WonderWorks
Encyclopedia
WonderWorks was a project jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company
and PBS
that made short, made for TV movie
s out of acclaimed children's books. They included adaptations of Anne of Green Gables
, Bridge to Terabithia
, All Summer in a Day
, Jacob Have I Loved, The Box of Delights
, The Chronicles of Narnia
series, Miracle at Moreaux
, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
(starring Peter Billingsley
), Odile & Yvette at the Edge of the World (scored by Blake Leyh
), How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days, Gryphon (produced by Manuel Arce and Carl Haber
while starring Amanda Plummer), A Little Princess
, A Girl of the Limberlost, Sweet 15
, A Waltz Through the Hills, The Canterville Ghost
, Caddie Woodlawn
and The House of Dies Drear
. It also coproduced the Australian Clowning Around
series.
The program was coproduced by WQED
-Pittsburgh, KCET
-Los Angeles, KTCA
-St. Paul/Minneapolis, South Carolina Educational Television
, and WETA
-Washington, D.C.
Funding was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
, Public Television Stations/Viewers Like You, and the National Endowment for the Arts
.
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
and PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
that made short, made for TV movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
s out of acclaimed children's books. They included adaptations of Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables (1985 film)
Anne of Green Gables is a 1985 television movie based on the novel of the same name by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The film was produced and directed by Kevin Sullivan for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was released theatrically in Israel, Europe and Japan.The film aired on...
, Bridge to Terabithia
Bridge to Terabithia (1985 film)
Bridge to Terabithia was the name of a telefilm shot in Edmonton, Alberta for PBS in 1985, starring Annette O'Toole, Julian Coutts, and Julie Beaulieu. The film is based on the children's novel of the same name by Katherine Paterson....
, All Summer in a Day
All Summer in a Day
"All Summer in a Day" is a "All Summer in a Day" is a "All Summer in a Day" is a [[short science fiction story ] by the author [[Ray Bradbury]]...
, Jacob Have I Loved, The Box of Delights
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.-Plot summary :...
, The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
series, Miracle at Moreaux
Miracle at Moreaux
Miracle at Moreaux is a 1986 Made-for-TV film based on the novel Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop. Set in France, the movie was filmed in Quebec and aired on PBS.-Summary:...
, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency is a children's book by Daniel and Jill Pinkwater.The main character, Arthur, is asked to pick up a bird for Thanksgiving dinner, so he brings home a 266-pound chicken named Henrietta. The family welcome her with open arms, but the neighbors are not so sure and then...
(starring Peter Billingsley
Peter Billingsley
Peter Billingsley , also known as Peter Michaelsen and Peter Billingsley-Michaelsen, is an American actor, director, and producer best known for his role as Ralphie in the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. He began his career as an infant, in television commercials.-Early life, family and...
), Odile & Yvette at the Edge of the World (scored by Blake Leyh
Blake Leyh
Blake Leyh is a composer, sound designer, and music supervisor.Leyh's prominent credits include music supervising HBO's television show The Wire, most notably the end theme called "The Fall" written by Leyh especially for the show and composing original scores for the films of Kirby Dick Blake...
), How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days, Gryphon (produced by Manuel Arce and Carl Haber
Carl Haber
Carl Haber, born in 1956, is an American writer and filmmaker.Carl Haber’s eclectic life and career has made him a distinctive voice in independent film, driven by stories set in different cultures...
while starring Amanda Plummer), A Little Princess
A Little Princess
A Little Princess is a 1905 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is a revised and expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's Boarding School, which was published in St. Nicholas Magazine.According to Burnett, she...
, A Girl of the Limberlost, Sweet 15
Sweet 15
Sweet 15 is a 1990 American made-for-television family drama film about a fourteen year old girl whose dreams of having a perfect quinceanera are suddenly halted when she realizes that her family is not in the United States legally....
, A Waltz Through the Hills, The Canterville Ghost
The Canterville Ghost (1985 film)
The Canterville Ghost is a 1985 American fantasy-comedy film. It is one of many treatments based on the novella of Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost.-Plot:The ghost of Sir Simon Canterville has been roaming his castle for centuries...
, Caddie Woodlawn
Caddie Woodlawn
Caddie Woodlawn is a popular children's novel by Carol Ryrie Brink which won the John Newbery Medal in 1936 and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. The original edition was illustrated by Newbery-award winning author and illustrator Kate Seredy...
and The House of Dies Drear
The House of Dies Drear
The House of Dies Drear is a 1968 novel by Virginia Hamilton. The novel takes place in 1968,Thomas Small, a 13-year-old African American boy, moves with his family into a house that was once part of the Underground Railroad that is in Ohio. His father, Mr. Small, tells Thomas that the caretaker of...
. It also coproduced the Australian Clowning Around
Clowning Around
Clowning Around is an Australian family film that was shot on location in Perth, Western Australia and Paris, France.The film was produced by independent film company Barron Entertainment Films in Western Australia and educational film company WonderWorks in the United States, was directed by...
series.
The program was coproduced by WQED
WQED
WQED may refer to:*WQED , a television station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States*WQED-FM, a radio station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
-Pittsburgh, KCET
KCET
KCET, channel 28, is an independent, non-commercial public television station licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KCET's studio is located on West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is atop Mount Wilson. Al Jerome is the current CEO and President, serving since 1996.KCET was...
-Los Angeles, KTCA
Twin Cities Public Television
Twin Cities Public Television is a non-profit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that operates the Twin Cities' two Public Broadcasting Service member Public television stations, KTCA-TV and KTCI-TV...
-St. Paul/Minneapolis, South Carolina Educational Television
South Carolina Educational Television
South Carolina Educational Television is the statewide public television and public radio network in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It consists of all the Public Broadcasting Service member [television stations and National Public Radio member radio stations in the state...
, and WETA
WETA-TV
WETA-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service member public televisionstation for the Washington, D.C., area. Its studios are in nearby Arlington, Virginia...
-Washington, D.C.
Funding was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
, Public Television Stations/Viewers Like You, and the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
.