Cartoon Lost and Found (found live-action/animated Nick at Nite special; 1990)
Cartoon Lost and Found was a late-night television special, broadcast on Nickelodeon for the Nick-at-Nite block in 1990. If it was meant to be a pilot for a series which was never "picked up," or some kind of one-off TV movie, is unknown, but several facts are known for certain.
Starring Adam West, famed actor and former star of the television series Batman, as an older man who worked at a secluded office where the remains of old film reels were kept, each one part of what remained of some old cartoon from the 1950s and 1960s including such things as Cool McCool, Super Chicken, The Mighty Hercules and even Speed Racer, an anime dubbed for American audiences. Various other characters would come and go as the special continued. Still, the basic premise and structure revolved around Adam West assembling the remains of these old cartoons, feeding them into some kind of device which would then play haphazard reconstructions of the shows. Full episodes were never shown, instead bits and pieces, some showing no more than the opening theme.
Adam West is referred to by his literal name, called simply West, on more than one occasion. In at least one instance, West reacts to a BatSignal-like image in one of the clips by behaving as if it raised his adrenaline--as if it brought up some memory of being Batman. West more than once directly addresses the audience, sometimes in sardonic asides and sometimes in monologues, wherein he seems to assume the age of the viewer; he mentions on more than one occasion that the viewer, he presumes, watched these cartoons as children, or even "as a fetus with a good ear," and says that the cartoons helped him through trying times in his youth as he felt he was never as bad off as the antagonists in the cartoons. In that respect, Cartoon Lost and Found is presented as, literally, a lost and found for old, the 1950s, 60s, and 70s cartoons, which is aimed at "Boomers" by West's own admission, explaining why it was shown on Nick-at-Nite. Combined with some of the language ("It's a damn shame...") and some violent imagery, the special was clearly aimed at adults and teens and not just children.
As mentioned, other characters appeared in the special: one being a boy named simply Jimmy wearing a makeshift form of power armour made from kitchen utensils and electronics, who said his "favourite cartoon disappeared" and had come to see if it had been turned in to the Cartoon Lost and Found, but since no one had "turned it in" West showed him various other superhero cartoons including Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse, The Mighty Hercules, and Gigantor and Astro Boy. In another instance, he meets a skittish, conniving man named Jack, though it is implied this is an alias, who is assembling footage for a "novel" he is writing called To Serve Cats--which West discovers, shockingly, is a cookbook--and so West shows Jack clips of Snagglepuss and Felix the Cat among others before realizing what his "novel" is and angrily showing him the door.
Ironically, despite the series focusing on allegedly "lost" media, it has become lost media in its own right. For a while, only a partial segment of Cartoon Lost and Found has ever been located, seen in a single YouTube video posted by Channel Matthew Hasson on January 19th, 2015, Save for this video, and part of two promos used to advertise the show prior to it's airing, no other remnants of Cartoon Lost and Found existed for years.
This is especially bizarre, considering no evidence appears to exist on the IMDB filmography of the late Adam West, who was the host in the show. The other actors have not yet been identified, and if any evidence exists on anyone else’s IMDB profiles, it has not been found.
Availability and Documentation
As mentioned, besides the two promos and a single clip of perhaps half of the show, no other actual documentation or evidence of Cartoon Lost and Found existed. There is no mention whatsoever anywhere on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), including on the filmography of Adam West, who starred in the show, and there is no mention to be found anywhere among records of Nick-at-Nite's programming, former or otherwise. One mention, on the website Sitcoms Online, specifically on their forums apparently, was made on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007 by a user identifying as "TeeVeeCloset," [1] but this is literally all that seemed to have remained of Cartoon Lost and Found. Take note, the forum post states this was released in 1989, but the accuracy of this is unknown since the only other source, the commercial establishes a date of 1990 for release. Another possible reference is by a person identified as Andre M. on Amazon.com, who also states the special aired, by their memory, in 1989.[2] It is possible it could just have aired more than once.
It is stated in the comments section of one of the promos (by YouTuber dwfake) at least one other video, possibly a third was also posted by Matthew Hasson, but this video, or videos, have since been taken down for unknown reasons--possibly copyright violations, though this is unlikely since the first video wasn’t taken down at all. Beyond this forum post, the promos and the video on YouTube, no other evidence remains that Cartoon Lost and Found ever aired until September 2020.
