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.
WWW wimzie.com

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)

  1. The Cookie Crisis
  2. Boo!
  3. The Magic Crayon
  4. I Want My Mommy
  5. Flower Power
  6. Babies Have It Made
  7. The Scaredy Cats
  8. The Treasure Hunt
  9. The Boy Who Cried Wolf
  10. What's the Matter with Horace?
  11. You're Not My Friend
  12. To Share or Not To Share
  13. The Play's the Thing
  14. The Lucky Pin
  15. Queen For a Day
  16. A Fishy Fish Story
  17. To Tell the Truth
  18. Jonas, The Actor
  19. All Alone
  20. You Just Gotta Keep Trying
  21. A Medal for Horace
  22. By the Numbers
  23. Mad at Dad
  24. Aahhchoo!
  25. Wimzie's Hushabye
  26. The Tattletales
  27. I Dare You!
  28. We Want Toys!
  29. The Personal Trainer
  30. Jonas and All of His Hits
  31. Who Do You Trust?
  32. Jonas' Big Purple Map
  33. Wimzie's Three Wishes
  34. Who's The Boss?
  35. The Great Moving Day
  36. The Mighty Monster Power Piggies
  37. Wimzie's Scary Dream
  38. The Little Red Wimzie
  39. Friendship Day
  40. Bye Bye Birdie
  41. A Little Privacy, Please?
  42. I'm Scared for Daddy
  43. Bo Goes Bonkers!
  44. Identical Cousins
  45. The Hand-Me-Down Sweater
  46. I Think I Forgot Something
  47. Mommy's Afraid
  48. The Stuke-A-Piddleys
  49. The Tooth Fairy
  50. Wimzie's Late
  51. The Cookie Caper
  52. Wimzie's Big Trip
  53. The Lost Bone
  54. Official Backwards Day
  55. Doctor Wimzie
  56. The Assistant Grown-Up

Season 2 (1996)

  1. The Sore Winner
  2. To Each His Own
  3. The Contest
  4. Please Don't Say That!
  5. Be Yourself
  6. The Boys Against The Girls
  7. The Storm
  8. You Have to Learn the Trade
  9. Substitute Daddy
  10. Wimzie the Magician
  11. The Best Hiding Place on Earth
  12. The Jingle
  13. Mind Your Manners
  14. Picking a President
  15. We Can Do It!
  16. The Accident
  17. Happy Birthday, Yaya!
  18. The Dropsies
  19. Icky, Yucky and Goofy
  20. Cinderloulou
  21. Loulou Thinks Big
  22. Nicknames
  23. A Little Bit Testy
  24. Noises Night and Day
  25. Motherly Love
  26. I Don't Like Chores!
  27. Imagination in Action
  28. Promises, Promises
  29. The Telephone Call
  30. Am I Dreaming?
  31. What's the Truth?
  32. Wimzie the Prankster
  33. My Doll is for Sale
  34. The Show-Off
  35. Growing Up is Hard To Do
  36. From Dirt... to Ice Cream
  37. Shaggy's Visit
  38. Wimzie's Rainbow Wig
  39. Ants in My Pants
  40. The Silent Treatment
  41. Daddy's Girl
  42. Go for the Gold
  43. Wimzie's Family Career Day
  44. It's Bedtime!
  45. The Blackout
  46. Who Needs Yaya?
  47. All 'Round the World in a Day
  48. The Big Dinosaur
  49. The Gizmo-A-Gig-A-Bopper
  50. The Surprise That Wasn't
  51. The Ugly Scary Statue
  52. Horace Goes Whammer
  53. Wimzie Sees It All
  54. Wimzie the Interrupter
  55. The Magic Starfruit
  56. The Perfect Christmas

