Original title
WonderWorks
Released
10/1/1984
Origin country
US
Genre
Drama, Family
Production companies
WonderWorks, PBS Wonderworks
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
7
Number of episodes
116
Anthology series aimed at children and families. Many of the episodes were based on popular children's and young adult novels.
After the final (7th) season as a series, the brand carried on with a handful of new WonderWorks Family Movie presentations airing sporadically, typically well after first being released on home video.
Upon opening a mysterious trunk, a teenager discovers her great uncle was a 1940s pioneer of Black film, and wonders why he kept it a secret. A "WonderWorks Family Movie" presentation.
An orphaned teen meets obstacles and makes friends while pursuing his dream of becoming a circus clown. A "WonderWorks Family Movie" presentation, edited from episodes of the Australian TV series of the same name. Some PBS stations split it into two episodes.
A young girl visiting the Tower of London encounters the ghost of Sir Walter Raleigh. A "WonderWorks Family Movie" presentation.
A 17-year-old orphan jumps from a train and ends up near a logging camp on the edge of a beautiful forest called the Limberlost.
After a life of being shuttled from one foster home to another, 16-year-old Jesse Three Bears is reacquainted with his grandfather where unresolved historical tensions resurface forcing the two of them to reconcile with their past.
Young Booker T. Washington dreams of learning how to read despite a law against it.
A klutzy teen takes a crash course in how to be a perfect person.
A 10-year-old boy in rural Saskatchewan must come to terms with his father's death and the adult world during the Depression.
1. A 10-year-old boy in rural Saskatchewan must come to terms with his father's death and the adult world during the Depression. (Conclusion). 2. A girl growing up on a fox farm in rural Canada must deal with the gender roles she is expected to conform to.
12-year-old Paul searches for a troll to prove fairy tales are real.
A house seems to be haunted by the ghost of an abolitionist.
A house seems to be haunted by the ghost of an abolitionist. (Conclusion)
The mayor of Hoboken courageously deals with a runaway 266-pound chicken named Henrietta.
The parents of a tough 14-year-old send her to one of their friends, who lives a reclusive life on a remote island.
1. An Earth girl tries to prepare children on a dark planet for the return of sunshine. 2. An Australian boy rescues and goes to great lengths to care for an emu egg.
Based on the 1936 John Masefield story about a boy's train ride home during the holidays. Parts 1 & 2 of the 6-part BBC mini-series.
Based on the 1936 John Masefield story about a boy's train ride home during the holidays. (Continuation) Parts 3 & 4 of the 6-part BBC mini-series.
Based on the 1936 John Masefield story about a boy's train ride home during the holidays. (Conclusion) Parts 5 & 6 of the 6-part BBC mini-series.
A computer whiz writes a program to help a friend with her homework.
A young Black girl in a quiet Mississippi town in 1965 becomes involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
A 14-year-old enlists the services of a child-advocacy lawyer when she learns her parents have divided her life in their separation agreement.
A girl befriends the illegal immigrant holding her captive on a deserted island.
Two 11-year-olds create a magical kingdom where they share their hopes and dreams.
A Black family in turn-of-the-century Missouri endures prejudice after being given jobs formerly held by whites.
A Black family in turn-of-the-century Missouri endures prejudice after being given jobs formerly held by whites. (Conclusion)
A factory-made child is sent to the wrong address.
A factory-made child is sent to the wrong address. (Conclusion)
Friends and a dog help 7-year-old Molly adjust to her parents' divorce.
A teenager tries to recover a fortune in stolen opals.
A girl and her aunt are brought together by a seal.
A girl and her aunt are brought together by a seal. (Conclusion)
An American girl wins the heart of an irascible spirit haunting a Gothic English mansion.
Sister Gabrielle and her students help young children escape from occupied France during WWII.
In the process of growing up, a remarkable magician amazes his friends but annoys his teachers.
A 13-year-old immigrant from El Salvador tries to fit in with her new Latin American friends.
A 12-year-old boy becomes increasingly obsessed with a wild pony after his mother remarries.
An African diplomat's son is kidnapped by terrorists and replaced by a look-alike.
A 14-year-old girl tries to join a boys' hockey team.
The true story of an 11-year-old who becomes mayor of a Texas town.
An elderly brother & sister need a boy to help with chores but wind up with a talkative girl instead.
Diana Barry becomes Anne's best friend, but then Anne gets her drunk at a tea party.
Anne saves the life of Diana's little sister one wintry night, and their friendship is renewed.
