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Winx Club

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2004 TV series or program
Winx Club
File:Winx intertitle IT season 2.jpgThe Italian title card for the series since season 2. That of season 1 has the yellow, sightly smaller logo and no web address. The edited version made by 4Kids Entertainment in the United States - also shown in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia - uses a different intro and title card.
GenreContemporary fantasy
Created byIginio Straffi
Country of origin Italy
Original languageItalian
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes78 (list of episodes)
Production
Running timeApprox. 22 min each
Original release
NetworkRai Due
ReleaseJanuary 28, 2004 –
Present

Winx Club is a 2004 Italian animated fantasy/adventure series created by Iginio Straffi and produced by Rainbow S.p.A.. The seventy-eight episodes series is aimed toward children between the ages of six and fourteen and has spawned an international franchise of toys, books, clothing, DVDs and a CGI feature film.

It was revealed at the Licensing Show 2008 in New York that Winx will return for a 4th season in 2009, along with a 2nd movie slated for Christmas that year.

Plot

Season 1

Main article: Winx Club (season one)

An ordinary girl from the planet Earth, Bloom lives a perfectly normal life in the city of Gardenia until she meets Stella, a princess from the planet Solaria, who is in trouble. Coming to Stella's aid, Bloom discovers her magical powers. Stella persuades Bloom to join Alfea, the best fairy school in all the realms. In Alfea Bloom forms the Winx Club, whose members are her four friends and roommates: Stella, Musa, Tecna, and Flora. Later in the series they encounter and befriend the Specialists: Brandon, Riven, Timmy, and Sky. The Specialists will also become their love interests. They will also encounter their enemies, a trio of witches named the Trix: Icy, Darcy, and Stormy. They are witches from Cloudtower, a witch school roughly equivalent to Alfea, in search for the power of the Dragon's Flame (called Dragon Fire in the 4kids version) supposedly in Stella's magic ring. Their ruthless pursuit of the ring leads to many encounters and battles with the Winx Club. Bloom also begins to learn the secrets of her planet, parents and powers.

Season 2

Main article: Winx Club (season two)

After their summer vacation, the Winx Club returns to Alfea to begin their second year. They meet a new fairy, Layla, who asks for their help in rescuing her pixie friends held hostage by Lord Darkar. Lord Darkar wants to find out where the Pixies' Village is in order to steal the four pieces of the Codex (one each in Pixie Village, Redfountain, Cloudtower, and Alfea) which open the portal to the Realm of Realix, where the Ultimate Power can be found. The Trix also meet Lord Darkar and decide to assist him in his quest. Lord Darkar is actually the "Shadow Phoenix" who wants to take control of the magical realm. Later, he is able to use Bloom to summon open the portal to Realix. The girls also meet another Specialist, Helia, who becomes the love interest for Flora.

Season 3

Main article: Winx Club (season three)

Previously banished to the Omega Dimension, the Trix are able to escape with Valtor, a sorcerer partially responsible for the destruction of Bloom's home realm, Domino They choose to cooperate and they plan to invade several areas in the realm of Magix and seek vengeance on those who imprisoned them, stealing the magic treasure and power source from each realm. The Winx Club begins its third year in Alfea and the girls learn about their unique Enchantix transformations, acquired by showing examples of courage and altruism.


Season 4

At the 2008 Licensing Show in New York it was revealed that a new season will be released in 2009 featuring all-new power transformations. The flyers handed out also mention the Winx coming to earth, possibly indicating this is the new place of their adventures.

Characters

Winx Club

File:Winxclubandpixies.jpg
The Winx Club and Pixies. Top row, from left to right: Amore, Stella, Tecna, Digit. Second row, from left to right: Lockette, Bloom, Flora, Chatta. Bottom row, from left to right: Piff, Layla, Musa, Tune.

Bloom: She discovered her dormant magical powers after coming to the aid of another fairy, Stella. Strong and caring, she is always available to help her friends. Shortly after arriving at Alfea she discovers that her powers of fire come from the ancient Dragon's Flame, of which she is the seventh known guardian. She is the princess of the planet Domino, her birthplace. She owns a blueish bunny named Kiko. Her pixie is Lockette, the pixie of mazes and portals.

