Danger Mouse "The Great Bone Idol" (lost pilot episode of animated series; 1979)
Screenshot from the pilot.
Status: Lost
Prior to the premiere of Danger Mouse on September 28, 1981, two pilot episodes were created around 1979-1980. One of these pilots, "The Mystery of the Lost Chord", has already been released years back but the other one, "The Great Bone Idol", is lost and has yet to see a commercial release.
Over the years, the entire episode has remained lost, though screenshots have surfaced. It's rumoured that it was meant to be released on DVD, but only the later pilot was included. The episode was redone in 1983, but it is unknown why the original never saw a modern release.
The pilot is believed to have had animation cells reused in the second pilot, due to a few inconsistencies in the animation as there are some scenes where Danger Mouse is incorrectly depicted in his original design (such as the addition of a bow tie) after he exits the Danger HQ while driving his vehicle. Other theories suggest those may be actual footage (if not edited) from this original pilot.
The said animation cells were reused in many other episodes of the final series (albeit most of them were re-edited with Danger Mouse's correct final design).
Noticeably, the other pilot was also redone, suggesting that either both were lost at one stage or that they were considered too low quality.
Gallery
Supposed animation cell from the pilot.
Supposed animation cell from the pilot.
Early art of Danger Mouse that creator Brian Cosgrove posted to his Twitter account in 2015. Danger Mouse's appearance here is quite consistent with his appearance in the aberrant frames of, "The Mystery of the Lost Chord."
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