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Revision as of 23:52, 6 September 2013 by Shoebox2 (talk | contribs) (Fleshing out the description a little.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) 2009 New Zealand TV series or program| The WotWots | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Martin Baynton Richard Taylor |
| Written by | Terri Baynton Martin Baynton Theo Baynton John Carr Janice Marriott Peter Salmon |
| Directed by | Theo Baynton |
| Voices of | Nathalie Boltt Martin Baynton Janet Roddick |
| Narrated by | Martin Baynton Nicholas Parsons (UK) |
| Composer | David Long |
| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Martin Baynton Richard Taylor Tania Rodger |
| Producers | Andrew Smith Jan Haynes |
| Running time | 5 minutes (production executions) 10 minutes (television series) |
| Production companies | Pukeko Pictures Weta Workshop |
| Original release | |
| Network | TV2 |
| Release | 23 March 2009 – Present |
The WotWots is a New Zealand children's television show which debuted in 2009.
The show features a pair of young alien twin siblings who spend their days exploring the environment where their steam-powered spaceship has landed. DottyWot, the smart and responsible ship's captain, spends most of her time riding herd on her more mischievous, artistic brother, the ship's mechanic. Episodes are set in the zoo, at the farm, or on the beach and most often tie their discovery of an animal characteristic into their own adventures.
Production
The WotWots is produced by Pukeko Pictures, a production company founded by filmmaker Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger, and children's author Martin Baynton. The puppet-like WotWots characters are computer-animated over live-action footage by Weta Workshop, the visual effects company founded by Taylor and Rodger, and well known for its work on the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Made in New Zealand, episodes are filmed on location at Auckland Zoo, Wellington Zoo and Melbourne Zoo, as well as undisclosed beach and farm regions.
Since the WotWots' language consists almost entirely of the syllables 'wot' or 'wotty', co-creator Martin Baynton also serves as an interactive narrator for the series, serving as translator both for the aliens' efforts to understand Earth and the human viewership trying to understand them. In the UK, the narration is performed by Nicholas Parsons, and in Poland it is done by Vladimir Press. Baynton also provides the voice for SpottyWot, while South African actress Nathalie Boltt voices DottyWot. Janet Roddick voices the WotWot's computer, but her voice is replaced by that of Fiona Lewis in the UK version.
Broadcast details
| Country | Broadcaster | Screen date |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | TVNZ Kidzone24 | March 23, 2009 |
| Australia | ABC1, ABC2 | April 16, 2009 |
| United Kingdom | Five | June 8, 2009 |
| Poland | MiniMini | December 1, 2009 (as Kitka i Pompon) |
| Canada | Treehouse TV | February 22, 2010 |
| United States | Hub Network, Discovery Kids | October 11, 2010 |
| Middle East | Baraem | |
| Finland | MTV3 Juniori | |
| Portugal | RTP | |
| Ireland | Raidió Teilifís Éireann | |
| Italy | Planet Kids | October 15, 2012 |
| Thailand | Thai PBS | |
| Singapore | Okto | March 17, 2010 |
| Malaysia | Astro TVIQ | |
| Latin America | HBO Family | |
| Turkey | Minika | |
| South Africa | TopTV | |
| Korea | C4U | 1 March |
Merchandise
Playskool, a toy brand of Hasbro, is licensed to produce the WotWots toy range, and the toys were launched on 2 September 2009.
Partnership with the NZ Ministry of Health
In August 2011, The WotWots became ambassadors for B4 SchoolChecks. It was announced by the Minister of Health (New Zealand), Tony Ryall that the "The Ministry of Health has entered into a partnership with Sir Richard Taylor’s television characters the WotWots to promote B4 School checks."
B4 School Checks are an initiative offering a comprehensive assessment of a four-year-old child’s health and development.
