A Wish for Wings That Work: An Opus Christmas Story was a children's book by Berkeley Breathed that was published in 1991. It was made into an animated television special that same year. The story is 30 pages long, and contains large color pictures every other page, and small black and white ones over the writing.

Plot[link]

The story centers on Opus the Penguin (who was at the time one of the main characters in Breathed's comic strip Outland). Opus is downhearted because as a penguin, he cannot fly. He orders a machine and assembles it; when it comes time to test the machine by jumping off a three mile high cliff, Opus decides to do something less dangerous, and goes home to make anchovy Christmas cookies. He does not give up on his dream though, and makes a Christmas wish to Santa Claus for "wings that will go!". On Christmas Eve, Santa is making his usual delivery when he loses his reindeer and crashes into the lake. Opus jumps in and uses his natural swimming skills to pull Santa out. To thank Opus for his daring rescue, a group of ducks pick him up and take him flying through the air.

TV special[link]

On December 13, 1991, an animated special was released. It was directed by Skip Jones and was produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio for Universal Cartoon Studios. It was then given a DVD release for the first time on November 6, 2007.

Critical reception[link]

Lisa Horowitz of Variety gave the special a positive review, saying that it "crams a lot of action and intelligence into its half-hour". She also praised the animation and vocal performances.^[1]

Breathed, who was credited as the writer and executive producer of the special, was disappointed with the overall results. His displeasure with the special was shown in a 2003 Washington Post interview where someone asked where a copy of the special can be found on VHS or DVD. Breathed's response was:

Hopefully in the rubbish pail. We can do better than that and we will with an eventual Opus film.. but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I presume your family was on speed when they watched it. I would imagine it helps.

In a later 2007 interview, Breathed claims that the reason he dislikes the special was simply "unspectacular ratings" and his humour "wasn't meant for television, even if it was done right." Another reason was his "lack of writing experience" and the director was way over his head. He stated that he wanted Sterling Holloway to provide the voice for Opus.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Berkeley Breathed's website
• A Wish for Wings That Work at the Internet Movie Database
• A Wish for Wings That Work at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Washington Post interview, mentions the TV Special

Wish for Wings are a metalcore band from Brisbane, Australia.^[1]

In 2003, they released a four-track demo^[2] titled xDEMOx recorded with Adam Merker at Studio Andeers Deebers and distributed through local record shops. However, word quickly spread of the bands energetic live shows and stage presence and ticket sales soon eclipsed sales of the demo.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, the band recorded and released their debut EP, From the Past to the Grave through Washed Up Records^[3] which reached #10 on the AIR Independent singles chart.^[4] The band then toured Australia, New Zealand and Canada in support of the release.^[5]

Wish for Wings released their debut album, Afterlife in November, 2008.^[6]

Members[link]

• Locky Paul - Vocals
• Tynan Skinner - Drums
• Aido Spinks - Bass
• Andy Barber - Guitar
• Aaron Spinks - Guitar

Former members[link]

• Rhys Watts Vocals
• Oliver Bones Guitar

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Washed Up Records
• Wish for Wings MySpace

This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (September 2008)

A fairy offering wishes, illustration by John Bauer to Alfred Smedberg's The seven wishes

A wish is a hope or desire for something. Fictionally, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used.

In literature[link]

In fiction a wish is a supernatural demand placed on the recipient's unlimited request. When it is the center of a tale, the wish is usually a template for a morality tale, "be careful what you wish for"; it can also be a small part of a tale, in which case it is often used as a plot device. You can wish on many things for example: wishing wells, dandelions when you blow the seeds, stars and much more. When you wish in a well you throw money in, in the hope your wish comes true, the money normally goes to a charity.

A template for fictional wishes could be The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, specifically the tale of Aladdin, although in the tale of Aladdin the actual wishes were only part of the tale. Also, Aladdin's demands, while outrageous, were mainly variations on wealth (which is still often taken as the most common request).

Classically the wish provider is often a spirit, Genie or similar entity, bound or constrained within a commonplace object (Aladdin's oil lamp for example) or a container closed with Solomon's seal. Releasing the entity from its constraint, usually by some simple action, allows the object's possessor to make a wish.

The subservience of the extraordinarily powerful entity to the wisher can be explained in several ways. The entity may be grateful to be free of its constraint and the wish is a thank-you gift. The entity may be bound to obedience by its prison or some other item that the wisher possesses. The entity may, by its nature, be unable to exercise its powers without an initiator.