Recovery
On September 18th, 2020, an anonymous user uploaded the special in its entirety onto the Internet Archive.
List of Clips Shown
- Astro Boy[3]
- Beany and Cecil[4]
- Clyde Crashcup and Leonardo
- Cool McCool
- Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse
- Deputy Dawg[5]
- Felix the Cat[6]
- The Fox and the Crow
- Gandy Goose (specifically the cartoon Fisherman's Luck)[7]
- George of the Jungle
- Gigantor
- Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse[8]
- Snagglepuss[9]
- Speed Racer[10]
- Super Chicken
- The Mighty Hercules[11]
- Tom Slick
- Tom Terrific[12]
- Top Cat[13]
Gallery
Footage
Videos
See Also
Nick at Nite
- Dora The Explorer Meets George Lopez (found Nick at Nite tie-in commercial of "The George Lopez Show" ABC sitcom; 2008)
- The Nick at Nite Holiday Special (found musical comedy Christmas special; 2003)
- Nickelodeon (partially lost "Nick at Nite" bumpers from TV channel block; 1985-present)
Anthology and Short Series
- Astrology with Squidward (found series of "SpongeBob SquarePants" Nickelodeon animated shorts; early 2000s)
- Attack of the Giant Vulture (found Nickelodeon short film; 1998)
- Balinese Slapping Fish (found Nickelodeon Australia animated short series; 1998)
- Bobby the Lizard Boy (found Nickelodeon animated short; 2000)
- Eddie Retractorhead (partially lost Nickelodeon UK animated short series; 2008)
- Gordon Bleugh! (found Nickelodeon animated short series; early 2000s)
- The Hopkins (lost Nickelodeon Australia animated short series; 2005)
- ICarly at the 2008 Kids Choice Awards (found Nickelodeon promotional short web series; 2008)
- Leader Dog (partially lost Nickelodeon animated short series; 2004)
- Making Fiends (partially lost promotional shorts for Nickelodeon animated series based on web series; 2008)
- Meet The Moores (partially found Nickelodeon UK animated short series; 2002-2003)
- Natalie's Backseat Traveling Web Show (partially found Nickelodeon interstitial series; mid-late 1990s)
- Nick Studio 10 (partially found Nickelodeon channel block; 2013)
- Nickelodeon Addicting Games Showdown (partially found interstitial TV event of online game website; 2009-2010)
- Nickelodeon Blimp (found Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards animated short; 2005)
- Oh Yeah! Cartoons (found Nickelodeon animated anthology series; 1998-2001)
- Schoolyard Safari (found Nickelodeon animated short series; 2002-2003)
- SpongeBob: Re-Hydrated (partially lost "SpongeBob SquarePants" animated short; 2003)
- Tortellini Western (partially lost Nickelodeon animated short series; 2004)
- A Very Aggressive Vegetable (found Nickelodeon Australia animated short series; 1998)
Bumpers and Promos
- 101% Whizbang! with Henry & June (partially found Nickelodeon channel block; 1999)
- Blood and Guts (partially found Nickelodeon bumpers; 2000s)
- Friday Night Nicktoons (partially found bumpers from Nickelodeon channel block; 2002-2004)
- HaHa Nick (lost Chinese block of Nickelodeon shows; 2005-2007)
- Henry & June's Nicktoon Summer Jam (partially found bumpers of Nickelodeon summer block; 1999-2000)
- Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (partially lost TV promos for Nickelodeon animated film and TV series; 2001–2002)
- Nickelodeon (partially found idents and bumpers from TV channel; 1979-present)
- Nickelodeon's Historical Firsts (found animated promos from TV channel; 1997)
- Nicktoon World News (partially found bumpers of Nickelodeon block; 2001)
- Nicktoons Gets Zombified (found Nickelodeon Halloween bumpers; 2011)
- SpongeBob's Nicktoon Summer Splash (partially lost bumpers from Nickelodeon channel block; 2000-2001)
Films
- Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (non-existent Nickelodeon TV film; 1998)
- Cry Baby Lane (found Nickelodeon TV horror film; 2000)
- A Day With SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie (unproduced unauthorized direct-to-DVD mockumentary film; 2011)
- The Electric Piper (found Nickelodeon animated TV film; 2003)
- Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie (partially found production material of cancelled original adaptation of Nickelodeon animated series film; 2002)
- Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus (lost/unreleased deleted Tak scenes of film based on Nickelodeon animated series; 2018-2019)
- Rugrats Go Wild (partially found original 90 minute cut of Nickelodeon animated crossover film; 2003)
- The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (partially found deleted scenes of film based on Nickelodeon animated series; 2004)
Game Shows
- BrainSurge (partially lost Nickelodeon game show; 2009-2014)
- Double Dare (partially found Australian adaptation of Nickelodeon game show; 1989-1992)
- Double Dare (partially lost Nickelodeon game show; 1986-1993)
- Family Double Dare (partially found spin-off of Australian adaptation of Nickelodeon game show; 1989)
- Figure It Out (partially found episode of Nickelodeon game show; 1998)
- Friday Night Slimetime (partially found Nickelodeon game show; 2005-2006)
- Gamefarm (partially lost Nickelodeon GAS game show; 2003)
- Legends of the Hidden Temple (lost Pit of Despair incident footage from unaired final round/episode of Nickelodeon game show; 1994)
- Legends of the Hidden Temple (partially found original consolation plugs from Nickelodeon game show; 1993-1995)
- Nick Arcade (found Nickelodeon game show; 1992)
- Nick Arcade (partially found original consolation prize plugs from Nickelodeon game show; 1992)
- Nickelodeon Splat! (partially found Nickelodeon game show; 2004)
- Slime Time Live (partially found Nickelodeon game show; 2000-2004)
- SuperNick (partially found Nickelodeon Netherlands game show; 2007-2011)
- SuperNick op De Stoep Bij... (partially found Nickelodeon Netherlands sports show; 2007-2008)
- Webheads (partially lost Nickelodeon game show; 2014–2015)
Inaugural Series
- America Goes Bananaz (partially found Nickelodeon variety series; 1977-1980)
- By The Way (partially found inaugural Nickelodeon series; 1979-1980)
- Nickel Flicks (lost inaugural Nickelodeon series; 1979)
- Pinwheel (partially found Nickelodeon educational puppet series; 1977-1990)
- Pocket Money (non-existent inaugural Nickelodeon series; 1979)
- Video Comics (partially found inaugural Nickelodeon series; 1979-1981)
Live Action
- The Adventures of Pete & Pete (partially found original versions of Nickelodeon live-action comedy series episodes; 1991-1993)
- All That (partially lost Nickelodeon sketch comedy series; 1994-2005)
- Beyond Belief!! (partially found Nickelodeon documentary series; 1992-1994)
- Bing! The Sound of Something New (partially lost Nickelodeon magazine TV series; 1995)
- Cousin Skeeter (partially lost Nickelodeon live-action/puppet series; 1998-2001)
- Drake & Josh (partially found widescreen version of Nickelodeon sitcom episodes; 2004-2007)
- Innie & Outie (found live-action Nickelodeon short film; 1996)
- Just For Kicks (found Nickelodeon live-action comedy-drama series; 2006)
- Kids' Court (partially found Nickelodeon non-traditional court series and other media; 1988-1994)
- Mcjuniorclub TV (partially found Nickelodeon Netherlands/McDonald's live-action short series; 2008)
- The Nick Cannon Show (partially lost spin-off of "All That" Nickelodeon sketch comedy series; 2002-2003)
- Nick News with Linda Ellerbee (partially found Nickelodeon educational news series; 1992-2015)
- Noah Knows Best (partially lost English audio of Nickelodeon sitcom; 2000-2001)
- Reggie Jackson's World of Sports (partially found Nickelodeon sports series; 1981-1982)
- U to U (partially found Nickelodeon interactive series; 1994-1996)
- Vic's Vacant Lot (partially found ESPN/Nickelodeon sports series; 1982-1985)
Pilots
- Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (partially found pitch pilot of Nickelodeon animated series; early 1990s)
- The Adventures of Johnny Quasar (found prototype "Jimmy Neutron" animated shorts; 1995-1997)
- The Angry Beavers "Cuffed Together" (non-existent second pilot of Nickelodeon animated series; early-mid 1990s)
- Bad Seeds (found pitch pilot of "Harvey Beaks" Nickelodeon animated series; 2013)
