A Thousand Lights in the Woods (The Glo Friends)

December 15 2021

A thousand lights in the woods (original title: The Glo Friends) is an American series originally broadcast in 1986 as a segment of Fly my mini pony (My Little Pony 'n Friends). The cartoon series was created by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions in collaboration with Toei Animation.

In Italy the series was broadcast in 1991 on Italia 1 with the title A thousand lights in the woods

The 26 segments of Glo Friends were shot in rotation as a secondary series, alternating with MoonDreamers and Potato Head Kids. Glo Friends was subsequently broadcast on the (CBN) Family Channel from 1989 to 1995 as part of the retransmission of My Little Pony.

The television series was preceded by the Glo Friends toy line - tiny glow-in-the-dark toys in the shape of insects and other small creatures. The toys were adapted from the original Glo Worm introduced in 1982 by Hasbro's Playskool division. A line of Ladybird Books has been released to accompany each Glo Friend.

History

The protagonists of the title in The Glo Friends are a community of small phosphorescent insects, living in Glo Land, a magical kingdom located in the middle of a forest. Their homes are built near Glo Pond, where friends collect a substance known as Moondrops, which allows them to glow in the dark.

The peaceful existence of the Friends is constantly threatened by the Moligans, a group of mole-like creatures led by Starnose. The Moligans were banished from the kingdom of Moleslavia for various crimes including illegal excavations, robberies and cheating. Since their exile, the Moligans have lived underground and plotting revenge. The shortsighted Moligans attempt to kidnap the Glo Friends to light up the dark tunnels of their mining operations, and thus extract more gold.

Characters

Baby Glo Worm (Sparkle in the Italian version) - He is the youngest member of the Glo Friends community. She is seen spending most of her time along Glo Grannybug (see below). She is quite curious and often giggles. She speaks too, but only in short sentences. In the debut episode of the television show Glo Friends Baby Glo Worm goes Bye-Bye, she ran away from her bed while the other Glo Friends were trying to sing a lullaby to make her sleep, and as a result she got lost in the Moligan tunnels, putting the other Glo Friends in trouble when they set out to find her.

Garden Ant - Spends his time taking care of his plants and flowers. He grows vegetables for the Glo Friend community and has extensive knowledge of them. He does not tolerate seeing the Moligans eat the roots of a tree, as seen in the Forest Brigade episodes (in which he protects his personal tree) and also in Easy Money Pt. 2 when a Mole Slav villager sells "Root dogs" ( such as hot dogs with roots instead of sausages). He is a regular character in the TV series. His home is a kind of pumpkin located in Glo Land.

Bunny rabbit - A rabbit who is Garden Ant's best friend.

Glo Bashfulbug (Little Star in the Italian version) - As her name indicates, Glo Bashfulbug is a female Glo Friend who doesn't know what to say at certain times. Sometimes, it shows an attraction to Glo Worm, one of the bravest and most intelligent Glo Friends. In more than a moment, he told Glo Worm that being brave is difficult. He is a regular character in the TV series.

Glo Bedbug - She's the laziest of the Glo Friends. The only things he usually wants to do is eat, sing and sleep. Sometimes he plays.

Glo Bonnie Beetle - She's another Glo Friend woman. According to its description, it is very sweet. It does not appear in the TV series.

Glo Bookbug -
Glo Bopbug - He is an eight-legged Glo Friend who wears a top hat and shoes and uses a cane. He is a regular character in the TV series. He likes to dance. In the Spanish dub of the show, he was called "Abuelete", literally translated as "Grandfather"

Glo Butterfly - Bring a magic wand. He believes he can do magic tricks, even though he really can't. In the episode Don't Make Mistakes, It's Magic, the other Glo Friends said it's best not to tell her that her "magic tricks" are just coincidences, to keep her happy.

Glo Bugs - He is sometimes considered the bravest of the Glo Friends. Not afraid of danger. For example, in the first part of The Quest, he cannot tolerate that Rook and the Red Ant army are destroying the forest and for this reason, without wasting time thinking, he dares to run into Rook and face him. For some reason, in the TV series and her Playskool-Hasbro figure, her hat is pink, while in other media, such as the Ladybird books, her hat has multicolored stripes.

