The Incredible World of Riddles

The Incredible World of Riddles is a Kuboian children’s animated television series produced by Kubokartoonz, often credited as the first ever Kantasy animated series. Series 1 featured 20 episodes produced from 1989 to 1990 and aired in 1991, whilst series 2 featured 10 episodes produced from 1992 to 1993 and aired in 1994. Both series were aired on Vision Network, with reruns airing on Nick Jr. Kuboia from 2000 to 2008. During the show’s original run, it became notable for its use of LGBT characters.

Although the show received positive reviews during its initial run, modern critics generally agree that it has not aged well.

Series 1
The mayor of Riddle World, Mr. Riddles, has been captured by a mysterious somebody, with the only clue on the whereabouts of the two lies in the Platinum Wand, which has accidentally been formed by four children. The spirit of the Platinum Wand, Diomo, tells the children that only they can save Mr. Riddles and free Riddle World from the mysterious villian.

Series 2
Mr. Riddles has been rescued and peace has returned to Riddle World, however, Diomo claims that there are still unsolved puzzles to be explored, which the group are eager to discover and solve.

Diomo
Diomo is the spirit of the Platinum Wand, who guides the children through the puzzles of Riddle World. Although he tries to be serious, he usually ends up being silly and distracted.

Mr. Riddles
The mayor of Riddle World, Mr. Riddles, spends the majority of the show being held captive by an unknown being. He stays prominent in the show by getting his pet seagull, Snappy, to deliver letters to the group.

The children
The four "heroes" of the show are the four children who unintentionally managed to form the Platinum Wand together, and who were told by Diomo to rescue Mr. Riddles and save Riddle World. The four children, Onita, Paddy, Kacie and Tennet get the most screentime out of all of the characters on the show. In the pilot episode, they are reluctant and nervous about the mission they are given, but enjoy the adventure afterwards.

During the show’s original run, several viewers noticed that the four children appear to be romantically attracted to each other, and kissed each other on multiple occasions. Eric Graters later confirmed in early 1993 that all four of them are bisexual, and that Kacie has a crush on Onita.

Diamond King
Diamond King is the true main antagonist of series 1, who kidnapped Mr. Riddles so he can take over Riddle World.

King Klapper
King Klapper is the main antagonist of series 1, the king of wolves, who loves causing chaos and destruction, and making the lives of others miserable. His goal varies between episodes, and can include stealing the Platinum Wand, kidnapping at least one of the children, terrorising villages or stealing money. He is committed to his goals, and will do anything to get to them, even if it means helping the protagonists.

King Klapper makes sporadic appearances in series 2, where he acts as a minor antagonist.

Scratch
Scratch (called Klapper Kid in the American dub) is one of King Klapper's assistants in series 1, a child wolf. He is the only antagonist who cannot talk, and barely makes any sounds at all.

Scratch reappears in series 2, where he is now strangely an occasional assistant of the children.

Development
The Incredible World of Riddles was created by Ashley Maverick and Eric Graters, the latter of which directed the show with Casey James and Lake Caters. The twenty episodes of series 1 were produced from 1989 to 1990, but were not aired for over a year. Speak about the show's production, Casey said the following:
 * "Well, it was the first show we ever made. We didn’t even know if it was ever going to get aired due to its bizzare nature. Before the show got picked up, we wanted to make sure that everything was finished, so no deadlines were missed. We are just happy it got picked up eventually."

Kubokartoonz had no intention to produce more than one series, but in 1992, Eric confirmed that a second series would be produced, with hopes to have it aired by 1994. Series 2 was produced from 1992 to 1993 and aired in 1994. According to Eric, the team "Worked their sweat off" to produce the ten episodes of series 2.

Critical reception
Throughout the 1990's and 2000’s, the show was well received by critics. In a 2001 review, British entertainment website Digital Spy mentioned that the show was "endless of weird but wonderful charm".

In more recent times, however, the show has received negative reviews, particularly by American audiences, with calling the show "creepy, bizzare [and] dated". in particular criticised King Klapper, saying that he "is literally just an uninteresting card-carrying villian who does evil stuff for no reason".

On internet database IMDB, the show has a normalised rating of 6.7.

Legacy
The Incredible World of Riddles is often credited as the first ever Kantasy animated series, and as such, has received a longtime cult following.

In May 2004, a forum website titled RiddleFiction was launched. The website was run by fans of the series, and was used to create fanfics based on the show. The website was closed in January 2010 due to its design becoming out of date and incompatible with new software.

Kuboia

 * Vision Network (1991-1997)
 * Nick Jr. Kuboia (2000-2008)

Australia

 * ABC Kids (1991-2001)
 * Nick Jr. (1998-2004)

Canada

 * YTV (1994-2010)
 * Teletoon Retro (2007-2015)

Germany

 * Toon Disney (2004-2011)

Italy

 * Italia 1 (1992-2000)
 * Toon Disney (2004-2011)

United Kingdom

 * Sky One (1991-1997)
 * The Children’s Channel (1991-1998)
 * Nick Jr. (1999-2005)
 * Toon Disney (2003-2006)
 * Pop (2003-2010)

United States
The show has also been syndicated to several local stations in the United States throughout the 1990's and 2000's.
 * Nick Jr. (1994-2003)
 * Toon Disney (2001-2009)
 * NickSplat (2015-present)

Tropes

 * Main article: The Incredible World of Riddles/Tropes