Stella: She is a talkative student who often gets average or low grades, but always pulls through with the help from her friends. She tends to be spontaneous and dislikes extensive planning, but she is able to recognize when her help is needed. Stella is also infamous amongst the Alfea houses for blowing up a laboratory and being kept back a grade, thus she is a year older than all the other Winx Club fairies. She has the power of the Sun and the Moon because her mother represents the moon and her father the sun. She is the princess of the planet Solaria, her birthplace. Her pixie is Amore, the pixie of love. She is very energetic and emotional.

Flora: Flora is a very kind-hearted and sensitive girl with a passion for nature and life. Happy,and introverted,she is always a sweet, loyal friend, and doesn't believe in hurting others or the environment. She is extremely fond of plants and nature, and her room consequently resembles a greenhouse. She has the power of Nature, which allows her to use plants in her attacks and natural predators to exterminate pests. She comes from the planet Linphea, or was used to be known as the fifth moon of marigold. Her pixie is Chatta, the pixie of gossip.

Musa: Musa loves all forms of music. Although she tries to put up a tough front, isolate herself, and is often pessimistic, she is a loyal and caring friend. In spite of her laid-back nature, Musa has the best grades of the entire Winx Club except Tecna. She is pale, Asian in appearance, with blue-black pigtails and blue eyes. She has the power of Music, and she gets her energy from all kinds of music. She comes from the heart of Melody. Her pixie is Tune, the pixie of manners, who often gets on Musa's nerves since they are almost the exact opposite of each other's personalities.

Tecna: Tecna is always logical and rational, and initially had trouble expressing her emotions. She speaks in a technical and a matter-of-fact manner. She is extremely intelligent and strong in technology and mathematics and enjoys playing video games and dismantling stuff. She can act cold and rational at times, but always tries to do the right thing. She has the power of Technology and can control everything provided by Technology. She comes from the planet Zenith . Her pixie is Digit who has similar powers.

Layla: (In Italy she is called "Aisha") Layla is the Princess of Andros (in the italian version), but in the 4kid's dub, she is from the planet of Tides. She has a restless, rebellious, and wild nature. Layla is a good athlete, fighter, dancer, and wind-raider rider. She is also a feminist, and thus opposes Riven, a chauvinist. She has the power of Fluids, and has the ability to manipulate a pink fluid called "Morfix" to take on any form she chooses. She joins the Winx Club in season two and brings her pixie friends along with her. Her pixie is Piff, the pixie of sweet dreams, who quite frequently helps her with her troubling nightmares.

The Trix

Main article: The Trix
File:Winxtrix.jpg
The Trix

The Trix are an evil trio of teenage witch sisters who attended the Cloudtower School for Witches (only in the first season, after which they got expelled), which rivals Alfea. They are the enemies of the Winx Club.

  • Icy: The leader and eldest of the trio, her name refers to her powers of ice. She is quite charismatic. She despises Stella and is most competitive with her in the first season. In the second she is more spiteful towards Bloom. She is the most powerful of the three and thinks she is the most beautiful. She has long, white hair tied up high on her head. She wears blue. In comparison to her sisters she is less aggressive than Stormy and a little lighter than Darcy; she has a proper balance of her power. She is the eldest of her sisters.
  • Darcy: Darcy works with all forms of darkness, as her name suggests ("Darcy" meaning "Dark One"). She is the smartest of the Trix. She enjoys tormenting "pathetic pixies". In season one, she is most aggressive towards Musa because Musa loved Riven, who was Darcy's boyfriend in the first season. She has long, dark brown hair. She wears purple and interacts with boys more than all of her other sisters. In the first season, she used Riven to help defeat the Winx and later, abandoned him. Therefore, she plays a very important role in the first season. She is less aggressive than her sisters (especially Stormy). She is also rewarded as the most beautiful by her fans.
  • Stormy: The youngest of the trio, her powers involve wind, storms, and weather. She has the shortest temper of the group and is prone to violent outbursts. She is most aggressive towards Musa in season 2. She has purple, short curly and quite frizzy hair that looks like a storm has been through it. She often doesn't think before she does something. She secretly believes she is more powerful than her older sisters Darcy and Icy. She wears hot pink/dark purple. She looks quite hitty due to her hairstyle. She is the most aggressive sister of the trio.

