A Kind of Magic (TV series)
A Kind of Magic is a French animated television series created by Michel Coulon and Arthur de Pins. It was produced by French animation company Xilam Animation with the participation of France 3 and Disney Television France in season 1 and Gulli and Canal J for season 2. The series was directed by Charles Vaucelle in season 1 and William Renaud in season 2, with David Gilson as character designer.
The series first aired in 2008 on Disney Channel France and France 3. A second season started airing in 2018 on Canal J.
The entire series is available to watch on YouTube.
Synopsis
The story deals with a 10-year-old child named Tom, and his family's problems, including his older sister Cindy, who is crazy after every boy she sees, his toad 'His Highness', his evil maternal aunt Ferocia who wants to turn him evil as well, his ditzy fairy mother Willow and his vegetarian ogre father Gregore who have been exiled from Fairyland and now have to live on Earth.Characters
- Tom is the main protagonist and Cindy's 10-year-old younger brother. Clever, spontaneous, and mischievous, Tom has the presence of mind of a boy who has had to take care of himself from very young. Thanks to his limitless imagination and instinctive quick reflexes, he is able to convince anyone of anything. This skill is very useful to his absent-minded family members who are always forgetting they no longer live in a world of magical creatures.
- Cindy is Tom's 14-year-old older sister. Stubborn, rebellious, and very romantic, Cindy knows that a better future awaits her. In Fairyland, she was responsible for cleaning the sewers of the kingdom, but in the Real World, she dreams of grand projects and a more agreeable life. Like all teenagers, she worries about being accepted by the other children at school. In general, she opposes the use of magic because she considers it distasteful, but she makes use of it when it helps her accomplish what she wants.
- Ferocia is Tom and Cindy's aunt, Willow's sister, a witch, and an anti-hero. Many words describe Ferocia that her personality has: horrible, cruel, wicked, and a pain in the rear, but also neutral. She delights in causing mayhem, even for her own family. She laughed when her brother planned to rob her sister and brother-in-law of all their savings, and she enjoyed frightening Tom with the idea of being forgotten if his parents had more children. She adores tormenting Gregor and will take every opportunity to do so. She also likes to taunt His Highness about his ugliness. Ferocia has a macabre sense of humor and sees horror films as comedies. When she had her powers, she was a villain to be feared.
- Jojo, Tom's best friend.
- Willow is Tom and Cindy's mother, Ferocia's sister, and Gregore's wife. Willow is optimistic, light-hearted, positive, motherly, and carefree. She also has a mischievous side as seen in "Meet the Parent" and "Framed!". She believes that good will always conquer evil. She can be strict when she has to, and she can be overprotective shown in the Wishing Powder. Willow is also a strong woman, always honest with her heritage and who she is. While she tried to integrate into the real world, she refused to forget who and what she was. She also stood up by herself, not letting anyone take her for granted and not letting the world disappoint her. Underneath her cheerful, positive, and carefree personality, Willow is a very smart woman. However, she is very dashing and innocent. Even as a fairy in the real world and wonderland, she uses her wings and flight. In addition, she uses her magic with her wand to do anything.
- Gregor, Jérémy Prévost ) is Tom and Cindy's father and Willow's husband. Despite giving up on becoming a reformed goblin, he is a sweet, kind, gentle, and responsible father to Tom and Cindy. In addition, he is always a little clumsy, kind, cheerful, but cowardly and afraid of anything. Towards a difficult personality when he dislikes Cindy's antics and mischief along with Ferocié's laughter, calling his name and insulting him except for whatever happens to him, he's often angry, fierce, aggressive, hot-tempered and always evil.
- Victor, Emanuel Saez ) Tom's boss enemy who wants to play bad tricks on Tom & Jojo.
- Uncle Dji Tom & Cindy's oldest uncle by 200,000 years.
- Marine, Fanny Bloc ) Tom & Jojo's enemy, Little Miss Fossette's best student Ever, and Victor's ally.
- Mlle Fossette, Tom & Jojo's teacher at Tom's school.
Production
The series was rated the most popular series at the 2007 MIPCOM Junior trade show, attracting over 280 buyers. The musical theme is an adaptation of the song A Kind of Magic by the British band Queen. The series' main character designer, David Gilson, was hired when an artist left the cartoon and also because his art style was somewhat similar to that of Arthur de Pins, the series' creator.On 3 November 2015, Xilam announced the production of a second season containing fifty-two thirteen-minute episodes for 2016.
