Ultimate Book of Spells explained

Alt Name:	UBOS
Genre:	Animated children's television series
Developer:	Sean Catherine Derek
Director:	Chuck Patton
Voices:	Michael Dobson Ron Halder Cathy Weseluck Janyse Jaud Jim Byrnes Patricia Drake Saffron Henderson Kirby Morrow Pauline Newstone Nicole Oliver Kathleen Barr
Theme Music Composer:	Will Anderson Jim West
Country:	Germany
Language:	English German
Num Seasons:	1
Num Episodes:	26
Executive Producer:	Allen Bohbot Nadia Nardonnet Stephanie Graziano
Runtime:	20 mins
Company:	BKN International
Channel:	YTV (Canada)

Ultimate Book of Spells is a 2001–02 German children's animated television series produced by BKN International.^[1] It ran for 26 episodes.

Inspired by the popular Harry Potter book and movie series, the show presents a trio of "wizards-in-training" at an enchanted private school run by Miss Crystalgazer. Cassy is a junior witch, Gus is a half-elf/half-human junior wizard, and Verne is a promising "mortie", i.e. a non-magical human. With the guidance of the talking Ultimate Book of Spells (aka UBOS), the three have to battle the evil wizard Zarlak, who's trying to steal all of the world's spells.^[2]

Characters

Main characters

• Cassandra "Cassy" (voiced by Janyse Jaud) - the leader of the trio, junior witch and the main protagonist of the series. She wants to become a sorceress, a class considered superior to witches. It is revealed that Cassy is the great-granddaughter of the wizard who defeated and banished Zarlak - a wizard that is now disguised as UBOS.
• Gus (voiced by Andrew Francis)- he is half-elf and half-wizard. He is quite confident and sometimes acts childishly. Initially, he looks down on Verne; due to his "mortie" status, but Verne manages to redeem himself by saving Gus's life.
• Verne (voiced by Cathy Weseluck) - he is a mortal wizard who has magical powers and can naturally mend electronic devices. Because of his mortal status, he is called a "mortie". At some points, he is quite cowardly and is surprised by almost anything that involves magic. He is quite skilled in techno magic which is good for putting ordinary electronics or mechanical devices together to make useful gadgets. It is revealed that Verne is a descendent of Merlin and they share same surname Ambrocious.
• UBOS (voiced by Ron Halder): An elderly looking book that has the power to teleport the three to the centre of the world where they must stop Zarlak. He tends to be quite grumpy (mostly when Cassy stuffs him in her backpack) and hits the three on the head when he's scolding them. It is revealed throughout the series that he is Cassy's great-grandfather. UBOS is also the title character of the series.
• Erbert (voiced by Michael Dobson) - he is a prince who was cursed by Zarlack to look like a toy frog and confined at the magic school the Vonderland. He is the friend of the trio and UBOS. He stays with Gus and Verne in their room. Although he refuses at first he is seen travelling with them to defeat Zarlack in some episodes.
• Zarlak (voiced by Paul Dobson) - an evil wizard and the main antagonist of the series; who seeks world domination. He desires to get his hands on UBOS; so that he will have enough power to not only escape his prison, but to destroy and rule the world.
• Rowce and Snerrot (voice by Don Brown and Colin Murdock) - Zarlack's henchmen whom he often loses patience with. They have the power to combine to become a two-headed dragon, but like most henchmen, are rather dimwitted.

Other characters

• Ilsa - a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) giant girl whose father is a big man (literally) in Vonderland. She was roommates with Cassy for a short while. Due to her size, Ilsa had trouble fitting in.
• Lucretia and Borgia (both voiced by Cathy Weseluck) - the evil fraternal twins who try to make trouble for Cassy, Gus and Verne. Their father used to serve Zarlak, but defected before Zarlak's defeat, thus; avoiding punishment for his crimes.
• Crystalgazer (voiced by Patricia Drake) - the headmistress of Vonderland. She can transform into a cat at will. She speaks with a German accent
• Saysme - another teacher of Vonderland; he is a young man with a top hat and teaches age regression magic.
• Beagleboyce - the librarian of Vonderland.
• Mayday - a ghost in charge of scoot-zoomer driving tests.
• Scrimpy - an imp who calls out to the trio for help when Zarlack attacks his village.
• Flaherty - a leprechaun who was forced into helping Lucretia cheat, by tinkering with Cassie's scoot-zoomer while racing, before he was freed.
• Wingo and Jingo - the two mischievous gremlins who were cast into a cuckoo clock for 100 years after losing a battle with Vonderland's builders. They are allowed to come out once a century to play while the whole school is put under a sleeping spell.
• Snap the Dragon (voiced by Michael Dobson) - a dragon.