The Specialists

Main article: List of minor Winx Club characters § The Specialists

The Specialists are a group of students who attend an all-boys school near Alfea, Redfountain School For Specialists. Several Specialists have become the boyfriends of the Winx girls.

  • Sky:The prince of Eraklyon, he feels stifled by his position. He has medium blond hair. He is Bloom's boyfriend. As he loves Bloom, he refuses to marry Princess Diaspro, the girl of his parents' choice.
  • Brandon: Sky's squire, a great swordsman and ladies' man. He is sometimes conceided like Stella, a reason why they are a good match. He has short brown hair. He is Stella's boyfriend.
  • Timmy: He acts as the geek of the group sometimes, from a long line of scientists. He has short ginger hair. He is Tecna's boyfriend. He is shy, sweet, and smart.
  • Riven: A lone wolf, very competitive and good at sports. He has short spiked dark pink hair. He is a chauvinist; he and Layla, a feminist, are in opposition. He is Musa's boyfriend.
  • Helia: An artistic student, he is a great pilot and a pacifist. His grandfather, Saladin, is the Headmaster of Redfountain. He has long blue hair tied into a loose ponytail. He is also very romantic and shy about directly speaking about his feelings. He is very good at laser string glove and tries to help everyone with it. He is Flora's boyfriend. He was the top student in Redfountain until he decided to quit and dedicate his life to nature and poetry. He has rejoined Redfountain now.

The Realm of Magix

The Realm of Magix is an alternate universe where most of the series unfolds. It is also the name of a city in that universe. It is an enchanted and highly technologically-advanced universe of hospitable planets populated by fairies, witches, heroes, and monsters.

Alfea

The Alfea School for Fairies is a young girls' boarding school for fairies in training. All of the Winx girls met and resided here and had a close relationship with its headmistress, Ms. Faragonda. At Alfea, fairies learn to fight evil, help their planets, or, in many cases, become queens of their planets.

Cloudtower

Cloudtower is a young girls' boarding school for witches in training, and for most of Season 1, it was the residence for the Trix witches. At Cloudtower, the witches learn about witchcraft.

Redfountain

Redfountain is a boys' boarding school for the next heroes, one forest away from Alfea. It teaches fighting and the use of technology. The Redfountain boys are taught how to go on dangerous missions and to fight for their respective planets. Redfountain and Alfea have a close relationship, and Miss Faragonda and Saladin have a long history that involves Bloom's past.

Variations

File:Winxclublogo.png
First season title screen from the 4Kids Entertainment version

The original Italian version of the Winx Club was dubbed by Cinelume Film Video for international distribution by Rai International, but was later redubbed, mainly for the US market, by 4Kids corporation which modified the show to make it more suitable for an American audience. The original dub is commonly referred to as being the "Rai English" or "UK" (even though the UK airs the 4Kids version) version and is primarily screened in southeast Asia, including Singapore and Malaysia, while the 4Kids version is more common in English-speaking countries in the West (although Australia airs the 4Kids version, while New Zealand airs the other version).

4Kids altered the dialogue to include references to pop culture, fashion, and other issues familiar to American pre-teen audiences. Expressions and idioms were added or changed to their American equivalents, and extra narration was added to explain or even modifying some situations. Music was added or changed to make scenes seem more lively or upbeat.

In addition to altering the series to make it more familiar to domestic viewers, 4Kids also altered several scenes or plot elements. An example is located in the 10th episode of the 2nd season, "Crypt of the Codex" (Original English version) "Reaching for the Sky" (4Kids version). Timmy aims his weapon at the Trix (who are stealing Redfountain's Codex) but loses hope and is unable to bring himself to fire; his hesitation results in Tecna calling him a coward (the source of much of Tecna's frustration with Timmy that season). In the 4Kids adaptation, Timmy cannot fire because he is under the influence of a magic spell, and Tecna leaves to get help. Other changes include a general weakening of romantic elements contained within the show.

Broadcasting

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Since its Italian premiere on January 28, 2004, on Rai Due in Italy, Winx Club has been broadcast on six continents.