List of The WotWots Episodes
| Episode No. | Episode Title | Summary | Animal | Zoo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERIES ONE (2009) | ||||||||
| 01 | Scary Sucky Noise | In the first episode, the WotWots learn about elephants. | Elephant | Auckland | ||||
| 02 | Fruity Loopies | The WotWots prepare fruity loopy smoothies for breakfast and learn how giraffes use the necks as drinking straws. | Giraffe | Wellington | ||||
| 03 | Lanky Landing Legs | The WotWots find a pair of pink legs in the zoo and learn how beautiful and fascinating flamingoes are. | Flamingo | Auckland | ||||
| 04 | Spot a Dottywot | SpottyWot plays hide and seek with his sister but instead finds a human wearing a hat with what look like 'tufty-flufties' (WotWot for 'antennae'), and then hears the growling sound of another animal that has something that seems like a big tufty-flufty. It eventually turns out to be a lion's tail, and the WotWots learn how lions are good hiders. | Lion | Wellington | ||||
| 05 | Stripe a Lotty Wotty | The WotWots explore the concept of shadows and learn about a zebra's stripes. SpottyWot gets out extraordinarily long crayons to paint himself with shadowed stripes. | Zebra | Wellington | ||||
| 06 | Plodda Lotty | SpottyWot is in a speedy mood, but his sister isn't. They learn how tortoises do everything slowly. | Tortoise | Melbourne | ||||
| 07 | Drowsy DottyWot | It is a hot day and all the animals are snoozing about. The WotWots intend to do the same, and end up learning about pelicans. | Pelican | Wellington | ||||
| 08 | Top and Tail | SpottyWot's chair runs out of 'fruity fuel' (juice) leaving him hanging off the railings. Later, while out finding an animal, DottyWot's chair runs dry as well. After refuelling the WotWots learn how monkeys use their long tails to hang about. | Monkey | |||||
| 09 | Fluffy Puffies | The WotWots play at finding cloud shapes drifting in the sky and learn about the polar bear, which has white fluffy fur like a cloud. | Polar Bear | |||||
| 10 | Coughy Wot | SpottyWot's chair has a cold, and the coughs and sneezes are giving him a hard ride. The WotWots learn how a seal's bark sounds like coughing and sneezing. | Seal | Auckland | ||||
| 11 | Stretch and Grow | Much to SpottyWot's disappointment, even after doing extra stretching exercises he turns out to be exactly the same height as his sister. Learning how meerkats stretch up and down gives him an idea of how to ensure he's the tallest after all. | Meerkat | Wellington | ||||
| 12 | Sneaky Squawky | The WotWots hear a magpie call outside and find its nest near their ship, shortly after which SpottyWot discovers all his bright crayons are missing. Another look outside to find them teaches the WotWots how magpies like to decorate their nest with shiny things... | Magpie | Wellington | ||||
| 13 | Twisty Sticks | One of SpottyWot's tufty-flufties goes straight after sleeping on it. In sympathy, DottyWot tries to do the same. They learn how porcupines have straight and spiky quills. | Porcupine | Wellington | ||||
| 14 | Skip-a-Lotty Wotty | SpottyWot just loves bouncing. On a trip to the zoo he's inspired by a boy on a bouncy ball and a girl on a pogo stick. The WotWots learn that animals like kangaroos like to bounce around as well, and have safe pouches for their babies to stay in when bouncing. | Kangaroo | Auckland | ||||
| 15 | Bubblywots | Forced to share a mug because SpottyWot has lost his, the WotWots compete to drink up their fruity loopy smoothies so fast that they end up hiccuping up bubbles. They learn how good hippos are at blowing bubbles. | Hippopotamus | Auckland | ||||
| 16 | Egg Sighting | On a trip to the zoo, the WotWots learn about 'Not Allowed' signs, as well as how chickens sit on their eggs to keep them warm. On realising that their ship looks like a giant egg, SpottyWot promptly puts up a sign to keep giant chickens away. | Bantam hen | Wellington | ||||
| 17 | HicHoppity Wot | SpottyWot has a terrible case of the hiccups. DottyWot tries to help cure them, but it's hard to do 'hold your breath and count to ten' when you only have three digits on each hand. She decides to distract him with looking for animals instead, and they find a frog whose croaks sound like hiccuping. | Frog | |||||
| 18 | Creepalongy Wot | SpottyWot tries to pounce up on his sister but DottyWot's tufty-flufty senses him. The WotWots learn what makes the serval cat so good at hiding and pouncing, and explore other types of camouflage as well... leading Spotty to try his own idea of blending into the background. | Serval | |||||
| 19 | Blinky Winky | The WotWots are sure DottyWot is unbeatable in a staring contest, until they meet an owl at the zoo. When back at the ship they learn how owls use their eyes for other things. | Owl | |||||
