86-456: Winx Club is an animated television series co-produced by Rainbow SpA and later Nickelodeon . It was created and directed by Italian animator Iginio Straffi . It premiered on 28 January 2004, becoming a ratings success in Italy and on Nickelodeon networks internationally. The show is set in a magical universe that is inhabited by fairies, witches, and other mythical creatures. The main character
172-499: A 60% increase from the fourth quarter of 2011. On Nickelodeon UK , Winx Club increased the network's ratings by 58% on its launch weekend in September 2011, ranking as the second-most-popular program on the channel and the most popular show with females aged 7–15. As of 2021, Winx Club is still broadcast daily on Nickelodeon UK's main network. In a New York Times article, Bocconi University professor Paola Dubini stated that
258-551: A brighter, more modern appearance. Production of the restyled series began by 2002, and Rainbow estimated the episodes would be delivered to distributors by late 2003. The new name of the series ("Winx") was derived from the English word " wings ". Straffi's aim was to appeal to both genders, including action sequences designed for male viewers and fashion elements for female viewers. At the October 2003 MIPCOM event, Rainbow screened
344-455: A cartoony voice for her character. Nickelodeon advised her to use her real voice instead, saying, "No, we want voices of real girls this time around." For the 2011 cast, Viacom hired popular actors whose names were advertised on-air to attract American viewers; these stars included Ariana Grande as Diaspro, Elizabeth Gillies as Daphne, Keke Palmer as Aisha, Matt Shively as Sky, and Daniella Monet as Mitzi. These actors provided voices for
430-479: A co-owner of Rainbow in 2011, Rainbow's group of 30 writers began collaborating with teams in both Italy and the United States. The international coordination, which has continued through 2019, intends to make scenarios depicted in the program multicultural and accessible to viewers from different countries. Episodes are written with two stories in mind: a longer narrative arc that lasts for tens of episodes and
516-521: A four-year hiatus, an eighth season premiered in 2019. At Straffi's decision, this season was heavily retooled for a preschool target audience . A live-action adaptation of Winx Club for young adults, titled Fate: The Winx Saga , premiered in 2021. In January 2023, Viacom (now known as Paramount Global ) sold its stake in Rainbow SpA back to Straffi, allowing him full control of the studio's new projects, including an upcoming animated reboot of
602-436: A magical dimension". In expanding the concept, Iginio Straffi drew his inspiration from Japanese manga and the comics of Sergio Bonelli . Straffi's pilot, which was titled "Magic Bloom", featured the original five Winx members in attires like those of traditional European fairies. It was produced during a twelve-month development period that included animation tests, character studies, and market surveys. The animation attracted
688-678: A majority stake in Gruppo Iven S.p.A., which owns the production company Colorado Film. In April 2018, Straffi and Viacom listed the company on the Italian stock exchange . The listing followed years of consideration regarding which country's stock market to enter (the United States or Italy). According to Straffi, this presented "a real dilemma" as Viacom was already listed on an American stock exchange, but Rainbow performed best in European countries. Straffi and Viacom withdrew Rainbow from
774-440: A subplot that concludes at the end of the 22-minute runtime. This episode structure was modelled on those of teen dramas and American comics. Themes written into the series include romance, the acquisition of maturity upon reaching adulthood, and (in the fifth season) nature conservation. After the script and character designs have been approved, the screenplay is passed onto a group of storyboard artists. For each 22-minute episode,
860-586: A trio of witches named the Trix: Icy , Darcy , and Stormy , all former students of the Cloud Tower school. Winx Club is set in a vast universe with several dimensions. Most episodes take place in the Magic Dimension, which is closed off to ordinary people and inhabited by creatures from European mythology like fairies, witches, and monsters. The capital of this world is the city of Magix—which
946-438: A variety of media, including the spin-off series World of Winx , a comic book serial, and video games. In 2012, new episodes of the series incorporated CGI-animated sequences that rendered the characters in 3D. A live-action series inspired by Winx Club , Fate: The Winx Saga , debuted in 2021 and features some of the original characters. In the original series (seasons 1–4), the characters' mouths were animated to match
