''Wishfart'' is a Canadian animated television series created by John Hazlett, Lienne Sawatsky and Daniel Williams. The series was produced by Wishfart Productions Inc. in association with
Nelvana
Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
and
Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...
, with Bejuba! Entertainment holding worldwide distribution rights. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on
CITV on September 5, 2017, and later premiered in its home country of Canada on
Teletoon
Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...
on June 9, 2018. The series follows Dez, a teenage leprechaun with wish-granting powers, as he goes on escapades with a
puffin
Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...
named Puffin and a centuries-old teenage ghost girl named Akiko.
The series features the final voice acting role of
Paul Soles
Paul Robert Soles (August 11, 1930 – May 26, 2021) was a Canadian actor and television personality. He led the voice cast in such series as ''The Marvel Super Heroes'' (1966), voiced the title character in ''Spider-Man'' (1967), and portraye ...
before his death in 2021.
Characters
Main
* Dez (voiced by Mac Heywood): An awkward and reserved teenage
leprechaun boy. He has the ability to grant wishes by firing a rainbow from his finger. However, wishes he grants always go wrong in some fashion, forcing him and his friends to fix it.
* Puffin (voiced by
Sergio Di Zio
Sergio Di Zio is a Canadian actor. He starred in the television series '' Flashpoint'' as Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti until the show concluded on December 13, 2012. His other works include '' The Lookout'', ''Cinderella Man'', '' Senior Trip ...
): A talking
puffin
Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...
who shares Dez's apartment. Although he is greedy, lazy, and self-centered, he is a very supportive friend towards Dez, who had granted him the ability to speak with one of his wishes.
* Akiko (voiced by
Stephany Seki): A mischievous and sarcastic
yūrei
are figures in Japanese folklore analogous to the Western model of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, (''yū''), meaning "faint" or "dim" and (''rei''), meaning "soul" or "spirit". Alternative names include , meaning ruined or depart ...
who haunts Dez's apartment. She is an eternal teenager who died centuries ago from a plague that wiped out her whole village. She is nicknamed "Keeks" by her friends.
Recurring
* Tsuni (voiced by
Jordan Todosey): A laidback
mermaid
In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Mermaids are sometimes asso ...
who rides on a
skateboard and Dez's love interest. She has darker skin than Dez and has a collapsible trident in her backpack. She works at a magical comic book store, where Dez and his friends hang out.
* Fireball Cat (voiced by Martin Roach): A mystical anthropomorphic
cat named for the fire that burns on his head. He is the owner of a noodle soup restaurant frequented by Dez, his friends, and many other characters. He possesses near-omnipotent magical powers and knowledge, notably the ability to use his own mouth for
scrying.
* The King of the Underworld (voiced by
Brian Drummond): A giant angry demon who rules the Underworld. He is the occasional nemesis of Dez and his friends.
* Phil (voiced by Blair Williams): Dez's bitter, cynical, and greedy leprechaun uncle.
*
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
(voiced by
Christian Potenza): The God of the Sea, who behaves like an egotistical "surfer dude".
* Howie (voiced by Doug Hadders): A
centaur
A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.
Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...
who works in the postal service.
* Samuel (voiced by Doug Hadders): A
yeti smothered in ice cream. He had wished for endless ice cream from Dez long ago, but soon came to regret the wish due to having to live with permanent brain freeze, sticky fingers, and
lactose intolerance.
* Clooney (voiced by
Craig Warnock): Dez's leprechaun dad.
* Emer (voiced by
Kathy Laskey): Dez's leprechaun mom.
* Finnuala (voiced by
Samantha Weinstein
Samantha Gail Weinstein (born March 20, 1995) is a Canadian actress.
Life and work
She was born as Samantha Gail Weinstein in a Toronto hospital in 1995 to Jewish parents. She started her acting career at the age of 6, in a theatre camp where s ...
): Dez's nemesis. She is a leprechaun enforcer, working at her father's leprechaun reprogramming facility to ensure that all leprechauns are behaving as stereotypically expected of their kind.
