Winx Club is a 2004 Italian animated fantasy/adventure series created by Iginio Straffi and produced by Rainbow S.p.A.. The seventy-eight episodes series is aimed toward children between the ages of six and fourteen and has spawned an international franchise of toys, books, clothing, DVDs and a Computer Animation feature film.
It was revealed at the Licensing Show 2008 in New York that Winx will return for a fourth season in 2009, along with a second movie slated for Winter 2010 with the working title The Magic is Back. Reportedly, there will be a fifth season released in late 2010.
Seasons
Season 1
The Winx Club in Season 1 (Left to right; Flora, Stella, Musa, Tecna, Bloom).
An ordinary girl from the planet Earth, Bloom lives a perfectly normal life in the city of Gardenia until she meets Stella, a princess from the planet Solaria, who is in trouble. Coming to Stella's aid, Bloom discovers her magical powers. Stella persuades Bloom to join Alfea, the best fairy school in all the realms.
In Alfea Bloom forms the Winx Club, whose members are her four friends and roommates: Stella, Musa, Tecna, and Flora. Later in the series they encounter and befriend the Specialists from Red Fountain: Brandon, Riven, Timmy, and Sky. The Specialists (called Heroes in the 4Kids version) will also become their love interests. They also encounter their enemies, a trio of witches named the Trix: Icy, Darcy, and Stormy. They are witches from Cloudtower (but got expelled in certain point of the story) a witch school roughly equivalent to Alfea, in search for the power of the Dragon's Flame (called Dragon Fire in the 4kids version), the power that created the magic dimension and supposedly there was a spark of this in Stella's magic ring.
Their ruthless pursuit of the ring leads to many encounters and battles with the Winx Club. Bloom also begins to unfold the secrets of about her origins and her magic powers. Later, it is she learns through the witches that the Dragon's Flame is inside Bloom's body and that she is the last princess of the destroyed kingdom of Sparks, just before they steal the power of the Dragon Flame.
Then Icy, Darcy and Stormy use that power to conquer Clowd Tower, call the Army of Decay, and manage to destroy Red Fountain Castle. Bloom realizes that she still has some of her powers and, after a rough battle, the Winx manage to beat the Trix. After the battle ,the Trix are sent to purification retreat in the Lighthaven Prison (also the Fortress of Light).
Season 2
After their summer vacation, the Winx Club returns to Alfea to begin their second year. They meet a new fairy, Layla, who asks for their help in rescuing her pixie friends held hostage by Lord Darkar. Lord Darkar wants to find out where the Pixies' Village is in order to steal the four pieces of the Codex (one each in Pixie Village, Redfountain, Cloudtower, and Alfea) which open the portal to the Realm of Realix, where the ultimate power can be found. The Trix also meet Lord Darkar and decide to assist him in his quest. Lord Darkar is actually the "Shadow Phoenix" who wants to take control of the magical realm. Later, he is able to use Bloom to summon open the portal to Realix. The girls also meet another specialist, Helia, who becomes the love interest for Flora.
Season 3
Previously banished to the Omega Dimension, the Trix are able to escape with Baltor, a sorcerer partially responsible for the destruction of Bloom's home realm, Sparks. They choose to cooperate and they plan to invade several areas in the realm of Magix and seek vengeance on those who imprisoned them, stealing the magic treasures and power sources of each realm. The Winx Club begins its third year in Alfea and the girls learn about their unique Enchantix transformations, acquired by showing examples sacrifice.
Season 4
Season first aired on April 15, 2009 and was completed in November. Its US television future is unclear, due to the discontinuation of the 4Kids TV block. It is unknown if 4Kids will acquire this season or if it will air on their new block on the CW network, the CW4Kids.
However, dubs all over Europe in many dominate languages, sans English, have been released since October 2009.
The Winx Club must now stop the Wizards of Black Circle (also known as Fairy Hunters). The Winx must now go and protect the last fairy on Earth, Roxy. She is the fairy of animals and later becomes the seventh member of the Winx Club.
When they reach Earth, they go to Bloom's house, and though try to look for work, thanks to Stella, they are unable to find any. However, with a little help, they start a business sellign pets made from a box of stuffed animals. The store then doubles as the living space. About midway through the season, they meet Roxy, and she helps them earn their Believix, a more powerful transformation earned through a human believing in fairies. A few episodes later, when a member of the Black Circle, Gantlos, hurts Artu, Roxy earns her Believix, it is speculated much the same way Bloom earned her Enchantix.
