Hello, everyone! I'm happy to introduce you to my Winx Club Fan Collection! It will contain both rants and fics about the Winx Club universe.

Just a few things:

- Spoiler notices will be posted before every chapter.

- The fics will mostly be AUs within my Winx Club timeline.

- When debating certain topics, please be respectful in your reviews.

I hope you all enjoy!

In Defense of 4Kids' Winx Club

*MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SEASONS 1, 2 & 3*

The 4Kids dub was one of the original versions of Winx Club that aired in 2004. When I say one of the originals, I don't mean that 4Kids is, by any stretch of the imagination, the original show. I just mean that it aired right at the dawn of Winx Club, along with the original Italian and Cinélume dub. Its focus was primarily in America, and is the version most original American audiences grew up with.

Many, many people despise the 4Kids dub, calling it tacky and juvenile. It has suffered much of the same contempt as the much-dreaded Nickelodeon dub, probably because both are very American. And I understand a lot of the criticisms of 4Kids – honestly, I even agree with some of them. I can understand a lot of where the 4Kids haters are coming from.

But to equate the 4Kids dub with the Nick disaster is, in my opinion, a mistake. There are a lot of great things about 4Kids that its haters don't acknowledge. It captures a lot of the same charm and excitement as the original, sometimes even doing it better. From an interesting soundtrack to humorous dialogue to phenomenal voice-acting, there are just so many great things about this show that people don't give it credit for.

I will also start with a disclaimer: 4Kids was the version I grew up with. I didn't watch it when it originally came out (considering I was only two years old then), but I did watch it later, when I was fifth grade. I can honestly say that I am so glad I stumbled across the 4Kids dub, and not any of the others. The 4Kids dub was exactly what I needed at that time in my life, as I was undergoing a lot of bullying from the other girls at school. I totally resonated with the mean girls' motif, Bloom's search for validation, and the comfort in having great, loyal friends. I am one of those defend-4Kids-until-my-death people. This dub has huge emotional value for me, and is something that will always be close to my heart.

Having said that, I have watched episodes from the Cinélume dub, and I do enjoy them (some of them even better than 4Kids). I am not anti-other dubs (unless you count Nick, which I utterly, absolutely loathe). But since I am analyzing 4Kids and what it did well, it wouldn't be right if I didn't offer reasons as to how my perspective came to be.

Okay, now that I got that disclaimer out of the way, let's talk about what 4Kids did great, and why it deserves much more credit than it's received.

#1: Scripts and Censors

The 4Kids dub, as with many of the other dubs, has a completely different script from the original. Different lines are used to appeal to its more American demographic (as opposed to Cinélume's European viewers). As a result, many references to Italian culture are removed.

The setting layout and the schools also undergo many changes. Alfea is a high-school, not a college, in the 4Kids dub. Students refer to themselves as "freshman", "sophomore", and "senior", rather than "first-year", "second-year", and "third-year". The whole mean girls' and bullying theme is much more prevalent in the 4Kids version than in any of the others.

Many of its critics complain that the 4Kids dub is too dumbed-down and childish. For example, in the Cinélume dub, Sky switches identities with Brandon due to terrorism; but in the 4Kids dub, he does it just because he wanted to see what it'd be like. They got rid of a lot of important character-development, such as Tecna's resistance to emotion and Bloom's discovery that she was adopted. Honestly, some of these developments annoyed me, too, because they got rid of so many pivotal scenes. I really wish they hadn't cut and censored all that.

But in all of these complaints, critics don't mention the changes 4Kids made for the better. One important scene is Cinélume's infamous Miss Magix scene, S01E12, where a black girl's Afro is classified as "ugly". However, 4Kids did the right thing and changed the scene, so that her voice was squeaky instead. Another time, they added scenes, such as one in S01E17, during Bloom's discovery that Sky had lied to her the whole time. In the original, the girls don't get punished; however, in the 4Kids version, Faragonda tells them that their status as Alfea students will have to be reevaluated. I find this to be much more realistic, as it does show that Bloom isn't faultless, and it raises the stakes when Icy, Darcy, and Stormy attack her home.