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#17327719772301032-462: A year after production on Winx Club began. Disney applied for an injunction order to halt the further release of the Winx Club series and comic magazine; to declare the Winx Club trademark invalid; and to seize the periodical and film material bearing the allegedly infringing Winx Club name. Rainbow won the case against Disney, and the judge declared there were no confusing similarities between
1118-422: Is 4-to-8, your story cannot have the same level of complexity as the beginning seasons of Winx , where we had a lot of layers ... The fans of the previous Winx Club say on social media that the new seasons are childish, but they don't know that we had to do that. — Iginio Straffi in 2019 The eighth season of the series was not produced immediately after the seventh. It followed a multiple-year hiatus and
1204-503: Is a fairy warrior named Bloom , who enrolls at Alfea College to train and hone her skills. The series uses a serial format with an ongoing storyline. Iginio Straffi initially outlined the show's plot to last three seasons. He chose to continue the story for a fourth season in 2009. Around this time, Winx Club ' s popularity attracted the attention of the American media company Viacom , owner of Nickelodeon. Viacom purchased 30% of
1290-557: Is a school in Magix which trains warriors called the Specialists. Members of Red Fountain's staff include: Red Fountain students include: Cloud Tower is the main school for witches in the Magic Dimension. Cloud Tower's staff includes: Students of Cloud Tower include: Magix is a realm located at the centre of the Magic Dimension and the planet where the three schools Alfea, Cloud Tower and Red Fountain are located. A village in
1376-574: Is an Italian studio founded by Iginio Straffi and co-owned by Viacom (later Paramount Global ) from 2011 to 2023. Rainbow has collaborated with Viacom/Paramount's other company, Nickelodeon , on multiple shows, including Winx Club and Club 57 . The studio is based in Loreto, Marche and was founded by Straffi in 1995. Rainbow began as an animation studio, providing creative services for larger companies until it secured enough funds for original productions. In February 2011, Viacom purchased 30% of
1462-467: Is currently only available on the Spanish and French feeds. On 2 September 2010, Nickelodeon announced through a press release that they would be producing brand-new seasons with Rainbow. Nickelodeon debuted four one-hour specials (also co-produced with Rainbow) summarizing the first two seasons, the first of which premiered on their flagship American channel on 27 June 2011. With the exception of Italy,
1548-421: Is located on the planet of the same name—where the three main magic schools are situated. The other planets of the Magic Dimension include Bloom's home planet Domino, Stella's home planet Solaria, Flora's home planet Lynphea, Tecna's home planet Zenith, Musa's home planet Melody, Aisha's home planet Andros, and Roxy's home planet Tir Na Nog. Some episodes take place on Earth, where Bloom spent her childhood. During
1634-687: Is unreachable for almost anyone except for advanced magicians who can travel through dimensions. After season one, the Trix are sent there for unleashing the Army of Darkness on Magix, but are broken out in the second season by Lord Darkar. At the end of season 3, they are captured by the Templars after working with Valtor and are sent to the Prison of Andros. Tir Nan Og is the realm of the Earth fairies, located in
1720-574: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) fined Nickelodeon's Pakistani channel after it aired an episode where the Winx are shown in swimsuits. Winx Club has been popular at fan conventions . For example, in 2012 and 2013, the series had a large presence at Nickelodeon's San Diego Comic-Con booth, where new collectibles were raffled off to fans. Nickelodeon made two exclusive dolls for
1806-605: The Winx Club franchise. The series follows the adventures of a group of girls known as the Winx, students at the Alfea College for Fairies, who turn into fairies to fight villains. The team is made up of Bloom , the fairy of the Dragon Flame; Stella , the fairy of the Shining Sun; Flora , the fairy of nature; Tecna , the fairy of technology; Musa , the fairy of music; Aisha , the fairy of waves; and Roxy ,