Other wish providers are a wide variety of, more or less, inanimate objects. W.W. Jacob's Monkey's Paw is an example of this. Piers Anthony puts a spin on this idea in Castle Roogna: a magic ring claims to grant wishes and then claims credit when a wish comes true, apparently from the unaided efforts of the characters—but every wish made on the ring sooner or later comes true.^[1]

Some wishes appear to be granted by nothing in particular. Snow White's mother's wish for a beautiful child might have been a coincidence,^[2] but the father's wish in The Seven Ravens transforms his sons into ravens,^[3] just as the mother's wish in The Raven transforms her daughter. This is common in a tale involving a person, male or female, wishing for a child, even one that is a hedgehog, or a sprig of myrtle, or no bigger than a hazel nut.

The number of wishes granted varies. Aladdin had an unlimited number in the original story, but was restricted to three wishes in the 1992 Disney film. As in the Charles Perrault tale The Ridiculous Wishes, three is the most common,^[4] but others may be granted to fit the constraints of the tale. Several authors have spun variations of the wish for more wishes theme, though some disallow this as cheating.

In many stories the wording of the wish is extremely important. For example, characters often say, "I wish I was wealthy." This wording could be taken literally, the wish granted so that at one time the wisher was (used to be) wealthy but is not any more. Saying, "I wish to be wealthy", then because "to be" refers to either the present or the future, they would become wealthy.

A common problem is the granter of the wish being either extremely literal or through malice granting the request in a manner designed to cause maximum distress (such as a request for wealth being granted through inheritance/insurance on the death of a loved one). Certain authors have also tried an "always on" approach: the careless use of the word "wish" in everyday conversation having, often unpleasant, consequences.

In practice[link]

Some cultures have customs in which people are encouraged to "make a wish", such as blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, seeing a shooting star at night, tossing a coin into a wishing well or fountain or breaking the wishbone of a cooked turkey. Many believe such wishes can only come true if they are kept a secret from other people. Others, on the other hand, believe that wishes come true only if they are told to someone else.^{[citation needed]} Others view wish fulfillment as a bad faith self-delusion.

See also[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Wishes

Look up wish in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Make-A-Wish Foundation
• Kids wish network
• Three wishes joke
• Wishful thinking
• Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity

References[link]

Look up wing or wings in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A wing is an appendage used for flight by an animal or an apparatus used to create lift in aeronautics.

Wing or wings may also refer to:

Biology[link]

• Insect wing
• Bat wing
• Bird wing
• Wing, any of several botanical meanings

Military terms[link]

• Wing (air force unit)
• "Wings", a colloquial term for United States Aviator Badge
• "Wings", a colloquial term for aircrew badges (US)
• "Wings", a colloquial term for aircrew brevets (UK) worn by military fliers (pilots) and crew members
• "Wings", a colloquial term for technical badges such as the Parachutist Badge worn by paratroopers

Places[link]

• Wing, Buckinghamshire, a village in England
• Wing, Rutland, a village in England
• Wing, North Dakota, a city in the United States

People[link]

• Anna Wing (born 1914), English actress
• Brad Wing (born 1991), Australian player of American football
• Craig Wing (born 1979), a rugby league player for the Sydney Roosters
• Joseph Wing (1810–?) and William Ricketson Wing (1830–1908), owners of J. & W. R. Wing Company, a whaling company
• Lorna Wing (born 1928), a researcher of Asperger syndrome
• Toby Wing (1915–2001), an American actress
• Wing (singer), a New Zealand singer originally from Hong Kong
• Wings Hauser (born 1947), an American actor
• Donald Goddard Wing (1904–1972), Yale Librarian

Entertainment and Fiction[link]

Characters[link]

• Wing (DC Comics), a DC Comics character
• Wing (Marvel Comics), a minor Astonishing X-Men character
• Wing (Transformers), a character from the Transformers universe

Works[link]

• Wings (Kuzmin novel), a novel by Mikhail Kuzmin
• Wings (Pike novel), a young-adult faerie novel by Aprilynne Pike
• Wings (play), a 1978 Arthur Kopit play
• Wings (magazine), a Japanese shōjo manga magazine
• Wings (Terry Pratchett novel), the third in The Nome Trilogy of children's books by Terry Pratchett
• Wing, an island in Julie Bertgna's 2002 novel Exodus

Television[link]

• "Wing" (South Park), an episode of South Park featuring the singer Wing
• Wings (NBC TV series), a sitcom which ran on NBC from 1990 to 1997
• Wings (BBC TV series), a BBC drama which ran from 1976 to 1977
• Wings (Discovery Channel TV series), documentary show about aircraft
• "Wings", an episode of "The Protector"

Music[link]

