''WonderWorks'' is an

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

which ran from 1984 to 1992. Produced by the

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

, the

Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

purchased the home video rights to the series in 1987 and was responsible for making the series available to the public on VHS and later DVD in addition to airing some of the programs on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

. The series consisted of short, made-for-television films out of acclaimed

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

. They included adaptations of ''

Anne of Green Gables ''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...

'', '' Bridge to Terabithia'', ''

All Summer in a Day "All Summer in a Day" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in the March 1954 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction''. Plot synopsis The story is about a class of students on Venus, whi ...

'', ''

Jacob Have I Loved ''Jacob Have I Loved'' is a coming of age novel for teenagers and young adults by Katherine Paterson. It was published by Crowell in 1980 and it won the annual Newbery Medal the following year. The title alludes to the sibling rivalry between Ja ...

'', ''

The Box of Delights ''The Box of Delights'' is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield. It is a sequel to ''The Midnight Folk'', and was first published in 1935. Also known as "When The Wolves Were Running" Plot Kay Harker is returning from boarding school ...

'', ''

The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...

'' series, ''

Miracle at Moreaux ''Miracle at Moreaux'' is a 1985 Canadian made-for-television drama film based on the novel ''Twenty and Ten'' by Claire Huchet Bishop. The film stars Loretta Swit as the main character of Sister Gabrielle, and was co-written and directed by Pau ...

'', ''

The Hoboken Chicken Emergency ''The Hoboken Chicken Emergency'' is a 1977 children's book by Daniel and Jill Pinkwater. The book may have been inspired by the Jersey Giant breed of chicken. Plot summary The main character, Arthur, is asked to pick up a reserved turkey for Th ...

'' (starring

Peter Billingsley Peter Billingsley (born April 16, 1971), also known as Peter Michaelsen and Peter Billingsley-Michaelsen, is an American actor and filmmaker. His acting roles include Ralphie Parker in the 1983 movie ''A Christmas Story'' and its 2022 sequel ' ...

), ''Odile & Yvette at the Edge of the World'' (scored by Blake Leyh), '' How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!'' (by Stephen Manes), ''Gryphon'' (produced by Manuel Arce and Carl Haber, starring

Amanda Plummer Amanda Michael Plummer (born March 23, 1957) is an American actress. She is known for her work on stage and for her roles in such films as '' Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), ''The Fisher King'' (1991), ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), and '' The Hunge ...

), ''

A Little Princess ''A Little Princess'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905. It is an expanded version of the short story "Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's", which was serialized in '' St. Nicholas M ...

'', ''A Girl of the Limberlost'', ''

Sweet 15 ''Sweet 15'' is a 1990 American made-for-television family drama film directed by Victoria Hochberg and starring Karla Montana, Panchito Gómez, Jerry Stiller, and Tony Plana. The plot concerns a fourteen-year-old girl whose dreams of having a ...

'', ''

A Waltz Through the Hills ''A Waltz Through The Hills'' is a 1988 Australian-American made-for-television adventure drama film based on the novel of the same name by Gerald Glaskin. It is the story of two orphaned children who run away from their home in the Western Aus ...

'', ''

The Canterville Ghost "The Canterville Ghost" is a humorous short story by Oscar Wilde. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in two parts in '' The Court and Society Review'', 23 February and 2 March 1887. The story is about an American fa ...

'', ''

Frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

,'' ''The Haunting of Barney Palmer'', ''Lone Star Kid'', ''

Caddie Woodlawn ''Caddie Woodlawn'' is a children's historical fiction novel by Carol Ryrie Brink that received the Newbery Medal in 1936 and a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. The original 1935 edition was illustrated by Newbery-award-winning author and illu ...

'', ''

The House of Dies Drear ''The House of Dies Drear'' is a children's mystery novel by Virginia Hamilton, with sinister goings-on in a reputedly haunted house. It was published by Macmillan in 1968 with illustrations by Eros Keith. The novel received the 1969 Edgar Awar ...

'', and ''

The Boy Who Loved Trolls ''The Boy Who Loved Trolls'' is a 1984 American made-for-television fantasy- adventure film produced for the PBS series ''WonderWorks''. The story was adapted by James A. DeVinney from a play by John Wheatcroft. The original play, entitled ''O ...

''. It also co-produced the Australian ''

Clowning Around ''Clowning Around'' is a 1992 Australian family film that was shot on location in Perth, Western Australia and Paris, France. It was based on the novel ''Clowning Sim'' by David Martin.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', A ...

'' series. ''WonderWorks'' also carried ''Traitor in My House'' (1990), a 50-minute film that tells the story of

Elizabeth Van Lew Elizabeth Van Lew (October 12, 1818 – September 25, 1900) was an American abolitionist and philanthropist who built and operated an extensive spy ring for the Union Army during the American Civil War. Many false claims continue to be ...

, a Union sympathizer who lived in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

.Traitor in My House, Turner Classic Movies, Retrieved April 3, 2015, http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/475532/Traitor-in-My-House/ The story is told through the eyes of Van Lew's 12-year-old niece, Louise Van Lew. ''Traitor in My House'' stars

Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter. She is known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emmy ...

Charles S. Dutton Charles Stanley Dutton (born January 30, 1951) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''Roc (TV series), Roc'' (1991–1994) and the television film ''The Piano Lesson (film), The Piano Lesson'' ...

Harris Yulin Harris Yulin (born November 5, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Scarface'' (1983), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), '' Looking for Richard' ...

, and

Angela Goethals Angela Bethany Goethals ( ) is an American film, television and stage actress. Goethals made her acting debut in the Broadway production of ''Coastal Disturbances'' in 1987, and later played the sister of Macaulay Culkin's character in '' Home ...

.Traitor in My House, IMDb, Retrieved April 3, 2015, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294975/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 The film is directed by Nell Cox and was produced by the Educational Film Center. Cate Adair provided costume design. In 1987, the show's home video rights were picked up by

Walt Disney Home Video Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

to release the episodes on videocassette. The ''WonderWorks'' series opening intro consisted of a computer animated light bulb shaped hot air balloon with an airplane at the base of it under the name ''The WonderWorks BalloonPlane'' as the main focal point of the intro. During the airing of later productions, the show was renamed as ''The WonderWorks' Family Movie'' up until the series' end. The program was co-produced by WQED-Pittsburgh,

KCET KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE-TV ...

-Los Angeles,

KTCA Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. (abbreviated TPT, doing business as Twin Cities PBS) is a nonprofit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that operates the Twin Cities' two PBS member television stations, KTCA-TV (channe ...

-St. Paul/Minneapolis, WHRO-Hampton-Norfolk/Virginia,

South Carolina Educational Television South Carolina Educational Television (branded as South Carolina ETV, SCETV or simply ETV) is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television stations serving the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is owned and operated by ...

, WETA-Washington, D.C. and KERA-Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. In 1999, rights to 55 WonderWorks specials were passed over to

CINAR Corporation Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. (also known as Cookie Jar Group and originally known as CINAR; renamed as DHX Cookie Jar Inc. from 2012 until 2014, or simply just Cookie Jar) was a Canadian media production and distribution company owned by DHX M ...

, who have since sold the rights to

Questar Entertainment Questar, Inc. (Questar Entertainment) is a Chicago-based digital, streaming OTT, production, acquisition and distribution company. Questar Entertainment launched two divisions: Cow Lamp Films in 2018, the company’s independent features divisio ...

sometime in the 2000s.

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , title = Awards for ''WonderWorks'' , list = {{Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program {{TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming PBS original programming Television series by Disney 1980s American anthology television series 1990s American anthology television series