''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator
. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicting dozens or more people doing a variety of amusing things at a given location. Readers are challenged to find a character named Wally hidden in the group.
Wally is identified by his red-and-white-striped shirt,
bobble hat
A knit cap is a piece of knitted headwear designed to provide warmth in cold weather. It usually has a simple tapered shape, although more elaborate variants exist. Historically made of wool, it is now often made of synthetic fibers.
Found a ...
, and glasses, but many illustrations contain
red herring
A red herring is a figurative expression referring to a logical fallacy in which a clue or piece of information is or is intended to be misleading, or distracting from the actual question.
Red herring may also refer to: Animals
* Red herring (fi ...
s involving deceptive use of red-and-white striped objects. Later entries in the long-running book series added other targets for readers to find in each illustration. The books have also inspired two television programmes (''
Where's Wally?
''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicti ...
'' the 1991 animated series and ''
Where's Wally?
''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicti ...
'' the 2019 animated series), a
comic strip and a series of video games.
, more than 73 million books of ''Where's Wally?'' (and his regional names) had been sold around the world since his original publication in 1987.
The series of pictorial puzzle books has been translated into 26 languages, and is published in over 50 countries.
History
In 1986, illustrator
, a graduate of the
University for the Creative Arts
The University for the Creative Arts is a specialist art and design university in the south of England.
It was formed in 2005 as University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester when the Kent Ins ...
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, was asked by his art director, David Bennett, at
Walker Books
Walker Books is a British publisher of children's books, founded in 1978 by Sebastian Walker, Amelia Edwards, and Wendy Boase.
In 1991, the success of Walker Books' ''Where's Wally?'' series enabled the company to expand into the American ma ...
in London to develop a book of detailed crowd scenes, inspired by Bennett having seen
Philippe Dupasquier
Philippe Dupasquier (born 1955) is an author and illustrator of children's books. He was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, but he went to art school in Lyon, France 1976–79, after which he became a freelance illustrator in London, England. Th ...
's ''Busy Places'' series.
Whilst the book was being prepared for Bologna Book Fair, someone at Walker Books suggested the idea of adding a distinctive-looking character whom the reader could search for in the crowd scenes.
After much thinking, Handford came up with the idea of "Wally", a world traveller and time travel aficionado who always dresses in red and white.
["Up Against the Waldo"]
by Cyndi Stivers, 14 December 1990, ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
''. Retrieved 8 February 2010. Sometimes it would take him up to eight weeks to draw a two-page sketch of the elusive "Wally" and the characters surrounding him.
["Interview with Martin Handford"]
, Scholastic
Scholastic may refer to:
* a philosopher or theologian in the tradition of scholasticism
* ''Scholastic'' (Notre Dame publication)
* Scholastic Corporation, an American publishing company of educational materials
* Scholastic Building, in New Y ...
Book Club. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
The first ''Where's Wally?'' book was published on 21 September 1987.
'Walker Books
Walker Books is a British publisher of children's books, founded in 1978 by Sebastian Walker, Amelia Edwards, and Wendy Boase.
In 1991, the success of Walker Books' ''Where's Wally?'' series enabled the company to expand into the American ma ...
''. Retrieved 20 September 2012. ''Where's Wally?'' books were published in the United Kingdom by Walker Books and in the United States under the title ''Where's Waldo?'' first by
Little, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...
before being taken on by
Candlewick Press
Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo.
Sebastian Walker launched Walker Books fro ...
(Walker Books' American subsidiary publishing company). The first four titles were originally printed in Italy, but later reprinted in China.
The books became extremely popular and were localised for many different territories, with name changes for Wally in certain regions. The franchise also spawned other media in a more storyline-based form, including
a 1991 television series, ''Where's Wally?'',
a comic strip, ''Where's Wally?'' and a series of video games.
As the series goes on, Wally progressively becomes harder to find, reducing his size on the page and surrounding him by more characters. In the first book, Wally was on average big. This was reduced to in the second book, in the third, and between in the fourth through seventh books. He has also been surrounded by more characters, from 225 on the first book's first page to about 850 on the last book's first page.
Characters
* ''Wally'', whose
name was localised for certain international editions, for example ''Waldo'' in North American editions. Over time, more characters were added to find in each scene.
