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This article is written in British English. |
| This version has its own spelling conventions (such as colour, travelled, centre, realise, defence, artefact) and some terms that are used may be different or absent from other varieties of English. This should not be changed without broad consensus. |
The Incredible World of Riddles is a Kuboian media franchise created by Ashley Maverick and owned by Kubokartoonz, which is mostly known for its multitude of television specials. The franchise chronicles the life of a pre-teen girl called Kacie as she and her human friends explore a planet called Riddle World, secret to most humans on Earth. The specials and other merchandise based on the franchise have been released worldwide.
Premise[]
Setting[]
Riddle World is a small planet that is located close to Earth but unknown to most human beings on the latter planet. Inhabited mostly by non-human creatures and objects coming in all shapes and sizes, it is ruled by the enigmatic Mr. Riddles, who was declared a hero after defeating the planet's previous ruler, the Diamond King. In spite of this, a lot of the planet is mysterious, unexplored and not part of Mr. Riddles' rule.
The main inhabited area of Riddle World is the Riddle Central where Mr. Riddles and a majority of the other characters live, which features elements of both a fairy tale-like forest and a contemporary (for 1980s standards) urban village.
Characters[]
The main characters of The Incredible World of Riddles are four children from Earth who visit the planet by using special Riddle Gems and rubbing them vigorously. They include Kacie; the somewhat clumsy heroine who helps to protect the planet, Onita; a laid-back, sarcastic tomboy, Paddy; an adventurous and intelligent boy, and Tenet; a very feminine boy who lacks confidence in himself. Kacie plays the central role in the franchise and is typically the one to save Riddle World when it is in danger or somebody is in trouble. She usually does this by using a wand, the Crimson Sceptre, given to her by Mr. Riddles, though she is advised to not use it carelessly as doing so can lead to unexpected events. The childrens' lives back on Earth are seen sporadically, though are not dived into too much.
Residents of the Riddle Central include Flowral; a mischievous clown head creature, Chica; a cardboard puppet who habitually makes a lot of physical and verbal tics, Mr. Nether; a grey humanoid creature who acts and speaks in a monotonous and robotic manner but shows occasional bursts of competence, and Yowie; a cynical brown crow who speaks in an Australian accent.
Other creatures and species are also seen throughout the franchise, most notably the Glowup species, a group of white legless creatures who can float in air. One of them, Diomo, serves as Mr. Riddles' personal assistant whilst another, Synther, plots to destroy the Riddle World one day. In the franchise’s forest environments, mushrooms, trees and even cottage doors are shown to have sentience, and are normally shown to be hostile.
Content[]
The Incredible World of Riddles is, generally speaking, a lighthearted franchise largely centred around friendship, responsibility and imagination with occasional moments of bizarre and over-the-top scenery. The franchise often likes to experiment with this format, with some entries showing previous stories from other characters' perspectives or lacking an overarching story in favour of showcasing scenes with very detailed animation.
Although originally designed as suitable for both children and adults for all ages, the franchise eventually began to be marketed as being primarily targeted towards a preschool audiences, something which Maverick has shown frustration over and has attempted to avert on multiple occasions.
History[]
Kubokartoonz was founded in the autumn of 1987. Shortly aftewards, Ashley Maverick was confronted by Arthur Benning, who asked if the studio could produce a children's television series that could air on Vision Network. Maverick mentioned that Benning gave her "generous funding and support" as well as a lot of creative freedom. She and Harlow Morrison spent months coming up with premise ideas, eventually going along with a fantasy setting inspired by the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. According to Maverick, she suffered from a lack of vitamin D due to spending long periods indoors drafting the franchise.
