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Where's Wally? (titled Where's Waldo? in the United States, and Wo ist Walter? in Germany) is a series of children's books created by the British illustrator Martin Handford. The goal is to find a certain man, Wally, in a busy picture full of people. Wally dresses in a red and white striped shirt and bobble hat, carries a wooden walking stick, and wears glasses. He is always losing things, including books, camping equipment and even his shoes, and readers are invited to spot these items in the illustrations as well.

The books consist of a series of complex full-page illustrated pictures of hundreds of tiny people doing various amusing things. The purpose is to find Wally among the group, which could be difficult as he is always well hidden. In one particularly difficult image from Where's Wally 3: The Fantastic Journey, for instance, the page is full of hundreds of different Wallys and the reader is asked to tell which is the true figure, identifiable only by his missing shoe.

Contents 1 International variants of Wally and Waldo 2 Characters 3 Publication history 3.1 Wally's World 3.2 Wally's History of the World 3.3 Activity books 4 Books 4.1 Where's Wally? 4.2 Where's Wally Now? 4.3 Where's Wally? 3: The Fantastic Journey 4.4 Where's Wally? In Hollywood 4.5 Where's Wally? The Wonder Book 5 Television Show 6 Banned/Censored 7 External links

Main article: List of international variations of Where's Wally?

For the initial UK release of Martin Handford's book in 1987, he titled the character "Wally." The "Where's Wally" trademark was adapted for 28 countries. In addition to language translation, each franchise gave a new name and personality to the character. He became Charlie in France, Walter in Germany, Holger in Denmark and Willy in Norway. Waldo can also be found in Japan. In Israel, Waldo got renamed as Effy, and was a huge success at the time of its release. However the most successful of the franchises, even surpassing the original "Wally" brand, was the North American adaptation, "Where's Waldo?"

Whereas the early Waldo books were identical to the simultaneous Wally releases - except for the character's name - merchandising and spin-off productions expanded the Waldo franchise and character. Although Waldo and Wally are identical in appearance, their characters and personalities developed differently - Waldo became a hip and tech-savvy American world traveler, while Wally became intellectual and somewhat goofy.

Waldo became a pop-culture sensation in the early 1990s. Aside from the adaptations of Handford's books, the US franchise grew to include licensing of Waldo for video games, spin-off books, magazines, dolls, toys and a Waldo television series. Many of the Waldo products were later reworked and translated for other national markets - including turning "Waldo"-created productions into "Wally."

Although Wally is the name used in Handford's home country, and was the first title used, Handford and his publisher refer to the character and franchise in many press releases and interviews as "Waldo." In the publishing world the "Wally" brand has become inferior, dwarfed by merchandising and huge success of "Waldo." And although the wordplay was lost on audiences outside North America, the name of the intrepid traveler's nemesis was even derived by Handford from spelling "Waldo" backwards to create Odlaw.

On January 22, 2007, the "Where's Wally" franchise - and thus "Where's Waldo" as well - was bought by the UK-based children's company Entertainment Rights.

In the first two books, Wally wandered alone. However, over time more characters were added to find in each scene:

• Wanda or Wenda, Wally's friend, first appeared in Where's Wally: The Magnificent Poster Book.
• Odlaw, Wally's arch-nemesis, made his print debut in Where's Wally: The Magnificent Poster Book. His name, which is "Waldo" spelled backwards, loses its significance in the UK version where "Wally" is used. He appears nearly the same as Wally, except that his clothes are yellow and black striped instead of red and white; his glasses have a blue tint to them; and he has a moustache.
• Woof, Wally's dog, first appeared in The Ultimate Fun Book, where he was identified as Wilma's dog. In most pictures only his tail is seen.
• Wizard Whitebeard, first seen in The Fantastic Journey. On his first appearance, he was responsible for sending Wally on a quest to discover the truth about himself, and he has tagged along on Wally's travels ever since.
• The Waldo Watchers are Wally's devoted fan-club. There are lots of them (25 appear in most books, though there are 99 of them in the Ultimate Fun Book), and they turn up wherever Wally goes. They first appeared in The Ultimate Fun Book.
• Wilma appears in two of the Where's Waldo book series (The Ultimate Fun Book and The Magnificent Poster Book), and is Waldo's ex-girlfriend and the twin sister of Wenda.