* ''Wilma'', Wally's friend first appeared in the ''Ultimate Fun Book'', and was replaced by her identical twin sister Wenda in the ''Where's Wally: The Magnificent Poster Book''.
* ''Wenda'', a friend of Wally who replaced her twin sister Wilma for ''In Hollywood'' (although she previously appeared in ''The Magnificent Poster Book'').
* ''Odlaw'', Wally's nemesis, who made his print debut in ''The Magnificent Poster Book''. He appears nearly the same as Wally, except that his clothes are yellow and black striped instead of red and white; his glasses have a blue tint to them; and he has a moustache. He also has a British accent in the
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...
. Although it is told that "his bad deeds are many", he is not depicted in the books doing anything particularly nasty. However, in the television series, he is frequently seen to be attempting to steal Wally's magical walking stick. His name "Odlaw" is simply a reversal of "Waldo" from the American editions, although he is still called "Odlaw" in the United Kingdom as well. In the
reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is phys ...
, he is reimagined as ''Odlulu'', a misunderstood pre teen female Anti-Wanderer designed as a fusion between Wenda, Wilma, and Odlaw's traditional designs. She sports a yellow baseball cap with black stripes and glasses with angular black frames, and shoulder-length black hair with a yellow streak. She wears a long-sleeved black and yellow top, and a yellow skirt, knee-high black socks with white cuffs and blue shoes.
* ''Woof'', Wally's dog, first appeared in ''The Ultimate Fun Book'', where he was identified as Wenda's dog. Only his tail can be found, with the exception of the final page of ''Where's Wally: The Wonder Book'', which depicts all of Woof, and the six activity books released between 1993 and 1995, starting with ''The Truly Terrific Activity Book'', where Woof shows himself to the reader. In the 2019 TV series, Woof is replaced by ''Arfolomew'', a dog also known as ''Arf'' for short. Woof later returns to the new series.
* ''Wizard Whitebeard'', first seen in ''The Fantastic Journey''. His signature is his exceptionally long beard, which is often the key to finding him. In his first appearance, he was responsible for sending Wally on a quest to discover the truth about himself, and he has tagged along on Wally's travels ever since. His appearance in ''The Ultimate Fun Book'', however, is in only one scene in "Old Friends" and his presence is unmentioned in the book and acts as one of the background characters.
* ''The Wally Watchers'' are Wally's devoted fan-club that first appeared in ''
Where's Wally? The Ultimate Fun Book'' (1990). They turn up wherever Wally goes, dressed in the same red-and-white striped outfit. While 25 appear in most books, there are in comparison, 99 of them in the ''Ultimate Fun Book''.
* In the earlier books, a character appears in every scene, which the reader must look to find out who it is. This is because no information on the characters is given in the books aside from the task to look for them. The characters appeared as background characters and all had something unique to them, like blonde hair or a ginger beard. In some cases, characters from previous scenes would also appear.
* ''Fritz'', a hungry ferret who is Odlulu's companion who also appeared in the
new series.
International editions
In international editions, Wally has often been given a name in the local language:
*
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...
:
*
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...
:
[
* ]Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
: (''Fuḍūlī'')
* Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
: (''Uoli'')
* Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...
:
* Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
:
** Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
pronunciation: '' Wai1 lei6''
** Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
pronunciation: '' Wēilì''
* Croatian
Croatian may refer to:
* Croatia
*Croatian language
*Croatian people
*Croatians (demonym)
See also
*
*
* Croatan (disambiguation)
* Croatia (disambiguation)
* Croatoan (disambiguation)
* Hrvatski (disambiguation)
* Hrvatsko (disambiguation)
* S ...
: [
* ]Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
: [
* ]Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
: [
* ]Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
: [
* ]Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, an ...
: (''shalabee'')[
* ]Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
: [
* ]Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
: [
* ]French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
: [
* Galician:
* ]German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
: [
* ]Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
**Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three script ...
: (''Voli'')[
* ]Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: (''Gouόli'')[
* ]Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: (''Efi'')[
* ]Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
: (''Heṭṭi'')
* Hungarian Hungarian may refer to:
* Hungary, a country in Central Europe
* Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946
* Hungarians, ethnic groups in Hungary
* Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignme ...