| 20 | Topsy Turvy Wotty | SpottyWot goes in for some stunt driving at the zoo and manages an impressive loop-de-loop. They learn how bats are also very good at hanging upside down. | Bat | |||||
| 21 | Go the Greens | SpottyWot absolutely refuses to eat a veggie breakfast smoothie, until they learn about rhinos and he realises that these big, strong animals really love to eat their greens. | Rhinoceros | Auckland | ||||
| 22 | Tickle Toes | SpottyWot has an itchy spot on his foot that he can't reach in his hoverchair, so DottyWot tries to help... sort of. They learn how chimpanzees groom each other and do other tasks using their hands and feet. | Chimpanzee | |||||
| 23 | HotWots | It is a cold day and the WotWots try to warm up by making cocoa and turning the ship's heater up full blast. They then take a trip to the zoo to see other animals that don't like the cold. By the time they get back, the heat has melted SpottyWot's crayons. They then learn about sheepshearing and how it helps the animal regulate its temperature. | Sheep | Auckland | ||||
| 24 | Copy Copy Wotty | The WotWots are playing at making animal sounds when the hear something copy their Wotty language. Thinking it is another WotWot wanting to join in the game, they track the mysterious yellow creature through the zoo. It eventually turns out to be a colourful macaw parrot. | Macaw | |||||
| 25 | WetWots | Rain is keeping the WotWots indoors and a very bored SpottyWot is further disappointed that he can't see a real dinosaur. He decides instead to draw his own monster out of many animal parts with DottyWot's help. While hunting for the perfect spiky tail they learn about the Tuatara lizard, which is the same age as the dinosaurs. | Tuatara | Auckland | ||||
| 26 | Slurpy Lurpy Lips | It is a hot day and everyone in the zoo is asleep except SpottyWot. Frustrated when DottyWot would rather nap than play ball, he decides to find someone to play with at the zoo, and is delighted when something starts throwing his ball back to him out of an enclosure -- until it throws a banana peel out instead! The WotWots eventually learn that the mystery pitcher is an orang-utan. | Orangutan | Auckland | ||||
| 27 | Spring Wotty | DottyWot is bitterly disappointed to lose a long-jumping competition with her brother. When they learn about the springbok, its agility inspires her to try again. | Springbok | Auckland | ||||
| 28 | Socket Sprocket Pocket | Several things -- including DottyWot’s chair -- need fixing, but her brother keeps losing his spanner (wrench). In-between repair jobs they learn about the koala, and SpottyWot is inspired by how carefully they keep their babies close. | Koala | Wellington | ||||
| 29 | Sir SpottyWot | The WotWots are sharing an exciting book about knights battling dragons. An enthusiastic SpottyWot sets his chair to have a mind of its own like a dragon, but when it runs out of control is forced on a real adventure to get it back. They eventually do learn about real large lizards, including the monitor and komodo dragon. | Komodo Dragon | |||||
| 30 | Floppy Flufties | The WotWots are playing a guessing game with their tufty-flufties, will they be up or will they be down? They learn how rabbits have similar games with their ears. | Rabbit | Auckland | ||||
| 31 | Peak-a-Beak | The WotWots play at drawing pictures in the dark. It’s very hard to do and they are surprised to learn there are animals like the kiwi bird that can see well in the dark. | Kiwi | Auckland | ||||
| 32 | The Digger They Are | The WotWots find a mystery digger outside their ship and learn that wombats and all sorts of other animals are good diggers as well. | Wombat | Melbourne | ||||
| 33 | Laugh a Lotty | The WotWots play at pulling faces and learn how good at laughing kookaburras are. | Kookaburra | |||||
| 34 | Double Bumpies | SpottyWot thinks he's seen a animal with 2 heads, but it turns out to be only a human with her baby. The WotWots learn more about how animals take care of their babies. | Humans | |||||
| 35 | Ready to Roar | SpottyWot's attempt to scare his sister with a loud roar isn’t very scary. So the WotWots head out to find an animal with a terrifying roar that Spotty can copy and they eventually get surprised after hearing a tiger's roar. | Tiger | Melbourne | ||||
| 36 | Fill Bill | DottyWot spots a duck bill on the zoo pond. When the whole animal is revealed the WotWots are surprised to find the bill doesn’t really belong to a duck after all it was a platypus that has a bill like a duck. | Platypus | |||||
| 37 | Stingy Thingy | The WotWots are out smelling flowers when SpottyWot starts to play with a bee only to get stung. He learns that some creatures have a painful way of telling you they don’t want to play. | Bee / Snake | |||||