• Where's Wally? (US title: "Where's Waldo?") (1987)
• Where's Wally Now? (US title: "Find Waldo Now") (1988)
• Where's Wally? 3: The Fantastic Journey (US title: "The Great Waldo Search") (1989)
• Where's Wally? The Ultimate Fun Book (1990)
• Where's Wally? The Magnificent Poster Book (1991, mainly large-size reprints of scenes from previous books)
• Where's Wally? In Hollywood (1993)
• Where's Wally? The Wonder Book (1997)
• Where's Wally?? (Special Edition) (1997)
• Where's Wally? Now? (Special Edition) (1997)
• Where's Wally?? The Fantastic Journey (Special Edition) (1997)
• Where's Wally?? In Hollywood (Special Edition) (1997)
• Where's Wally? The Great Picture Hunt (2006)

The Ultimate Fun Book was a smaller-format book, containing a variety of puzzles (of varying difficulty) along with a press-out circus scene and a sheet of stickers. As of 2006, it appears to be out of print in most countries, though it is still available in Australia. The Magnificent Poster Book is also out of print, though a separate poster of "Wally in the Land of Sport" remains available.

There were two rounds of revised editions. In 1993, to coincide with the publication of In Hollywood, the first three books were reprinted with Wenda, Woof and the Wally Watchers added in to the original illustrations. A "pocket edition" of the first book was also published, in a tiny A6 format. Wally is even harder to spot when shrunk to this degree, and later printings included a free magnifying lens.

Then in 1997, to coincide with the publication of The Wonder Book, special "Tenth Anniversary Editions" of Where's Wally, Where's Wally Now?, The Fantastic Journey and In Hollywood were published. These are easily distinguished from the earlier editions by the silver border on their front covers. These promised "eye-boggling extras", and involved the addition of various extra things to look for in all the pictures. Wenda, Woof, Odlaw, Whitebeard and the Wally Watchers now appeared in all of the books and, most controversially, Wally now appeared in a different place in each picture. Various other puzzles were also added or reworked.

These new editions also censored certain illustrations from the original edition, such as a partial exposed breast and implied public-nudity in the original Where's Wally, in the beach scene. The censorship involved drawing a bikini top over the original image. These new editions appeared in both standard and "pocket" formats.

There was also a very popular series of geographical magazines made available for children in Australia, the British Isles, New Zealand, South Africa, and Malta, called Wally's World, each issue Wally would travel to a different country or region of the world telling the reader interesting facts. This was published for 52 issues from January 1997 to January 1998, when Wally's History of the World began, focusing more on history than geography. The first issue was given away free with the last issue of Wally's World.

Both Wally's World and Wally's History of the World included four binders, one for every 13 issues.

1. Egypt
2. North Pole
3. Southern United States
4. Southern India
5. Italy
6. Eastern Africa
7. China
8. Australia
9. Great Plains
10. Pacific Islands
11. British Isles
12. Amazon Rainforest
13. Mongolia
14. Outer Space
15. France
16. Mexico
17. Japan
18. Eastern Europe
19. Ocean depths
20. Western United States
21. Southeast Asia
22. Andes
23. Russia
24. Spain
25. Eastern United States
26. Southern Africa
27. Great Barrier Reef
28. Central Asia
29. Great Lakes
30. Low Countries
31. Greece
32. South Pole
33. Middle East
34. Caribbean
35. Northern India
36. Indonesia and Philippines
37. Canada
38. Northern Africa
39. Scandinavia
40. Central Africa
41. Near East
42. Germany
43. Central America
44. Himilayas
45. Portugal
46. New Zealand
47. Poland
48. Western Africa
49. Alps
50. Turkey
51. Argentina and Chile
52. Ocean waves

1. Cavemen
2. Ancient Egypt
3. Trojan Horse
4. Sea Traders
5. Celts
6. Ancient Rome
7. Ancient China
8. Alexander the Great
9. Ancient Greece
10. Roman Empire
11. Dark Age
12. Mayans
13. Pacific Explorers
14. Anglo-Saxons
15. American Indians
16. Arab Empire
17. Monks and Monasteries
18. Medieval China
19. Vikings
20. Knights and Castles
21. Medieval Japan
22. African Kingdoms
23. Middle Ages
24. Mongols
25. Aztecs
26. Renaissance
27. Voyages of Discovery
28. Tudors
29. Incas
30. Medieval Middle East
31. Elizabethans
32. Spanish Empire
33. Indian Emperors
34. Dutch Merchants
35. American Settlers
36. Stuarts
37. Ancient Russia
38. The Sun King
39. Industrial Revolution
40. Australian Settlers
41. American Presidents
42. French Revolution
43. Wild West
44. Victorians
45. British Empire
46. Moving to America
47. Scramble for Africa
48. Inventions
49. Changing Times
50. World War II
51. The Present
52. Record Breakers