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#17327719772301892-462: The "20-year-olds who still like to watch Winx ." On November 6, 2022, creator Iginio Straffi announced that "a brand new CG Winx animated series reboot is going into production. Yes, a reboot." In January 2023, Paramount (Viacom) sold its stake in Rainbow back to Straffi, allowing him full creative control of the reboot. In May 2024, it was announced that Netflix will be in charge of broadcasting
1978-550: The 1990s, comic artist Iginio Straffi noticed that most action cartoons were focused on male heroes; at that time, he felt that the "cartoon world was devoid of female characters". Straffi hoped to introduce an alternative show with a female lead aged 16 to 18, as he wanted to "explore the psychological side" of the transition to adulthood. He decided to develop a pilot centred on the conflict between two rival colleges; one for fairies and another for witches. Straffi compared his original premise to "a sort of ' Oxford–Cambridge rivalry ' in
2064-669: The 2012 event (a silver Bloom and a gold Bloom) and two more for 2013 (Daphne in her nymph form and Bloom in her Harmonix form). In 2015, a four-day Winx Club fan gathering was held in Jesolo , where Nickelodeon installed a "Fan Wall" to display messages from worldwide fans. In October 2018, an exhibition for the series' fifteenth anniversary was held at Europe's largest comics festival, the Lucca Comics & Games convention in Tuscany. Federico Vercellino of Il Sole 24 Ore described
2150-473: The Dark Forest where the pixies live in the series. Located between the surface of Magix and Downland. A cavernous area that is the location of Lord Darkar's palace, Shadowhaunt, and the home of the shadow creatures. The stone drains magic and power. Also known as Lightrock Monastery, it is a temple high above the clouds on a huge and rocky mountain, located above Lake Roccaluce in non-space. The fortress
2236-545: The Infinite Ocean; their powers are restored when a fairy from their respective home planet bonds with them. Selkies can sense when their bonded fairy is nearby. The fairy animals are magical creatures to which the Winx become bonded in the seventh season. Each one has a power or secret that maintains order in the universe. Alfea College for Fairies is a fairy school in the Magic Dimension. Alfea's staff members include: Other Alfea students include: Red Fountain
2322-633: The Italian voice actors, who recorded their lines in Rome. The revived series, beginning with the hour-long specials , was produced in English first. The specials and seasons 5–6 were animated to match the Hollywood-based cast, who recorded their lines at the Atlas Oceanic studio. Season 7 was also matched to Nickelodeon and Rainbow's English scripts, but due to budget cuts, Viacom relocated
2408-466: The Italian voices. Starting with season 5, the animation was synchronized to match the English scripts. The 2011 specials introduced a new cast of Hollywood voice actors. Iginio Straffi himself helped to choose the voices of the main characters, and the actors recorded their lines at the Atlas Oceanic studio in Burbank, California. Molly Quinn voiced the lead role of Bloom, and at first, she tried out
2494-518: The Lost Kingdom ) to resolve any plot points remaining from the third-season finale. In 2008, Straffi decided to extend the series, citing its increasing popularity. In September 2010, Rainbow S.p.A. announced they had entered into a worldwide broadcast and production deal with Nickelodeon that would see the broadcaster air the series in several territories, alongside co-producing and developing seasons five and six with them, effectively reviving
2580-571: The Winx Club, attends the Alfea College for Fairies. The Winx Club is led by Bloom , a student from Earth who thought she was an average human until discovering her flame-based powers. The original group includes Stella , the Fairy of the Sun and Moon (later) Fairy of the Shining Sun; Flora , the Fairy of Nature; Musa , the Fairy of Music; and Tecna , the Fairy of Technology. They share an apartment on
2666-439: The Winx rescue them from Darkar. Based in part on the pixies of British folklore, each has a special talent. The fairy pets are a group of soft toys from Earth that were brought to life by the Winx's magic. The selkies live in oceans and work as gatekeepers of the ocean portals to various planets. They are based in part on the selkies of Gaelic folklore. In the fifth season, Tritannus steals their powers to get access to
Winx Club - Misplaced Pages Continue
2752-467: The artists prepare 450 pages of storyboards which are used to assemble an animatic . At this stage, dialogue and music are added to determine the length of each scene. In the original series (seasons 1–4), the characters' mouths were animated to match the Italian voice actors' lines; in the revived series, the mouth movements were matched to the English scripts. Episodes are worked on concurrently because each requires around two years of work to complete. At