: [
* Icelandic: ][
* ]Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
: ,[
* ]Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
: ('' Wōrī'')[
* ]Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
: ('' Walli'')[
* ]Lithuanian
Lithuanian may refer to:
* Lithuanians
* Lithuanian language
* The country of Lithuania
* Grand Duchy of Lithuania
* Culture of Lithuania
* Lithuanian cuisine
* Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Je ...
: [
* ]Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
: [
* ]Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
: [
* ]Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Port ...
: [
* ]Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
: [
* ]Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: (''Uolli'')[
* ]Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambigua ...
: (''Gile'')[
* ]Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...
:
* Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...
: , , [
* ]Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities ...
: ,[
* ]Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
: [
Some examples of the full book names in other countries include:
* ''Waar's Willie?'' (Afrikaans)
* ''أين شلبي؟'' (Arabic)
* ''Kъде е Уоли?'' (Bulgarian)
* ''On és Wally?'' (Catalan)
* (Chinese)
* ''Gdje je Jura?'' (Croatian)
* ''Kde je Valdík?'' (Czech)
* ''Find Holger'' (Danish)
* ''Waar is Wally?'' (Dutch)
* ''Missä Vallu?'' (Finnish)
* ''Où est Charlie?'' (French)
* ''¿Onde está Wally?'' (Galician)
* ''Wo ist Walter?'' (German)
* ''Που είναι ο Γουόλι;'' (Greek)
* (Hebrew)
* ''Hová tűnt Vili?'' (Hungarian)
* ''Hvar er Valli?'' (Icelandic)
* ''Dimana Waldo?'' (Indonesian)
* ''Ubaldo dove sei?'' (Italian)
* (Japanese)
* (Korean)
* ''Surask Joną!'' (Lithuanian)
* ''Kemana Wally?'' (Malay)
* ''Hvor er Willy?'' (Norwegian)
* ''Gdzie jest Wally?'' (Polish)
* ''Onde está Wally?'' (Brazilian Portuguese)
* ''Onde está o Wally?'' (European Portuguese)
* ''Unde-i Wally?'' (Romanian)
* ''Где Уолли?'' (Russian)
* ''Gde je Gile?'' (Serbian)
* ''¿Dónde está Wally?'' (Spanish)][
* ''Var är Waldo?'' (Swedish)
* ''Ali nerede?'' (Turkish)
* ''Ble mae Wali?'' (Welsh)
]
Media
Books
Primary books
, there are seven primary Wally books. The books were released both in hard-cover (for the original books) and subsequently in paperback. Each contains around a dozen scenes with Wally hidden in them. Each book has additional hidden objects and/or characters hidden in each scene specific to that book. The books usually reserve telling the reader about some item(s) to find until the end of the book so that the reader will have to go through the book again. The books contain checklists for each scene of interesting things or people to find.
# ''Where's Wally?
''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicti ...
'' (US title: ''Where's Waldo?'') (1987)
# '' Where's Wally Now?'' (US title: ''Find Waldo Now'', renamed ''Where's Waldo Now?'' later) (1988)
# '' Where's Wally? The Fantastic Journey'' (US title: ''The Great Waldo Search'', renamed ''Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Journey'' later) (1989)
# '' Where's Wally in Hollywood?'' (US title: ''Where's Waldo in Hollywood?'') (1993)
# '' Where's Wally? The Wonder Book'' (US title: ''Where's Waldo? The Wonder Book'') (1997)
# '' Where's Wally? The Great Picture Hunt!'' (US title: ''Where's Waldo? The Great Picture Hunt!'') (2006)
# '' Where's Wally? The Incredible Paper Chase'' (US title: ''Where's Waldo? The Incredible Paper Chase'') (2009)
There have been three rounds of revised editions. In 1993, to coincide with the publication of ''In Hollywood'', the first three books were reprinted with Wenda, Woof and the Wally Watchers added to the original illustrations, and the books were numbered on the cover. A "pocket edition" of the first book was also published, in a tiny A6 format (). Wally is even harder to spot when shrunk to this degree, and later printings included a free magnifying lens.