And, if we're being honest, Winx wasn't exactly all that mature to begin with. People like to make out that Winx Club is like this great, godly cartoon with incredible maturity and depth, but that really isn't the case. I'm not saying that it's immature – after all, I'm eighteen and still watching it – but compared to kids' cartoons such as Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra, this is nothing. In Avatar, terrorism, warfare, politics, colonization, and trauma are all explored in-depth, which are only barely talked about in Winx. Winx Club was never meant to be this worldly show with phenomenal world-building – it was always more of an uplifting and inspiring show for girls, to show them they can be the heroines of their lives no matter what.

I'd also like to point out that 4Kids never changed as much as the haters claim they did. Sure, they changed the lines and some of the characters' motivations so that they actually made sense, but they really didn't change the plot. Ultimately, Musa's mother is still dead, Sky and Brandon still lied to their girlfriends, the Trix are still sadistic, and the Nightmare Gargoyle is still terrifying. Can I mention that the nightmares in the 4Kids version are way scarier than in Rai? In 4Kids, they actually rip on the girls' fears with spoken dialogue, whereas in the Rai version, you just have the poorly-animated scenes to depend on.

So, if the Cinélume target-age was for kids ages 9-13, the 4Kids demographic is probably kids 8-12. Not really that different, in my opinion. It's still a show us older folks can enjoy, unlike the Nick dub, which no one backwards of six can watch.

Another thing I really like about the 4Kids version is many of the lines. They use witty dialogue, which is perfectly emulated by the awesome 4Kids actresses (more on that later). I know many people dislike this because it's cheesy and often silly, but I like it. I think it's a good thing that the writers used comic-relief, and used it well. The Cinélume dub was honestly just too serious at time – they could've done with a lot more humor, too. Plus, this is a show for 8-12 year-olds, not adults. When people say that it's cheesy, it's because it's not a show for late teens and adults. Tweens love that humor – they really emphasize with it. The line during S03E12, "Tears of the Black Willow" (after Icy, Darcy, and Stormy become toddlers), when Bloom tells them to hurry home before they receive a spanking, was one of the best lines in the entire franchise.

A lot of other shows have gone through the "4Kids treatment" (aka heavy censorship), which is what critics always point out when they blast 4Kids. While I can't speak for the other shows 4Kids censored, as I've never watched them, I don't think that it was an inherently bad thing for Winx Club. Were there some things they could've kept the same as the original? Absolutely. But the whole point of a dub is that it's supposed to appeal to a different demographic than the original. And for the demographic it chose, 4Kids did an awesome job.

#2: Name-Changes

Another reason why people hate the 4Kids dub is because of all the name-changes 4Kids made. Honestly, this is something that bugs me, too. To get to the point, I'll list the complete list of name-changes I can think of:

Andros – Tides

Domino – Sparx

Linphea – Third Moon of Marigold (what?)

Melody – Harmonic Nebula

Miele – Rose

Roccaluce – Emphera

Zenith – Third Realm of the Binary Vector

As you can see, 4Kids doesn't exactly win points for creativity. Names like Andros and Roccaluce actually had good meaning for the series. Andros was named after a Greek island, and Roccaluce means "light rock" in Italian. And changing Miele to Rose? Really? It's as if they thought little kids wouldn't understand that Miele was a flower-fairy (even though she was wearing flowers in her hair). So yeah, I empathize with those who complain about the 4Kids edits.

However… the 4Kids edits aren't nearly as bad as the Nickelodeon ones. They change the transformation "Winx" into "Charmix", which is unforgivable in my opinion. In the original (and yes, this does include 4Kids as well as the real original), Charmix is completely separate from Winx. The whole point of Charmix is that it is only acquired after overcoming a personal flaw, which is completely different from Winx – the first transformation is just earned when a fairy is ready. The reason why Nick cut out the real Charmix is because they wanted to skip all the essential character-development (more on that later).

A lot of people don't like that, in the 4Kids dub, Winx has an actual meaning, other than being a pun on "wings". Personally, I disagree. The whole idea of "magic Winx" gave a lot of direction to the show, particularly in the first season. Having Magic Winx was just something that sounded really cool, to be honest.

