Wimzie's House
Wimzie's House is a Canadian children's television series produced in Montreal which ran in the French language as La Maison de Ouimzie on Télévision de Radio-Canada in the morning and Radio-Québec in late afternoons beginning September 4, 1995, and in English on CBC Television in Canada beginning October 21, 1996 and in the United States on PBS from September 1, 1997 until August 31, 2001. The show was produced by Quebec-based studio CINAR Films, with PBS airings presented by Maryland Public Television from 1997 until 2001. The show's puppetry is in the style of Sesame Street, which led to some legal troubles with The Jim Henson Company in 2000, Fraggle Rock, The Hoobs, etc., as well as the same with its production partner, CTW.
Premise
The series follows Wimzie, a young hybrid monster who lives with her parents, grandmother, and baby brother. The basic plot typically involves Wimzie and her friends encountering a problem, with two songs that would eventually lead to the moral of the episode.Characters
There are eight characters appear throughout the series.'Wimzie is the protagonist of the series, who is a dragon/bird hybrid with a unique appearance, yellow-orange fur, purple hair tied in pigtails decorated in baby blue bows and red wing-like antlers on the top of her head. She is 5 years old and also introduces each episode in the beginning of the series. In the musical numbers, she performs a few of her solo songs which are titled "When There's a Job to Do", "Turtles", "Be Exactly Who You Are", "Something in My Head" and "I Love You". She has a baby brother named Bo.Rousso is Wimzie's father. He is a calm tailless dragon with orange fur and blonde hair. He works as a firefighter. When not on the job, Rousso likes to relax. He's a little slow but very kind-hearted. It has been revealed that he has a sister named Alice who is Wimzie's aunt.Graziella is Wimzie's mother. She is a bird- or platypus-like monster with pink featherless fur and blonde hair in a beehive hairdo. When not on the job, Graziella will spend time with children, often giving them advice. She works as a pilot and is often away from home for extended periods. She has a brother named Mario, Wimzie's uncle, who forgot to send Wimzie a binga-boinga on her 5th birthday.Bo is Wimzie's baby brother. Being still a baby, he often gets most of Yaya's attention and the others keep tabs on him as well. Unlike Wimzie, he is a full tail-less dragon and not a hybrid like his big sister. He is still learning to talk, so he mostly communicates in gibberish. He is around the age of 12–18 months.Yaya is Wimzie's maternal grandmother and Graziella's mother. She runs a daycare in Wimzie's house for Wimzie and her friends while their parents are working. She has lavender featherless fur and her hair is a stack of red, blonde and purple. Like Jonas and Loulou, she wears glasses. She occasionally talks to the children and gives them advice when they need it. Despite her old age, she is full of energy, often being more than a match for a houseful of children, daughter and son-in-law. She also silences everyone during an argument by making a foghorn-blowing noise and sound and nobody knows how she does it. She has a bedroom that is only seen in the intro.Jonas is a goblin who is 5 years old and loves science. He collects dirt and has a surprisingly large collection. His fur is green with purple hair and he wears eyeglasses and a propeller cap. Often in his explanations, he would include his catchphrase "It's very scientific." Loulou is his little sister. Wimzie possibly has a crush on him.Loulou is Jonas's sister. She wants to be like the bigger kids. Yet isn't quite ready to make the jump. She is capable of understanding Bo's baby-jabber. Her fur is yellow-green. She wears eyeglasses and has purple hair like her brother, worn in a high ponytail decorated in a bow. Her solo songs are titled "When I'm Scared", "I Wanna Be Big Right Now", "Left Out" and "What's So Good About Being Big?".Horace''' is a troll. He is not as smart as the other kids, but he is always asking questions and learning things. He is the strongest of all the children, but angers easily and can sometimes be rough. He gets along best with Bo and his big sister Wimzie. His fur is light blue and his hair is reddish blonde and very straight. He also has a cousin named Morris who looks a lot like him and they are both voiced by the same actor. A running gag throughout every episode shows always saying, "Uh/um...question." and then another character would usually respond by saying, "Yes, Horace?".
