Assignment 4,5

1. Melissa Napolitano October 9th 2012
Com 410 Assignment 4&5
Willy’s Wild World
CONCEPT
Willy’s Wild World is a Travel Channel original series that allows children to follow the
host, Willy, as he embarks on worldwide adventures; teaching his viewers about an array of
cultures, customs and traditions through his journeys.
GENRE & FORMAT
Willy’s Wild World is a non-fiction series that tactfully combines animation and live
action forms of portrayal. The form is split fairly evenly between live action and animation over
the course of each episode. Each show opens with Willy as a cartoon figure of himself in his
quiet hometown of Narragansett, Rhode Island. As he contemplates his next destination, Willy
sits on the docks by the pier and enjoys the beautiful view of the ocean near his waterfront home.
Willy’s mind often escapes him as he brainstorms ideas of new places to travel. Animated
thought bubbles surround his head, depicting the adventures he could have in places such as New
York City, Mexico, Italy or Japan. This entire scene is in live action, it is not until he embarks on
each journey that the format changes and Willy becomes the animation form of himself. Along
the way, there are montages that depict his journeys in greater detail; these clips are in animation
to maintain the audience’s attention due to the fact that they are on the younger side of the
spectrum. The integration of animation and live action scenes will give the series a unique
feature and offer a fun, light hearted nature to the experiences that go along with seeing the
world through the eyes of a free spirited, young soul. The atmosphere I hope to create will
enhance the minds of young viewers and offer them the opportunity to live vicariously through

2. the main character as new people, events and culturally stimulating experiences change his view
on the world.
CONTENT:
The premise behind the series is that the host, Willy, was unable to attend traditional
summer camp with his friends due to the fact that his family decided to travel around the world
for the summer for his mother’s new job. Willy was disappointed with the fate of his summer
and envied his friends for having the opportunity to play outdoors and participate in all of the
other fun filled activities camp RI had to offer its attendees. In hopes to make it up to her son,
Willy’s mother proposed a plan to enroll Willy in the camp her office organized prior to her
transfer. The camp allowed employees’ children to travel with their parents but offered daytime
supervision and group outings at each destination. The children enrolled were destined to
experience culture, tradition, cuisine, language and more in a fun filled environment during the
hours their parents were at work.
Much like his parents, Willy shared a love for adventure and new experiences. He was
always open to learning and could adjust to any environment he was thrown into. Willy
accepted his mother’s scheme and began to get excited about the summer ahead. The opening
episode of the series depicts Willy, daydreaming about the experiences he is going to have once
camp begins. The series is basically a collection of daydreams that Willy has about his summer
and the friends he imagines meeting along the way. This progression will continue throughout
the first season of the series, it is not until season two that Willy actually enters the camp and
travels the globe alongside his family and new friends.
Willy is just your average ten year old Rhode Island boy. He has an average build, and is
light skinned with dark hair and eyes. Willy’s style is that of a typical native Rhode Islander.

3. He wears khakis, boat shoes and a navy blue tucked in polo. Those closest to him know that he
never leaves the house without his signature worn out Red Sox baseball cap and his backpack
full of tricks. Our main character has a love for sports, animals and getting into trouble
whenever an opportunity presents itself. His charismatic attitude towards life makes each
episode intriguing and unpredictable as he meets new people and shares his knowledge with the
audience.
Episode one opens with Willy’s mother informing him of the seemingly detrimental news
previously described. Willy then ventures to the docks near his waterfront home, as it is his
favorite place to think. As Willy contemplates the possibilities the next few months hold for
him, he slips off into a deep, vivid daydream about his scheduled visit to New York City, a place
he had only been once before. At this point, the format transitions from live action to animation.
During this changeover, a dream sequence musical component is played in the background for
effect. Willy’s daydream depicts him in the big city right in front of Penn Station. He says
goodbye to his mother and turns to the small group of other camp members who are all around
his age. The counselor is a young, blonde, bubbly eighteen year old girl from Pennsylvania. She
introduces herself to the group as Sally. It is then that Willy develops an innocent crush on the
group leader; something he is too embarrassed to admit to both himself and his peers. As Willy
surveys the group, he catches a glimpse of Bart, a disheveled red headed young boy with huge
glasses and untied sneakers. Willy finds himself gravitating towards him and eventually
introduces himself. Instantly the two become friends and make a pact to make the best of the
summer and stick together through thick and thin.
The next scene is a montage of pictures of the NYC. The montage is a collection of still
pictures of the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and China town. As

4. the episode progresses, the group makes their way to each of those destinations and Sally teaches
the group about the history behind each stop in both normal conversation and occasionally in
song. This factor will definitely capture the attention of the children viewing the program
because the musical factor makes the show interactive and the lessons by Sally allow them to
participate in the journey as they are encouraged by Willy to repeat certain phrases along the
way.
Taxis zoom by; the group learns the precautionary measures of taking public
transportation and the group gets the full effect of life in the busy city. After a long day of hot
dogs, fun in central park and an educational tour of the Museum of Natural History, the group
retreats back to Penn Station to meet up with their parents. Willy is then reunited with his
mother and begins rehashing the events of his first exciting day at camp as he slowly slips out of
his daydream. The scene switches back to live action and Willy finds himself back at the docks
and hears his mother calling in the distance. He smiles and runs towards home, turning around
only to encourage viewers to join him next time and to visit him online at
www.willyswildworld.com.
The next few episodes progress in a repetitive manner. The only differences are the
destinations he finds himself dreaming about. Episode two will depict Willy and the group in
Italy. There they will experience Italian cuisines such as pasta, pizza and gelato. They visit the
Vadican, the island of Capri and enjoy the gorgeous nostalgic atmosphere in Sorento. Episode
three Willy daydreams about travelling to the islands of Japan and his encounters with Samurais,
Japanese cuisine and engages in a lesson on currency. Finally, in episode four, the team goes to
Mexico. There, they learn how to prepare traditional tacos by making tortillas from scratch, they
learn a few basic phrases in the native language and even attend a bull fight. The excitement

