I’ve torted turtles and iced engines. That’s how you know the guys are serious about a relationship with a fictional character — they want it immortalized in frosting.

So when I asked Little Guy what cake he wanted this week — been on a baking bender of late, and the kids take turns picking a design — and he said Wubbzy, I knew things had advanced beyond mere attraction.

I’m not sure I understand the relationship. Thomas is still the No. 1 Engine and the No. 1 obsession in Little Guy’s eyes. But he and Wubbzy clearly have something special. Maybe it’s a Best Friends Forever type of thing.

So what’s a Wubbzy?

“”Wubbzy lives in a tree, he likes to play, play, play! He has a bendy tail and he likes it that way!”"

Or so goes the theme song to “”Wow! Wow! Wubbzy,”" but that doesn’t help. After much debate Big Guy and I agreed to call him a cat, though he doesn’t have whiskers.

The only clear-cut character is Widget — “”She hammers and she saws and her toolbox is filled”" — the pink McGyver bunny with a Texas accent. Her name has to be an inside joke among the creators, who produce the show in Adobe Flash software.

Walden — “”He knows about science and books and art.”" Who knows what he is?

Until I started googling in search of a picture for a cake pattern, I thought Wubbzy was just a Little Guy quirk. Nope. He’s big.

He has a channel on YouTube — the Wubbcast. He has a blog — the Wubbblog — devoted to merchandise, party supplies and cake designs. And in two months, he’ll be available on DVD. I’m telling myself I’m not going to rush out and buy it, but I know that’s not true.

Not bad for a show less than two years old. It debuted in August 2006 on Nick Jr., and it’s also on Noggin. Little Guy is distraught that the Noggin airings now are on at times we aren’t home. Yep. I’m going to have to buy the DVD.

So why is Little Guy so addicted that he wants to play “”kickety kick ball,”" just like Wubbzy.

The theme song catches kids from the start. The colors are bright, the pace is fast.

I like it because, while Wubbzy is basically a good, er, whatever he is, he manages to find his share of troubles and goof-ups — that episode where a vacuum runs amok and swallows everything in the house is hilarious. Wubbzy works his way out of his catastrophes with lessons learned.

Oh, and I love that Widget is a girl. Let’s hear it for positive pink role models.

I don’t think the whatever-it-is will overtake Thomas in Little Guy’s heart. Even if there were a lot of Wubbzy merchandise out there, it wouldn’t have as many imaginative possibilities as Thomas.

But Wubbzy is closing in.

“”Mommy, my Thomas balloon is gone, so can I have a Wubbzy?”" Little Guy asked today.

Copyright 2008 Debra Legg. All rights reserved.”

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