Episodes
Season 1 (1995)
- The Cookie Crisis
- Boo!
- The Magic Crayon
- I Want My Mommy
- Flower Power
- Babies Have It Made
- The Scaredy Cats
- The Treasure Hunt
- The Boy Who Cried Wolf
- What's the Matter with Horace?
- You're Not My Friend
- To Share or Not To Share
- The Play's the Thing
- The Lucky Pin
- Queen For a Day
- A Fishy Fish Story
- To Tell the Truth
- Jonas, The Actor
- All Alone
- You Just Gotta Keep Trying
- A Medal for Horace
- By the Numbers
- Mad at Dad
- Aahhchoo!
- Wimzie's Hushabye
- The Tattletales
- I Dare You!
- We Want Toys!
- The Personal Trainer
- Jonas and All of His Hits
- Who Do You Trust?
- Jonas' Big Purple Map
- Wimzie's Three Wishes
- Who's The Boss?
- The Great Moving Day
- The Mighty Monster Power Piggies
- Wimzie's Scary Dream
- The Little Red Wimzie
- Friendship Day
- Bye Bye Birdie
- A Little Privacy, Please?
- I'm Scared for Daddy
- Bo Goes Bonkers!
- Identical Cousins
- The Hand-Me-Down Sweater
- I Think I Forgot Something
- Mommy's Afraid
- The Stuke-A-Piddleys
- The Tooth Fairy
- Wimzie's Late
- The Cookie Caper
- Wimzie's Big Trip
- The Lost Bone
- Official Backwards Day
- Doctor Wimzie
- The Assistant Grown-Up
Season 2 (1996)
- The Sore Winner
- To Each His Own
- The Contest
- Please Don't Say That!
- Be Yourself
- The Boys Against The Girls
- The Storm
- You Have to Learn the Trade
- Substitute Daddy
- Wimzie the Magician
- The Best Hiding Place on Earth
- The Jingle
- Mind Your Manners
- Picking a President
- We Can Do It!
- The Accident
- Happy Birthday, Yaya!
- The Dropsies
- Icky, Yucky and Goofy
- Cinderloulou
- Loulou Thinks Big
- Nicknames
- A Little Bit Testy
- Noises Night and Day
- Motherly Love
- I Don't Like Chores!
- Imagination in Action
- Promises, Promises
- The Telephone Call
- Am I Dreaming?
- What's the Truth?
- Wimzie the Prankster
- My Doll is for Sale
- The Show-Off
- Growing Up is Hard To Do
- From Dirt... to Ice Cream
- Shaggy's Visit
- Wimzie's Rainbow Wig
- Ants in My Pants
- The Silent Treatment
- Daddy's Girl
- Go for the Gold
- Wimzie's Family Career Day
- It's Bedtime!
- The Blackout
- Who Needs Yaya?
- All 'Round the World in a Day
- The Big Dinosaur
- The Gizmo-A-Gig-A-Bopper
- The Surprise That Wasn't
- The Ugly Scary Statue
- Horace Goes Whammer
- Wimzie Sees It All
- Wimzie the Interrupter
- The Magic Starfruit
- The Perfect Christmas
Featured songs
- Wimzie's House Theme Song
- Uh-Oh!
- Always Tell the Truth
- Best of Friends
- I Don't Like That
- They Are Mine!
- It's Okay to Say What We Feel
- Time to Relax
- Pretending
- Some Things in Life Just Take Time
- Together
- I Wish I Were a Baby
- I Rather Just Be Me
- Frightened in the Night
- Count on Your Friends
- Sometimes There Are Two of Me
- I Know What I Should Do
- Let's Laugh Together
- Playing Hide and Seek
- Why Do We Need Friends?