• Wings (band), Paul McCartney's 1970s band
• Wings (1968 band), an American folk rock band
• Wings (Mark Chesnutt album), a 1995 album
• Wings (Bonnie Tyler album), a 2005 album by singer Bonnie Tyler
• Wing Records, a record label
• "Wings" (song), song by Ringo Starr from Ringo 2012
• "Wings", a song from Tim Buckley's eponymous debut album

Film[link]

• Wings (film), a 1927 film about World War I fighter pilots
• Wings (1966 film), by Soviet filmmaker Larisa Shepitko

Sports[link]

• Detroit Red Wings, an NHL ice hockey team
• Philadelphia Wings, an NLL lacrosse team
• Kalamazoo Wings, an ice hockey team based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
• Winger (sport), a position in several sports
• Wing (basketball), a combination shooting guard and small forward, also known as a "swingman"

Games[link]

• Wings (1996 video game), a computer game with space ships
• Wings (series), several World War I computer flying games by Cinemaware

Computing[link]

• WinG, a Windows interface in computing
• Wings 3D, an open source computer graphics modeling program
• WINGs, a Widget toolkit used by Window Maker
• WINGs Display Manager, an X display manager

Other[link]

• airfoil or aerofoil (British English), shape of a wing or blade (of a propeller, rotor or turbine) or sail as seen in cross-section
• T-Mobile Wing, a Pocket PC telephone
• Short title catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, and of English books printed in other countries, 1641-1700 by Donald Wing
• Wings, or Backplate and wing, a type of buoyancy compensation device worn by scuba divers
• Wings (haircut), a haircut style
• Wings Alliance, a former propose airline alliance
• Fender (vehicle) or wing, the automobile panel which surrounds the wheel
• WING, an AM radio station in Dayton, Ohio, USA
• The wings, an area of a theatre stage, hidden from the audience
• WINGS, an international camp organized by Girlguiding Royal Berkshire and Berkshire Scouts
• Buffalo wings, a spicy preparation of fried chicken wings

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Look up work in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Work may refer to:

Human labor[link]

• Employment, a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee
• House work, cleaning the rooms and furnishings of a home
• Labor (economics), measure of the work done by human beings
• Manual labour, physical work done by people
• Wage labour, in which a worker sells their labor and an employer buys it
• Work (project management), the effort applied to produce a deliverable or accomplish a task
• Working the system, using the rules and procedures meant to protect a system, instead to manipulate that system

Physics[link]

• Work (physics), the amount of work done by, or energy transferred by, a force acting through a distance
• Work (electrical), the work done by, or energy transferred by, a force from an electric field acting on a charge though a distance
• Work (thermodynamics), the quantity of total energy transferred from one system to another, not counting energy transferred by heat
• Mechanical work, a subset of work (physics) with the connotation that the force doing work is a "mechanical," pressure, or contact-type force

Theology[link]

• Karma, or "deed" in Sanskrit, causes the cycle of cause and effect, or Saṃsāra, in Indian religions
• Work (Christian theology), acts of charity

Law[link]

• Work, the subject matter of copyright law

Film/Media[link]

• Work (1915 film), a 1915 silent film co-starring Edna Purviance
• WORK (FM), an American FM radio station licensed to serve Barre, Vermont
• Work (professional wrestling), a staged event
• Work (painting), by Ford Madox Brown
• Work: A Story of Experience, a 1873 novel by Louisa May Alcott
• Work, a 1978 play by Ron Milner

Music[link]

• The Work (band), band
• Work Records (aka "WORK" or "The WORK Group"), a music label under Sony Records
• Work 1989–2002, a release by the electronic music duo Orbital
• "Work" (Ciara song), a 2009 single by Ciara
• "Work" (Jars of Clay song), a 2006 song by Jars of Clay
• "Work" (Jimmy Eat World song), a 2004 song by the rock band Jimmy Eat World
• "Work", a song by Bob Marley from his album Uprising
• "Work" (Kelly Rowland song), a 2007 single by Kelly Rowland
• "Work" (The Saturdays song), a 2008 song by British pop group The Saturdays
• Work Work, a song by N Dubz
• Work (album), a 2010 album by Shout Out Louds

Name[link]

• Weorc or Work (Anglo-Saxon leader), who gave his name to Workington or 'Weorc-inga-tun', meaning the 'tun' (settlement) of the 'Weorcingas' (the people of Weorc or Work)

See also[link]

• Labour (disambiguation)
• The Works (disambiguation)
• Works (disambiguation)
• Working (disambiguation)
• All pages with titles containing "Work"
• All pages beginning with "Work"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.