Wizzy World
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wizzy World started in the early 90's from a theatre company based in Nottingham, UK. "Smart Alec Productions" provided children's entertainment at all of the main Butlins resorts. Throughout the 90's the team brought out three albums. Their first one "The Wizzy Kids EP" contained only four tracks; The Whizzy World Song, Whizzy House, The Whizzy Wrap and The Whizzy World Song (Jak Mix).
First Logo - The first logo was printed on everything from caps to t-shirts. Later it was changed to "Wizzy's World". A small change as it was though the new name sounded better.
After a year or so of the successful EP, another album "The Kids From Wizzy World Album" was released along with the logo change and lots more tracks, including the original four, although these had been updated. This album was also the first "take home" pictures that the Characters appeared in. Red Rolo, Big Baz, Pink Pig, Hop and Kool Kat dominated the entertainment, including names of shops and bars in the different venues.
The Five Characters - I am sure I do not need to tell you which is which. Unfortunately, this version of Kool Kat and Pink Pig were done from memory as no pictures were available. However Red Rolo, Big Baz and Hop are as they were.
It was only around 1998 that Smart Alec Productions lost their contract with Butlins as Butlins itself was going through massive changes. The building of the Skyline Pavilion was funded by the sale of the two resorts "Ayr" and "Pwllheli" which I am sure came to around £75 million. Venues changed names and were given new logos, new uniforms and a new logo for Butlins was introduced. It was at this time that the Characters were dropped and plans were made into new ones - Billy the Bear and Jingle. All of the changes were made as an effort to get away from the "Hi-De-Hi" look.
Skyline Pavilion - The Skyline is the main feature of Butlins today holding shows and housing many shops. It is strong enough to hold a jumbo jet and includes state of the art monitoring systems for fire protection. The aim of the project was to protect guests from the rain and to keep them entertained no matter what the weather was doing.
It was shortly after the changes that Smart Alec Productions as a company struggled to survive. In the end, they closed shop and as it stands today the company does not exist. Thank you for taking an interest in the history of Wizzy World.
