Winx Club: Cut It Out!
A guide to edits made by 4Kids to Winx Club
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Witch Trap
(European title: "Bloom's Dark Secret")
Mirta gets featured a lot in this one. Significant edits:
Rearrangement: Rainbow puts Mirta's first scene before Bloom's exam. 4Kids doesn't show Mirta until after Bloom and "Brandon" are having ice-cream. Original: Mirta --> Exam --> Ice cream --> RF. 4Kids: Exam --> Ice cream --> Mirta --> RF.
Removal / Rewrite: This is a major edit... so this gets a really long entry. Originally, when Bloom takes the exam, she shoots a fireball at the big blue blob (an ice -ball, I guess) that FG conjures to ace the exam. The others high-five, and we see Bloom return to her regular form. 4Kids cuts straight from Bloom's reaction to the ice-ball to her having ice cream with "Brandon" and talking about failing the exam. (Meanwhile, the high-five shot has been used in a music video, and the 2nd season's opening titles [with modifications, it's also in S3]. Actually, some of what gets left on the cutting floor gets put in the title sequence.) ... Also, Bloom's going first in alphabetical order (again, after 1x10, and yes, Bloom does complain about it, although no one mentions that Amaryl should come before Bloom), even though she originally goes after someone else (FG's dialog: "Very good Judith... you get an A"). Original: Faragonda conjures ice-ball --> Bloom screams at the incoming blob --> Bloom shoots fireball and blows up ice-ball --> Other Winx celebrate (FG: "Settle down girls, excellent work Bloom, go take your seat. Next please") --> Bloom de-transforms --> Fade to black --> Fade to Magix town --> Cut to "Brandon" talking to Bloom at the ice cream parlor as the waiter gives them their ice cream --> Close up of "Brandon" (noticing Bloom depressed... "Huh?") --> Cut to depressed Bloom (she's thinking about her parents, her past and her powers). 4Kids: Faragonda conjures ice-ball --> Bloom screams at the incoming blob --> Fade to white --> Fade to Magix town --> Cut to close up of "Brandon" at the ice cream parlor ("Hey... don't get bummed out, it's just a test") --> Cut to depressed Bloom (she's thinking about how to find out more about her powers so she can control them so she doesn't fail her exams like today). (The snipped out portion of the exam scene, video of the exam sequence)
Rearrangement / Removal: During the test scene, there's a shot of Tec and Stella that pans to show Flora and Musa. The dub splits this into two brief shots (see video to understand). Also, the dub snips out Bloom landing in front of the pedestal; plus a second or so of the energy blob hovering above Bloom.
Addition: In the dub, all the dialog in the Bloom's examination sequence occurs with the speaker off-screen. There is very little dialog in the original, all of it coming from Faragonda, and the only part where she speaks on screen is part of the cut bit.
Rewrite / Removal: Okay. Griffin has asked Mirta a simple question. Mirta answers that the 1st night of a full moon is a bad time to cast a transformation spell because the light rays may cause interference that would could undesired, possibly permanent effects. Mirta is correct, but Griffin thinks she's a bit hesitant and points out that a good witch should be more confident. She then notices a classmate laughing at Lucy for appearing at the Miss Magix pageant (in "Miss Magix"). Later, Lucy lashes out at Mirta at being humiliated at the pageant (Mirta insists that the Trix played a cruel trick on Lucy, which they did in the original), and goes on about how she'd rather hang out with the Trix than Mirta. Well, in 4Kids' version, there is no tie-in to the pageant episode. Mirta talks about her favorite spell to Griffin, a friendship spell, and Griffin gives her a fail, while everyone laughs at Mirta instead. Later, Lucy lashes out at feeling humiliated by that comment (a brief "spotlight" shot of Mirta is removed).
Rewrite / Addition: More added dialog, this time to the Cloud Tower book sequence. After she's done, Bloom decides to be left at Cloud Tower, instead of being taken back to Alfea in the original.
Rewrite: Another notable (continuity-wise) edit is rewriting the scene with the other girls. The original has Musa mentioning that she asked "Brandon", and he said that told her he dropped Bloom off at Alfea. This is why Bloom's headed to Magix with Kiko, instead of back to Alfea with Kiko just popping out of nowhere.
Visual edit: In the above scene, one shot of Musa has had her pants edited for continuity. Pic.
Rewrite: Originally, Bloom tries asking about her powers with Mirta when the Trix arrive. 4Kids changes the attempted segue into Bloom asking why a witch is helping her.
