The Backyardigans (partially found Nick Digital pilot of Nick Jr. CGI animated series; 2002)

The pilot's logo.

Status: Partially Found

The Backyardigans is a CGI animated series that premiered on Nick Jr. in 2004. However, its development history stretches back to the late 1990s. A CGI-animated pilot for the show was produced in 2002 by series creator Janice Burgess, that was based upon a rejected live-action pilot from 1998 called Me and My Friends.

Production

The pilot was produced at Nickelodeon Digital animation studio in New York. It was animated using motion capture, but due to the major difference between the dancers and the character model's proportions, the animation looked too floaty, as Burgess wanted more precise movements.

Because of that, the animators had to change the movements manually to make them work properly, using footage of live-action dancers as a rough guideline.

Synopsis

The pilot’s plot seems to be an early version of the season 1 episode "The Heart of the Jungle." Austin and Tasha are not present in the footage available

Status

At present only some screenshots and a few seconds of footage are available. More was allegedly found in a deleted YouTube video that has since been re-uploaded, with no new footage of the pilot.

Differences

• Uniqua has visible nostrils, smaller eyes and a longer muzzle.
• The characters have black eyebrows.
• Pablo and Tyrone have lighter colors.
• In the first season of the final series, Pablo is dark blue, but as of the second season, he returns to his light blue color.
• Uniqua's house has three windows. It also does not have a picnic table on the outside, and in its place is a sand box that in the final series would happen to be in front of Tyrone's house.
• In the backyard there is a soccer ball and a red bicycle.
• Pablo and Tyrone's houses don't have a porch.
• In one scene from the pilot, Pablo is seen playing in his pool, something he never did in the final series.
• The propeller on Pablo's hat is red in the final show, but in the animated pilot, his propeller is yellow.

Gallery

Screenshots

• 

  Uniqua pointing at the lake.

• 

  Tyrone waving.

• 

  Pablo in a pool.

• 

  Uniqua in a quicksand.

• 

  the characters dancing.

• 

  Pilot's End Scene.

• 

  Pablo and Tyrone next to a lake.

• 

  Pablo and Tyrone talking with Uniqua.

• 

  Characters concept art.

Footage

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Animation reel by Lyla Warren (0:46-0:51).

More clips from the pilot.

See Also

The Backyardigans

• The Backyardigans (partially lost British dub of Nick Jr. CGI-animated series; mid-late 2000s)
• Me and My Friends (partially found live-action pilot of "The Backyardigans" Nick Jr. CGI-animated series; 1998)

Bumpers and Interstitials

• Loretta the Letter Lady (partially found Nick Jr. short interstitial series; mid 1990s)
• Nick Jr. (partially found revamped Face promos of Nickelodeon channel block; 2003-2004)
• Nick Jr. Power Play Summer (partially found Nick Jr. interstitial series; 2005)
• Snappy Larry's Showtime (partially found Nick Jr. UK interstitial series and American dub; mid-2000s)

Pilots

• Blaze and the Monster Machines (lost pitch pilot of Nick Jr. animated series; existence unconfirmed; 2012)
• Blue Prints (found unaired pilot of "Blue's Clues" Nick Jr. animated/live-action series; 1994-1995)
• Bubble Guppies (found pitch pilot of Nick Jr. CGI animated series; 2006)
• Dora the Explorer (partially found unaired pilots of Nick Jr. animated series; late 1990s)
• Oswald (lost pitch pilot of Nick Jr. animated series; late 1990s)
• PAW Patrol (lost pitch pilots and early concepts of Nick Jr. animated series; 2008-2013)
• Super Why! (found stop-motion Nick Jr. pilot of PBS Kids CGI animated series; 1999)
• The Umizumiz (partially found pitch pilot of "Team Umizoomi" Nick Jr. live-action/CGI animated series; 2008)
• Wallykazam! "Monty's Magic Words" (partially found pilot for Nick Jr. education series; 2010s)

Other

• As Pistas da Blue (partially lost Portuguese adaptation of "Blue's Clues" Nick Jr. animated/live-action series; mid-2000s)
• Binyah Binyah! (found spin-off of "Gullah Gullah Island" Nick Jr. musical series; 1997-1998)
• Blue's Clues (found British adaptation of Nick Jr. animated/live-action series; 1998-2003)
• Bubble and Squeak (partially found Nick Jr. UK live-action puppet series; 2007-2010)
• Downward Doghouse (partially lost precursor to "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan" Nick Jr. animated series; 2000s)
• Made by Maddie (partially found Nick Jr. animated series; 2020)
• Riddle Blue/수수께끼 블루 (partially found Korean adaptation of "Blue's Clues" Nick Jr. animated/live-action series; 2000-2001)
• Whoopi's Littleburg (partially found Nick Jr. musical miniseries; 2004)

External Links

• The Backyardigans Wikia page on the Nick Digital pilot.
• Nickelodeon's trademarks of The Backyardigans.