| 38 | Looky Looky | SpottyWot spots what he thinks is a creature with hundreds of eyes and hurries to tell his sister. They set out to find this extraordinary multi-eyed monster -- which turns out to be the beautiful feathers of a peacock. | Peacock | |||||
| 39 | Wot a Ploppy | SpottyWot is learning to track animals by recognizing their droppings. He sets out to track down the animal that has made an impressively big pile of droppings and eventually finds a moose. | Moose | Wellington | ||||
| 40 | Prickly Prints | The WotWots spot some interesting footprints and track down who made them. SpottyWot decides he can make some interesting paw prints of his own, and they learn how fascinating spiny echidnas are. | Echidna | Melbourne | ||||
| 41 | True Blue | The WotWots are fascinated by the colour of a blue animal they've spotted in the zoo, and learn about penguins that would normally be black. | Penguin | |||||
| 42 | Beat-Boppy Wots | The WotWots do some dance steps and learn that Ostriches are good dancers. | Ostrich | Wellington | ||||
| 43 | Picture Puzzle | SpottyWot challenges his sister to find 3 animals: one that lives in water, one with stripes and one that has a pocket for its babies. They learn that there are animals besides kangaroos like possums that have pouches. | Possum | |||||
| 44 | Colour Conundrums | The WotWots learn more about colours and discover how chameleons change colours. | Chameleon | |||||
| 45 | Lumpy Bumpies | SpottyWot does a lumpy bumpy sketching on a tree/. The WotWots then find a crocodile in the water with lumpy bumpy scales. | Crocodile | |||||
| 46 | Over the Rainbow | The WotWots see a rainbow and learn about the the great big 'smile' pattern on a sun bear's fur. | Sun Bear | Wellington | ||||
| 47 | Trail Tail | The WotWots find a slimy trail in the Zoo and find it was made by a snail. | Snail | |||||
| 48 | Ready to Rumble | After the WotWots learn how dingoes make their own den, SpottyWot decides to make himself a den too. | Dingo | Wellington | ||||
| 49 | Wotter Otter | SpottyWot develops a remote control for his chair, and uses it to find his spanner... in the otter exhibit. | Otter | |||||
| 50 | Tufty Tops | The WotWots are thinking about their tufty-flufties, which leads them on a search for fascinating horns, crests and hair of animals. They learn about the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. | Cockatoo | Wellington | ||||
| 51 | Speedy Spots | SpottyWot and DottyWot have a race with their chairs around the zoo and learn what makes cheetahs run really fast. | Cheetah | |||||
| 52 | Ready or Notty | The WotWots discover that lots of animals have bright red feathers, scales and fur, like red pandas. | Red Panda | Wellington | ||||
| SERIES TWO (2011) | ||||||||
| 53 | Wotties of Steel | DottyWot is fascinated to discover a colony of ants on the farm. SpottyWot is completely unimpressed by such tiny creatures - until he finds out just how strong they can be. | Ant | |||||
| 54 | Nibble Notty | SpottyWot is enjoying a loopy-fruity breakfast in the ship when someone eats his picture he was painting outside. The WotWots go in search of the culprit. | Goat | |||||
| 55 | Wot Plants | After witnessing a farmer planting seeds in the ground, the WotWots learn how seeds can grow. Then SpottyWot decides to plant himself and try to grow a SpottyWot tree. | Seeds | |||||
| 56 | Wot's New Pussycat | The WotWots get up one morning to find some favourite toys have been nibbled in the night. SpottyWot goes off in search of the farm cat to see if it can help them with their problem. | Cat / Mouse | |||||
| 57 | The TrottyWot | DottyWot is exploring the farm when she sees a girl grooming and riding a beautiful pony. DottyWot thinks it would be wonderful to have her very own pony to ride – if she could just find someone to be that pony. | Pony | |||||
| 58 | Swan Lake | The WotWots are sailing paper boats when SpottyWot’s boat lets in water and sinks. He catches a glimpse of the sea monster responsible and sets out to unmask it. | Swan | |||||
| 59 | Wheelie Wots | SpottyWot decides the spaceship needs a new set of wheels and he sets off to find some replacements. He comes across the perfect wheels, but what will the ship think of them? | Donkey | |||||
| 60 | Wormy Tale | The WotWots spot an unusual creature through the Sneak-a-Peak Periscope. SpottyWot thinks it might be a tail that has fallen off another animal. Maybe it’s a WotWot tail? | Worm | |||||
| 61 | Milky Moo | The WotWots can’t decide what to mix for their breakfast loopy drinks. Through the Sneak-a-Peak Periscope they see a cow being milked. Maybe milk would make a tasty breakfast drink? | Cow | |||||