5. factor of the series is maintained at all times, as the adventures are all unique and for most
children, depict places they have never travelled to themselves.
AUDIENCE and DISTRIBUTION
The demographic group I seek to reach is all children between the ages of 6-10. The show is
versatile enough that it can appeal to both boys and girls in that age spectrum. Initially, the show
will be aired in the United States and my hope is to eventually branch out and expand to translate
the series into other languages. Children like to engage in interactive forms of media, especially
while watching television. With that being said, there will be musical breaks and opportunities
for viewers to repeat after Willy, making them feel like they are a part of the adventures. I would
like to integrate an online presence for the series, where children can enter sweepstakes, play
games involving the characters and challenge their minds with reviewing the lessons of each
episode online. This factor is likely to appeal to the target audience and help to spread awareness
about everything the show has to offer; hopefully resulting in a magnitude of viewers for the
premiere.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
An example of a series similar to mine would be Kiddin’ Around USA (on our way to
see…IT ALL). This series follows the adventures of an American family that home schools their
three children and travels around the United States. The series is aimed at an audience of boys
and girls under the age of fourteen. Their goals are to show the importance of travel and to
demonstrate the positive effects it can have on the relationship between parents and their
children. The second motive is to demonstrate that children who have the opportunity to travel
are more likely to be well rounded, have open minds and are likely to be more successful in their

6. daily lives and interactions. There are a few reasons why my series is bound to be a greater
success in comparison to Kiddin’ Around USA. First and foremost, their show is strictly aired in
the United States. I want to take my mission worldwide and place a strong importance on culture,
as opposed to focusing on what America has to offer as a whole. Secondly, Willy’s Wild World
is much more interactive and has the capacity to hold the attention of the younger audiences due
to the dual usage of animation and live action, as well as, musical breaks and repetition of terms,
ideas and lessons. Willy’s online presence is also much stronger and better developed in
comparison to the competitor. Our website has interactive games as well as full access to
character descriptions and constant sweepstakes online. The sweepstakes I would like to create
allow children to submit requests online for Willy to showcase their hometown or some aspect of
their culture. To enter, all the children will have to do is write a short description of their town,
culture, standpoint on diversity in the form of a video or essay. The details will be described at
the end of each episode.
APPEAL
Children in the target audience will love this series because it truly is one of a kind. It
incorporates fun and entertainment while teaching them real life lessons about acceptance,
diversity, culture and language. The use of both animation and live action adds appeal because it
allows for imagination to take over. When buying new dolls or action figures, children will
always pick one that looks similar to them physically. Willy’s split roles in the series stimulate
imagination and allow children to ponder fantasies of the unknown and exciting world around
them. Another aspect that creates hype and appeal is the sweepstakes and online participation
that is encouraged at the end of each episode. Willy offers viewers to visit
www.willyswildworld.com to play online games and enter sweepstakes to win a guest

7. appearance on the show, (with parent consent of course). Children love competition and because
the show is new, the odds of winning are very likely, especially if you enter to win directly after
each episode. You can log in online or text your information to Willy to ensure greater chances.
DISTRIBUTION
My children’s media product will reach viewers mainly via television and internet.
Commercials on the Travel channel will make both children and parents alike gain awareness
about the series. I would also like to advertise online, because that is the most readily available
form of advertisement; especially when working with a budget. By creating pages on Facebook,
Twitter and other social networking sites, hype about the show is bound to result. In using both
of the strategies, the target audience will definitely be reached.
MARKETING/PROMOTION/LICENSING/MERCHANDISING
Finding funding for the development of my children’s media product will be done
through pitching the idea to various companies that gear their products toward the same target
audience as my own. I would like to market to Travel Channel in hopes to gain funding and
support from them, as well as, to have my show aired on their channel. Next, I plan to hold
online forums where people can make personal donations to the cause of spreading awareness
about culture to younger generations. People will be able to click “like” on the page and for
every click, donate a dollar to the cause. Five percent of all donations will be donated to a
children’s charity to later be determined, and the remainder will go to the development and
advertisement committees for Willy’s Wild World productions. In terms of filming and
animating the series, I plan to hold interviews for volunteers with talents such as animation,
editing and filming. This will significantly cut down labor costs. Eventually, the volunteers will
be compensated for their work, when and if the show is a success after the first season. College

8. students would be great candidates for these positions, as they will have the opportunity to add in
field experience to their resumes and potentially earn internship credits towards their degrees.
The remainder of budgeting will come from celebrities that wish to join the cause and spread the
word about diversity to the youth of our nation. People like Oprah, Ellen Degeneres and other
talk show hosts will be featuring a segment on the premiere of Willy’s Wild World. This will not
only help our budget, but will also strengthen the previously implemented advertisement
strategies in place.