As a schoolteacher, Anne finds her niche in the academic world. When Green Gables is in peril, it is Gilbert who helps Marilla.
Lindy, a 13-year-old Vietnamese girl adopted as an infant by an Australian family, believes herself to be an orphan until one day she receives a letter from her real father, who wants her back.
In a bid for physical freedom, a wheelchair-bound boy encourages his disabled friends to join him in trying to become astronauts.
An Australian family tells a welfare counselor that a friendly swamp creature kidnapped their foster son.
An orphan joins a cattle drive to get even with the peddler who swindled him.
In this true story, a maverick teacher gets inner-city youths off the street and rechannels their energies to the game of chess.
Bad investments and her father's death leave lovely Sara Crewe penniless and in the clutches of grasping, greedy Miss Minchin. Parts 1 & 2 of the 1986 BBC mini-series.
Carrisford moves to England to search for Crewe's missing daughter. Parts 3 & 4 of the 1986 BBC mini-series.
Sara endures more cruelties at the hands of Miss Minchin, but is at last reunited with friends and fortune. Parts 5 & 6 of the 1986 BBC mini-series.
An elderly scrap dealer and his three grandchildren fight to keep their home despite the efforts of a real estate developer's devious employees.
A young man fears he has inherited his family's magical powers when he is visited by the spirit of his great uncle.
As Christmas 1932 approaches, a part-time paper boy becomes his family's sole support.
A 10-year-old boy is tempted to cheat after he becomes a game show celebrity.
A Jewish family in Nazi Hungary adopts an 8-year-old Christian boy who learns valuable life lessons. Based on a true story.
The chronicle of a friendship between a streetwise Hispanic boy and an eccentric Italian immigrant as he builds the Watts Towers in Los Angeles. Based on a true story.
A young athlete faces a choice between continuing her track-and-field training or pursuing an interest in dance that develops after she befriends a new girl in school who is not accepted because of her punk look.
Mischievous children and a series of mishaps thwart a band of inept robbers.
A young boy who enjoys hang gliding is transported into a post-apocalyptic future in which he tries to help people dying of a mysterious illness.
A 14-year-old girl joins forces with a police detective to find a missing urn containing her grandfather's ashes.
A 12-year-old boy and his family take part in the Australian Gold Rush in the early 1930s.
A 12-year-old boy and his family take part in the Australian Gold Rush in the early 1930s. (Conclusion)
A young chimney sweep comes to work at the elegant home of a nobleman, and tumbles into a crooked and dangerous adventure.
A young chimney sweep comes to work at the elegant home of a nobleman, and tumbles into a crooked and dangerous adventure. (Conclusion)
Miranda, a sensitive young loner, seeks help from her grandmother and an odd aunt in her struggle to understand death.
In a Yorkshire mining town at the turn of the century, three brave children attempt to rescue a group of pit ponies from the slaughterhouse.
A mine explosion threatens to sabotage the children's attempts to rescue the pit ponies.
An American Indian boy's struggle with racial prejudice is eased by his friendship by a kind old Jewish man.
A tough New York City boy gets a chance at a new life when he takes an orphan train to Nebraska to live with a hard-working farm family.
A police action results from efforts by a teenage girl and a street musician to provide a special evening for the neighborhood's homeless.
After a witch turns him into a frog, a teenager makes use of his scientific talents to reclaim a poisoned pond.
Robbed of their fortune, an English family struggles to make a living in an Australian mining town, where they find close friends and a dangerous enemy.
Robbed of their fortune, an English family struggles to make a living in an Australian mining town, where they find close friends and a dangerous enemy. (Conclusion)
AKA Anne of Avonlea (Parts 1 & 2). Anne leaves home to teach at a girls' school in Kingsport.
AKA Anne of Avonlea (Parts 3 & 4). Anne finally wins acceptance by the Kingsport community and even finds romance with the widowed father of a student. Feeling homesick, Anne returns to Avonlea, where she finds Gilbert gravely ill.
Following their mother's death, two children begin a trek across western Australia, hoping to reach their grandparents in England.
The children continue their dangerous odyssey through the Australian outback.
A young Japanese woman scarred by atomic radiation lives with a U.S. family while undergoing plastic surgery.
A woman, abandoned by her husband, encounters prejudice against her Metis family as she struggles to support them in Depression-era Canada.
An imaginative substitute teacher mesmerizes a tough Hispanic student and brightens his outlook.
A teen tries to save his parents' marriage by taking them to court.
A teen tries to save his parents' marriage by taking them to court. (Conclusion)
Two Australian brothers try to save their grandfather's farm during the Depression by entering a prize horse in a race.