Characters
Winx Club
Bloom: She discovered her dormant magical powers after coming to the aid of another fairy, Stella. Strong and caring, she is always available to help her friends. Shortly after arriving at Alfea she discovers that her powers of fire come from the ancient Dragon's Flame, of which she is the seventh known guardian. She is the princess of the planet Sparks, her birthplace. She is the fairy and guardian of the Dragon Fire. She owns a blueish grey bunny named Kiko. Her pixie is Lockette, the pixie of mazes and portals. Her last name is known as 'Peters' in Winx Club novels published in North America.
Stella: She is a talkative student who often gets average or low grades, but always pulls through with the help from her friends. She tends to be spontaneous and dislikes extensive planning, but she is able to recognize when her help is needed. Stella is also infamous amongst the Alfea houses for blowing up a laboratory and being kept back a grade; thus, she is a year older than all the other Winx Club fairies. She has the power of the sun and the moon because her mother represents the moon and her father the sun although she has only displayed skills involving the sun. She is the princess of the planet Solaria. Her pixie is Amore, the pixie of love. She is very energetic and emotional.
Flora: Flora is a very kind-hearted and sensitive girl with a passion for nature and life. Happy and introverted, she is always a sweet, loyal friend and doesn't believe in hurting others or the environment. She is extremely fond of plants and nature, and her room consequently resembles a greenhouse. She has the power of flowers and plants and can understand the voice of nature. She comes from the planet Linphea. Her pixie is Chatta, the pixie of gossip.
Musa: Musa loves all forms of music. Although she tries to put up a tough front, isolate herself, and isoften pessimistic, she is a loyal and caring friend. In spite of her laid-back nature, Musa has the best grades of the entire Winx Club (including Tecna). She is pale and Asian in appearance, with blue-black hair and blue eyes. She is the fairy of music. She comes from the planet Melody. In the 4kids continuity, she is a princess while in the Rai, she is not. Her pixie is Tune, the pixie of manners, who often gets on Musa's nerves since they are almost the exact opposite of each other's personalities.
Tecna : Tecna is always logical and rational, and initially had trouble expressing her emotions. She speaks in a technical and a matter-of-fact manner. She is extremely intelligent and strong in technology and mathematics and enjoys playing video games and dismantling stuff. She can act cold and rational at times, but always tries to do the right thing. She is the fairy of digital technology. She comes from the planet Zenith. In the official monthly comic available in Europe only, it is revealed that Tecna is the princess of her realm. Her pixie is Digit, who has similar powers.
Layla: (also known as Aisha outside English dubs) Layla is athletic and very outgoing. Her appearance is that of a black girl with long flowing hair and blue eyes. She is the fairy of liquids, specialising in a substance called morphix. She comes from the planet Tides and is a princess. Her pixie is Piff, who has the power to turn nightmares into pleasant dreams.
Roxy: Roxy has power over animals. Roxy was at the beginning of the series considered the last fairy on Earth. Roxy has waist-length, hot pink hair with yellow tips, and eyes of violet. She also lives in Gardenia, just like Bloom, and is described as out-going. The Winx girls noticed her in the coolest bar in town and befriend her later in the series. She and her father work at the Frutti Music Bar. She owns a pet dog, Artù, whom she loves very much. It is later revealed that her mother is Morgana, Queen of the Earth fairies.
The Witches
The enemies of the Winx Club are an evil trio of teenage witch sisters who attended the Cloudtower School for Witches (only in the first season, after which they got expelled), which rivals Alfea. They are referred to as the Trix in the all dubs outside of the 4kids English.
- Icy: The leader of the trio. Her name refers to her powers of ice. She is quite charismatic. She despises the Winx Club, especially Bloom, almost outright murderous when Bloom is directly involved. She is seen as the most powerful of the three. She has long, white hair tied up high on her head. She wears extremely dark or extremely light blue and white. In the monthly comics, she possibly had genuine affections for childhood friend Darko, the son of a mafia head in Magix.
- Darcy: Darcy works with all forms of darkness, as her name suggests ("Darcy" meaning "dark" in Gaelic). She is the smartest of the Trix. She enjoys tormenting "pathetic pixies". In season one, she is most aggressive towards Musa because Musa was interested Riven, who was Darcy's boyfriend in the first season. She has long, dark brown hair with blond bangs swept to the side of her face. She wears purple and interacts with boys more than all of her other sisters. In the first season, she used Riven to help defeat the Winx and later, abandoned him. Therefore, she plays a very important role in the first season. She is less aggressive than her sisters (especially Stormy).