It is also broadcast on cable and satellite networks in U.S., Latin America, Brazil, and Spain. In Australia , Southeast Asia, the Philippines, India, Hong Kong, Pakistan ,South Korea and Taiwan, Winx airs (or has aired) on those regions' local variant of the Cartoon Network. In Portugal, it is shown on Canal Panda. In Benelux and Scandinavia, it is shown on Nickelodeon. In Germany, Winx Club is shown on RTL II (Seasons 1-2) and Nick (Seasons 1-3). In Belgium it is aired on VT4, in Hungary on RTL Klub, in Poland on ZigZap, in Slovenia on POP TV and in Slovakia on TV Markíza.


In The Netherlands, Jetix wanted to broadcast the US version, but Nickelodeon acquired the rights first and decided to broadcast the original version instead.

Other media

Feature Film

A CGI feature film, Winx Club - Il Segreto Del Regno Perduto (The Secret Of The Lost Kingdom), was announced in late 2006, and released in Italy on November 30, 2007. It was released on February 22, 2008 in Turkey and on April 16, 2008 in the Netherlands. The plot of the film revolves around Bloom's origins, and takes place after the events of the third season. The official website of the movie covers several markets, with release dates and other information.

It was announced at the Licensing Show 2008 that a 2nd movie would be released at Christmas 2009.

Theatre

In September 2005, the "Winx Power" musical show began in Italy. After a successful tour in Italy, it also expanded to Belgium and the Netherlands.

Also, November 2008 will see the launch of "Winx On Ice", an ice show .

Video Games

Winx Club has been adapted into video games for the PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PC, all published by Konami.

Winx Club video games include:

The Licensing Show 2008 has also revealed that a Winx game for the Wii console will be released in October 2009.

DVD Collection

In North America, the entire first season of the Winx Club is available as a five-disc collection. The first of the series, Winx Club Volume 1 - Welcome to Magix, was released on July 12, 2005. The first DVD of Season Two, Layla and the Pixies, was released in 2007, and the second volume, Battle for the Codex, came out in September 2007. The first DVD of Season Three, "The Princess Ball", will be released on September 2, 2008.

In Europe, various DVD releases of the show are available in several languages. The Italian DVDs of the first two seasons also feature the English dub. Season Three DVDs with only the Italian soundtrack are available as well.

In Australia, Magna Pacific released the entire First and Second Season in DVD using the 4Kids dub, while in Singapore, Vinci has distributed DVDs of the first 2 seasons featuring the original English dub.

Merchandising

In the United States, 4Kids Entertainment holds the licensing rights to the series and has licensed the Winx Club name and image to an assortment of children's apparel and books. Toys such as dolls made by Mattel and a card game created with Upper Deck Entertainment are available in major stores such Wal-Mart and Toys R Us.

In Europe, Italian candy manufacturer Ferrero began to distribute plastic Winx figurines as prizes inside their Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs. Also, a monthly Winx comic book has been published, although its storylines have generally not been related to that of the animated series.

In Singapore, bags, clothing and similar items are available. The dolls are the "third most popular dolls in the world" and merchandise sales are over 1 billion euros per year as of 2007.

See also

Notes and references

  1. Rainbow S.p.A. "Winx Club". Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  2. ^ In the Italian language version, the school for specialists and school for witches are called "Fonterossa" and "Torrenuvola" respectively. In the English dub by Cinélume, they are called "Redfountain" and "Cloudtower" respectively. The names are spelled "Red Fountain" and "Cloud Tower" in the edits made by 4Kids Entertainment. See also Variations section.
  3. Spelled and pronounced "Baltor" in the edits made by 4Kids Entertainment. See also Variations section.
  4. ^ Called "Sparx" in the edits made by 4Kids Entertainment. See also Variations section.
  5. Rainbow S.p.A. "FEATURE FILMS". Retrieved 2006-11-12.
  6. Rainbow S.p.A. "Winx Power Music Show". Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  7. Winx Club On Tour. "Winx Club On Tour". Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  8. Winx On Ice. "Winx On Ice". Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  9. Amazon.com: Winx Club - Princess Ball - Season 3, Part 1: Movies & TV
  10. &Nbsp Winx Fairies Head To Cannes

External links

Broadcaster websites

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