Several other "activity books" has also been published featuring art from the US based "Where's Waldo" comic strip:

• Where's Wally? The Truly Terrific Activity Book (1993)
• Where's Wally? The Absolutely Amazing Activity Book (1993)
• Where's Wally? The Dazzling Deep-sea Divers Sticker Book (1994)
• Where's Wally? The Fabulous Flying Carpets Sticker Book (1994)
• Where's Wally? The Wildly Wonderful Activity Book (1994)
• Where's Wally? Simply Sensational Activity Book (1994)
• Where's Wally? The Really Remarkable Activity Book (1995)
• Where's Wally? The Completely Crazy Activity Book (1995)
• Where's Wally? Bumper Activity Book (1995, previous four books in one volume)

In addition, a boxed set appeared in 2000. It contained Where's Wally, Where's Wally Now, The Ultimate Fun Book, The Truly Terrific Activity Book and The Absolutely Amazing Activity Book.

A four-book collection titled The Completely Cool Collection and containing Where's Wally?, Where's Wally Now?, The Fantastic Journey and In Hollywood was released in Autumn 2004.

Wally sets off on a hike, carrying his walking stick, kettle, mallet, cup, rucksack, sleeping bag, binoculars, camera, snorkel, belt, bag and shovel. He visits various locations and gradually loses his equipment. He travels to:

• In Town
• On The Beach
• Ski Slopes
• Camp Site
• Railway Station
• Airport
• Sports Stadium
• Museum
• At Sea
• Safari Park
• Department Store
• Fairground

Wally journeys through history, dropping his books in the different locations. He travels to:

• The Stone Age
• The Riddle Of The Pyramids
• Fun And Games In Ancient Rome
• On Tour With The Vikings
• The End Of The Crusades
• Once Upon A Saturday Morning
• The Last Days Of The Aztecs
• Trouble In Old Japan
• Being A Pirate
• Having A Ball In Gay Paree
• The Gold Rush
• The Future

Wally's fantastic journey leads him to various weird and wonderful locations to find the Wizard Whitebeard's scrolls. He visits:

• The Gobbling Gluttons
• The Battling Monks
• The Carpet Flyers
• The Great Ball-Game Players
• The Ferocious Red Dwarves
• The Nasty Nasties
• The Fighting Foresters
• The Deep-Sea Divers
• The Knights Of The Magic Flag
• The Unfriendly Giants
• The Underground Hunters
• The Land Of Wallies

Wally takes a tour of various film sets in Hollywood. Each scene is inspired by a popular film genre:

• A Dream Come True
• Shhh! This Is A Silent Movie
• Horseplay In Troy
• Fun In The Foreign Legion
• A Tremendous Song And Dance
• Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves
• The Wild, Wild West
• The Swashbuckling Musketeers
• Dinosaurs, Spacemen And Ghouls
• Robin Hood's Merry Mess-Up
• When The Stars Come Out
• Where's Wally? The Musical

Similar to "The Fantastic Journey", Wally journeys to a range of bizarre locations:

• Once Upon A Page
• The Mighty Fruit Fight
• The Game Of Games
• Toys! Toys! Toys!
• Bright Lights And Night Frights
• The Cake Factory
• The Battles Of The Bands
• The Odlaw Swamp
• Clown Town
• The Fantastic Flower Garden
• The Corridors Of Time
• The Land Of Woofs

Main article: Where's Waldo? (TV series)

A 13-episode animated series, with Townsend Coleman as the voice of Wally, was produced by DiC and CBS in 1991. The show was originally made for the American market and later translated for the rest of the world, renaming the character to fit the name used in the books of that country. The distribution rights to "Where's Waldo?", and its international dubs, are currently held by HIT Entertainment.

According to the American Library Association, Where's Waldo has ranked 88 out of the 100 most banned and objected to books in the USA. The most common reason this book has been banned is because, in one picture located on a beach, a female sunbather is seen with exposed breasts. The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000

• Waldo Wiki - A Where's Waldo? wiki project