The Incredible World of Riddles was intended as a television series consisting of thirteen 15-minute episodes that could be aired in the same timeslot alongside Animal Barn. However, as Benning felt Maverick's plan was a bit "ambitious" for his liking, he instead asked Kubokartoonz to make a single television special first before making anything else. Maverick stated in a 2009 interview:
| “ | What I had in mind for the show was a lot more than Arthur was expecting. He tried telling me to scale the ideas back but I said 'No. I want this to be big. If we don't take risks, we won't make money.' […] I didn't want it to be some shitty cartoon with juvenile writing and animation. I wanted it to set the standards for Kuboian animation. Looking back, it certainly did. | „ |
When explaining the franchise's and setting's name, Maverick admitted that it comes from an earlier idea of the show's premise involving lots of riddles and puzzles, explaining:
| “ | Why is it called The Incredible World of Riddles? Well to be honest, I was going to have the first special involve lots of riddles, but I dropped the idea because I thought it would just give the viewer a sore head, all the confusing metaphors and all. [...] You could say that in this case, the "riddles" come from the odd and unusual nature of the areas and characters of Riddle World. | „ |
Characters[]
When coming up with the main characters, she and Morrison decided to make the main cast two girls and two boys with the hopes that the show would have a general-neutral target audience. Each of the four children were meant to represent different personalities; Kacie was written to be feminine in contrast to Onita's tomboyish personality whilst Paddy was meant to be more "boyish" compared to the more effeminate Tenet. Kacie was named after the Casey Junior train from the 1941 Disney animated film Dumbo, although the spelling was changed to avoid any potential lawsuits. Ultimately, Kacie was chosen to be the central character, as there were concerns that having too many "leads" would confuse children and cause the plotlines to be too convoluted.
Maverick went to a nursery in Gutstone in early 1988 where she got children to draw ideas for supporting and minor characters.
Animation[]
Ashley Maverick draws a lot of the characters and backgrounds herself, although polishing up the cels and adding colour is done by other professionals. Maverick claims she has a technique where she can draw characters and objects professionally in a quick and efficient manner, though has never revealed what said technique involves and does not let people film her animating. Most of the franchise's specials and television episodes were produced entirely in Kuboia with no outsourcing at all, with the current specials continuing this trend.
Most of the franchise's characters are drawn with round black ovals as eyes, which Maverick went with because they were easy to draw and felt that given the characters more realistic eyes made them look "ugly" and "too anime-esque". This became a staple for most Kuboian animated series in the future.
Casting[]
Maverick and Morrison were originally going to voice a majority of the franchise's characters themselves, but Maverick thought that children would be bored "hearing the same two voices constantly", so Morrison personally spent money hiring voice actors.
Whilst Maverick voiced Kacie, she and Morrison were able to hire Edward Reizer as Mr. Riddles, Charlie Karma as Onita, Melissa Emery as Tenet and Avoc Westwind as Paddy. All four went on to voice characters in future animated shows produced by Kubokartoonz. The supporting cast were mostly voiced by Gutstonian locals hired by Morrison, including Bruno Leon Vidal, who voiced multiple supporting characters. Vidal said he enjoyed his job so much that he agreed to continue doing it for free if they did not have enough money to continue paying him, although he later said he was still paid for all of his roles.
All of the franchise's specials and other films were dubbed in Dutch in-house. As a result, a majority of the English voice actors also voice their respective characters in the Dutch dub.
Reizer has since adapted the nickname Tone Riddles, which he based off the character of Mr. Riddles.