2838-547: The beginning of the first season, the production team worked from Rainbow's original headquarters in Recanati. In 2006, Straffi opened a second studio in Rome for computer-animated projects. During the fifth and sixth seasons, 3D CGI sequences were incorporated into the series for the first time, animated at the studio in Rome. According to the Rainbow CGI animators, the animation of the characters' hair in underwater scenes
2924-463: The campus of Alfea. The Fairy of Waves, Aisha , is introduced in the second season and becomes the group's sixth member. The Fairy of Animals, Roxy , is introduced in the fourth season and occasionally joins the other fairies. The characters of Winx Club have become popular with audiences. Critical response to the characters has been positive, with praise for their positive relationships and presentation of gender roles. The characters have appeared in
3010-531: The characters. These stars included Ariana Grande as Diaspro, Elizabeth Gillies as Daphne, Keke Palmer as Aisha, Matt Shively as Sky, and Daniella Monet as Mitzi. The Specialists are male warriors who train at the Red Fountain school: The Paladins were introduced in Season 6: The Pixies are the first magical beings who bond with the fairies. They are introduced in the second season after
3096-501: The company for 62 million euros (US$ 83 million), leaving the remaining 70% to Iginio Straffi. Viacom's Nickelodeon networks broadcast Rainbow's shows worldwide, and Rainbow acts as the licensing agent for Nickelodeon's shows in Italy. Nickelodeon's American studios have also collaborated with Rainbow on several productions, including Winx Club from 2011 to 2015 and Club 57 in 2019. In 2015, Rainbow purchased fellow animation studio Bardel Entertainment . In 2017, Rainbow acquired
3182-753: The company: "It's not our usual practice to co-produce cartoons; we make them by ourselves. But we strongly believe in Winx ." Winx Club was officially inducted into Nickelodeon's franchise of Nicktoons , a brand that encompasses original animated productions created for the network. On each episode of the revived series, Nickelodeon approved scripts and all phases of animation. Nickelodeon brought on some of its long-time staff members, such as creative director Janice Burgess , and writers Sascha Paladino , Adam Peltzman , and Carin Greenberg . On 7 April 2014, Rainbow and Nickelodeon announced their continuing partnership on
3268-603: The earlier seasons. The seventh season was jointly announced by Nickelodeon and Rainbow in April 2014 as part of their continuing partnership. The seventh season made its world premiere on Nickelodeon Greece on 24 May 2015, and the English version debuted on Nickelodeon Asia on 22 June 2015. It later premiered on Rai Gulp in Italy (21 September 2015) and the Nick Jr. Channel in the United States (10 January 2016). In October 2003, 4Kids Entertainment acquired US broadcast rights to
3354-416: The entire Rainbow studio, but wanted to keep Iginio Straffi at the helm, leaving Straffi with 70%. The revived series began with four special episodes that summarize the first two seasons of the original show, followed by the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons. As the production team was divided between two countries, Nickelodeon released a statement commenting on how Winx Club was an unusual production for
3440-603: The episodes. The series' visuals are a mixture of Japanese anime and European elements, which Iginio Straffi calls "the trademark Rainbow style". The main characters' original designs were based on Straffi's original sketches and later updated to 3D CGI iterations. The main characters were modelled on celebrities popular at the turn of the 21st century. In a 2011 interview with IO Donna , Straffi stated that Britney Spears served as an inspiration for Bloom, Cameron Diaz for Stella, Jennifer Lopez for Flora, Pink for Tecna, Lucy Liu for Musa, and Beyoncé for Aisha. This approach
3526-454: The fairies to represent "the women of today" and to look more modern than classic examples like la Fata Turchina . After holding test screenings of the pilot, Straffi was unhappy with the audience's unenthusiastic reaction to the characters' outdated clothing style. He hired Italian fashion designers to give the characters a more modern appearance. Flora underwent several changes because Straffi felt test audiences disliked her design. She
