Wide-Eye

Wide-Eye
Genre Children's television show
Drama
Written by Jimmy Hibbert
Diane Redmond
Jan Page
Jo Allen
Directed by Neil Fitzgibbon
Voices of Anton Rodgers
Jane Horrocks
Maria Darling
Jimmy Hibbert
Narrated by Tim Woodward (only on the audiobooks)
Composer(s) Keith Hopwood
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 26
Production
Executive producer(s) Theresa Plummer-Andrews
Producer(s) Clive Juster
Running time 10 minutes per episode (approx.)
Production company(s) King Rollo Films
Abbey Home Media
CBeebies
Release
Original network CBeebies
BBC2
ABC
M-Net
Three
ABC2
Original release 29 September 2003 – 20 October 2004

Wide-Eye is an animated children's television series based on audio books and set in fictional Natterjack Forest. The television series consists of a series of ten-minute episodes and is about a wise, old owl who lives in a tall tree with his young son, Little Hoot, and their energetic girlfriend, Flea.

Characters

Main Characters

  • Wide Eye the Owl (voiced by Anton Rodgers) – The star of the show who lives in the tallest tree in the forest and is fatherly, gentle and reliable. He watches over all the animals to make sure they are all safe and happy and speaks in a deep voice.
  • Little Hoot – (voiced by Maria Darling) - Wide Eye's son. He is brave and strong, speaks in a high-pitched voice, has a vivid imagination, can see in the dark and is eager to learn, although like many children, he is sometimes daunted by new challenges.
  • Flea – (voiced by Jane Horrocks) - Little Hoot's special girlfriend. She speaks in a childish English accent, has an enchanting nature, can jump the highest and is always ready to join in with Little Hoot's adventures.
  • The Natterjack Toads (voiced by Maria Darling, Jane Horrocks and Jimmy Hibbert) – Several green and orange toadlets who live and play at Natterjack Pond.
  • Mother Natterjack – (voiced by Anton Rodgers) - A female orange toad who is mother of the Natterjack Toads.
  • Great Grandma Toad (voiced by Jane Horrocks) - Another female orange toad who is grandmother of the Natterjack Toads. She wears purple glasses and often cooks healthy food for the natterjack toads to share.
  • Father Natterjack (voiced by Anton Rodgers) – A male green toad who is father of the Natterjack Toads.
  • 99 the Centipede – (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) - Lives in a burrow. Easily distracted, he tries his best to count and match his many pairs of boots, but he keeps losing count and is forced to start over and over again.
  • Conchita the Chinchilla (voiced by Maria Darling) - The kind-hearted soul of the forest with blue and white ears who speaks in a Chilean accent. Conchita lives under the roots of a tree. She dances and sings as well as cooking South American food for all the forest animals to share. She can often be seen wearing exotic Chilean clothing.
  • Rangatang the Monkey – (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) - Lives in a treehouse. He often plays jokes on the other forest animals as well as bringing fun and games to the forest and running a cornershop.
  • Hetty Hornet (voiced by Maria Darling) – Lives in a beehive and likes things to be clean and tidy. She always tries to keep the other forest animals on their toes by handing out useful little tasks to keep them busy.
  • The Fireflies - Several nocturnal fireflies who appear every night of the year in Natterjack Forest. The fireflies make buzzing sounds instead of saying words.
  • Wily Komodo (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) – The villain who almost always causes mischief in Natterjack Forest. He lives in a rocky, roofless den with his young son, Baby Komodo, and because time is never on his side, he causes nothing but mayhem wherever he goes.
  • Baby Komodo (voiced by Jane Horrocks) – Wily Komodo's accident-prone young son who likes swimming. Although he desperately wants to be as silly as Wily Komodo as well as be friends with the other forest animals, his main skills are dribbling, running, and din-making.
  • Batwing the bat (voiced by Maria Darling) - Wily Komodo's spy. She sleeps upside down in a rocky cave and can fly by night.

Guests/Mentioned

  • The Moon (best mentioned in the episode Zoom To The Moon by Wide Eye) - A real, faceless, voiceless moon which appears every night of the year in Natterjack Forest. The moon is not always seen in the sky, but its only role is to brighten up the darkness in the forest between Dusk and Dawn every day of the year.
  • The Narrator - (voiced by Tim Woodward) - Tells the stories. The narrator is never seen, but is used (only on the audiobooks) as a voice-over.
  • The Sun (best mentioned in the episode A Winter Surprise by Little Hoot) - A bright, voiceless, faceless, dazzling, hot star which appears during various episodes, including Snapdragon Monster and The Forest Regatta. The sun generally shines above Natterjack Forest between Dawn and Dusk every day of the year, but, although it is not always seen in the sky and can hurt the forest animals' eyes and make them go blind, it is by far the most important source of energy for life in the forest.