In 1997, to coincide with the publication of ''The Wonder Book'', special "Tenth Anniversary Editions" of the first four books were published with a distinct silver border on their front covers, and added later-introduced characters and objects to look for in every scene, and also moved Wally to different locations from the original versions. These special editions appeared in both standard and "pocket" formats.
In 2007, for the 20th anniversary of the first book, the special editions of 1997 (and ''The Great Picture Hunt'') were re-released with a new cover into paperback format. The silver borders on the books were removed and instead, the books were numbered in the top left-hand corner of the cover. Aside from the new numbering system, some of the front covers were also revised otherwise; for example, the "NOW?" on the cover of ''Where's Wally Now?'' was given a 2D effect, but it was originally designed to look like a 3D shape.
Other books
In addition to the primary books, other books have also been published in the Wally franchise. The first alternate-format Wally book was the ''Ultimate Fun Book''. In addition to standard Wally scenes, this paperback activity book featured other types of games and activities, as well as cardboard punch-outs and stickers. ''The Magnificent Poster Book'', which was a large-format book of posters including five scenes from past books and six new scenes (later included in ''The Great Picture Hunt'').
* '' Where's Wally? The Ultimate Fun Book'' (1990)
** Activity book
* '' Where's Wally? The Magnificent Poster Book'' (1991)
** Larger book containing cut-out posters
* ''Where's Wally? The Dazzling Deep-sea Divers Sticker Book'' (1994)
** Sticker book and play scene
* ''Where's Wally? The Fabulous Flying Carpets Sticker Book'' (1994)
** Sticker book and play scene
* ''A Where's Wally? Fun Fact Book: Plundering Pirates'' (2000)
** Educational Where's Wally? book with new scenes and facts
* ''A Where's Wally? Fun Fact Book: Fighting Knights'' (2000)
** Educational Where's Wally? book with new scenes and facts
* ''Where's Wally?'' (2008)
** A £1 World Book Day Book
* ''Where's Wally? The Spectacular Poster Book'' (2010)
** Larger book containing cut-out posters
* ''Where's Wally? The Search for the Lost Things'' (2012)
* ''Where's Wally? 25th Anniversary Annual'' (2012)
Several other "activity books" have also been published featuring art from the "Where's Wally" comic strip:
* ''Where's Wally? The Truly Terrific Activity Book'' (1993)
* ''Where's Wally? The Absolutely Amazing Activity Book'' (1993)
* ''Where's Wally? The Wildly Wonderful Activity Book'' (1994)
* ''Where's Wally? Simply Sensational Activity Book'' (1994)
* ''Where's Wally? The Really Remarkable Activity Book'' (1995)
* ''Where's Wally? The Completely Crazy Activity Book'' (1995)
* ''Where's Wally? Bumper Activity Book'' (1995) - previous four books in one volume.
The first six activity books mentioned were reprinted in 2009 in a smaller size with different packaging.
Collections
Publication details
* As of 2022, only the special editions of the original five books are still in print, as well as a paperback 2007 reprint of ''The Great Picture Hunt'' and a paperback 2010 reprint of ''The Incredible Paper Chase''. These books now also have "Special extra searches inside", according to the front covers.
* 1997's ''The Wonder Book'' was the last numbered book in the series to contain new, original scenes, as ''The Great Picture Hunt'' and ''The Incredible Paper Chase'' contain both new scenes and older ones from ''The Ultimate Fun Book'' and ''The Magnificent Poster Book'', as these books are no longer in print.
* The scene originally titled "Among the Pirates" is the most used, as it has appeared in 1991's ''The Magnificent Poster Book'', 2000's ''Plundering Pirates'', 2006's ''The Great Picture Hunt'', and a jigsaw puzzle.
Magazine
A series of geographical magazines for children was published in the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Portugal, Poland, Brazil, Spain, France, Hungary, Czech Republic, Malta, Bulgaria and Russia, called ''Wally's World''. In each issue Wally travelled to a different country or region of the world giving the reader interesting facts. 52 issues were published from January 1997 to January 1998, when ''Wally's History of the World'' began, focusing more on history than geography. The first issue was given away free with the last issue of ''Wally's World''.
Television series
A 13-episode animated series, ''Where's Wally?
''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicti ...