- The Barnyard (found original test pitch of Nickelodeon CGI animated series; 1999)
- Big Beast Quintet (lost Nickelodeon animated pilot; 1990)
- Brand New Day (partially found pitch pilot of "Big Time Rush" Nickelodeon musical comedy series; 2007)
- Camp Nick (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; mid-1990s)
- Catscratch (found animated pitch of Nickelodeon animated series; 2004)
- The Crowville Chronicles (partially found Nickelodeon animated pilot; 1990)
- Curbside (found Nickelodeon animated pilot; 1999)
- Drake & Josh (partially found pitch pilot of Nickelodeon sitcom; 2002)
- Double Dare (partially found test pilot for Nickelodeon game show; 1986)
- Figure it Out (partially found pitch pilot of Nickelodeon game show; 1990s)
- Generation Gap (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; early 1990s)
- Gibby (found pitch pilot of cancelled spin-off of "iCarly" Nickelodeon teen sitcom; 2012)
- Go For It (lost Nickelodeon game show pilot; early 1990s)
- Hey Arnold! (found pitch pilot of Nickelodeon animated series; 1994)
- Humongous (lost pilot of Nickelodeon game show; early 1990s)
- I Don't Think So (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; 1994)
- Invader Zim (lost 3D animation test sequence from Nickelodeon animated series pilot; 1999)
- KaBlam! "The Henry and June Show" (found spin-off pilot of Nickelodeon animated series; 2000)
- Kappa Mikey (found pitch pilots of Nickelodeon animated series; 2004)
- Morph Sports (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; 1995-1996)
- Mr. Meaty "In Parker's Sight" (partially lost pitch pilot of Nickelodeon puppet series; 2005)
- Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (partially found original version of Nickelodeon sitcom pilots; 2003)
- Ned's Declassified High School Survival Guide (lost pitch pilot of rejected spin-off of Nickelodeon sitcom; 2008)
- The Penguins of Madagascar (partially found pitch pilot versions for Nickelodeon CGI animated series; mid-2000s)
- Pudding Toast (partially found Nickelodeon animated pitch pilots; 2012)
- Rocket Beach (found pitch pilot of "Rocket Power" Nickelodeon animated series; 1998)
- Roundhouse (partially found pitch pilot of Nickelodeon comedy series; 1991)
- Slime Survivor (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; 2000)
- The Thundermans (partially lost pitch pilot of Nickelodeon live-action comedy series; 2012)
- Tooned In! (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; 1998)
- Trash (lost Nickelodeon stop-motion animated pilot; 1990)
- Video Dream Theater (lost Nickelodeon animated pilots; 1979)
- The Weasel Patrol (partially found Nickelodeon animated pilot; 1990)
- Who Knew? (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; 1998)
- The Wild Thornberrys (found pilot of Nickelodeon animated series; 1998)
Other
- Action League Now!: The Series "Monster Mashed" (found episode of "Kablam!" spin-off animated series; 2002)
- Action League Now!: The Series "Thunder Girl: Tracking The Storm" (found episode of "Kablam!" spin-off series; 2001-2002)
- Adventures in Wonder Park (partially lost unaired Nickelodeon animated series based on film; 2019)
- Against the Odds (partially found Nickelodeon documentary series; 1982-1988)
- The Angry Beavers "A Tail of Two Rangers/Bye Bye Beavers" (partially found finale episode of Nickelodeon animated series; 2001)
- Back at the Barnyard (partially found widescreen versions of Nickelodeon CGI animated series episodes; 2007-2011)
- The Butcher (lost Nickelodeon puppet short film; existence unconfirmed; 2001)
- Danny Phantom (partially found original opening title sequence of Nickelodeon animated series; 2003)
- Got Chocolate Milk? (found "SpongeBob SquarePants" animated tie-in commercial; 2001)
- Gruff's Groove Box (lost Nickelodeon music series; 2001)
- Hocus Focus (partially found Nickelodeon variety series; 1979-1981)
- The Humpback Hop (found full version of "SpongeBob SquarePants" production music; 2002)
- ICarly "How To" (found bonus content DVD from Nickelodeon sitcom "Web Show Set"; 2011)