I also want to point out a really important misconception that many fans seem to have. Many people think that 4Kids changed Aisha's name to Layla. This is NOT true – Cinélume was the one who changed it. (Yes, even Cinélume has changed names from the original). In the original Italian show, Layla was called Aisha, but in the Cinélume version, she was changed to Layla. 4Kids kept the name Layla. When Nick came around, they reverted her name back to Aisha. Personally, I prefer Layla over Aisha, simply because of the name's meaning. Aisha is the name of Prophet Mohammed's wife, while Layla simply means "dark beauty". Layla is too kickass of a character to simply be reduced as anyone's wife, even a great prophet. But that's just my opinion.

Lastly, I want to shed some perspective on this matter: name-changes don't automatically mean that the core themes of the show have been taken away. Yes, depending on personal-preference, they can be annoying, but it doesn't detract from the heart of the show. Even with the name-changes, 4Kids is just as impactful and representative of Winx Club as the Cinélume dub is. Ultimately, name-changes (unless exceptionally horrendous) do not detract from the meaning of a show. Plot and character-changes do (more on that later). To be honest, I think the significance of 4Kids' name-changes is often blown out-of-proportion.

I don't have much to say here, because much of what I've said is about personal-preference. It really depends on what you like and don't like, what you can tolerate and what you can't. And I can tolerate the 4Kids name-changes. They're annoying, sure, but they're manageable.

#3: Character-Development

The 4Kids character-development is fairly similar to that of the Cinélume dub. Even though the haters try to insist that 4Kids had no characters, this is simply not true. Yes, 4Kids shined a different angle on Winx, but that doesn't mean that there was no character-development.

As I've mentioned before, 4Kids took a more "mean-girl" approach than "sadistic villain". They expanded on themes such as bullying and friendship, both of which are extremely relatable to its demographic. Much of Season 1 was taken by the Trix's bullying and cruelty towards the fairies and other witches, which I thought was very well-done. It's an accurate representation of high-school and the struggle for power amongst people.

I also did mention before that they got rid of many scenes, such as Tecna and Musa's development over Season 3. However, the character-development they had was still pretty good. I'm going to go through each of the characters, and provide an over-simplified summary of their development throughout Season 2:

Bloom: Although she found the source of her powers, her insecurity is not completely gone yet. She still craves to find out who she is and who her birth-parents are. This insecurity leads her to naïvety, where she foolishly trusts Avalon. This leads to a rift between her and Sky, who accuses her of liking Avalon more than her. She also still finds it hard to believe in her own powers, which is why she makes foolish moves, such as trying to stop the Trix on her own and squabbling with her friends and Sky. This reaches a natural progression where she is spelled into giving up the Codex, which leads Bloom to reach a deep state of anger towards her friends, and mainly, herself. This is resolved when she saves everyone in the Wildlands and confesses her feelings, thus earning her Charmix. Yet, her character is not done developing, as she is still taken by Avalon to Darkar's realm. Eventually, the ultimate test of her character-development comes when Sky confesses his love to her. Bloom finally learns to trust him, and to not lose faith in her friends.

Stella: She is very shallow and selfish in the beginning, sticking mainly to her belief that she is everyone's savior. She often disregards her friends' feelings, such as Layla's loneliness and Musa's crush on Riven. A good reason for her faux indifference was shown in Season 1: her parents have divorced, and she covers up her vulnerability with superciliousness. This natural trajectory leads to their loss of the Codex in Cloud Tower, when she is too busy squabbling with her friends and establishing her superiority to save the Codex. However, when push comes to shove, she pulls herself together and realizes the value in her friends. Notably, when she works with Layla to take down Darcy's convergence monster, and when she does her part to save her friends in the Resort Realm. The culmination of her development comes when she admits to Layla that she's insecure, but it doesn't mean that she doesn't want to be her friend. Ultimately, she comes to a point where she realizes that her insecurities are holding her back from her friendships, and that it is more important to be vulnerable and have friends than be cold and friendless. At this point, her values change, and she realizes what's important in her life.