'', with Townsend Coleman
Townsend Coleman is an American voice actor who has performed in many animated series and TV commercials beginning in the early 1980s. Among his most notable roles are Michaelangelo from ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Wayne Gretzky on '' ProSta ...
as the voice of Wally, was produced by DiC for CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
in 1991 for the North American market under the "Waldo" name. The show was later translated for international markets – usually renaming the character to match the books of that country. The dialogue and theme song were recorded in alternative ''Wally'' versions, with the same voice cast of the original US production, in order to market the show in the UK. It was aired on ITV in the UK and the distribution rights to the show are currently held by HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and So ...
.
A new animated series by DreamWorks Animation Television
DreamWorks Animation Television (abbreviated as DWATV or simply DAT) is an American animation studio that serves as the television production arm of DreamWorks Animation, itself a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast ...
aired on Universal Kids
Universal Kids is an American children's television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal.
The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented channel jointly op ...
in 2019. The voice cast includes Joshua Rush
Joshua Rush (born December 14, 2001) When the Image is zoomed, for the DOB it shows December 14, 2001. is an American actor and activist. He is known for playing Cyrus Goodman on the Disney Channel drama series ''Andi Mack'' (2017–2019), who ...
as the voice of Waldo, Haley Tju
Haley Alexandra Tju () (born February 15, 2001) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Pepper in the Nickelodeon television series ''Bella and the Bulldogs'', and Marcy Wu in the Disney animated television series ''Amphibia''.
Early ...
as Wenda, Eva Carlton as Odlulu (the female equivalent to Odlaw), Thomas Lennon
Thomas Patrick Lennon (born August 9, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, director, and novelist. He plays Lieutenant Jim Dangle on the series ''Reno 911!''
Lennon is an accomplished screenwriter of several major st ...
as Wizard Whitebeard and Ian James Corlett
Ian James Corlett (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian voice actor, animator, and author. He is the creator of Studio B Productions' animated series '' Being Ian'' and '' Yvon of the Yukon''. One of his best-known animation roles was the first E ...
as Woof. The series later moved to Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
.
Film
A film based on the ''Where's Wally?'' series of books has been pursued by various studios. Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
was the one of the studios to take an interest in the idea but when the regime at Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
(Nickelodeon's corporate sister) changed, the project was cancelled. In June 2009, Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
(who would later obtain ownership of the property through its acquisition of Classic Media
Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...
's owner DreamWorks Animation in 2016) and Illumination Entertainment
Illumination (formerly known as Illumination Entertainment) is an American computer animation studio, founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007. Illumination is owned by Meledandri and the Illumination brand is co-owned by Universal Pictures, a divis ...
had acquired the rights to turn ''Where's Wally?'' into a live-action film, but the project was also cancelled.
In November 2011, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...
and Classic Media announced a live-action film based on the ''Where's Wally?'' series. Screenwriter Todd Berger
Todd Berger (born April 5, 1979) is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and novelist most prominently known for writing and directing the feature films ''It's a Disaster'', ''Cover Versions'', '' The Scenesters'', and the documentary ...
has been hired to write the story for the film, which was slated to be released in the summer of 2015. In March 2016, Seth Rogen
Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series '' Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part ...
and Evan Goldberg
Evan D. Goldberg (born September 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American filmmaker and comedian. He has collaborated with his childhood friend Seth Rogen on the films '' Superbad'', '' Pineapple Express'', '' This Is the End'', '' The Interview'', and ' ...
were in talks to produce the film with their producing partner James Weaver and Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir to write the film, under their Point Grey Pictures
Point Grey (PGP) is an American independent film and television production company founded in 2011 by Canadian comedians and filmmakers, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
History
Founded by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg in February 12, 2011, the com ...
banner.
The 1994 comedy film '' Naked Gun : The Final Insult'', starring Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.
Nielsen was bo ...
and Priscilla Presley
Priscilla Ann Presley ( Wagner, changed by adoption to Beaulieu; born May 24, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the former wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as co-founder and former chairwoman of Elvis Presley ...
, features a cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
by Wally at the end of the film during a scene that takes place at the Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
.
During the 2012 Super Bowl, Wally was featured in a MetLife
MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produc ...
commercial. As in the series, Wally was hard to find in the commercial.