Winx Club - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-502: The fairy of animals. The main male characters are called the Specialists, a group of students at the Red Fountain school who are also the Winx fairies' boyfriends. They include Bloom's boyfriend Sky ; Stella's boyfriend Brandon ; Flora's boyfriend Helia ; Tecna's boyfriend Timmy ; and Musa's boyfriend Riven . Unlike their female counterparts, the Specialists do not have magical powers and instead, train how to fight using laser weapons . The Winx and Specialists' most common adversaries are
3698-408: The fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons launched on Nickelodeon channels domestically and internationally. During the sixth season in 2014, episode premieres were moved from Rai 2 to Rai Gulp in Italy, and from Nickelodeon to the Nick Jr. Channel in the United States. The change to younger-skewing networks followed Rainbow's lowering of Winx Club ' s target demographic to a younger audience than
3784-447: The first episode of the second season. The fourth season introduces a seventh member, Roxy, who occasionally joins the other fairies. After Viacom became a co-owner of the Rainbow studio in 2011, new seasons of Winx Club entered production at Viacom's Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Rainbow. For this relaunched series (which began with four specials that retell Bloom's origin story), Viacom hired popular actors to voice many of
3870-473: The first season of Winx Club for broadcast on their FoxBox (later 4Kids TV) strand on Fox . 4Kids dubbed the first three seasons, censoring and editing the original content in an attempt at localization. Iginio Straffi criticized these adjustments in a 2008 interview, saying, "The Winx fairies cannot even talk about boys there. I think this removes something essential." The series last aired on The CW (as part of The CW4Kids ) before 4Kids' broadcast agreement
3956-540: The first two Winx films and seasons three through six. In 2014, Viacom relocated the series' English cast to DuArt in New York City; this was done as a cost-cutting and time-saving measure since Rainbow was undergoing a significant financial loss at the time. Despite the change in voice actors, the series' animation continued to be matched to Nickelodeon and Rainbow's English scripts for the seventh season. Original songs have been recorded in about 40 languages for
4042-404: The interest of Rai Fiction , which paid for 25% of the production cost in exchange for Italian broadcast rights and a share of the series' revenue over 15 years. After holding test screenings of the pilot, however, Straffi was unhappy with the audience's unenthusiastic reaction to the characters' outdated clothing style and stated that the pilot did not satisfy him. In a 2016 interview, Straffi said
4128-580: The journal of Volgograd State University , Russian sociologists Georgiy Antonov and Elena Laktyukhina judged that female characters in the series are depicted as dominant, while males are shown to be passive. As examples of women adopting traditionally male roles, they listed the female fairies fighting for their boyfriends, saving them from enemies, and inviting them on dates, while at the same time having difficulty performing household duties like cooking and cleaning. Writing for Kabardino-Balcarian State University , Zalina Dokhova and Tatiana Cheprakova stated that
4214-625: The know-how of Nickelodeon are very complementary; the sensibilities of the Americans, with our European touch." The continued partnership between Rainbow and Nickelodeon on Winx Club led to the development of more co-productions, including Club 57 in 2019, on which much of Winx Club ' s staff worked. The series was subject to budget cuts in 2014, during its seventh season; the 3D computer-generated segments and Hollywood voice actors were deemed too costly. The seventh season eventually premiered on Nickelodeon's worldwide channels in 2015. After
4300-554: The magic dimension. When the Wizards of the Black Circle captured the Earth fairies, they imprisoned them in their own kingdom of Tir Nan Og, where the terrestrial fairies remained until Roxy and the Winx freed them in season 4. Loosely based on Tír na nÓg from Irish folklore. Pyros is an island populated by dragons. Lumenia , the star that lights Solaria, is home to a magical alien species called Lumens who are introduced in
4386-472: The network launched in 2007. By 2014, the show had been aired in over 150 countries. In 2019, after the Viacom-CBS merger announcement, Informa 's Television Business International listed the show among the most important Viacom properties internationally. In June 2022, Paramount (the rebranded name of ViacomCBS) launched a 24-hour Winx Club channel on their Pluto TV on-demand service. The channel