Episodes
| Number in series | Number of season | English name | French name | Written by | Storyboard by |
| 27 | 1 | Candy Through the Looking Glass | De l'autre côté du miroir | Fiona Leibgorin | Matthieu Pitschon |
| 28 | 2 | Trapped as a Tomboy | Un garçon presque manqué | Lison d'Andrea | Etienne Pinault |
| 29 | 3 | The Future's Tense | Futur Imparfait | Fiona Leibgorin | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 30 | 4 | A Natural Beauty | Belle à l'intérieur | Jean-Marc Lenglen | Olivier Dutranoy |
| 31 | 5 | Going Viral | Les stars de l'école | Jean-Marc Lenglen | Jerome Fardini |
| 32 | 6 | Operation Tamara | Opération Tamara | Jean-Marc Lenglen | Paul Herve |
| 33 | 7 | My Dad the Super Hero | Mon père ce super-héros | Michel Coulon | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 34 | 8 | A Princess for His Highness | Une princesse pour mon Monseigneur | Alexandre Reverend Renaud Gagnon | Etienne Pinault |
| 35 | 9 | The Tables Have Turned | La triche | Yves Coulon | Jerome Fardini |
| 36 | 10 | The Clay Model | Pote à modeler | Renaud Gagnon | Etienne Pinault |
| 37 | 11 | Thicker Than Mud | Un air de famille | Caroline Torreli | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 38 | 12 | The Spellbook Strike Back | À chacun sa voix | Laure-Elizabeth Bourdaud Elisa Loche | Olivier Dutranoy |
| 39 | 13 | The Pixel and the Profile | Fée's Bok | Fiona Leibgorin | Etienne Pinault |
| 40 | 14 | Tom's Tall Tales | Tom pousse | Arnold Boiseau | Jerome Fardini |
| 41 | 15 | Willoween | Willoween | Renaud Gagnon | Stéphane Annette |
| 42 | 16 | Fairy Busy | Un travail de fée | Michel Coulon | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 43 | 17 | Cinderella's Rebellion | Cendrillon se rebelle | Michel Coulon | Etienne Pinault |
| 44 | 18 | Your Own Medicine | Dans la peau d'un crapaud | Renaud Gagnon | Stephane Annette |
| 45 | 19 | The Ogre Who Wanted to Be Santa Claus | L'ogre qui voulait être le père Noël | Michel Coulon | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 46 | 20 | Grunda's Goodies | Les Délices de Gründa | Lison d'Andrea | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 47 | 21 | The Prince, the Frog and the Witch | Le Prince, la grenouille et la sorcière | Michel Coulon | Etienne Pinault |
| 48 | 22 | The Hybrid Heartthrob | L'Idéal de Cindy | Yves Coulon | Etienne Pinault |
| 49 | 23 | Professor Ferocia | Mademoiselle Férocette | Fiona Leibgorin | Stephane Annette |
| 50 | 24 | The Nature of the Beast | Grégor dans tous ses états | Lison d'Andrea | Jerome Fardini Alexandre Ulmann |
| 51 | 25 | Ferocia Fiancé | Les Fiançailles de Férocia | Caroline Torrelli | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 52 | 26 | Tom the Sore Thumb | Tom sans famille | Laure-Elizabeth Bourdaud Johanna Goldschmidt Elisa Loche | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 53 | 27 | Cat's Got Your Tongue | Une vie de chat | Michel Coulon | Stéphane Annette |
| 54 | 28 | Jojo the Dodo | C'est pas Jojo | Lison d'Andrea | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 55 | 29 | The Big Bad Field Trip | Promenons-nous dans les bois | Elisa Loche | Stéphane Annette |
| 56 | 30 | Mrs. Nice Ferocia | Férocia super sympa | Fiona Leibgorin | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 57 | 31 | Strong as an Ogre | Petit ogre deviendra grand | Cyril Deydier Renaud Gagnon | Etienne Pinault |
| 58 | 32 | In Your Wildest Dream | Même pas en rêve | Michel Coulon | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 59 | 33 | Master of Delusion | Abracadabra | Michel Coulon | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 60 | 34 | Big Bad Dog | Le Grand gentil loup | Elisa Loche Pierre Le Gall | Etienne Pinault |
| 61 | 35 | A Fish Out of Water | Comme un poisson dans l'eau | Renaud Gagnon | Stéphane Annette |
| 62 | 36 | The Fairyksen Family | Ma famille pas féerique | Fiona Leibgorin | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 63 | 37 | A Valentine's Pipe Dream | Ma sorcière mal-aimée | Lison d'Andrea | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 64 | 38 | No Kidding Around | Un jeu d'enfants | Lison d'Andrea | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 65 | 39 | No Strings Attached | Inséparables | Lison d'Andrea | Stéphane Annette |
| 66 | 40 | The Cruelest of Them All | Blanche-Niaise et les sept nains | Renaud Gagnon | Etienne Pinault |
| 67 | 41 | Beauty and the Mangy Beast | La belle et la grosse bête | Michel Coulon | Stéphane Annette |
| 68 | 42 | Prince Not-So-Charming | Monseigneur dans toute sa splendeur | Fiona Leibgorin | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 69 | 43 | Love Gives You Wings | L'amour donne des ailes | Elisa Loche Pierre Le Gall | Etienne Pinault |
| 70 | 44 | The Charming Ogre | L'Ogre charmant | Caroline Torrelli Pierre Le Gall | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 71 | 45 | Can't Scare Me | Même pas peur | Renaud Gagnon | Stephane Annette |
| 72 | 46 | Mirror, Mirror, Off the Wall | Miroir, mon beau miroir | Michel Coulon | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 73 | 47 | An Almost-Perfect Day | Une journée presque parfaite | Renaud Gagnon | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 74 | 48 | Right Under Your Nose | Au nez et à la barbe | Lison d'Andrea | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 75 | 49 | Mom, We Broke the Wand! | Maman, on a cassé la baguette! | Lison d'Andrea | Alexandre Ulmann |
| 76 | 50 | My Worst Best Friend | Ma nouvelle meilleure amie | Elisa Loche Pierre Le Gall | Stephane Annette |
| 77 | 51 | Princess Melba Three | Princesse Melba III | Renaud Gagnon | Romain Cislo |
| 78 | 52 | In My Shoes | Vis ma vie | Pierre Le Gall | Alexandre Ulmann |