Musa: She is very similar to Stella in many regards, such as her desire to put up a tough-front whenever she feels emotionally-vulnerable. This makes her bond with Layla, who is going through many of the same problems. She hates being domineered over, as shown when she rebels against Riven and her father's command that she give up music. However, her reasons for emotional-vulnerability are different from Stella's. While Stella shoves them deep under, Musa is aware of her feelings, but doesn't want to express them, for fear that she'll be ridiculed. Eventually, she realizes that fear can't hold her back forever, and admits to Riven that she likes him. This thus earns her a Charmix.

Flora: She is very shy throughout the series. She likes Helia very much, but is afraid to express her emotions. In addition, she often lets her hesitance and insecurity about her own skills get the better of her. For example, when the Trix rush for Red Fountain's Codex, she refuses to let Bloom and Tecna heal her, telling them to go follow the Trix and that she'll catch up with them later. This insecurity is one of the reasons why the Red Fountain Codex is taken. Since she is passive and afraid of direct acknowledgement of her feelings, it leads to many instances where she feels dissatisfied with her relationship with Helia. Finally, when push comes to shove, she realizes that she can either heal the Flower of Life or let it whither away. The dire situation forces her to believe in herself, which later leads her to confess her feelings to Helia. She therefore receives her Charmix.

Tecna: She is not good with showing emotion, particularly because that was how she was brought up. Therefore, she becomes angry with Timmy for not making the first move in their relationship. Since she is insecure about her emotions, she instead relies heavily on her logic, even when it is flawed. For example, she attacks Avalon, not allowing herself to even consider that he might be innocent. Her head becomes practically swollen with the idea that she is a logical mastermind, and she tries to prove herself in that way, knowing that she is not up to the same emotional intelligence as the other girls. It is only when she nearly loses Timmy that she breaks down, telling him that she likes him and that she doesn't want to lose him. She walks away with an important realization: that she can and should show emotion when warranted, and that she doesn't need to prove herself through her analytical skills.

Layla: She starts out as a very lonely, isolated character, the reason being that she was hidden much of her childhood. Much of her early interactions with the Winx are nervous and suspicious, with her feeling that she is isolated from them as a group. She soon bonds with Musa, seeing a lot of similar characteristics in her. Throughout the series, the sense of isolation is present, notable when she runs crying out of the Simulator Room and explains her childhood to Musa; although she hates being isolated, she doesn't know how to make herself feel like a part of the group. Just before they depart to the Resort Realm, she even comments that if she just stayed at Alfea, no one would even notice. However, when the girls face trouble in the Resort Realm, she is separated from her friends, and her worst nightmare comes true. While in the cave, she realizes that it doesn't matter whether the other girls view her as friends or not – she knows they're in danger, and that she has to help them. This realization makes her feel like a part of their group, and therefore makes her receive her Charmix.

I could've gone a lot deeper with this, but even at its most basic level, this is not shallow character-development at all. It was well-thought out, and well-done by the 4Kids writers. Yes, it can be argued that all the character-development was initially done by the original Cinélume writers, and that 4Kids didn't add anything to it. Well, I'm here to disagree, and point out that there were some scenes added by 4Kids that definitely improved the character-development even further.

S01E09: In the Cinélume version, Stella acts completely out-of-character. She insults all of her friends, making fun of Bloom's problems and Musa's crush on Riven. While Stella is known to be conceited and insensitive, she doesn't have a malicious nature, and her remarks go beyond simple insensitivity. She implies that Bloom is stupid for being raised on Earth, and that Musa is stupid for liking Darcy; essentially, she says these things very deliberately to hurt her friends. In the Cinélume version, she said these things out of her own judgment; but in the 4Kids version, she did it because she was under a mood-swing spell. Although this isn't a great solution to her out-of-character attitude, it makes a lot more sense than what Cinélume did, and how Musa and Stella miraculously make up in the end. Honestly, I don't think Musa and Bloom should've forgiven Stella that easily. It was a lot more than she deserved, after those extremely hurtful comments.

S01E17: When Bloom attacks Diaspro in front of everyone, the Cinélume writers let her get away scot-free. They instead place all the onus on Sky and Brandon, saying that it was their fault for lying to the girls. On some level, this is true; however, Bloom wasn't innocent either. When it became clear that Diaspro was not Icy, Bloom should've backed down and apologize; instead, she attacked. In the Cinélume version, the Winx aren't punished for their deception. However, in the 4Kids version, their powers are diluted, and they are told they may be expelled by the end of the year. This is much more realistic, as it makes the stakes even higher when the Trix attack Bloom's home. It also adds to Bloom's misery about her mistake, and leads her to a point where she clearly believes that she doesn't belong in the Magical Dimension.