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#17327719772304472-464: The new seasons are childish, but they don't know that we had to do that." Straffi stepped away from the series at this time and shifted his focus to live-action projects aimed at older audiences: Nickelodeon's Club 57 and Fate: The Winx Saga . Straffi explained that "the things we had to tone down [in season eight] have been emphasized in the live action–the relationships, the fights, the love stories." He added that he hoped that Fate will satisfy
4558-486: The newspaper Corriere della Sera , psychotherapist Gianna Schelotto highlighted positive aspects of the show, like friendship, guiding female viewers "away from supermodels to which the commercial world drags them". Il Sole 24 Ore also wrote positively about the show's feminist themes, commending how the characters "expose narcissistic masculinity". The characters' outfits caused some controversy in June 2017, when
4644-567: The popularity of Winx -inspired fashion to fans' desire to emulate the characters, stating that "Winx fanatics dress, move and breathe like their heroines". The Regional Council of Marche , Italy, chose the Winx Club fairies to represent Marche and Italy at the Expo 2010 world's fair in Shanghai. A four-minute video using stereoscopic technology showing the Winx in Marche's tourist destinations
4730-456: The previous two seasons were deemed too costly to continue using for the seventh season. As with the previous two seasons, the copyright to the seventh season is co-owned by Rainbow and Viacom. The first episode aired on 22 June 2015, on Nickelodeon in Asia, followed by its American broadcast on the Nick Jr. Channel on 10 January 2016. The president of Nickelodeon International, Pierluigi Gazzolo,
4816-405: The result "looked like just another Japanese-style cartoon ... but nothing like [the modern] Winx ". He likened his feelings about the pilot to an "existential crisis" and chose to scrap the entire test animation despite an investment of over €100,000 in the completed pilot. To rework the concept, Straffi's team hired Italian fashion designers to restyle the show and give the characters
4902-403: The sensibilities of the Americans, with our European touch." Winx Club opened the opportunity for Nickelodeon and Rainbow to collaborate on additional co-productions together, including various pilots from 2014 onward and Club 57 in 2019. In the last ten years, the animation audience has skewed younger. Nowadays, it's very difficult to get a 10-year-old to watch cartoons ... when your target
4988-448: The series Winx art director, designed most of the characters' early-season clothing despite lacking a background in fashion design . When asked by an interviewer where his fashion intuition came from, Borselli responded, "From being gay". The first stage in the production of an episode is developing its script, a process that can last 5–6 months. When the series began production, the writers were based entirely in Italy. After Viacom became
5074-573: The series as "a destructive and constructive phenomenon" that introduced viewers to feminist stories about rebellious female characters. A 2019 study conducted for the Corriere della Sera reported that Winx Club was the fourth-most-popular Italian series outside of the country, with strong demand in Russia and the United States. In 2018, Giovanna Gallo of Cosmopolitan stated that the program's characters have become "real icons of fashion" and noted
5160-541: The series conveys "both positive and negative stereotypes", citing the opposite personalities of Stella and Aisha. They wrote that Stella's character incorporates stereotypically feminine passions for shopping and clothes, while Aisha represents a more realistic character with an interest in male-dominated sports. Rhodes University professor Jeanne Prinsloo wrote in 2014 that Winx Club episodes "present complex narratives with active female protagonists and positive relationships that validate 'girl power'". In an interview with
5246-447: The series' characters from season one to seven, and singer Elisa Rosselli, who had performed a majority of the songs. In another change from previous seasons, season eight was the first since season four to be solely produced by Rainbow, with Nickelodeon's American team serving as consultants rather than directly overseeing the episodes. This was due to the broadcaster focusing on another co-production with Rainbow – Club 57 . Season eight
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#17327719772305332-409: The series, and inducted Winx Club into Nickelodeon's franchise of Nicktoons . Beginning in 2010, episodes of Winx Club were jointly written with Nickelodeon's American team. Nickelodeon's writers aimed to make the series multicultural and appealing to viewers from different countries. In 2019, Straffi commented on his years of collaboration with Nickelodeon, saying that "the know-how of Rainbow and