| 62 | Alpaca Sad | The WotWots draw imaginary animals with mixed up heads, bodies and legs. They are very excited to discover that one of their make-believe creature might really exist. | Alpaca | |||||
| 63 | Whistle Wots | The WotWots watch as a sheepdog rounds up a group of sheep. SpottyWot is inspired, but is he inspired enough to herd up the huge mess he made a little earlier? | Sheep Dog | |||||
| 64 | Tough Crowd | DottyWot is having a great day on the farm impersonating animals. But then she find a scarecrow who doesn’t get her jokes. Will the WotWots be able to make him laugh? | Scarecrow | |||||
| 65 | Sleepless in the Cattle | The WotWots can’t sleep. The animals on the farm keep them awake at night. SpottyWot tries to quieten the animals down but he can’t. Maybe it’s time to leave the farm? | Turkey | |||||
| 66 | Fronds Like These | While SpottyWot sleeps on the beach, DottyWot explores a nearby rock pool. She finds some sea anemones and wants to learn all about these amazing creatures. | Anemone | |||||
| 67 | Moons & Moats | When the WotWots build a sandcastle on the beach, a tide comes and washes it away. So the WotWots build a second castle and learn how to protect it from the next tide. | Sandcastle / Tides | |||||
| 68 | Crabby WotWot | To SpottyWot’s horror, the spaceship has run out of bananas for his loopy fruity drink. He goes in search of a giant yellow banana and discovers something altogether more exciting. | Paddle Crab | |||||
| 69 | Footprints in the Sand | The WotWots come across some mysterious foot prints on the beach. They track them across the sand and come to a bird’s nest in the long grass. And the nest has eggs in it! | Pukeko (Moorhen) | |||||
| 70 | Wot a Racket | The WotWots discover a large shell on the beach which sounds like it has a very large ocean inside it. SpottyWot doesn’t want his sister to bring it into the ship in case they get flooded. | Conch Shell | |||||
| 71 | Gnome Sweet Gnome | The WotWots find pictures of mythical mermaids and other creatures on the ship’s computer. They are convinced these creatures are real and go out in search for them on the beach. | Gnomes | |||||
| 72 | Wind Wotty | The WotWots see a kite flying in the wind. They are fascinated and try to find out what else can be pushed and pulled by the wind. Perhaps the wind can even pull them along. | Wind | |||||
| 73 | Tinkle Winkle | The WotWots are exploring the beach and find a starfish washed up on the sand. They want to send it home but first they have to find out where it come from. | Starfish | |||||
| 74 | Wot Wot Bottle Wot | SpottyWot is building a beach sculpture out of driftwood when he comes across a message in a bottle. The WotWots decide to send their very own message in a bottle. | Message in a bottle | |||||
| 75 | Wot a Grommet | The WotWots spy some surfers riding the waves. SpottyWot is enthralled but a little worried by the size of the waves. If only there was a way to ride a surf board without the surf. | Surfing | |||||
| 76 | Wotty Hermit | DottyWot makes a picture out of shells on the beach. When she goes to show it to her brother she finds that some of the shells have moved! Can the shells be moving themselves? | Hermit Crab | |||||
| 77 | Shiver Me WotWots | SpottyWot draws a pirate’s treasure map and goes out digging on the beach in search of his treasure. He doesn’t have much luck until DottyWot helps by making a small addition to the map. | Pirates | |||||
| 78 | Gulls Gulls Gulls | The WotWots spot a seagull diving down into the sea in search of fish. SpottyWot thinks this is a wonderful idea and wants to take their spaceship on an underwater adventure. | Seagull | |||||
References
- Baynton, Martin. "Good Morning". TVNZ. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- The WotWots children's tv show set to launch on TV2, 4 March 2009.
- The WotWots – new to ABC for Kids, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 6 April 2009.
- The WotWots, Five.
- Alien twins discover 'Wots' new at the zoo, 18 February 2010. Thesudburystar.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-09.
- baraem.TV.براعم – الأخوان وات وات. Baraem.tv. Retrieved on 2012-04-09.
- The WotWots learn flamenco. OnscreenAsia.com (2012-02-09). Retrieved on 2012-04-09.
- The WotWots! – WotWots make waves in Korea. Wotwots.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-09.
- Playskool To Launch Long Awaited WotWots, Scoop.co.uk, 3 August 2009.
- New Zealand Parliament – 3. Children, Health—B4 School Health Checks. Parliament.nz (2011-09-13). Retrieved on 2012-04-09.
External links
- The WotWots official website
- "The WotWots" announced on Weta Workshop's website
- The WotWots at IMDb
- Template:Bcdb