S02E12: When Musa meets Jared, he tells her that Riven talked about her, which enrages Musa for some reason. This doesn't make much sense to me; yes, even if Musa is angry about Riven's rudeness, he still has the right to talk about her, just as Musa and the girls have the right to talk about the boys they like. However, in the 4Kids version, Musa gets angry after finding out that Stella set her up with Jared. This is much more logical, because we already know Stella's meddling nature, and how she often disregards her friends' feelings. It also leads to more tension between Musa and Stella, which makes sense, considering their opposing natures.

And yes, there were some dumb moves 4Kids made. But these edits, in my opinion, contributed well to the plot of the series, and to the character-development as well. They made the show just as enjoyable as the Cinélume dub, in its own way. Few of their edits took away the important character-development of the original show.

You know what does contribute to poor character-development? Axing two pivotal seasons and instead replacing them with "specials". The Nick specials, in my opinion, are an abomination and an insult to the name Winx Club. What of all the pivotal character-development in Season 2? Gone. They rushed production of the specials in order to get their stamp on the show, and in so doing it, botched it completely.

Another thing I hate about the Nick dub is that they took away all sense of character. In Season 4, undeniably one of the worst seasons ever, they made all the girls the same as each other. Instead of retaining their unique personalities, they made them bland girly-girls, with bland voices to match. Even the villains' personalities and voices sucked – I mean, they had Icy sacrifice herself for Tritannus! *facepalm* The 4Kids voices were awesome (which, again, I'll get to later). In doing so, they effectively removed all character-development.

I think I've said all I've needed to say about character-development. Moving on…

#4: Animation, Music, and Other Props

The 4Kids animation is essentially the same as the original, except for a few changes. They did edit some of the cleavage shown by the girls, and the costumes in S02E16, due to American copyright laws. Which is fine, in my opinion. When you're appealing to a different demographic and culture, certain changes have to be made, whether the original fans like it or not. Other than that, the 4Kids dub used the same animation, but different scripts in order to create its own version.

Now to move onto the music, my favorite thing about the 4Kids dub. It is just… awesome. And when I say awesome, it is undeniably better than the Cinélume music. It has a certain feel to it, one that perfectly accentuates every scene and character.

To start off, the opening song. It is extremely catchy, and has an undeniable beat and theme. The moment I heard the first lyrics "Close your eyes, and open your heart", I fell in love with Winx Club. The lyrics perfectly capture the desire to know oneself, the delight at having friends, and the wonder of the exciting world of Magix. The special percussion effects make it feel so special and unique. In addition, the scenes they show in the opening sequence are so iconic, such as Bloom's gaze into the mirror, her first magical attack, seeing Daphne for the first time, and her transformation-sequence. "It Feels Like Magic" encapsulates the same charm, the excitement of being a fairy and having a magical power.

I love all of the music they play during scenes. Every. Single. One. The pixies' theme has so much charm to it, the Red Fountain heroics' theme sparks of adventure, and the victory theme played after battle just makes my heart sing with joy. One of the most striking themes in the dub is the sad music played whenever something tragic happens. During the scene where Musa sees her mother (S03E22), I always cry, and not just because of the context. The music is so telling in itself. When Musa's mother says "I'm so proud of you," I always lose it. Always. The Cinélume version of that scene simply doesn't do it justice.

The transformation music is also so iconic. "We are the Winx" plays in the Winx and Charmix transformations, a reprise of the opening-song. And the Enchantix music? I'm betting 99% of the 4Kids haters will disappear when they hear that music. It is just so otherworldly, goddesslike, and enchanted – everything that Enchantix is about.

The transformation scenes are also good. Many people complain that 4Kids cut the transformation-scenes shorter, but I was so happy that they did that. We only need to see the full-length transformation the first time they acquire it and the last time in the season, before they defeat the villain. The Cinélume transformation-scenes were just so long and repetitive that, after a point, I just have to skip forward. Plus, 4Kids had to cut some of the transformation-parts out, because they would've been taken to court about the nudity. I do wish that they hadn't gotten rid of the fairy-dust scenes, though. Those were good and meaningful to the story.