On the Australian frontier, can a young boy's faith in Father Christmas save them from ruin?
Parts 1 & 2 of the 6-part BBC series, an adaptation of the C.S. Lewis allegorical fantasy about a group of children who discover a magical realm and become embroiled in its inhabitants' conflicts.
Parts 3 & 4 of the 6-part BBC series, an adaptation of the C.S. Lewis allegorical fantasy about a group of children who discover a magical realm and become embroiled in its inhabitants' conflicts.
Parts 5 & 6 of the 6-part BBC series, an adaptation of the C.S. Lewis allegorical fantasy about a group of children who discover a magical realm and become embroiled in its inhabitants' conflicts.
A teen goes underground when he is falsely accused of causing an accident.
Charlie and his brother Sydney are sent to an orphanage after Charles Sr. deserts his family.
Charlie escapes the orphanage to act on stage and visit his mother Hannah, now confined to an insane asylum.
Charlie and Sydney take odd jobs to support their mother; an audition for a touring company decides their fate.
A 12-year-old loner struggles to overcome difficulties and misunderstandings arising from his deafness.
Tony helps Johnno realize he can't run away from his problems.
A 12-year-old boy has summer adventures in 1942 Mississippi.
A 12-year-old boy has summer adventures in 1942 Mississippi. (Conclusion)
In this animated sequel to "Happily Ever After", Molly Conway is upset when she learns about her mother's plans to remarry.
A teenage girl struggles with jealousy of her twin sister.
A deaf-mute Polynesian boy befriends a large white turtle after he is shunned by superstitious villagers. An edited version of the 1984 movie.
During the final days of amnesty for illegal aliens, a Mexican-American girl dreams of attending her quinceañera celebration.
During the final days of amnesty for illegal aliens, a Mexican-American girl dreams of attending her quinceañera celebration. (Conclusion)
A prince flees his evil uncle, who wants to keep the throne of Narnia for himself. An adaptation of the C.S. Lewis fantasy novel Prince Caspian. Parts 1 & 2 of the 6-part BBC series.
Three teens help Prince Caspian look for his father's trusted advisors, who were banished from Narnia. An adaptation of the C.S. Lewis fantasy novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Parts 3 & 4 of the 6-part BBC series.
King Ramandu reveals what must be done to release the sleeping spell. An adaptation of the C.S. Lewis fantasy novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Parts 5 & 6 of the 6-part BBC series.
A 12-year-old learns her aunt is hiding slaves during the Civil War.
A father-son adventure becomes an extraordinary pheasant hunt.
Adopted Kate forms new relationships and a sense of identity in the search for her birth mother.
Adopted Kate forms new relationships and a sense of identity in the search for her birth mother. (Conclusion)
A heavily altered version of the classic story about life on the 1860s Wisconsin frontier.
Reports of Indian massacres spur Caddie to prove the nearby Dakota tribe is peaceful.
A young American moves to Africa when his father is transferred.
A young American moves to Africa when his father is transferred. (Continuation)
A young American moves to Africa when his father is transferred. (Conclusion)
When an unexpected inheritance threatens to change his life with his adopted family in London, an eleven-year-old adoptee runs away from home.
A 16-year-old camp counselor is forced to make compromises after his pesky younger brother tags along for the summer. A "WonderWorks Family Movie" presentation.
A turn-of-the-century schoolgirl whose dreams are beginning to fade finds hope and friendship with a woman studying the natural history of the nearby Limberlost Swamp. A "WonderWorks Family Movie" presentation.
Two youngsters enlist the aid of fairy-tale beings when they journey to a magical kingdom to rescue an imprisoned prince. An adaptation of the C.S. Lewis fantasy novel. Parts 1 to 3 of the 6-part BBC series. A "WonderWorks Family Movie" presentation.
Two youngsters enlist the aid of fairy-tale beings when they journey to a magical kingdom to rescue an imprisoned prince. (Conclusion). An adaptation of the C.S. Lewis fantasy novel. Parts 4 to 6 of the 6-part BBC series. A "WonderWorks Family Movie" presentation.
An inner-city teen learns a lesson in compassion after he is catapulted back in time into the midst of a slave revolt in 19th-century South Carolina. A "WonderWorks Family Movie" presentation.
A 12-year-old living with a wealthy relative attempts to reunite her parents when she discovers that her long-thought-dead father is still alive. A "WonderWorks Family Movie" presentation.
A boy must fend for himself after his plane crash-lands in the Canadian wilderness. A "WonderWorks Family Movie" presentation.
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