World of Winx


World of Winx is an Italian animated television series and a spin-off of Winx Club. The series was created by Iginio Straffi. Twenty-six episodes were produced in two seasons, the first of which was premiered as a Netflix original series on 4 November 2016.
The series was produced by the Rainbow studio, which is co-owned by Straffi and Viacom. The series was released on Netflix in most territories worldwide, with the exception of Italy and Greece, where it was broadcast on Rai Gulp and Viacom's Nickelodeon, respectively. In 2016, Rainbow's Cristiana Buzzelli confirmed that the Netflix streaming company did "not enter into the creative process on scripts, characters or plot lines."

Story

The Winx Club girls return to Gardenia, Bloom's hometown on Earth, where they work as a group of talent scouts on a reality television program to find children and teenagers of various talents. Behind the scenes, they try to save them from being kidnapped by a Talent Thief while hiding their own identities as fairies. In the first season, the Winx Club girls achieve a new level of magical transformation, which is called "Dreamix".
In the second season, the Winx Club girls receive new missions from the spirit of the dream world. They learn of the Queen's troubled past and hope to return her to the good fairy she was once by reuniting her with her lost love, Peter Pan. Their Dreamix transformations and powers are upgraded to "Onyrix". Initially, Jim and Smee ally with the Winx Club girls in facing the Queen and her shadow creatures. The Winx must also deal with special shadow creatures called Nemesis which are drawn from the essence of each of the Winx girls' deepest fears.

Characters

''Winx Club''

The series features seven fairies from the original Winx Club series:

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2017)

Production

In September 2014, as part of its efforts to increase kids' programming, it was announced that Netflix had ordered from Rainbow Studios two seasons of World of Winx, each comprising 13 22-minute episodes. The premise of the show is that the "girls embark on an undercover journey all around the world looking for talented kids in art, sports, music and science." Netflix at the time already had a pact with Rainbow to show some of the seasons of Winx Club, its films, and other Rainbow shows such as PopPixie and Mia and Me.
Originally slated to premiere in early 2016, the series was delayed until later that year, eventually premiering in 4 November as a Netflix original series. Rainbow promoted the show briefly at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas in 2016, along with shows Regal Academy and Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends. At the event, it was revealed that the storyline involved a Talent Thief that had been capturing children. The second season was released on Netflix on 16 June 2017.

Reception

Ella Anders, a regular reviewer of magical girl-themed shows on BSC Kids, had low expectations on the series given that the more recent seasons of Winx Club were shells of their original, but said "So it was all that much stranger when I realized just how good World of Winx actually is". She liked that the series made the story meaningful. "Every moment counts, the story is a good one that is tightly woven together. The humour and heart shines. The girls are using their magic wisely and creatively." She especially liked that the Winx girls were "back to their old selves".

Works cited