Filmography[]
Television specials[]
- The Incredible World of Riddles (1989)
- Kacie to the Rescue (1989)
- The Test of Time (1990)
- A Christmas Riddle (1990)
- Secret of the Riddle World (2009)
- Kacie and the Surreal Dimension (2014)
Feature-length films[]
- The Incredible World of Riddles (1990)[1]
- The Incredible World of Riddles II (1991)[2]
- Kacie Forever (1995)
- Kacie's Bumper Pack (1997)
- Tenet and the Lost Star (2004)
- Onita and the Magic Candle (2006)
- The Incredible World of Riddles (2021)
Television series[]
- The Incredible World of Riddles (1991-96)
Cast and characters[]
- Main article: List of The Incredible World of Riddles characters
- Tone Riddles - Mr. Riddles
- Ashley Maverick - Kacie
- Melissa Emery - Tenet
- Avoc Westwind - Paddy
- Charlie Karma - Onita
- Harlow Morrison - Diomo
- Bruno Leon Vidal - Flowral, Mr. Nether, additional voices
- Oliver Jones - Yowie
- Chloe Wallace (1990-1992), Olivia Emery (1993-present) - Chica
Reception[]
Legacy[]
| “ | I think the reason so many people like The Incredible World of Riddles is because they like how 'personal' we made it. We added what we thought made a good story, not what a greedy executive did. [sic] I think since we had so much fun making the films, the public had fun watching them. […] Granted, I wouldn't have given it such a stupid name if I knew it would be such a hit. | „ |
| — Ashley Maverick during a 2018 interview |
To date, The Incredible World of Riddles remains a very popular franchise in Kuboia and is frequently used for tourism attractions in the country. Films and specials in the Incredible World of Riddles franchise are frequently screened during Christmas, Moon Sunday and Independence Day. It has also spawned cult followings in some international markets, such as the Netherlands, Japan and Brazil; the franchise's popularity in Brazil has been credited to its frequent, long-running airings on television there, as well as the popularity of its video games in the country.
The character of Kacie has became an iconic character in pop culture. She was added in the Kunning Hall of Fame in 1997, becoming the only fictional character to ever be included. In 1999, to coincide with the franchise's tenth anniversary, a statue of Kacie was erected outside Reichetto Airport, which has since became a popular tourist attraction.
The 29th of April is often celebrated as a pop culture holiday called 'Riddle Day', which celebrates the anniversary of the premiere original 1989 special. The day has been officially celebrated by TVVC since 2009, who often celebrate it by revealing behind-the-scenes or upcoming content relating to the franchise.
The Incredible World of Riddles franchise had grossed K10 billion (approx. $10.8 billion) worldwide, making it the highest-grossing media franchise to originate from Kuboia.
Criticism and censorship[]
The Incredible World of Riddles franchise has been criticised in the press for its content. Although branded as a preschool friendly media, a few sources claim the franchise has content inappropriate for young children. Several critics claim the media features music and characters that children could find frightening, or that parents might consider as inappropriate. Others argue that the franchise and its characters manifest an excessive amount of stereotypes associated with Kuboians and regularly wear short and skimpy clothing. Some of the franchise's video games have also been criticised for featuring violence, with Kacie often defeating enemies by kicking them and using magic. Additionally, some sources have criticised some of the films for their inclusion of the words "hell" and "damn".
Maverick has, repeatedly over the franchise's thirty-year lifespan, dismissed concerns about the content present, citing in 2004:
| “ | I do a lot of research. I ask parents what they think is okay to include and I frequently check the Leisure Rating Association's policies. I try to make sure that I do not add anything that could be seen as inappropriate, but it's impossible to please everybody. […] There is sometimes a tad amount of violence, but it's an unrealistic fantasy cartoon, so it's not like children could easily copy what they see Kacie do. Also, I try to make sure that there is always a reason for it, like self-defence. | „ |
Several international markets have censored certain entries in the franchise to some degree, though the amount of censorship varies from region to region. Most countries in the Middle East have censored the franchise's films significantly, whilst some regions such as Germany and Japan have released them with no censorship.
Merchandise and other media[]
Books[]
Books based on The Incredible World of Riddles have been published worldwide. The franchise and its characters were regularly featured in the Bumper's Block Magazine.
Kacie[]
A Kacie book series was published from 1992 to 2001. Published three times a year, each book was written in the perspective of Kacie, and featured facts about the franchise and its characters, as well as Kacie giving some advice and her opinions on certain matters.