Glo Cappy - Enjoys exploring the forests riding Country Mouse and acts as a Glo Land reporter. Tell others about the dangers or anything worth mentioning. He and his friend are wearing a blue beret.

Country Mouse - A mouse who is Glo Cappy's best friend.

Glo Clutterbug - He's a clumsy bug that usually messes up and gets other Glo Friends in trouble. Often falls into traps.

Cricket Glo -
Glo Doodlebug - Love art. He often feels frustrated when he feels that his work or painting style is not appreciated. In the episode “The Masterpiece”, Glo Doodlebug decides to leave Glo Land to go to a cave (accompanied by Snugbug) which he uses as a personal study. He is a regular character in the TV series.

Glo Firefly - He has a name that has a double meaning: his job is to be a firefighter and he is a firefly. It does not appear in the TV series.

Glo Flutterbug - His figure was only available by mail order as Glo Prayerbug. It does not appear in the TV series.

Glo Grannybug - She is the wisest and oldest Glo Friend. He lives in the largest tree house in Glo Land. She often tells stories to other Glo Friends and is often seen taking care of Baby Glo Worm. She also loves celebrating homemade food parties at Full Moon Days, where Moondrops falls to Earth, as seen for example in the episode “Beware of Tales of Gold”.

Glo hopper - It is a green-bodied grasshopper that is usually seen riding Glo Turtle. It tends to jump high in a variety of circumstances, including surprise, happiness, etc.

Glo Turtle - A turtle who is Glo Hopper's best friend.
Glo Prayerbug - It is a Glo Friend in the shape of a blue mantis who, as its name indicates, prays when something goes wrong. She appeared very few times on the TV show (only in the 10-part adventure The Quest and The Glo Friends special save Christmas) and had only a very few lines. His toy figure was only available in the United States and Canada by mail order.

The Scuttlebug - It's a skypilot riding Dragonflyer. He is a regular character in the TV series.

Dragonflyer - A dragonfly who is Glo Shuttlebug's best friend acting as a plane.

The Skunkbug - He's a smelly Glo Friend with a purple nose (most other Glo Friends have a red nose). He is a close friend of Glo Clutterbug.

Glo Sluggerbug - Wear a baseball cap and always carry a cane with you. He is very brave and at various times he and his frog friend have great ideas when fighting their enemies. He is a regular character in the TV series. The only time he was seen playing a baseball game with the other Glo Friends was in the episode Bean Ball.

Bullyfrog - A bullfrog who is Glo Sluggerbug's best friend.

The Sniffles Snail - He has a constant cold. It does not appear in the TV series.

The Snugbug - It's a pink Glo Friend in the shape of a caterpillar. He is not an ordinary character in the TV series. She only appeared during the 10-part episode The Quest and The Masterpiece, in which she appeared to show feelings for Glo Doodlebug. He tends to hug all his friends.

Glo Waterbug - Glo Waterbug is a sailor bug. Guarding the Glo Moondrops pond with Dipper Duck.

Dipper Ducky - A duck who is Glo Waterbug's best friend. Guarding Glo Moondrops Pond with Dipper Duck.

Glo Worms - He is the original Glo Friend and is the unofficial leader of Glo Friends on the TV series. He is brave and smart enough. He is wearing purple pajamas, although the original Glo Worm toy portrays him wearing green pajamas. This has been a source of some controversy.

Glo Wees
A race of fairies that can shine like Glo Friends. They are known to be nature's helpers:

Nutcap - A Glo Wee carrying around the Book of Nature which allows him to communicate with nature.

Spruce - A Glo Wee who is an expert juggler.
Willow - A Glo Wee conducting the symphony of nature.

Bad

Moligan - The Moligans are the main antagonists of the series. After being banned from Moleslavia for their crimes, they tried to start their own mine and gold mining to get enough to buy Moleslavia. To do this, they always try to target the Glo Friends to power their lanterns with no success.