- Stormy: Seen as the youngest of the trio, her powers involve wind, storms, and weather. She has the shortest temper of the group and is prone to violent outbursts. She is most aggressive towards Musa in season 2. She has dark purple, short curly and quite frizzy hair that looks like a storm has been through it with mauve bangs. She often does not think before she does something. She secretly believes she is more powerful than her older sisters Darcy and Icy. She wears hot pink/dark purple. She is the most aggressive sister of the trio.
The Specialists
The Specialists are a group of students who attend an all-boys school near Alfea, Redfountain School for Heroics and Bravery. Several Specialists have become the boyfriends of the Winx girls.
- Sky: The prince and hair apparent of Eraklyon at the beginning of the series and now king, he feels stifled by his position. However, he has a strong sense of duty that sometimes causes conflicts, be it with Riven or Bloom. He has medium blond hair and is Bloom's boyfriend. He was once engaged to Diaspro but broke it with her to pursue Bloom. He still has a friendship
- Brandon: Sky's squire, a great swordsman and ladies' man. He is sometimes conceited like Stella, a reason why they are a good match. He has short brown hair. He is Stella's boyfriend.
- Timmy: He acts as the geek of the group sometimes, from a long line of scientists. He has short ginger hair, wear glasses and is Tecna's boyfriend. He is an extremely good marksmen.
- Riven: A lone wolf, very competitive and good at sports, he sees himself as Sky's rival. He has short spiked burgundy or dark pink hair and purple eyes. He is seen as a chauvinist by definition because he has found very few reasons to trust woman, i.e. his mother abandoning him when he was young and Darcy and Mandragora using him in season one and the first movie to impede his friends' quest. He is Musa's on-and-off boyfriend.
- Helia: An artistic student, he is a great pilot and a pacifist. His uncle/grandfather, Saladin, is the headmaster of Redfountain. He has long blue hair tied into a loose ponytail in season two and three which is then later cut to sport flicky bangs, not tied at all. He is also very romantic and is not shy about directly speaking about his opinions. He is very good at using laser string glove (a fictional weapon in the show) and tries to help everyone with it. He is Flora's boyfriend. He was the top student in Redfountain until he decided to quit and dedicate his life to nature and poetry. He has rejoined Redfountain now.
- Nabu: Nabu is the prince of an unknown kingdom on the planet Andros (4Kids: Realm of Tides) whom is the betrothed to Layla and is a wizard. He ran away from his kingdom to see what she was like, but was caught and mistaken for an enemy at first. Not wanting to tell Layla who he really was, he went under the name "Ophir" for a time until later on, when he finally told Layla the truth because he'd fallen in love with her. He is officially not a real specialist as he does not attend Red Fountain but he is often seen accompanying the other specialists.
The Realm of Magix
The Realm of Magix is an alternate universe where most of the series unfolds. It is also the name of a city in that universe. It is an enchanted and highly technologically-advanced universe of hospitable planets populated by fairies, witches, heroes, and monsters.
Alfea
The Alfea School for Fairies is a young girls' boarding school for fairies in training. All of the Winx girls met and reside here and have a close relationship with its headmistress, Ms. Faragonda. At Alfea, fairies learn to fight evil, help their planets, or, in many cases, become queens of their planets.
Cloudtower
Cloudtower[1] is a young girls' boarding school for witches in training, and for most of Season 1, it was the residence for the Trix witches. At Cloudtower,[1] the witches learn about witchcraft. For the later episodes of season 1, the Trix took over Cloudtower and caused a disaster after they stole the Dragon's Flame from Bloom. Ms. Griffin is their headmistress. It is later revealed that she is friends with Ms. Faragonda in season 2 and season 3 as she, Saladin and Faragonda are the Company of Light.
Redfountain
Redfountain[1] is a boys' boarding school for the next heroes, one magical forest away from Alfea. It teaches fighting and the use of technology. The Redfountain[1] boys are taught how to go on dangerous missions and to fight for their respective planets. Redfountain[1] and Alfea have a close relationship, and Miss Faragonda and Saladin have a long history that involves Bloom's past.