Other voices

• Tony Alcanter
• Michael Benyaer
• Don Brown
• Jim Byrnes
• Richard Cox
• Paul Dobson
• Patricia Drake
• Brian Drummond
• Andrew Francis
• McKenzie Gray
• Ron Halder
• Phil Hayes
• Saffron Henderson
• Mark Hildreth
• Matt Hill
• Janyse Jaud
• Ellie King
• Terry Klassen

• Michael Kopsa
• Campbell Lane
• Blu Mankuma
• Kirby Morrow
• Colin Murdock
• Richard Newman
• Pauline Newstone
• Nicole Oliver
• William Samples
• Tabitha St. Germain
• Sam Vincent
• Cathy Weseluck
• Colleen Wheeler
• Alec Willows

Crew

• Susan Blu - Voice Director
• Sean Catherine Derek - Story Editor

Episodes

-	Ep. #	Broadcast Date	Title	Written by	Description
align=center	1	align=center	12 September 2001	align=center	Three Is A Charm (Pilot)	align=center	Sean Catherine Derek	A mortie named Verne arrives at a magic school. He meets Gus, a half-elf second year junior wizard and Cassy, a third year junior witch. He also meets the evil twins, Lucretia and Borgia, and the headmistress Miss Crystalgazer. The talking book UBOS takes the three friends to the center of the Earth, where an evil wizard Zarlak is stealing magic from the outside world.
align=center	2	align=center	19 September 2001	align=center	Man or Mortie	align=center	Sean Catherine Derek	Cassy, Gus and Verne need to come up with an antidote to stop winged beings from crashing into turrets of the castle.
align=center	3	align=center	26 September 2001	align=center	He Who Laughs Last	align=center	Sean Roche	The trio have to stop Zarlak's plan to take joy from the surface world.
align=center	4	align=center	3 October 2001	align=center	Rootopia of All Evil	align=center	Jack &<br />Carole Mendelsohn	Zarlak plans to steal all the flowers (and the happiness) for himself.
align=center	5	align=center	10 October 2001	align=center	Time and Again	align=center	Dennis Haley Marcy Brown	The class goes back in time to Zarlak's trial, and Gus inadvertently takes a crystal that Cassy's great-grandfather needed for his battle with Zarlak.
align=center	6	align=center	17 October 2001	align=center	Fire with Fire	align=center	Bob Forward	Gus discovers that the elves are losing their powers, because a huge dragon has stolen the "Elfin Stone".
align=center	7	align=center	24 October 2001	align=center	The New Librarian	align=center	Douglas Gayeton	Professor Beagleboyce becomes the new librarian, and absorbs the contents of all of the library's books.
align=center	8	align=center	31 October 2001	align=center	Shadow Land	align=center	Sean Roche	Verne has to fight a shadow creature, who's taken Cassy and Gus' shadows.
align=center	9	align=center	7 November 2001	align=center	Once in a Blue Moon	align=center	Sean Roche	Zarlak kidnaps the Charmlings, little elf-like people who can grant any wish.
align=center	10	align=center	14 November 2001	align=center	The Bind That Ties	align=center	Glenn Leopold	Zarlak has captured all the bookbinder gnomes, which makes all the books unglued and devastates UBOS.
align=center	11	align=center	21 November 2001	align=center	Coat of Arms	align=center	Christy Marx Randy Littlejohn	Cassy finds out that her great-grandaunt Cassandra VII teamed up with Zarlak many years ago.
align=center	12	align=center	28 November 2001	align=center	Out of Shape	align=center	Glenn Leopold	Zarlak sends his dragon to steal the magic book, but kidnaps Verne and Gus instead. Cassy has to save the day, but she's having a hard time using her shape-changing powers.
align=center	13	align=center	5 December 2001	align=center	The Rift	align=center	Don Gillies	Scavenger imps use a portal to steal objects from the surface world, and two of the friends are in the hands of Zarlak.
align=center	14	align=center	9 January 2002	align=center	What a Cut-Up!	align=center	Julia Lewald	The three friends fight Zarlak, who has turned everything dull.
align=center	15	align=center	16 January 2002	align=center	Multiple Mayhem	align=center	Sean Catherine Derek	Cassy creates a duplicate of herself to get to all her classes, but the duplicate starts acting out in unpredictable ways.
align=center	16	align=center	23 January 2002	align=center	The Tear of Moolana	align=center	Stevie Stern	Gus and Cassy compete with Zarlack to obtain the Tear of Moolana, a gem that offers infinite power.
align=center	17	align=center	30 January 2002	align=center	Magical Logical	align=center	Michael Edens	Everything is losing its logic - video games, computers, wands and even Ubos - and the trio has to find a way to bring it back.
align=center	18	align=center	10 February 2002	align=center	Veil of Illusion	align=center	Glenn Leopold	The "Veil of Illusion" disappears from the school, which is now visible to morties. The trio has to retrieve the veil from a great wizard.
align=center	19	align=center	17 February 2002	align=center	Dark Image	align=center	Bob Forward	A magical artifact turns Verne into a dark wizard, and Cassy a dark sorceress. Gus has to stop them from destroying the earth and each other.
align=center	20	align=center	24 February 2002	align=center	Sleeping Beauty School	align=center	Sean Roche	Creatures from a land behind the grandfather clock came to Vonderland and cast a sleeping spell on everyone except the trio.
align=center	21	align=center	3 March 2002	align=center	Eclipsed	align=center	B.W. Glass	At the famous Festivus Solarus (the festival where all the witches and wizards at Vonderland get together to celebrate the time when the Moon eclipses the Sun), the Moon is frozen in front of the Sun and the temperature drops below zero.
align=center	22	align=center	10 March 2002	align=center	Big Girls Don't Cry	align=center	Nathan Long	Cassy's new roommate, a giant named Ilsa, is manipulated by Lucretia and gets kidnapped by Zarlak.
align=center	23	align=center	17 March 2002	align=center	Lucky Gus	align=center	Don Gillies	Gus' sudden luck and popularity make Cassy and Verne jealous - just as Zarlak planned.
align=center	24	align=center	24 March 2002	align=center	Magic Quest	align=center	Bob Forward	Sitting in Merlin's magic chair, Cassy and Vern start to transform into new creatures. Verne has to find the ingredients for a spell to turn them back.
align=center	25	align=center	31 March 2002	align=center	The Lure	align=center	Sean Catherine Derek Lori Librarian	When Gus fails his midterms, he goes on the high seas - and gets everyone in trouble.
align=center	26	align=center	7 April 2002	align=center	Solo Sorceress	align=center	Dennis Haley Marcy Brown Sean Catherine Derek	Cassy sees Lucretia cheat during their scooter race contest, but nobody believes her.