Featured songs

  1. Wimzie's House Theme Song
  2. Uh-Oh!
  3. Always Tell the Truth
  4. Best of Friends
  5. I Don't Like That
  6. They Are Mine!
  7. It's Okay to Say What We Feel
  8. Time to Relax
  9. Pretending
  10. Some Things in Life Just Take Time
  11. Together
  12. I Wish I Were a Baby
  13. I Rather Just Be Me
  14. Frightened in the Night
  15. Count on Your Friends
  16. Sometimes There Are Two of Me
  17. I Know What I Should Do
  18. Let's Laugh Together
  19. Playing Hide and Seek
  20. Why Do We Need Friends?
  21. Even If We Fight
  22. Left Out
  23. Making Our Friendship Grow
  24. It's My Turn
  25. If It's Mine
  26. We Want to Have Fun
  27. Dilemma
  28. I Do Well When I Feel Good
  29. Rousso's Recipe
  30. Sick of Being Sick
  31. Sometimes Friends Can Make You Mad
  32. Animal Friends
  33. Goldfish Goldfish
  34. Love Makes Life Worth Living
  35. True or False
  36. When It Hurts
  37. Sometimes Everyone Feels Afraid
  38. All Alone
  39. Number 1
  40. Try Try Try Again
  41. Practice Makes Perfect
  42. Forgetting is Okay
  43. The Things You Miss
  44. One Two Three
  45. There's Only One Me
  46. Lullaby for Bo
  47. That Makes Me Mad!
  48. Darn These Allergies
  49. Things That I Don't See
  50. I Have a Secret
  51. When I Have a Friend
  52. The One Color Crayon Blues
  53. Tattletale
  54. Green Grape Funk
  55. Don't You Dare
  56. Everybody Loves Their Toys
  57. There Are Ways to Say I Love You
  58. You Gotta Get Physical
  59. Healthy Habits
  60. Hands Are Not Made for a Fight
  61. Timeouts
  62. On TV! On TV!
  63. Not Too Much TV
  64. I Love My Dirt
  65. Permission First
  66. The Wishing Song
  67. Families and Friends
  68. I Was Born to Lead
  69. Life Is Simply Grand
  70. When I Miss Someone I Love
  71. To Help a Friend
  72. The Mighty Monster Power Piggies
  73. Find Your Own Dream
  74. The Monster Mask
  75. I Like to Dream
  76. On Lazy Days
  77. When There's a Job to Do
  78. Are You My Friend?
  79. Even If We're Friends
  80. It's Okay to Cry
  81. We All Need Taking Care Of
  82. Yaya's Diary
  83. Tape Recorder Rap
  84. Turtles
  85. I'm a Fireman
  86. Where is Bo?
  87. Taking a Nap
  88. Stand Up and Speak Out
  89. I Like to Be Me
  90. Brand New Again
  91. What Makes Something Special
  92. Me and My Dad
  93. Feeling Afraid
  94. Sometimes I'm Scared
  95. Invisible Me
  96. The Words You Say
  97. That's the Rule
  98. Stay Awake
  99. Tick Tock Clock
  100. Right on Time
  101. Snacktime is Fun
  102. Privacy
  103. It's Fun to Go Travelling
  104. Disappointment
  105. Digging in the Dirt
  106. Bones
  107. Let's Be Different
  108. The Searching Song
  109. I'm Taking Care of Mommy
  110. Yaya's Good Tummy Soup
  111. It's Fun to Be Detectives
  112. Responsibility
  113. I Won
  114. I Like Painting Pictures
  115. Playing Dress Up is Such Fun
  116. Watch Your Words
  117. Shhhhh
  118. Boys and Girls
  119. Scary Noises
  120. Find a Better Way
  121. Our Dad
  122. Magic!
  123. Do the Right Thing!
  124. Trying to Figure Problems Out
  125. Good Manners
  126. Presidents
  127. No Problem!
  128. Brothers and Sisters
  129. Imagination
  130. Better Be Careful!
  131. I'm Special
  132. What's So Good About Being Tall?
  133. I Wanna Be Big Right Now
  134. The Nicknames
  135. We All Need Each Other
  136. Noisy Noises
  137. 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''

DVD releases

On July 27, 2010, Mill Creek Entertainment released a 10-episode Best-of collection entitled Wimzie's House: A World of Enchantment on DVD in Region 1 which includes a bonus episode of Busytown Mysteries.

Streaming

The first 20 episodes would be currently available for free on Tubi, while the rest of the episodes can be purchased on Fandango at Home.