I also like all the other songs played in in the interludes between scenes. The songs capture what it means to be a teen girl (or at least what it meant to be one in 2004 – the show is dated, after all). To be fair, though, I don't really know the Cinélume songs played (except their opening-song, which I like as well), so I can't really compare. All I know is that the 4Kids songs are great. They capture what it means to be a girl, without going too girly or sparkly like the Nick songs.

My absolute favorite song in the 4Kids dub is "Mean Girls". A lot of my fellow 4Kids-lovers will point it as their favorite song too, iconic in their childhood. It perfectly captures Icy's essence as the head bully of the schools, and is just so downright funny. Not to mention, it's so true. Mean girls do lead the herd, just because everyone gives them that power. This song helped me through some very difficult times when I was in fifth-grade, when all the mean girls in my school were causing me trouble. It allowed me to contextualize and shed some perspective on the problem, particularly when it felt as if the bullying was part of my entire world.

If you don't like 4Kids for whatever reason, go and listen to the music, and then watch the scenes in which the music was played. Seriously. Even if you like nothing else about the dub, at least admit that the music is awesome.

#5: Voices

I take back what I said before. This is my favorite thing about the 4Kids dub. Out of all the dubs, the voice-actresses are simply the best the show has to offer.

To start, I'll go with a list of voice-actors, the ones that starred in the 4Kids dub:

Bloom – Lisa Jacqueline

Stella – Caren Manuel

Flora – Kerry Williams

Musa – Lisa Ortiz

Tecna – Dani Schaffel

Layla – Vasthy Mompoint

Icy – Lisa Ortiz (my hero!)

I love, love the voices. Layla's voice is so brave and endearing throughout the series, and very down-to-Earth, as with her personality. Stella's voice is so hyper and cheerful, which juts suits her personality so well, and Bloom's voice is full of courage and a fire of its own. Flora's voice is so sweet and gentle, reflecting her character perfectly. And I love, love Tecna's British accent. It just suits her so well.

But none of them have anything on Lisa Ortiz. She is the single reason why 4Kids Winx Club is so great. I swear, she is like a goddess, the way her voice sounds! The fact that she can do both Musa and Icy, whose voices are on opposite ends of the spectrum, never ceases to amaze me. And she does it so well!

Musa's voice is very hip-hop and cheerful, and her lines usually reflect that. She always cracks me up with her puns, how she calls out Stella whenever she does something stupid, and how she talks like a hipster. It is just so cool, and she delivers the best jokes and lines with it.

Icy, by contrast, is uncaring and cruel. Her voice is cold, sadistic, spiteful, sexy, and the ultimate mean-girl voice. It is so perfect for her, and just makes her sound like the ultimate villain. And she delivers so many well-versed punches with it, like the times she insults the Winx, calls them "pixies" (a 4Kids insult for fairies), and calls them "losers" in her perfect voice. The Winx may have beaten them in the end, but make no mistake, Icy OWNED them all. Darcy's voice is also pretty good – it's very seductive, which is perfect for her Riven-crush scene.

A lot of people complain that the 4Kids voices are high-pitched, and that some of the voices are silly. Really? Are you trying to tell me that the Cinélume voices are better? Layla's voice is good, Bloom's voice is okay, but the rest of them? Stella sounds like a rude, spoiled brat (which does match her personality, but still), Flora's is too sugary, and Tecna and Musa's voices sound like the same person. Booo-ring! In the third season, Musa's voice sounds like she has a cold, and is way too girly for her tomboy personality. Plus, the Trix don't sound like villains. At all. In the scene where Icy attacks Bloom in Gardenia (S01E18), she actually sounds nice. It makes me completely forget that she's about to rip the Dragon Fire right out of Bloom's soul.

I know that people complain that Tecna sounds stuck-up in the 4Kids version, which I can understand – her voice does sound a bit affected. However, this does match her personality, particularly in Season 2, when she tries to build herself up through her logic, trying to make out that she's better than Timmy. To be fair, by that definition, Stella's Cinélume voice suits her as well. However, I would argue that the 4Kids voice is better, because it brings out her courageous side and how dang funny she can be at times.

