachers. | |||
2 | "Gorilla My Dreams" | 6 October 1990 | |
On a school trip, Kevin and Brian adopt a gorilla named Johnny Africa. | |||
3 | "Kona, the Captive Whale" | 13 October 1990 | |
On a trip with Kevin, Brian, and Kristine, Widget assumes the zookeeper of a baby whale named Kona is hurting her; while really the zookeeper is just doing his job. | |||
4 | "Widget of the Jungle" | 20 October 1990 | |
Widget travels to the jungles of Africa where evil poachers, Bob and Betty try to capture an elephant for his tusks. | |||
5 | "Widget's Walkabout" | 27 October 1990 | |
Widget travels to Australia to ensure its red kangaroos enjoy their new habitat. | |||
6 | "Amazon Adventure" | 3 November 1990 | |
Construction men are building a giant highway through the rainforest, cutting down special trees used by the natives as medicine. | |||
7 | "Mediterranean Adventure" | 10 November 1990 | |
A trip to the Mediterranean Sea gets Kevin, Brian, Kristine, and Mega Brain captured by fishermen, while Widget has to help out a cattle farmer. | |||
8 | "Slime Sleuths" | 17 November 1990 | |
Dr. Dante presumably has invented a machine to solve the issue of toxic waste disposal. Widget wonders about that when problems arise when the barrels containing the waste are reused. | |||
9 | "Rock 'n' Roll Widget" | 24 November 1990 | |
TBA | |||
10 | "Teacher's Pets" | 1 December 1990 | |
Widget gets to be the children's substitute teacher of biology and zoology after their regular teacher keeps having car trouble. | |||
11 | "The Carnival Kids" | 8 December 1990 | |
TBA | |||
12 | "Mega-Slank from Titanium" | 15 December 1990 | |
The evil Mega Slank steals animals to bring back to his planet. | |||
13 | "That's the Spirit" | 22 December 1990 | |
TBA |
# | Title | Air Date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Two Times Widget Equals Trouble" | 23 September 1991 | |
A careless mistake by Mega Brain sends Ratchet, Widget's alter ego, out to trash. | |||
2 | "You Talkin' to Me?" | 24 September 1991 | |
3 | "Sort It Out" | 25 September 1991 | |
Widget teaches the city people how to recycle. | |||
4 | "Watcher's Warning" | 26 September 1991 | |
Widget, Mega Brain, Kevin and Brian travel to Planet Scraboolie which is completely polluted and used to be beautiful. Widget wants to ensure the same thing does not happen to Earth. | |||
5 | "The Great Brain Robbery" | 27 September 1991 | |
Ratchet captures Mega Brain and turns him into a mindless trasher. | |||
6 | "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy" | 1 October 1991 | |
After a video recording of Widget is sent into space, ringmaster brothers Film Flam McSham capture Widget to be in their intergalactic circus. | |||
7 | "Bonkrz" | 2 October 1991 | |
8 | "Glacier Grabber" | 3 October 1991 | |
Widget, Mega Brain, Kevin, and Brian find that Dr. Dante is in the arctic with a supposedly harmless machine. Widget finds out that the machine is melting all the glaciers. | |||
9 | "Where's the Beef?" | 4 October 1991 | |
Mega Slank goes to Australia and hypnotizes animals to run his fast food company. | |||
10 | "Micronauts" | 7 October 1991 | |
Widget and friends try to stop mysterious rain that mutates anything into giant monsters. | |||
11 | "Watcher from Wayback" | 10 October 1991 | |
Widget travels to Tibet and unexpectedly meets an old World Watcher. | |||
12 | "Betty and the Beasts" | 11 October 1991 | |
Bob and Betty are capturing animals to make a movie. | |||
13 | "Maller Crawlers" | 15 October 1991 | |
14 | "Never Cry Wolf" | 16 October 1991 | |
Brian is accidentally turned into a wolf by Mega Brain. | |||
15 | "All Day Suckers" | 17 October 1991 | |
A race of lollipop people seek water and goes to a greedy businessman who is draining out Earth's water. | |||
16 | "Fifty Foot Ants" | 18 October 1991 | |
17 | "Half-Pint" | 22 October 1991 | |
18 | "Air For Sale" | 23 October 1991 | |
19 | "Intergalactic Garage Sale" | 24 October 1991 | |
Evil Mega Slank steals many of Earth's most magnificent landmarks for his Intergalactic Garage Sale. | |||
20 | "The Great Brain Drain" | 25 October 1991 | |