5418-479: The series. Nickelodeon Consumer Products also secured merchandising rights to the revival in some regions, including the United States. Viacom would finance and staff the revived series, dividing production between Viacom's Nickelodeon Animation Studio in the United States and Rainbow S.p.A. in Italy. In February 2011, Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom acquired a 30% stake in Rainbow S.p.A. for 62 million euros (US$ 83 million). Viacom originally planned to buy out
5504-454: The seventh season of Winx Club , with a planned premiere date of 2015. Straffi said of the season: "It will be a privilege to partner once more with Nickelodeon on this." During production, Rainbow was undergoing a multimillion-euro financial loss due to the box office failure of its film Gladiators of Rome . They subsequently decided to cut costs on Winx Club , its most expensive show. The CGI-animated segments and California voice cast from
5590-399: The show's animation studio, Rainbow SpA, and Nickelodeon began producing a revival series . Production on the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons was divided between Rainbow and Nickelodeon Animation Studio . To attract an American audience, Viacom assembled a voice cast of Nickelodeon actors (including Elizabeth Gillies and Ariana Grande ), invested US$ 100 million in advertising for
5676-407: The show's first episode to international companies. The first season had its world premiere on Italian television channel Rai 2 on 28 January 2004. From the beginning of development, Iginio Straffi planned an overarching plot that would end after "a maximum" of 78 episodes. Straffi stated that the Winx saga "would not last forever" in 2007, and he intended the first movie ( Winx Club: The Secret of
5762-460: The show's popularity with cosplayers , performance artists who wear costumes and accessories to represent the show's characters. Winx Club costumes were the focus of a second-season episode of The Apprentice , in which Flavio Briatore challenged the show's teams to create three Winx outfits intended for females 25–35 years of age, which were to be submitted to the judgment of Iginio Straffi. la Repubblica ' s Marina Amaduzzi attributed
5848-514: The show's tracks are performed by Italian singer Elisa Rosselli, who started recording songs for Winx in 2007. Rosselli continued to produce music for the show (usually in collaboration with D'Aniello or Peter Zizzo from Nickelodeon) until its seventh season. Nickelodeon created a few live-action music videos for Winx Club that were performed by stars from other Nick shows. One featured Elizabeth Gillies from Victorious (who also voiced Bloom's sister, Daphne) singing "We Are Believix." This song
5934-415: The show. Frequent composers for the program include Michele Bettali, Stefano Carrara, Fabrizio Castania, and Maurizio D'Aniello. One of Nickelodeon's composers, Emmy and Grammy Award recipient Peter Zizzo , joined the team during Nickelodeon's joint production of the fifth season. His music is featured in the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons. Each song takes between five and twelve months to complete. Many of
6020-561: The stock market in May 2018, citing a lack of suitable market conditions. After almost 12 years of co-ownership, Paramount sold its stake back to Straffi in January 2023. While Nickelodeon will continue to be a broadcast partner for the studio, the purchase allows Straffi full control of Rainbow's new projects. Giochi Preziosi Rainbow founded Tridimensional , a magazine publishing division, in 2004. A 3D animation division, Rainbow CGI ,
6106-498: The themes and characters of Winx Club appealed to both the target audience and their parents. Dubini wrote that the fairies' "defined and different personalities" made them relatable to viewers. Common Sense Media reviewer Tara Swords gave the show a three-star review, calling it "an imaginative story with bold, take-charge heroines" while also arguing that the show is hindered by its design elements. Winx Club has attracted academic interest for its presentation of gender roles . In
6192-576: The two. Straffi mentioned that the Winx Club pilot entered production by 2000, while the W.I.T.C.H. comic was not released until May 2001. On 2 August 2004, all of Disney's infringement claims were rejected by the Tribunale di Bologna's Specialized Commercial Matters Department , which deemed them unfounded. The suit later became the subject of a commercial law seminar at the University of Macerata in 2009. Rainbow S.p.A. Rainbow S.p.A.