Kacie's Adventures[]
A series of books titled Kacie's Adventures was published in Europe and Australia from 1994 to 1998, and was intended for younger readers. Unlike the main franchise, these focused on Kacie, Onita, Paddy and Tenet's day-to-day lives in the real world. As a result, a majority of the Riddle World residents do not appear in the series.
Each book would have two stories, followed by a series of questions encouraging the reader to reflect on what has happened in each of the stories (e.g. whether a certain character made a good decision).
Riddle World Stories[]
A spin-off book series called Riddle World Stories was published from 1995 to 1996. These books did not feature Kacie, Onita, Paddy and Tenet, but instead focused on the residents of Riddle World, with Flowral usually playing the central character.
Other books[]
Other books based on the franchise that have been published in the past include episode and special guides, colouring books and books featuring various activities such as crosswords and wordsearches.
Video games[]
Many video games based on the Incredible World of Riddles franchise have been released. Ashley Maverick typically oversees their development, and allegedly has strict standards on what she approves. Notoriously, some (though not all) of the games are canon to the franchise's overall story.
Mainline games[]
- Kacie's Adventure (1991; Mega Drive/Master System/Game Gear)
- Kacie's Quest (1992; NES)
- Kacie and the Magic Sceptre (1993; Super NES)
- Kacie's World (1997; PlayStation)
- Kacie and the Enchanted Mirror (2002; GameCube/PlayStation 2/Game Boy Advance)
- Kacie's Fantasy Fever (2006; GameCube/PlayStation 2/PlayStation Portable/Nintendo DS)
Spin-off games[]
- Tenet's Treehouse (1992; NES/Game Boy)
- Kacie's Party Pack (1995; Super NES)
- Riddle World GP (1996; Arcade, PlayStation)
- Dancing Stage Riddle Mix (2004; PlayStation 2)
Other games and software[]
- The Incredible World of Riddles: Riddle Classroom (1992; PC)
- The Incredible World of Riddles: Forest Fun (1993; PC)
- Kacie's Riddle World Adventure (1994; PC)
- 3D Riddle World (1995; PC)
- The Incredible World of Riddles: Story Maker (1998; PC)
- Kacie in the Riddle Castle (2005; V.Smile)
Other merchandise[]
Kubokartoonz launched an official Incredible World of Riddles merchandise range in 1991. Merchandise progressively released over the next few years included board games, puzzles, costumes and clothing, inflatable playsets, posters and soft toys. A checklist was later released in 1994 which allowed users to score off and check how much of the range of products they had. The range was relaunched in 1997 to feature new packaging.
A breakfast cereal based on the franchise, Lucky Riddles, was launched in 1997. The cereal consists mostly of crunchy wheat cereal pieces, with some additional pieces such as cookie pieces shaped as glowups and chocolate cereal pieces shaped as Riddle Gems. It is still being sold in Kuboia as of 2024, and was also sold in other countries in Europe during the 2000s.
An Incredible World of Riddles version of several board and card games have been released throughout the years, including Snakes and Ladders, Cluedo, Monopoly, Top Trumps and Uno.
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
- The Incredible World of Riddles: The Album (as various artists) (1994)
- Let's Dance (as Kacie and Friends) (1997)
Singles[]
- 1992: "Together" (performed by Sonja Dufour)
- 1992: "To the Sky" (performed by Sonja Dufour)
- 1994: "Magic" (performed by Antonia Morales vs. Northern Project featuring Tone Riddles)
- 1996: "Kacie's Dance" (as Kacie and Friends)
- 1997: "Dance with Me" (as Kacie and Friends)
- 2004: "To the Sky Again" (performed by Ericka Streets and Stella C)
Parks and tourists attractions[]
- Kacie's Fantasy Zone - Indoor theme park in Fahrbahnin opened in 1996.
- Riddle World Theme Park - Amusement park in Reichetto opened in 1993.
Other attractions[]
A statue of Kacie, which was erected outside of Reichetto Airport, is a popular tourist attraction.