Wimzie's House is a half-hour Canadian children's TV program produced in Montreal which ran in the French language as La Maison de Ouimzie on Télévision de Radio-Canada in the morning and Radio-Québec in late afternoons beginning September 4, 1995, and in English on CBC Television in Canada beginning October 21, 1996 and in the U.S. on PBS from September 1, 1997 until August 31, 2001. The show produced by Quebec-based Cinar (then Cookie Jar Entertainment, now WildBrain), with PBS airings presented by Maryland Public Television from 1997 until 2001. The show's puppetry is in the style of Sesame Street (another show aired on same channel), which led to some legal troubles with The Jim Henson Company in 2000 (even though they had some collaboration for some certain children's TV shows e.g., Hi Opie!, Dog City (Corus' animation studio), Fraggle Rock, The Hoobs, etc., as well as the same with its production partner, CTW (now as Sesame Workshop), best known for Sesame Park, the Canadian adaptation of Sesame Street).

Premise

The series follows Wimzie, a young hybrid monster who lives with her parents (Rousso & Graziella), grandmother (Yaya), and baby brother (Bo). The basic plot typically involves Wimzie and her friends encountering a problem, with two songs that would eventually lead to the moral of the episode.

Characters

Eight characters appear throughout the series. (Voices listed here are for the Canadian English-language version.)

Episodes

Season 1 (1995)

Season 2 (1996)

Featured songs

Merchandise

School supply company Carson-Dellosa confirmed that there were two FMV PC games based on the series.

Controversies

In 2000, The Jim Henson Company issued a lawsuit against the company, claiming the series' puppets and resultant merchandise violated its copyright and trademark rights on The Muppets. CINAR and its licensees Eden LLC and Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company denied and continue to deny any wrongdoing or liability for infringement. A confidential settlement allowed CINAR to continue broadcasting the series, selling show merchandise, and a "mechanism for preserving the distinctive look of Jim Henson's Muppets in CINAR's future productions." Ronald A. Weinberg, CINAR President and Co-CEO: "We are delighted that it's been settled and that the agreement leaves an open door between the two companies. It's also good news that WIMZIE'S HOUSE will continue to enjoy such a broad audience on PBS in the U.S. and on other channels in over 100 countries around the world. Furthermore, it means that the licensing initiative we launched last year will continue to flourish with both established and new licensee partners."

Broadcast and home media

It first ran in the French language as La Maison de Ouimzie on Télévision de Radio-Canada in the morning and Radio-Québec in late afternoons starting September 4, 1995, and in English on CBC Television in Canada beginning October 21, 1996 and in the U.S. on PBS from September 1, 1997 until August 31, 2001. Repeats of the show aired in the U.S. on the Cookie Jar Toons block on now-defunct This TV, in syndication as part of the Cookie Jar Kids Network block, and on Light TV (now rebranded as TheGrio.TV) from December 22, 2016 until September 30, 2019. Treehouse TV also aired this show in repeats from 1999 until December 2005.

Video releases

Five hour-long VHS tapes were released by Sony Wonder in 1999 until 2000.

DVD releases

On July 27, 2010, Mill Creek Entertainment released a 10-episode Best-of collection entitled Wimzie's House: A World of Enchantment on DVD in Region 1 which includes a bonus episode of Busytown Mysteries.

Streaming

The first 20 episodes would be currently available for free on Tubi, while the rest of the episodes can be purchased on Fandango at Home (formerly known as "Vudu"). It is confirmed that FilmRise and Pluto TV should be adding 112 episodes to complete the series "Wimzie's House" also it should be released on streaming in 2024.