In the U.S. DVD release of this series,^[3] "Solo Sorceress" is not the final episode and occurs significantly earlier in the play order.

Production

On 19 April 2001, BKN pre-sold the series to CBBC in the United Kingdom.^[4]

On 20 June 2002, Toon Disney purchased the North American broadcast rights for the series.^[5]

In 2021, the show started airing on London Live in the United Kingdom.

Home Media

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, Universal Pictures Video released two VHS volumes. The first - "Three is a Charm", was released in 2002, and the second: "Solo Sorceress" was released on 21 April 2003. A double-pack containing both tapes was also released.

"Three is a Charm" was later released on DVD by Universal on 10 May 2004.

United States

A VHS tape containing two episodes titled "The Mystic Gem" was released at an unknown date.

Budget distributor Digiview Entertainment released three DVDs each containing four episodes in 2007, titled "Three's a Charm", "Fire with Fire" and "Out of Shape".

Mill Creek Entertainment released a two-disc boxset containing all 26 episodes on 5 January 2010.

Cancelled Video Game

On 7 October 2001, TDK Mediactive announced they would produce a video game based on the series in 2002, although nothing was confirmed afterwards.^[6]

External links

• • UBOS Theme tune on YouTube

Notes and References

1. Book: Perlmutter . David . The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows . 2018 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1538103739 . 668.
2. Book: Erickson . Hal . Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 . 2005 . 2nd . McFarland & Co . 978-1476665993 . 878–879.
3. Web site: U.B.O.S. - the Ultimate Book of Spells - the Complete Series, All 26 Episodes (Boxset) on DVD Movie.
4. Web site: CBBC picks up BKN toon News C21Media.
5. Web site: Eight new shows for Toon Disney News C21Media.
6. Web site: BKN and TDK ink video game deal News C21Media.