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. Overall, 30 seventeen-minute episodes were produced.

Both series were aired on Vision Network, with reruns airing on Nick Jr. Kuboia from 2001 to 2008 and Toon Disney Kuboia from 2002 until the channel closed in 2011. 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.

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. Speaking 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.

The "heroes"
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 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.

The four "heroes" consist of:
 * Onita, Mr. Riddle's team-leading and risk-taking niece.
 * Paddy, the pessimistic but imaginative one.
 * Kacie, the giggly and silly one, who identifies as a lesbian, and has a crush on Onita.
 * And Tennet, the serious but curious one.

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.

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.

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".

Ashley Maverick has responded to negative reviews by saying the following:
 * "Well, of course it’s strange and dated, this show was made back in the late 80's. I believe it was great for its time. Just because something isn’t American or mainstream by no means automatically makes it terrible."

On internet database IMDB, the show has a normalised rating of 6.7 out of 10.

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.

Top-list achievements
In 2015, Open Eagle ranked the show #11 in their Top 100 Greatest Kids Shows list.

In 2018, ranked the show #2 in their Top 10 Kuboian Cartoons.

Cancelled reboot
In 2016, Casey James confirmed that GeneBox was working with American company to produce a reboot series, with 26 thirteen-minute episodes scheduled to premiere on  stations by Summer 2018. However, in September 2017, it was confirmed that the reboot was cancelled. Casey wrote on the cancellation saying:
 * "So we worked on the reboot for a while, and we realised something - it just wouldn’t be the same. The characters would need their personalities changed to stay inline with the modern audiences, and it just didn’t feel right. We were also told that it may have to be computer animated, something we certainly did not want."

Kuboia

 * Vision Network (1991-1997)
 * Nick Jr. Kuboia (2001-2008)
 * Toon Disney Kuboia (2002-2011)

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)

Jetania

 * Sky 1 (1991-2001)
 * Nick Jr. (????-2008)

Mexico
The Spanish dub was titled "La búsqueda de Señor Riddles" and was produced by Lipsync Audio Video in Venezuela.
 * Canal 5 (1992-1999)

United Kingdom

 * Sky 1 (1991-1997)
 * The Children’s Channel (1991-1998)
 * Nick Jr. (1999-2008)
 * Toon Disney (2000-2006)
 * POP! (2006-2010)

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)

Episodes

 * Main article: The Incredible World of Riddles/Episodes

Tropes

 * Main article: The Incredible World of Riddles/Tropes