Rearrangement: A brief scene of Kiko and the duck fighting is moved from the end of the fight to the middle of the fight.
Pushing the Envelope
(European title: "Honor Above All")
Bloom finds a quiz answer sheet envelope. Significant edits:
Visual: All through the eppy, WizGiz's envelope has had text ("WizGiz Quiz / Answer Sheet") added to it (there was no text at all in the original). (Envelope, with and without text) I've been told that the envelope with text is better, since without the text, it could just easily have been, say, a personal letter, yet somehow we're led to believe at the end that everyone in the class assumed that the envelope had the test answers.
Removal / Rearrangement: In the original, Bloom finds the envelope, and after the others watch Flora trying to deal with Mirta, Bloom comes in with the envelope and proudly declares it's the test answers (everyone is surprised, bar Stella, who seems to be a bit smug, mostly because she's pretty weak in class, see her exam in "Miss Magix"), before a shot of the envelope on the Winx's table. In the dub, we see the part with Mirta first, and cut off part with Bloom walking in, then the part where Bloom gets the envelope, and then we cut straight to the shot of the envelope on the Winx's table. Video.
Rewrite: So FG tells Bloom about Daphne and takes her on an astral journey to her lake. Daphne's silent in the original, dialogued in the 4Kids version (although the added dialog is less gratituous than most other added dialog).
Not an edit: In a monologue, Bloom realizes she hasn't talked to "Brandon" since their adventure at Cloud Tower. Only, in the Rainbow version of the dub, she calls it by its original Italian name Torrenuvelo. Whoops!
Rewrite: Originally, Musa and Flora are mentioned as getting the best grades in class. (Bloom's dialog: "You always complain about it [pop quizzes], but in the end who gets the best marks? Musa and Flora.") 4Kids has just Musa getting the best grades (although Rainbow's dub still gives her a "straight A student" distinction). In either case, the show hasn't really done anything with this "twist" (oh, c'mon, you were expecting Tecna to have the best grades and you know it), and has even contradicted it at certain points.
Not an edit: Brief digression: Why isn't Tecna the one getting the best grades, anyway? In 2x07's dub, Tec even says she's never gotten anything worse than an A-. That would be a bit hard to beat, wouldn't it?
Removal / Addition: A brief scene at the end with Grizelda announcing a meeting to plan an upcoming parent-teacher meeting has been replaced by the Trix conjuring up a troll (this is the first scene of the next ep in Rainbow's version), presumably since it turns out to be less consequential than one would expect (it is merely used to set up the nightmares of the next ep, as mentioned below). This scene had already been at the end of episode 10 in 4Kids' version.
Not an edit: Personally, I would have expected some kind of real payoff to this parent-teacher meeting "storyline". I mean, it sounds like an awkward situation for three of the characters: The only parents Bloom has known are barred from the magical realm, Stella's parents are in the middle of a divorce, and Musa has a single dad. And yet they sweep it under the floor in favor of Bloom's powers being stolen.
The Nightmare Monster
(European title: "Cold Spell")
Basically, another monster for the Winx to fight.
Rewrite: The first scene with the fairies originally mentions the upcoming parent-teacher meetings, instead of watching a scary movie. Thus, the rather unsubtle shift in the dub from talking about the scary movie to talking about Musa's late mother.
Rewrite: Stella and Tecna's dream sequences originally had no dialog, while Musa's dream only has her saying "Riven" at the end.
Rearrangement: Stella's nightmare has also been rearranged: The original starts with Stella looking in the mirror, and then it goes on to include her parents. In the dub, her parents come first, and the part with the mirror comes at the end.
Royal Heartbreak
(European title: "Secrets Within Secrets")
The Winx sneak into Red Fountain's exhibition. A handful of edits:
Rewrite: Bloom is on the phone with her boyfriend. Originally, they talk about the incident in "Witch Trap", and Bloom thinks that the witches tricked her just because they're evil. This clears up the air about that incident, and sets up Bloom assuming Diaspro must be a witch.