If you need further proof, check out this video clip: www . youtube (youknowwhatgoeshere) /watch?v=jxnNCZyaqWA It is a comparison of Icy's voice in the Cinélume, 4Kids, and Nick dubs, in the scene where Bloom loses her Dragon Fire. Notice how much more sinister Icy's 4Kids voice sounds than that of the other dubs. Then check out the comments, and you'll see how many people absolutely idolize Lisa Ortiz and her contribution to Winx Club. I'm not by any means the only one.

Conclusion

The 4Kids dub is far from perfect. I think we can all agree that no show, dub, or artistic creation can ever be perfect. But the 4Kids staff worked wonders with it, and created their own stamp on Winx. From the witty dialogue to the emotional music to the superb voice-acting, it is clear that the 4Kids artistic-staff were very invested in their creation of Winx Club.

What never fails to tick me off is when fans complain about how unfaithful the 4Kids Winx Club was to the original. I've noticed that, in the fandom, there seems to be some kind of pseudo-hierarchy in ranking the dubs from "most faithful" being the highest, and "least faithful" being the lowest. By those standards, 4Kids inevitably ends up being at the bottom (aside from Nick, which is completely indefensible for a completely different set of reasons).

This really, really irritates me for a variety of reasons. First of all, original doesn't always mean better. If that were the case, we'd still be in a Stone Age society, wielding stone axes and hunting for survival. As we advance, we evolve to be more efficient and meet our changing needs. Since 4Kids was given a license to distribute and dub in the U.S., the company needed to make the necessary changes in order to appeal to an American audience. Whether you like it or not depends on personal preference, but the argument that it's not the original Italian show is irrelevant. Even if you've watched the Italian show and love it to death, you cannot argue its superiority based off of that alone.

Secondly, why is the Italian dub so revered when most of us have never even watched it? Cinélume fans love to rag on about how their favorite dub is so similar to the original, and how the 4Kids dub is so… not. There are so many English-speaking fans of Winx Club who don't know a word of Italian. Yet, when it comes to the original Italian show, there seems to be some kind of godlike reverence, as if it's absolutely flawless and impeccable. Why? Fans, please don't do this. It's really a dangerous trap to fall into, revering something when you have absolutely no idea what it is. Just take that life-advice from me, okay? It's just not a good idea.

Before we end, I want to share a very personal anecdote that I've been alluding to for so long. When I was in fifth-grade, I underwent bullying in my school. The girls in my class used to sneer at me for what I wore, how I looked in the locker-room, and try to create drama between me and my sole friend (who eventually left me, which of course, left me friendless). This, naturally, made me feel very isolated from everyone else at school, and I began to seriously believe that something was wrong with me. I began to believe that I wasn't acting like a proper girl, and that I'd never have friends. I had never felt so lonely and lost.

Bored during winter-break of that year, I stumbled across Winx Club. That week, away from everyone at school and binge-watching Winx Club, was one of the best of my life. I completely empathized with Bloom's insecurities, Layla's loneliness, and the bullying Musa faced during Season 1. Most of all, I loved the friendship the six girls formed – it was something I'd never experienced in my entire life.

Had I watched the Cinélume version instead, I don't think I would've gotten the same emotions from Winx Club. The storyline would've been basically the same, true, but the lack of humor and mediocre voice-acting wouldn't have added the same element of excitement. The same mean-girls sentiment, which panged me every day of my fifth-grade life, just wasn't there in the Cinélume episodes. I would've probably stuck it out and watched the whole thing, but it just wouldn't have been the same. I certainly wouldn't be re-watching the series and writing fanfic about it, seven years later. The original Italian cartoon already had a great storyline of its own, but 4Kids took what the Italians made and elevated it far beyond.

Winx Club, in itself, was an amazing franchise. And so is Cinélume, to be honest. But nothing captures the charm and allure of 4Kids' Winx Club. It was the dub that got me through hell and back, and will never leave me, even as I step out of childhood and into the unknown. No matter how many times I watch the other dubs, no matter how many comments I read from the haters, 4Kids will always have a special place in my heart.