6278-558: The voice cast from Hollywood to New York City. Iginio Straffi developed the Winx Club characters for the short pilot episode " Magic Bloom ," which was finished in 2001. The characters' outfits were modeled on those of traditional European fairies, while their appearances were loosely inspired by popular celebrities of the time. In a 2011 interview with IO Donna , Straffi stated Britney Spears served as an inspiration for Bloom, Cameron Diaz for Stella, Jennifer Lopez for Flora, Pink for Tecna, and Lucy Liu for Musa. Straffi wanted
6364-404: The world can identify themselves with the character they think they are most like". After the premiere of the first season worldwide, the production team heard that American viewers noticed the absence of Black characters in the show. In response, Straffi designed a sixth fairy named Aisha, who has darker skin than the others. Her design was loosely inspired by Beyoncé and she was introduced in
6450-448: Was also the first-ever season without the involvement of Rai Fiction . Iginio Straffi made the decision to shift the show's intended audience after years of gradually aiming toward a younger demographic. In a 2019 interview, Straffi explained that decreasing viewership from older viewers and an increased audience of young children made this change a necessity. He elaborated that "the fans of the previous Winx Club say on social media that
6536-483: Was animated for the Italian Pavilion. In 2015, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited Rainbow's studio and wrote that "the Winx are a beautiful story of Italian talent". In April 2004, The Walt Disney Company filed an unsuccessful copyright infringement lawsuit against Rainbow. The company accused Rainbow of copying the Winx Club concept from its W.I.T.C.H. comic book, which was published over
6622-453: Was due to cultural differences. On 27 June 2011, the first special produced with Nickelodeon premiered on Nick U.S. to 2.278 million viewers. Each of the following three specials performed better than the previous ones, with the fourth ("The Shadow Phoenix") rating #1 in its time slot among viewers aged 2–11. During the first quarter of 2012, an average of 38.5 million viewers watched the series across nine of Nickelodeon's international outlets,
6708-425: Was formed in 2006. Rainbow also established Witty Toys , a toy division, in 2008. List of Winx Club characters#Icy Winx Club is an animated series co-produced by Rainbow SpA and later Nickelodeon . Its characters were created and designed by comic artist Iginio Straffi . The show takes place in a magical dimension where a group of fairy warriors defends their universe from villains . The group, named
6794-525: Was nearly equal across the first three seasons; in the target demographic of 4–14 years of age, females represented only 3% more of the audience than males. The premiere of the fourth season set a record for an animated show's audience on Rai 2 with 500,000 viewers. In 2007, Iginio Straffi noted that there were lower ratings in English-speaking territories than in Europe at the time, which he surmised
6880-533: Was not made as a direct continuation of the previous season. At Iginio Straffi's decision, Season 8 was heavily retooled to appeal to a preschool target audience . For season eight, Rainbow's creative team restyled the characters to appear younger, hoping to increase the appeal toward preschoolers. The plot lines were simplified so that they could be understood by a younger audience. Most of the show's longtime crew members were not called back to work on this season, including art director Simone Borselli, who had designed
6966-428: Was originally drawn with glasses and a lighter skin tone; for the full series, her glasses were removed and she was given darker skin to look "more Latin". The Winx fairies' male counterparts, the Specialists, were created in response to a request that the series should feature male leads. According to Iginio Straffi, each of the Winx fairies' personalities were made as different as possible so "teenagers from all over
7052-478: Was part of Straffi's aim for the fairies to represent "the women of today". A team of specialized artists designs the characters' expressions and outfits for each season. About 20 tables of expressions and positions from all angles are drawn for each character. The designers start to develop characters' costumes by creating collages from magazine clippings of recent fashion trends. Using these as references, they draw multiple outfits for each character. Simone Borselli,
7138-518: Was particularly difficult, and it was animated separately from the characters. In Italy, the series' voice actors include Letizia Ciampa (Bloom), Perla Liberatori (Stella), Ilaria Latini (Flora), Domitilla D'Amico (Tecna), Gemma Donati (Musa), and Laura Lenghi (Aisha). According to Ilaria Latini, the characters were cast before the character designs were finalized and the actors were shown black-and-white sketches of their roles. The actors record their lines in Rome. Seasons 1–4 were animated to match
7224-439: Was permanently revoked by Rainbow in 2009. Upon its debut, Winx Club was a ratings success. During its first season in 2004, the series became one of the highest-rated programs on Rai 2 with an average audience share of 17%. Among viewers 4–14 years old, the average share was 45%. In France and Belgium, the season reached a 56% share among 10 to 14-year-olds. According to Rai in 2009, the gender mix of Winx Club 's audience
7310-500: Was released as a stand-alone single on iTunes. Another music video featured Cymphonique Miller from How to Rock singing "Winx, You're Magic Now." Miller also did a live performance of her Winx song at Nickelodeon's upfront presentation in Las Vegas. Winx Club first premiered on the Italian television channel Rai 2 on 28 January 2004. Reruns later aired on Rai Gulp , a sister channel to Rai 2 aimed at children, shortly after
7396-423: Was responsible for arranging the co-production partnership and became a member of Rainbow's board of directors . In addition to financing the television series, Viacom provided the resources necessary to produce a third Winx film . In 2019, Iginio Straffi commented on the two studios' near-decade of continued work together, saying that "the know-how of Rainbow and the know-how of Nickelodeon are very complementary;
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