Rewrite / Rearrangement: Another interesting rewrite. A convo between Faragonda and Griffin about expelling the Trix (the gist: "I understand you've expelled the three young witches" "Yes, a cruel and unecessary punishment" "I agree" "However, I'm sorry to have lost such gifted students" "They're young but they seem to be mastering the art. Someone has to keep an eye on them. They could be dangerous" "It'll be harder now that they're gone" "Yes.") is turned into a convo about a two-timing boyfriend of theirs getting turned into a frog, 100 years ago (the exact dialog: "I'm 26-G. Don't tell me you're 26-F" "You look radiant. What's your secret? Spell?" "Hmph!" "You and I haven't sat together since the summer of '08" "We were both dating that Red Fountain boy" "Prince Jones" "We turned him into a goat when we found out he was two-timing us"), followed by a brief discussion about a survey of schools. Also, this scene has been moved: originally, this scene follows the Specs fighting amongst themselves and precedes Bloom talking about going to RF's exhibition. The dub moves it to after the girls have sneaked past the guards at RF.
Rewrite: 4Kids version: Princess Diaspro is seated in the stadium, Bloom walks up to her to hand her a message to tell her that the press wants to see Diaspro. Teen Fairy, specifically. Originally, Bloom tells her that Prince Sky wants to see her.
Rewrite: Originally, Diaspro's being accused as one of the witches (and Bloom even specifically asks, "Who are you, Icy, Darcy, or Stormy?"). 4Kids has Bloom accusing her more specifically of being Icy. Not that either decision was logical, of course... in both cases Bloom assumes this just because Di has a photo of the hunk soon to be formerly known as Brandon.
Addition: After the exhibition, 4Kids adds two brief scenes after the royal exhibition of Grizelda diluting the girls' powers 50% (originally used in "Secret Guardian") and putting them on academic probation, and the girls discussing why Sky decided to alias himself as a squire (also repurposed from "Secret Guardian"). Then, we're outside on the balcony with Bloom. Rainbow just fades from shocked Bloom at the exhibition to the balcony scene.
Rewrite: At the dorm balcony, 4Kids has Bloom make an almost sardonic comment on the proceedings at the exhbition: "I'm through with boys, I'm sticking with bunnies." This replaces a straightforward "There's nothing else to do" line.
Senior Witches Go To Earth
(European title: "The Font of Dragonfire" ... eh? And you thought their use of "sunder" in an earlier eppy was off. Besides, there are two meanings for "font": one as in computer font, and two as in holy water bowl, and neither of those meanings really fit the storyline)
Bloom's heading home, and, well, read the title.
Rewrite: 4Kids completely cuts out the fact that by leaving Alfea, Bloom's also abandoning the search about her past, mentioned by Tecna in the original.
Visual edit / Removal: Bloom walks into an alley that leads to a large space, and before heading back to earth, she says "Goodbye Magix" with tears in her eyes. In the dub, we do not see this, and there is now a sign in the alley Bloom heads into. (Transportus Station)
Rewrite: Grizelda and Faragonda have a brief scene with the fairies. Originally, the teachers are disciplining them for not telling about Bloom's sudden departure. Re-scripted, they are telling the fairies that they are not allowed to leave school grounds (as in, to get Bloom) under academic probation (see last ep).
Name Change: 4Kids' most significant name change (before Layla, which is likely not even 4Kids' issue) becomes more noticable from this point onwards, as Bloom is linked to the now frozen Domino / Sparx realm (I assume the renaming of the realm was for a better pun value).
Rewrite / Removal: 4Kids removes the fact that Daphne is Bloom's sister from the Trix's spiel. In fact, there is a snip at the point they mention this fact: Bloom is shown crying, and when Icy mentions Bloom's sister, she says "Daphne?" The latter part is snipped out, so that Icy's spiel is one long chunk. Video.
Removal: Between the Trix taking away Bloom's powers and Bloom waking up, there is a brief scene of Mitzi trying to explain to some random people the pig she was riding on ("Maybe you need a vacation").
The Army Of Decay
(European title: "The Fall of Magix")
The Trix return to Cloud Tower and take it over.
Rearrangement: Originally, the ep opens with Bloom and Stella's return [4Kids adds Stella commenting: "It's not the end of the world. Well it could be"], followed by the scene in Faragonda's room, then the Cloud Tower invasion. 4Kids shows the first part of the Cloud Tower invasion first, then the scenes at Alfea, before resuming with the part with Griffin in a bubble.
Rewrite: Bloom's bedroom lament. While she bemoans that the Trix taking her powers has put the whole realm in danger in both versions, originally, she also bemoans that they took it from her when she need it the most (i.e., to defend herself from the Trix last ep). In 4Kids version, she laments that they wouldn't have taken them away if she hadn't even discovered her powers and come to Alfea.