Sneezing - Starnose is the leader of the Moligans. He is physically tough and is said to be able to scare anyone who tries to ignore his orders. In the Spanish dub of the Glo Friends TV Show, he was called "Narizotas", literally translated as "Big Nose".

Nails - Nails is a selfish and self-centered Moligan lady who only cares about her physical appearance or anything for her benefit. She likes precious and shiny body accessories (such as rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, etc.) and does not tolerate anyone calling her an "ugly witch" (or similar attributions). She seems to have an attraction for Starnose, and can often be seen clinging to him, but it may just be her attempt to get closer to the main power of the group. She is also the cook of the Moligans, as seen in "The Wizard of Rook".

Old Moldy - As his name indicates, Old Moldy is the oldest Moligan of the group. He needs to use a hammer-shaped cane due to his old age and has seen many things in his youth. From a young age, his main dream was to melt a piece of gold to turn it into a huge river of gold. In the episode "Caverns of Mystery", his old mine was seen.

Excavator - Excavator is the second oldest Moligan in the group. He is a scientist who usually stays in his personal laboratory doing chemical experiments or inventing new mining artifacts such as the Turbo Tunneler Bi-Pedal (seen in two episodes of the TV show). In the Spanish dub of the TV series, he was called "Inventor".

Brasher - Brasher is a tall, intellectual Moligan. He is said to have the best ideas on how to get the gold and Glo Friends, but Starnose listens to them and takes them as his own to consider himself the "main brain of the Moligans".

Smasher - Smasher is Brasher's brother. Unlike Brasher, Smasher is (or acts like) stupid and stupid. Physically he is tall and sturdy. He feels the need to "destroy" at least one Glo Friend (during the 10-part episode The Quest, he is seen several times trying to damage the Glo Friends to force them to work for the Moligans).

Scoop - Scoop is the youngest Moligan. She is also the only beautiful Moligan, who often secretly sabotages Starnose's plots, and is friends with the Glo Friends, but is afraid of leaving the Moligans. She wears tight fitting clothes and has a high auburn hairdo and a braided ponytail.

Glass - Glass is the shortest Moligan. He is also lazy, digs as little as possible, and is very gullible, often taking disposable comments literally.

Smoke - Rook is a raven who used to work for Lord Driver of the Red Ant Army. After Driver left, the Moligans enlisted Rook as a spy and lookout. He has little love for his employers, once he even spilled the dirt on them at the Glo Friends newspaper.

The Red Ant Army - They are a group of insects in a deserted valley and former employers of Rook. They are led by Lord Driver. They only appeared in "The Quest" where they captured the Moligans and Glo Friends. It was thanks to them that the Moligans learned about Glo Friends and their enlightenment skills. Due to the breakout of the Moligans and Glo Friends, Lord Driver and the Army of the Red Ants took flight when their kingdom collapsed.

Wheat beer - The evil witch of the North Pole. Dressed in a purple fur coat, she appears in the Christmas special along with her hairy weasel scarf (voiced by Charlie Adler) and had a popsicle wand. He trapped Santa and his DearDeers (reindeer) in an ice cage in a plot to stop Christmas.

The Jester brothers - They're pink court jesters from the Red Ant Army. They are comic characters and only appeared in the episode: “The Quest” and “Easy Money part 1 & 2”. They are the ones who insulted Nails the most by calling her a witch and jumping into a bowl of punch by soaking her. However this was because the Army of the Red Ants had a commitment to send them to the Mole King party and they wanted to taste the punch drink.

Technical data

Original title The Glo Friends
Original language English
Country United States
Producer Jonathan Rogers, Marija Miletic Dail
Music Robert J. Walsh
Studio Sunbow, Marvel Productions
Network Syndication
1st TV September 23, 1986 - March 17, 1987
Episodes 26 (complete)
Relationship 4:3
Episode duration 10 min
Italian network Italia 1
1st Italian TV 1991
Dialogues it. Sergio Romano
Double studio it. PV studio
Double Dir. it. Enrico Carabelli