* Leslie Walderamma (voiced by Darren Frost): An obnoxious wizard boy.
* Dusty (voiced by
Evany Rosen
Evany Rosen is a Canadian comedian and actress, most noted as a founding member of the comedy troupe Picnicface and as co-creator with Kayla Lorette of the Crave original series '' New Eden''.
Early life and education
Originally from Ontario, ...
): A witch who takes offense at people making assumptions about her.
* Gum King (voiced by
Juan Chioran): Akiko's nemesis and self-proclaimed ruler of all gum. A humanoid creature composed entirely out of gum who came to be after another one of Dez's wishes backfired. When not antagonizing Akiko, he is an employee of De-Gum Chums, a business that specializes in removing gum.
* G (voiced by
Jeff Lumby): A gargoyle who works as the security guard for Dez's apartment.
*
Janice (voiced by
Julie Lemieux): The two-faced Goddess of Thresholds. She is the doorperson of Dez's apartment.
Production
The series' title is a pun on the phrase "
brain fart", applying the term instead to wishes.
The series' creators came up with ''Wishfart'' during a lunchtime conversation when Dan Williams pitched an idea for a live-action series about a rich man in green who used his wealth to make people's wishes come true. The idea was soon developed into a children's animated series about a non-traditional leprechaun. The creators had little experience with animation, but managed to successfully pitch their idea directly to
Teletoon
Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...
without any sample artwork, thanks to the support of international distributor and producing partner, Tatiana Kober.
The first season was produced for $7.4 million US.
Slap Happy Cartoons did the character designs, with the creators' aim being rounded shapes and thin outlines.
Episodes
Broadcast
''Wishfart'' premiered on
CITV in the United Kingdom on September 5, 2017. It premiered on Discovery Italia (K2, in Italian) on November 6, 2017, on
Cartoon Network Africa
Cartoon Network is one of two digital children's television channels that air animated series: Cartoon Network Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which serves the Middle East and North Africa division along with Cyprus; and Cartoon Network ...
on January 1, 2018, and on RTBF (Belgium, in French) on February 10, 2018. It premiered on
Teletoon
Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...
on June 2, 2018, and on
Télétoon (français) on May 27, 2018. It premiered on
Cartoon Network UK
Cartoon Network (commonly abbreviated as CN) is a British pay television channel aimed at children which airs animated programming targeting children and young aged 6 to 12. on June 8, 2018. It premiered on Russia's
Telekanal 2X2 on August 27, 2018. It started airing in Poland on TeleTOON+ on August 16, 2019, replacing ''
Trollhunters Trollhunters may refer to:
*Trollhunters, an installment of the Tales of Arcadia trilogy
** Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, 2016-2018 animated series
** Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, 2021 film finale
**Trollhunters: The Adventure Begins, (2017 ...
''. In
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
it is broadcast on
NRK Super. It was expected to debut in France on
Canal+ (in French), on
Niki Kids in Ukraine, and on Australia's
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
in 2019. In the United States, it was released on Kidoodle.TV on December 9, 2021.
Reception
The series received five nominations at the 2019
Canadian Screen Awards in the categories of Best Direction (Animation), Best Sound (Animation), and Best Writing (Animation), with three of those nominations being in the last category. It was also nominated for an Award of Excellence for Best Program (Animation – Ages 9+) from the Youth Media Alliance in 2019, and won the
Writers Guild of Canada
The Writers Guild of Canada is an organization representing more than 2,500 professional writers working in film, television, radio, and digital media production in Canada. Members of the Guild write dramatic TV series, feature films, Movies of th ...
's Screenwriting Award in the Children's category that same year.
References
External links
*
{{Teletoon
Television series by Nelvana
2010s Canadian animated television series
Teletoon original programming
2017 Canadian television series debuts
2018 Canadian television series endings
Canadian children's animated comedy television series
Canadian children's animated fantasy television series
English-language television shows
Leprechauns in popular culture
Television series about ghosts
Animated television series about birds