Grabba second cuppa and watch this wonderful little mid-mod Saturday morning cartoon, sent to use by Jill, who writes:
Hey Pam -
Check out Willa’s Wild Liffe cartoon on Saturday mornings – it’s about a little girl who lives with her dad in a mid-century house – starburst clock, triple window door, very cool. It is on NBC and originally from Canada.
Sumac Sue and her Gardenside way of life – a Retro Renovation re-run 
Lilac bathroom: Groovy baby, 1965 
Life in the 1950s…through today 
Become a fan
So adorable! I feel like a kid sitting here with coffee, homemade chocolate chip cookies and Willa! Found out my cable company shows it at noon so I might become a regular. Great way to start the weekend…thanks, Jill!
Hi Cindy, You know, I watched it again — and it really has some great inspiration for mid-century colors and the like!
There’s even a Steve and Edie!
cute, cute, cute…& I love the music. Reminds me of Ren & Stimpie music.
Absolutely Adorable !
Love the enitre thing – House, family, and theme.
Thanks for sharing.
Too funny. My kids watch this show all the time and I never paid attention to it. Gonna have to now!
How can I possibly find myself coveting the front doors on a cartoon house???!! Pam, you feed our obsessions!
Wow, that is a really cute show!!
This is really cute! I LOVE the house, furnishings, and colors. It’s amazing that there’s a cartoon of this design. Love it! Thanks!
Very sweet!
The other day I was in a house where a young boy was watching a PBS cartoon show called “Sid the Science Kid”, and I noticed the family in that show has a mid-mod house too — their kitchen table had Heywood Wakefield dogbone chairs.
And has anyone else noticed the house of the family in the new network sitcom “The Middle”? It’s very mid-mod in a sort of neglected way — not purposefully, more like they just can’t afford to update it. Banister-style room dividers, vintage tile, a staggered triple-window front door. Interesting choices by the set decorators.
Clearly there are a lot of mid-mod fans working in the entertainment biz!
What a fun treat! The little girl reminds me of the girl in the book “I Can Fly” illustrated by Mary Blair. I think a lot of contemporary animators, graphic artists and the like are influenced by illustrators, artists and designers of the mid-century. Just take a look around flickr and blogs, and you’ll see this a lot.
Thanks for sharing this fun cartoon! I’ll be keeping an eye out for it so my kids (ahem!) can watch it.
Wow, a rotary phone with a real bell ringer… nice touch.
Also, agree on “The Middle”.
I saw this cartoon about a year ago and love it! I’m very into retro but didn’t know where to get info on it, this blog is great, love her!
I just love it! All of it. I wish I lived in that house. And how progressive for the time to have a single dad raising a little girl.
It’s my favorite show now… and I’m 50. The way it’s drawn, colors, mid-century decorating, the 50′s-60′s vibe music (Jazz guitar and vibes, literally) – and it’s a great message for kids (and adults) Love it !
Hi Pam, thanks for posting this. It’s great to see so many positive comments. I am actually the lead designer and Art Director on Willa’s Wild Life and I am the proud new owner of a daytime Emmy for outstanding individual achievement in Art Direction. I’m glad you like it.
Cheers!
Congratulations, Adrian! Well deserved! I need to post another episode. Hey, this Saturday morning! Do you have a particular favorite?
Thank you for the kind words Pam. Willa sets the Stage and Willa in the Wilderness are two great eps that come to mind. But I love them all. I wish that I had stumbled upon your site during the development of this show it would have been a great help, there is a lot of great reference here. When I developed the look for this show I didn’t over reference things. I wanted it to be what I thought the 70′s looked like based off of faint memories.(I’m only 35) An interpretation of sorts. I have posted a few Willa BGs on my Blog. and will be posting more soon. Please feel free to have a look. athatcher.blogspot.com
I’m in my 50′s and still love cartoons. My faves are Jane and Dragon, Little Women, and Swiss Family Robinson. I started to watch the WWL last year. I love the 50′s-sounding theme song. It looks like it’s more in the 50′s.