The Watcher Elders inform Widget that Bizarre Brain is causing mayhem and Mega Brain is afraid to help. | |||
21 | "Dr. Mega-Slank's Pet Palace" | 28 October 1991 | |
Mega Slank is capturing animals from the vet to run his machine. | |||
22 | "Murtle & Zurtle" | 29 October 1991 | |
Widget tries to reunite a Galapagos turtle couple from a group of pirates. | |||
23 | "Ratchet Hood" | 30 October 1991 | |
Ratchet and his minions steal money intended for the Help the Earth foundation and Ratchet keeps the money to himself. | |||
24 | "Crazy 8" | 31 October 1991 | |
Mega Brain suggests that Half Pint could have fun at an intergalactic carnival. However when they get there, it is full of strange people and things. | |||
25 | "Half-Pint's Ransom" | 1 November 1991 | |
When Half Pint goes to stay with Widget, he gets into lots of mischief with his Teleportation Device. | |||
26 | "Whatsit to You?" | 5 November 1991 | |
Mega Slank builds a bunch of Widget robots to pollute Earth. | |||
27 | "Widget and the Sqizzlebonk" | 6 November 1991 | |
Film Flam McSham tries to enslave the Squizzlebonk, a gluttonous monster. | |||
28 | "Chaos in Kali-Ko" | 7 November 1991 | |
Dr. Dante is building a giant park and hypnotizes Widget to think he works for him. | |||
29 | "Head Game" | 8 November 1991 | |
Ratchet challenges Mega Brain to a set of games against a giant brain in which is not too bright. | |||
30 | "Mac Bluff" | 11 November 1991 | |
31 | "Great Barrier Thief" | 12 November 1991 | |
Poachers Bob and Betty are capturing sea life in the Great Barrier Reef. | |||
32 | "The Brain Who Would Be King" | 13 November 1991 | |
Widget the World Watcher and Megabrain time travel to the time of the dinosaurs and find out that the dinosaurs died out due to the asteroid polluting the air, and then travel to the time of the cave persons, with the cave persons making Megabrain their king until they decide he's cosmically uncool. | |||
33 | "The Uncontrollable Urg" | 14 November 1991 | |
On a Watcher Scout trip; Widget, Half Pint, and Brian hear the story of the Urg, an always angry monster that lives on Widget's home planet. | |||
34 | "Intergalactic Grudge Match" | 15 November 1991 | |
Ratchet has started an intergalactic grudge match and has pitted Widget against a giant alien wrestler. | |||
35 | "Teeny, Weeny, Widget" | 18 November 1991 | |
Widget suggests that Kevin and Brian visit the agricultural fair, held by Flim Flam McSham. Widget is separated from the others when he is shrunken to the size of a mouse. | |||
36 | "Scraboolee Jubilee" | 19 November 1991 | |
37 | "Culture Crooks" | 20 November 1991 | |
Ratchet and his mutant minions have stolen an ancient artifact from the museum and it's up to Widget, Mega Brain, and Half Pint to get it back. | |||
38 | "The Library Card" | 21 November 1991 | |
Widget, Mega Brain, Kevin, and Brian go to the library and reimagine the stories they read. | |||
39 | "Bonkula" | 22 November 1991 | |
A no-good prankster vampire named Bonkula befriends Kevin and becomes a bad influence to him. | |||
40 | "Ratchetland" | 25 November 1991 | |
Ratchet has stolen everybody's garbage bins and waste to make his own amusement park in the waste dump. | |||
41 | "Rose Colored Glasses" | 26 November 1991 | |
Widget, Megabrain and Half Pint travel to a faraway planet to discover a pair of rose-pink goggles that make the wearer see bad things. | |||
42 | "Crashing Planets" | 27 November 1991 | |
43 | "Robo-Zonk" | 29 November 1991 | |
Mega Brain creates a robot named Robo-Zonk, who instantly befriends Half Pint. When Half Pint creates more robots, they go against him and it is up to Widget to stop them. | |||
44 | "Ghost of a Chance" | 2 December 1991 | |
In an environmental takeoff of A Christmas Carol, Widget is visited by three ghosts, a Viking who engaged in deforestation, an American pioneer who participated in the buffalo slaughter, and a British big game hunter who contributed to extinction of some animals. The ghosts tell Widget that they are punished until they teach a living person of their wrong acts, and Widget sees their chance for atonement when the city's mayor is making a secret deal for a polluting factory to be built. | |||