Video games
A number of North American video games were developed using the US/Canada regional name "Waldo":
* ''Where's Waldo?
''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depictin ...
'' (1991) (NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
)
* '' The Great Waldo Search'' (1992) (NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
, SNES
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...
, Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan as ...
)
* ''Wally wo Sagase!'' (1992) (Arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
) (Japan-exclusive title developed and published by Sega)
* ''Wally wo Sagase! Ehon no Kuni no Daibouken'' (1993) (Super Famicom
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in ...
) (Japan-exclusive title published by Tomy
is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...
)
* ''Where's Waldo at the Circus
Designed for "children ages 4 through 8", ''Where's Waldo at the Circus'' is a computer video game that immerses the player in a rich interactive environment complete with music, sound, and animation. A team of educators assisted with the game des ...
'' (1995) ( PC)
* '' Where's Waldo?: Exploring Geography'' (1996) ( PC)
* '' Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Journey'' (2009) ( PC, Mac, Nintendo Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
, Nintendo DS, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)
* ''Where's Waldo? in Hollywood'' (2010) (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)
* ''Waldo & Friends'', a mobile game published by Ludia, Inc. on iOS and Android (operating system), Android in 2015, but is no longer available for download
Comic strip
For several years in the early and mid-1990s, ''Where's Wally?'' was turned into a Sunday newspaper comic/puzzle, distributed by King Features Syndicate. The strip was later translated and reworked for international markets, including releases in book form in the US, using the regional name 'Waldo'.
Several activity books of the comic strip were released in the mid-1990s:
* ''Where's Wally: The Completely Crazy Activity Book''
* ''Where's Wally: The Really Remarkable Activity Book''
* ''Where's Wally: The Simply Sensational Activity Book''
* ''Where's Wally: The Wildly Wonderful Activity Book''
Cereal boxes
In the early 1990s Quaker Life Cereal in the US carried various ''Where's Waldo?'' scenes on the back of the boxes along with collector's cards, toys and send-away prizes.
This was shown in ''The Simpsons'' episode "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder" where Homer shouts "Waldo, where are you?!" after looking at the scene on the cereal box as Waldo walks by the kitchen window.
Google Maps
On 1 April 2018, Google Maps added a minigame in which one can look for Wally and his friends around the world – in the Andes (Chile), Surfers Paradise beach (Australia), in the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium (South Korea), at the La Tomatina festival (Spain), in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood and in the Picard crater on the Moon.
Real-life ''Where's Wally?'' phenomena
World record attempts
In 2009, 1,052 students, alumni, and members of the community at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, captured the ''Guinness World Record'' for the largest gathering of people dressed as Wally. The event raised money for local State school, public schools.
In 2011, the previous record was broken when 3,872 people dressed as Wally gathered in Merrion Square, Dublin, Ireland.
The record was beaten in 2017 when 4,626 people dressed as Wally gathered in Japan, after three failed attempts.
The Waldo Waldo 5K has tried to break the record in a 5-kilometre fun run to raise money for the Waldo Canyon Fire burn area in Colorado Springs, Colorado, US, every year since the fire in July 2012. The first attempt, on 21 October, had just over a thousand. The second attempt, on 27 October 2013, had over 2,700. The third attempt, on 26 October 2014, hosted 3,104 participants. The fourth attempt, on 17 October 2015, increased the count to 3,400 participants. The fifth attempt was made on 22 October 2016, with a final count of 3,524. The next race was held on 21 October 2017.
Real-life re-creation
On 12 September 2009, a re-creation took place in downtown Chicago. The re-creation featured all of the characters, Wally, Wenda, Wizard Whitebeard, Odlaw, and Woof, hiding throughout downtown Chicago and invited others to come and find them.
Universities (such as the University of Exeter) have had Where's Wally inspired societies, in which members may dress as Wally whilst playing games such as hide-and-seek on campus grounds.
See also
* Wimmelbilderbuch
References
{{Where's Wally?
Where's Wally?,
Book series introduced in 1987
British picture books
Puzzle books
Literary characters introduced in 1987
1980s fads and trends
1990s fads and trends
Tomy games
British novels adapted into television shows
1987 neologisms
Quotations from literature
Series of children's books
Walker Books books