Episodes

No. Title
1"Toad In A Teapot"
Wily Komodo traps Great Grandma Toad in a teapot to give the Natterjack Toads a nasty surprise.
2"Little Hoot Learns To Fly"
Wide-Eye teaches Little Hoot how to fly. Little Hoot gradually gains courage to fly, which he uses to his advantage.
3"Rangatang's Shop"
On a bright, sunny morning in Natterjack Forest, Little Hoot and Flea listen to their favourite story about how Rangatang came to Natterjack Forest and "set up" his corner shop.
4"Spotty Little Hoot"
Little Hoot has caught a case of the measles. Mother Natterjack and Batwing cure Little Hoot, and then Flea gets ill.
5"The Weather Machine"
While trying to find out about a forest feast, Wily Komodo mistakes a newly constructed weather machine for a flying machine.
6"The Jolly Natterjack"
Inspired by Father Natterjack's story about a sunken ship, Little Hoot and Flea learn to swim at Natterjack Pond before looking for treasure.
7"Komodo's Crossing"
Wily Komodo tries to gain food by scaring Little Hoot and Flea from under a newly built bridge.
8"Snapdragon Monster"
Little Hoot and Flea dig a big, deep hole, hoping to catch a Snapdragon Monster, but they trap Wily Komodo instead.
9"99's Boot"
Wily Komodo steals one of 99's boots, which Flea is hiding in. Before long, everyone in Natterjack Forest, including Hetty Hornet, notices that Flea is missing, and they set out to find her, as well as 99's missing boot. Eventually, both lost things turn up in the most unexpected of places!
10"Conchita's Party"
Little Hoot and Flea prepare a special welcome home party for Conchita, while Batwing and Wily and Baby Komodo (attempt to) crash it.
11"Message In A Bottle"
Little Hoot and Flea pretend that they are stranded on a desert island in the middle of the sea.
12"Wondrous Wishing Tree"
It is Autumn in Natterjack Forest and Wide-Eye has a bout of flu, which a special-but-deciduous tree helps cure.
13"Hetty Hornet Gets Busy"
Hetty Hornet is very busy, running the forest postal service, and it gets even more demanding when the wind mixes up the letters, causing everyone in the forest to receive the wrong messages. Hetty Hornet has some sorting to do!
14"Time For Bed"
Little Hoot has trouble sleeping when he believes that a monster is on the loose. At least Wide Eye and Flea think that that isn't true.
15"Firefly Moon"
Pretending to be astronauts, Little Hoot and Flea try to capture the moon. In a pre-credits sequence, Baby Komodo tells Wily Komodo that he would like the sun as a present.
16"The Natterjack Band"
Little Hoot and Flea recruit their friends from the forest for their band.
17"Batwing's Cave"
Little Hoot and Flea visit Batwing's secret cave, but sadly, they are not alone. Wily and Baby Komodo are in hot pursuit - they want to steal some shiny crystals that live in the cave.
18"Zoom To The Moon"
Little Hoot and Flea build a rocket to fly to the moon in.
19"The Special Club"
With a newly-built play den, Little Hoot and Flea plan to organise a special club for any animal in Natterjack Forest who has a special talent, but, as usual, things don't turn out quite as expected.
20"A Winter Surprise"
The forest is eventually transformed into a Winter Wonderland, in the middle of Summer!
21"The Natterjack Forest Fair"
Everyone in Natterjack Forest prepare for the Spring fair on one lovely, sunny day.
22"Big Baby"
Spring has sprung in Natterjack Forest, and there is one very interesting new arrival - a gigantic egg!
23"Great Grandma's Birthday"
Great Grandma Toad's 100th birthday goes wrong, when Uncle Jolly's invitation goes missing, thanks to Wily Komodo.
24"The Forest Regatta"
Natterjack Pond seems to have dried up, because Wily and Baby Komodo have built a dam, out of stones and logs, which threatens to spoil a specially planned regatta.
25"A Snowy Owl"
Natterjack Forest is lying under a blanket of snow, leaving the Natterjack Toad Family homeless along with their lake frozen.
26"The Big Sleep"
It is almost Winter in Natterjack Forest, and the forest animals are preparing for hibernation.
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