A Kind of Magic (TV series)
A Kind of Magic (known as Magic in France) is a French animated television series created by Michel Coulon, based upon Arthur de Pins's original design. 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 for Season 1 and William Renaud for Season 2, character design[1] by David Gilson and the executive producer by Marc Du Pontavice.
| A Kind of Magic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Magic |
| Genre | Fantasy Comedy |
| Created by | Michel Coulon Arthur de Pins |
| Directed by | Charles Vaucelle (season 1) William Renaud (season 2) |
| Music by | Herve Lavandier |
| Opening theme | A Kind of Magic by Queen (cover) |
| Composer(s) | Herve Lavandier (season 1) Vincent Artaud (season 2) |
| Country of origin | France |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Marc du Pontavice |
| Producer(s) | Marc du Pontavice |
| Editor(s) | Lou Bouniol Saïd Ouadfel |
| Production company(s) | Xilam Animation |
| Release | |
| Original network | France 3 and Disney Channel (Season 1) Canal J (Season 2) |
| Original release | January 5,2008 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The story deals with a 10-year-old child named Tom, and his family's problems, including his older sister Cindy (14 years old), 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.[2]
The series first aired in 2008 on Disney Channel France and France 3.[3] The series was rated the most popular series at the 2007 MIPCOM Junior trade show, attracting over 280 buyers.[4]
A second season started airing in 2018.[5] The second series aired on Canal J.
It is now a web series on the YouTube channel with the same name.
Episodes
| No. overall | Segment no. | Title | Written by | Storyboard by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1A–1B | "Memory Gaps Meet the Parents" | Michael Coulon Bob Mittenthall and Gloria Ketterer | Laurent Jennett Charles Vaucelle | January 5, 2008 | |
|
Ep. 1A: Troubled by the sight of her darling son struggling with homework about Napoleon, Willow wields her wand (without his knowledge) to equip him with a prodigious memory, including a 20 volume encyclopedia set. Tom surprises himself in class the next day when he guilelessly produces an erudite speech. Before realizing his prowess is his mother's doing, Miss Tinker was convinced that he's an exceptionally gifted child, which he tries to meet his parents. Panic-stricken, Tom beseeches his mother to un-do the charm. But Willow gets her formulas mixed up, loses her own memory, and ends up persuaded they're still in Fairyland! Ep. 1B: Tom's classmates decide to work on a group project at his house… so Tom has to find a way of getting his eccentric family members out of the way! He persuades Cindy to take them all to the movies. But he still needs "normal" parents to introduce his friends to. Resourceful as ever, despite a few failed attempts, Tom uses Willow's wand to magic up a "super dad" and "super mom". Everything seems to be as normal as can be, or… almost! | ||||||
| 2 | 2A–2B | "Trust Framed!" | Steve Sustarsic Yves Coulon and Jean-Marc Lenglen | Vincent Dubost Laurent Jennet | January 12, 2008 | |
|
Ep. 2A: Gregore is peacefully gardening in the backyard when the neighbor's (Mr. and Mrs. Lumberg's) daughter, Candy - a real pest - turns up to taunt him (yet again), letting her dog dig up the flowerbed. Ep. 2B: Someone slips a video game into Tom's backpack when he's in the store. Accused of shoplifting, he's taken to the police station. | ||||||
| 3 | 3A–3B | "Big Love Uncle Sandman" | Mark Hodkinson Steve Sustarsic | Fred Mintoff and Sandra Derval Sandra Derval | January 19, 2008 | |
|
Ep. 3A: Cindy falls head over heels for Lorenzo, the school's beau, but when he turns up to give Tom an Italian lesson, she makes an utter fool of herself. Ep. 3B: Willow and Ferocia are out shopping when their brother, Mister Sandman, turns up unannounced. Gregore and the kids immediately succumb to their unexpected visitor's devilish charm. | ||||||
| 4 | 4A–4B | "The Ventriloquist Wishing Powder" | Richard Conroy Mark Hodkinson | Fred Mintoff Vincent Dubost | January 26, 2008 | |
|
Ep. 4A: Cindy is a terrible singer and is bound to become a laughing stock at the talent contest. However, Willow decides to give her a better voice... which inadvertently turns out to be a manly one! Luckily, Tom and His Highness team up as a ventriloquism duo whilst Willow searches for Cindy's cure. Ep. 4B: Tom and Jojo are given permission to camp in Tom's backyard, but on one condition: they have to do the laundry first. Later that night, the contents of the laundry come alive after the boys mistakenly used Willow's magic powder instead of the regular soap powder! Now, the two friends must survive the night while a magical Laundry Monster roams the garden. | ||||||
References
- ZAGTOON heads for MIP Junior with a raft of blue chip animation programs Archived 1 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- "A Kind of Magic". Telebisyon. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
- "Magic - Xilam". www.xilam.com. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- "Xilam's 'A Kind of Magic' top rated series at Mipcom junior" (PDF). Xilam. 8 October 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- "Xilam expands with Lyon production studio". Retrieved 18 May 2017.