45 | "Rock Around the Cosmos" | 3 December 1991 | |
A parody of Star Wars, Widget goes after Flim Flam after an evil plan by Bizarre Brain spirals out of control. They are helped by Princess Erin, (Widget has a crush on her) who is used against her will by Bizarre Brain to destroy Earth. | |||
46 | "The Wishing Stone" | 4 December 1991 | |
47 | "Time Trippers" | 5 December 1991 | |
Widget and Megabrain travel through time after seeing a news report on how Ratchet made his mutants. | |||
48 | "Bungle of the Jungle" | 6 December 1991 | |
49 | "Machine Planet" | 9 December 1991 | |
50 | "Awesome African Adventure" | 10 December 1991 | |
Widget and Mega Brain go to the African rain forest to aide a sick hippo from a poacher. | |||
51 | "Beast Side Story" | 11 December 1991 | |
A fox that lives on the streets is captured by a gang and Widget must stop them. | |||
52 | "Mother Slank's Intergalactic Vacation Paradise" | 12 December 1991 | |
Mega Slank's mother takes an underwater vacation, and the submarine is ruining the ocean. |
Widget was produced by Zodiac Entertainment, a Studio City, California-based firm backed by British media company Central Independent Television. Zodiac President Kevin Morrison stated that in 1990, Widget was being broadcast on 80% of independent U. S. television stations and that in 1991, the show started being shown five times a week. [3]
The series spawned two video games. Widget was released by Atlus on the NES in 1992 and Super Widget also by Atlus on the SNES in 1993.
The episode "Sort it Out" won an Environmental Media Award.
Quack Pack is an American animated sitcom produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, featuring Donald Duck and his nephews. The show debuted on September 3, 1996 as a part of the "Disney Afternoon" programming block, following the success of Goof Troop, and ran for one season with 39 episodes.
Mighty Max is an animated action/horror television series created by Mark Zaslove and Rob Hudnut based on the British Mighty Max toys, an outgrowth of the Polly Pocket line created by Bluebird Toys in 1992. The series originally aired in syndication as part of a children’s block titled Amazin' Adventures, premiering on September 1, 1993 and ending on December 2, 1994 with a total of 40 episodes over the course of 2 seasons.
Mr. Bogus is an American animated television series created by Peter Keefe, directed and produced by Tom Burton with Claudia Burton of Zodiac Entertainment, which aired in syndication from September 28, 1991 to November 22, 1993. The show also ran in 1998 on Fox Family Channel. It is loosely based on the French / Belgian clay animation series of shorts simply titled, Bogus. Each episode is separated into two distinct parts, one using mostly traditional cel animation and another using what the show is based on, which are 42 localized versions of the 300 original clay animation shorts. Characters often walked around on a kitchen counter having various adventures with common household items.
Captain N: The Game Master is an animated television series that aired on television from 1989 to 1991 as part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup on NBC. The show was produced by DIC Animation City and incorporated elements from many of the most popular video games of the time from the Japanese company Nintendo. There was also a comic book version by Valiant Comics, despite only featuring characters from games produced by Nintendo.
Mighty Ducks is an American animated television series that aired on ABC and the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon, the last show produced by the block, in the fall of 1996. The show was loosely inspired by the live-action Mighty Ducks films and the eponymous National Hockey League team, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, as well as the affiliate American Hockey League team, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. Unlike the films and the hockey teams, the show was about a team of anthropomorphic hockey-playing ducks.
Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando, known as Ratchet & Clank 2: Locked and Loaded in Australia and most PAL countries, is a 2003 third-person shooter platform video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando is the second game in the Ratchet & Clank franchise, following Ratchet & Clank. David Kaye reprises his role as Clank while James Arnold Taylor replaces Mikey Kelley as Ratchet.
101 Dalmatians: The Series is an American animated television series that aired from September 1, 1997, to March 4, 1998, on the Disney-Kellogg Alliance and ABC. It is produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Jumbo Pictures and is based on the 1961 Disney animated feature of the same name and its 1996 live-action remake. It features the voices of Pamela Adlon, Debi Mae West, Kath Soucie and Tara Strong, and is the first television series based on the 101 Dalmatians franchise; it was followed by 101 Dalmatian Street in 2019.
The Book of Pooh is an American preschool educational children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based on A. A. Milne's works; the other two were the live action Welcome to Pooh Corner and the animated The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which ran from 1988 to 1991. It premiered on January 22, 2001 and completed its run on July 8, 2003. The show is produced by Shadow Projects. Walt Disney Pictures released the first of two films, a direct-to-video spin-off film based on the puppetry television series titled The Book of Pooh: Stories from the Heart in 2001.
Clerks is an American adult animated sitcom created by Kevin Smith for ABC. Based on Smith's 1994 comedy film of the same name, it was developed for television by Smith, Smith's producing partner Scott Mosier and former Seinfeld writer David Mandel with character designs by Stephen Silver, known for character designs in Disney Channel's Kim Possible and Nickelodeon's Danny Phantom. It is the first television show to be set in Smith's View Askewniverse. It is Disney’s second adult animated television series after The PJs.
Invasion America is a 1998 American animated science fiction television series that aired in the prime time lineup on The WB. Produced by DreamWorks Television Animation, the series was created by Steven Spielberg and Harve Bennett, who also served as executive producers.
Toonsylvania is an American animated television series, which ran for two seasons in 1998 on the Fox Kids Network block in its first season, then was moved to Monday afternoons from September 14, 1998 until January 18, 1999, when it was cancelled. It was executive produced in part by Steven Spielberg, as DreamWorks' first animated series.
Curious George is an American children's animated television series based on the children's book series of the same name for PBS Kids which features Jeff Bennett as the voice of Ted Shackelford. Frank Welker, who voiced George in the 2006 feature film, reprises the role in the series. The show premiered on PBS Kids on September 4, 2006, and originally ended after nine seasons on April 1, 2015 before returning in 2018. Later seasons were released on Peacock, and the series concluded on March 17, 2022 after a total of 15 seasons.
My Friends Tigger & Pooh is an American interactive computer animated children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel. It was inspired by A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh. The series was developed by Walt Disney Television Animation and executive producer Brian Hohlfeld.
The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper is an American animated television spin-off series and a sequel of the feature film Casper, which, in turn, was based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character of Casper the Friendly Ghost.
The Mask: Animated Series is an American animated television series based on the 1994 film of the same title. The series aired for a total of three seasons and fifty-four episodes from August 12, 1995, to August 30, 1997. It spawned its own short-run comic book series, Adventures of The Mask. John Arcudi, former writer of the original comics, wrote two episodes of the series.
The Pink Panther is an American animated television series starring the Pink Panther and his co-stars from the original cartoon shorts in a series of brand new stories. The program was a production of Mirisch-Geoffrey DePatie-Freleng, United Artists and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation. It was distributed by Claster Television and King World Productions instead of MGM Television, despite MGM owning The Pink Panther. Unlike other animated series featuring the Pink Panther, this is the only series where he and the Little Man speak numerous lines; prior to this series, the Panther had only briefly spoken in two cartoons in the 1960s.
Biker Mice from Mars is an American animated series, a revival of the show with the same name which aired from 1993 to 1996. One season of 28 episodes was produced. It is a continuation of the 1993–1996 series.
Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic is a 2010 adult animated dark fantasy film. Based on the Dante's Inferno video game that is itself loosely based on Dante's Inferno, Dante must travel through the circles of Hell and battle demons, creatures, monsters, and even Lucifer himself to save his beloved Beatrice. The film was released on February 9, 2010.