No Elves in the book series?

[kaylathehedgehog]

So, I was scanning my copy of 'The Sign of a Friend' for monkeyboy, and while I was doing so, I noticed something odd.

When the Trio visit Leota's school, there are no Elves. Only Woodsprites. There are a couple drawn without wings, but I chalk that up to an error, because they still have antennae.

Does this mean that the Elves were a cartoon edition, or did the artists just forget to include them?

[Deleted]

Yes there were elves. I remember them in The Wooly What's-It and also they were in the picture show story Big Little Wooly.

[kaylathehedgehog]

Ah, I didn't know that. I don't have those books.

But still, why weren't there any in 'The Sign of Friend'?

[Deleted]

They weren't mentioned in the actual story either. But, the book and tape series, especially the original WoW ones, tend to leave out characters who aren't really necessary to the story. Even Gimmick was put on the sidelines for quite a few stories. So, it could just be that the Elves weren't necessary as Katie is a Woodsprite and not an Elf.

[kaylathehedgehog]

I just found it odd.

[Deleted]

I found it odd too. Also, there's something else that I find amusing. Have any of you ever noticed that whenever Gimmick says there's no such thing as something, whether it's an Elf or a Snowzo, someone, either Teddy, Grubby or Leota, reminds him that that's what he said about Woodsprites when they met Leota? I just find it funny how they keep reminding Gimmick of that early incident, even though it's really not that big of a deal.

[Deleted]

Does that happen in more than one story? I had no idea! I only knew of the instance in Wooly and the Giant Snowzos!

[retrobear]

I can't remember how often it happens, but it seems that Gimmick is always saying things are scientifically impossible when they actually are happening. I was just listening to The Missing Princess today and he was saying that there was no possible way the desert could be inhabited. We all know what happened after that, lol. It happened again in Teddy and the Mudblups.

[Deleted]

Yeah it happens at least one other time. In "The Wooly What's-It" when Leota tells Wooly and the Trio that the schooltree is for Elves and Woodsprites, Gimmick says, " No! There is no such thing as an..an Elf!" Then Grubby says, " Gimmick, that's what you said about Woodsprites when we met Leota!" I think there was a couple of more times in the tv show when Gimmick is reminded of that too.

One more thing, how is it that in the tv series, Everyone has heard of Illiops before Teddy arrived in Grundo? They're not very common in Grundo by that point, and it had been some years since Burl had been captured by MAVO and sold to the Ying Zoo. I know MAVO would know about them, given the prophecy and Quellor being Supreme Oppressor at the time Sludge, Trudge, and Drudge brought Burl to MAVO Headquarters. But, even Gimmick, Tweeg, L.B., and most likely Prince Arin, Princess Aruzia and King Nogburt knew what an Illiop was before they met Teddy. Just curious.

[kaylathehedgehog]

Assuming that Gimmick grew up in Nogburt's kingdom, it would make sense that he, Arin, Aruzia, and Nogburt would know what an Illiop was.

Since Nogburt is a descendant of Philbin, I wouldn't be too surprised if stories were passed down of how the Illiops aided them. Though, that still doesn't explain why Gimmick was surprised to learn about the Illiops inhabiting the Hard to Find City.

[Deleted]

Exactly. Everybody knew what an Illiop was, and yet nobody mentioned the story of how King Philbin had met Theodore the Wise and made an agreement with the Illiops of the Hard to Find City. That's a huge event, but none of the characters knew about it, at least that was shown. Princess Aruzia, Prince Arin and Queen Lilibet didn't even know what a peanut was. So, if any stories were passed down, maybe the tradition ended sometime before King Nogburt became king, as nobody in the kingdom seemed to know what had happened. Or if the tradition continued, it's likely the Illiops were called the 'Kind Ones' as they were in the crystal book?

And the stories were never passed down in Rillonia, unless they stopped before Burl and Ilana were born, as they didn't know that Illiops lived in the Hard to Find City, anymore than Teddy, Grubby and Gimmick had. Ilana didn't even know what an Illiper was.

[retrobear]

We know that they had some records of the illiops because the minstrel sang that song, but probably the stories were passed down orally, so a lot of the details had been lost. My theory is that the original illiops were driven out of Grundo several generations before Teddy and the illiops didn't know anything at all, so probably information got lost over time.

[kaylathehedgehog]

And the stories were never passed down in Rillonia, unless they stopped before Burl and Ilana were born, as they didn't know that Illiops lived in the Hard to Find City, anymore than Teddy, Grubby and Gimmick had. Ilana didn't even know what an Illiper was.

I suppose that makes a little bit of sense.

As far as the Illiops were concerned, they were just being friendly and helping one of their neighbors out. Nothing really to write home about, so to speak. To the Illipers, however, the event would have been a godsend. They would have more of a reason to pass down the story than the Illiops would.

It could be possible that, as time went on, the story became more watered down, until it was more of a legend than an actual event. After all, Gimmick knew what a Woodsprite was, but he didn't believe they existed. The same could have happened concerning the Illiops.

[Deleted]

That's a definite possibility. Especially since no Illiops had been seen in Grundo for many years. Though Gimmick knew enough about Illiops to know what they looked like and to know their existence was scientifically possible. Otherwise he would've immediately asked Teddy what he was, then tried to refute it the minute Teddy told him. Lol. Though that still doesn't explain how L.B. knew what Teddy was on sight, and told Tweeg. And, it also doesn't explain how everyone who met Teddy, didn't ask what he was. And, by that, I mean people like the Fobs, Leota, Wooly and the Grunges.

[retrobear]

Oh my, now I'm picturing a hillarious exchange between Teddy and Gimmick where he tells Teddy there's no such thing as an illiop. Lol.