- Invader Zim (partially found production material of cancelled episodes of Nickelodeon animated series; 2001-2002)
- KaBlam! "Episode 29" (non-existent episode of Nickelodeon animated series; 1998)
- KaBlam! "Just Chillin" (found final episode of Nickelodeon animated series; 2000)
- KaBlam! "KaFun!" (found episode of Nickelodeon animated series; 1999)
- KaBlam! "An Off-Beats Valentine's" (found spin-off special of Nickelodeon animated series; 1998)
- The Lil' Sam & Cat Show (partially lost web series based on Nickelodeon sitcom; 2013-2014)
- The Loud House (partially lost deleted scenes of Nickelodeon animated series; 2016-present)
- Nickelodeon Japan (partially found various final sign-off footage of Japanese TV channel; 2009)
- Nickelodeon Launch Box (partially lost educational series; 1991-1994)
- Nickelodeon Magazine's Big 10 Birthday Bash (found Nickelodeon TV special; 2003)
- Nickelodeon Mega Music Fest 2010 (found Nickelodeon musical event broadcast; 2010)
- Nickelodeon Studios Opening Day Celebration! (found live broadcast of event; 1990)
- PopClips (partially found Nickelodeon music video TV series; 1980-1981)
- Prometheus and Bob (lost various material of "KaBlam!" Nickelodeon stop-motion animated series; late 1990s)
- The Ren & Stimpy Show (non-existent unused Kurt Cobain song for Nickelodeon animated series; 1990)
- The Ren & Stimpy Show "Man's Best Friend" (found banned episode of Nickelodeon animated series; 1992)
- Robot and Monster (partially found unaired/unfinished episodes of Nickelodeon animated series; 2012-2013)
- Rugrats: A Live Adventure (partially found footage of musical adaptation of Nickelodeon animated series; 1998-2000)
- Rugrats "Incredible" (partially lost storyboard jam comic of Nickelodeon animated series; 1998)
- SpongeBob SquarePants (partially lost deleted scenes of Nickelodeon animated series; 1999-present)
- SpongeBob SquarePants "Behind Closed Doors" (partially found storyboard jam comic of Nickelodeon animated series; 2000s)
- SpongeBob SquarePants "Sailor Mouth" (lost uncensored version of Nickelodeon animated series episode; 2001)
- SpongeBob SquarePants "Shanghaied/You Wish" (found alternate "Patchy the Pirate" segments of Nickelodeon animated series special; 2001)
- SpongeBob SquarePants "SpaceBob InvaderPants/Krabs' Army" (lost production material of cancelled Nickelodeon animated series episodes; 2015)
- War Blowers (found full version of "SpongeBob SquarePants" production music; 1999)
- Weinerville (partially lost Nickelodeon variety puppet series; 1993-1997)
External Links
- Toonopedia page on Clyde Crashcup and Leonardo.
- Toonopedia page on Cool McCool.
- Toonopedia page on Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse.
- Toonopedia page on The Fox and the Crow.
- Toonopedia page for George of the Jungle (1967).
- IMDb page on Gigantor.
- IMDb page for Super Chicken.
- Cartoon Data Bank page on Tom Slick.
References
- ↑ Sitcoms Online forum page on Cartoon Lost and Found. Retrieved 28 Jun '20
- ↑ An Amazon review that mentions the Cartoon Lost and Found special. Retrieved 29 Jun '20
- ↑ An article on the history of Astro Boy. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
- ↑ A blog post on Beany and Cecil. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
- ↑ Article on Deputy Dawg. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
- ↑ A blog post on Felix the Cat's 100th anniversary. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
- ↑ YouTube video of "Fisherman's Luck." Retrieved 29 Sep '20
- ↑ An article on the history of Krazy Kat. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
- ↑ An archived article on Snagglepuss. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
- ↑ An article on Speed Racer. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
- ↑ A blogpost on The Mighty Hercules. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
- ↑ An article on Tom Terrific. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
- ↑ An article on Top Cat. Retrieved 26 Jun '20