Earthworm Jim (found unaired test animation of Kids' WB! animated series; 1995): Difference between revisions
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Details about the magazine have not been provided, and it’s currently unknown which publication it comes from. Sources have narrowed down the publication as possibly being from Electronic Gaming Monthly, but the year and month of the magazine the article was featured in | Details about the magazine have not been provided, and it’s currently unknown which publication it comes from. Sources have narrowed down the publication as possibly being from Electronic Gaming Monthly, but the year and month of the magazine the article was featured in are currently unknown. | ||
A user in the same Twitter thread claims to have seen the pilot aired on the television network TCC, claiming that the pilot was only a minute long.<ref>[https://twitter.com/dbMisadventure/status/1011272204221407238 A Tweet by user @dbMisadventure about the pitch pilot possibly airing on TCC.] Retrieved 21 Jan '21</ref> However, with no other sources to confirm this claim, it’s currently unknown if this is factual. | A user in the same Twitter thread claims to have seen the pilot aired on the television network TCC, claiming that the pilot was only a minute long.<ref>[https://twitter.com/dbMisadventure/status/1011272204221407238 A Tweet by user @dbMisadventure about the pitch pilot possibly airing on TCC.] Retrieved 21 Jan '21</ref> However, with no other sources to confirm this claim, it’s currently unknown if this is factual. | ||
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==Availability== | ==Availability== | ||
The whereabouts of the ''Earthworm Jim'' pilot are currently unknown as of the time of writing. Efforts have been made to contact individuals who could possibly have a copy of the pilot, but no new footage has surfaced. It’s possible that another copy of the VHS screener exists but it’s debatable if the collector or current owner of the tape would wish to upload the pilot online. A full copy, in Windows Media format, was previously available from StoryboardPro.com | The whereabouts of the ''Earthworm Jim'' pilot are currently unknown as of the time of writing. Efforts have been made to contact individuals who could possibly have a copy of the pilot, but no new footage has surfaced. It’s possible that another copy of the VHS screener exists but it’s debatable if the collector or current owner of the tape would wish to upload the pilot online. A full copy, in Windows Media format, was previously available from StoryboardPro.com but said site has since gone offline. | ||
==Gallery== | ==Gallery== | ||
Revision as of 02:07, 1 July 2022
A photograph from an unknown video game publication, showing stills of the pitch pilot for Earthworm Jim.
Status: Partially Found
Earthworm Jim is a 2D side-scrolling platformer, created by Doug TenNapel and developed by Shiny Entertainment. In 1995, an animated series was created by Universal Cartoon Studios and aired on Kids’ WB!, which would go on for two seasons. Before this, a pitch pilot was made, featuring a slightly different design for Jim. Information on the pitch pilot is scarce, with very few sources coming forward over the years to provide information about its development. Due to this, the pilot remains partially found, with clips and promotional stills giving us some insight into the development process of the cartoon series.
Development
Per the former website of comic and animation artist Will Meugniot (who was working on another Universal series at the time, Exo-Squad), StoryboardPro.com, Doug TenNapel created a series of gag sketches for the reel; these sketches were extrapolated into a storyboard by Meugniot and then into a fully-animated reel; TenNapel also provided most of the voicework for the reel.[1]
Content
The full contents of the pitch pilot are currently unknown at the time of writing. By reading the timestamps provided in magazine scans and promotional stills, some have come to the conclusion that the pilot is only a minute long. However, this is just speculation, and the actual length of the pilot is unknown.
Clips of the pitch pilot have been used to promote the Earthworm Jim cartoon series, and are featured in promotional bumpers for the show. From what is shown, there’s very little dialogue but Jim’s voice more closely matches that of his video game counterpart at that time (as provided by TenNapel). Characters that would end up not appearing in the final cartoon series, such as Major Mucus, are shown in the pilot for a brief amount of time.
Magazine Scans
In June of 2018, Twitter user @AWDtwit provided a magazine scan with images of the pilot, with the following caption:
"Finally found it! Look at these really creepy screencaps for the Earthworm Jim cartoon pilot. I'm curious what the whole thing looked like... and why did they make him so fat?..."[2]
Details about the magazine have not been provided, and it’s currently unknown which publication it comes from. Sources have narrowed down the publication as possibly being from Electronic Gaming Monthly, but the year and month of the magazine the article was featured in are currently unknown.
A user in the same Twitter thread claims to have seen the pilot aired on the television network TCC, claiming that the pilot was only a minute long.[3] However, with no other sources to confirm this claim, it’s currently unknown if this is factual.
Promotional Material
A video by the YouTuber TheElecPlays92 would reveal the existence of a VHS screener for the Earthworm Jim cartoon series, containing footage of the pitch pilot. According to TheElecPlays92, the VHS screener was given to various video game news publication journalists to report about the cartoon series. He would go on to say that he would provide more information about the VHS screener in a separate video. However, this has yet to come to fruition.
Availability
The whereabouts of the Earthworm Jim pilot are currently unknown as of the time of writing. Efforts have been made to contact individuals who could possibly have a copy of the pilot, but no new footage has surfaced. It’s possible that another copy of the VHS screener exists but it’s debatable if the collector or current owner of the tape would wish to upload the pilot online. A full copy, in Windows Media format, was previously available from StoryboardPro.com but said site has since gone offline.
Gallery
Images
Videos
See Also
- Animaniacs (unproduced "Minerva Mink" animated shorts; early 1990s)
- Animaniacs "I'm Mad" (partially found original theatrical version of animated short; 1994)
- Animaniacs "The New Year's Party Tonight" (partially lost alternate version of animated comedy series short; 1995)
- Animaniacs "Potty Emergency" (lost deleted scenes of episode of animated comedy series; 1993)
- Brainstem (lost preview version of "Pinky and the Brain" song; 1995)
- Channel Umptee-3 (partially found Kids' WB! educational animated series; 1997)
- Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island (partially found pitch pilot of Kids' WB! animated comedy series; early-mid 2000s)
- Detention (found Kids' WB! animated series; 1999-2000)
- Kids' WB! (partially found animated "Backlot" bumpers of children's programming block; 1997-2003)
- Kids' WB! (partially found "Crazy Takes" promos of children's program block; early 2000s)
- Kids' WB! "Top 20 Pokéthon Countdown" (partially found promos and bumpers of event from children's programming block; 1999)
- Lobo (lost production material of cancelled Kids' WB! animated series based on DC character; 1990s)
- Monster Allergy (partially found Kids' WB! English dub of animated series based on comics; 2006)
- Waynehead (found Kids' WB! animated series; 1996-1997)
- Welcome Home, Animaniacs! (partially found Kids' WB Saturday morning preview; 1995)