- Even If We Fight
- Left Out
- Making Our Friendship Grow
- It's My Turn
- If It's Mine
- We Want to Have Fun
- Dilemma
- I Do Well When I Feel Good
- Rousso's Recipe
- Sick of Being Sick
- Sometimes Friends Can Make You Mad
- Animal Friends
- Goldfish Goldfish
- Love Makes Life Worth Living
- True or False
- When It Hurts
- Sometimes Everyone Feels Afraid
- All Alone
- Number 1
- Try Try Try Again
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Forgetting is Okay
- The Things You Miss
- One Two Three
- There's Only One Me
- Lullaby for Bo
- That Makes Me Mad!
- Darn These Allergies
- Things That I Don't See
- I Have a Secret
- When I Have a Friend
- The One Color Crayon Blues
- Tattletale
- Green Grape Funk
- Don't You Dare
- Everybody Loves Their Toys
- There Are Ways to Say I Love You
- You Gotta Get Physical
- Healthy Habits
- Hands Are Not Made for a Fight
- Timeouts
- On TV! On TV!
- Not Too Much TV
- I Love My Dirt
- Permission First
- The Wishing Song
- Families and Friends
- I Was Born to Lead
- Life Is Simply Grand
- When I Miss Someone I Love
- To Help a Friend
- The Mighty Monster Power Piggies
- Find Your Own Dream
- The Monster Mask
- I Like to Dream
- On Lazy Days
- When There's a Job to Do
- Are You My Friend?
- Even If We're Friends
- It's Okay to Cry
- We All Need Taking Care Of
- Yaya's Diary
- Tape Recorder Rap
- Turtles
- I'm a Fireman
- Where is Bo?
- Taking a Nap
- Stand Up and Speak Out
- I Like to Be Me
- Brand New Again
- What Makes Something Special
- Me and My Dad
- Feeling Afraid
- Sometimes I'm Scared
- Invisible Me
- The Words You Say
- That's the Rule
- Stay Awake
- Tick Tock Clock
- Right on Time
- Snacktime is Fun
- Privacy
- It's Fun to Go Travelling
- Disappointment
- Digging in the Dirt
- Bones
- Let's Be Different
- The Searching Song
- I'm Taking Care of Mommy
- Yaya's Good Tummy Soup
- It's Fun to Be Detectives
- Responsibility
- I Won
- I Like Painting Pictures
- Playing Dress Up is Such Fun
- Watch Your Words
- Shhhhh
- Boys and Girls
- Scary Noises
- Find a Better Way
- Our Dad
- Magic!
- Do the Right Thing!
- Trying to Figure Problems Out
- Good Manners
- Presidents
- No Problem!
- Brothers and Sisters
- Imagination
- Better Be Careful!
- I'm Special
- What's So Good About Being Tall?
- I Wanna Be Big Right Now
- The Nicknames
- We All Need Each Other
- Noisy Noises
- I Love Snow
Merchandise
School supply company Carson-Dellosa confirmed that there were two FMV PC games based on the series.Controversies
In 1999, The Jim Henson Company issued a lawsuit against the company, claiming the series' puppets and resultant merchandise violated its copyright and trademark rights on The Muppets. CINAR and its licensees Eden LLC and Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company denied and continue to deny any wrongdoing or liability for infringement.A confidential settlement allowed CINAR to continue broadcasting the series, selling show merchandise, and a "mechanism for preserving the distinctive look of Jim Henson's Muppets in CINAR's future productions."
Ronald A. Weinberg, CINAR President and Co-CEO:
Broadcast and home media
It first ran in the French language as La Maison de Ouimzie on Télévision de Radio-Canada in the morning and Radio-Québec in late afternoons starting September 4, 1995, and in English on CBC Television in Canada beginning October 21, 1996 and in the U.S. on PBS from September 1, 1997 until August 31, 2001.Repeats of the show aired in the U.S. on the Cookie Jar Toons block on now-defunct This TV, in syndication as part of the Cookie Jar Kids Network block, and on Light TV from December 22, 2016 until September 30, 2019. Treehouse TV also aired this show in repeats from 1999 until December 2005.
Video releases
Five hour-long VHS tapes were released by Sony Wonder in 1999 until 2000.- It's Magic Time!
- You're Special
- Pet Tales
- Babies Have It Made
- ''Happy Holidays''