Mixels (partially found unaired/unproduced episodes of Cartoon Network animated comedy series based on LEGO toy line; 2014-2016)

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Logo for the show, as part of its first half-hour special.

Status: Partially Found

Mixels is an animated television series based on the LEGO toy line of the same name produced by Cartoon Network Studios and aired on Cartoon Network from February 12th, 2014 to October 1st, 2016; consisting of two seasons and 25 episodes ranging from 1-minute shorts to half-hour specials.

Production codes for this series used a standard nine-digit production code format. Initially using the format of 501-296-NNL (two numbers and a letter), near the end of season 1, this was changed to 701-NNN-N00 (all numbers).[1]

Listing these production codes reveals several unused production codes for potentially lost (and/or unproduced) episodes of the series.

Codes that went unused were 501-296-000 (though it likely may have been used for a demo reel by season 1 and "Mixel Moon Madness" animator Vincenzo Zumpano), 501-296-02G (described below), 501-296-03D (which would place it in production order between the episodes "Elevator" and "High Five"), 501-296-05B, 501-296-05C, 501-296-05D, 501-296-05E, 501-296-05F, 501-296-05G, 501-296-05H, 501-296-05I (though this may have intentionally been unused due to similarities between the upper-case "I" and the number "1"), various codes starting with 701-NNN-4NN (see below), 701-NNN-500, and 701-NNN-800.

One particular case is with the show's second half-hour special, "Mixel Moon Madness", which was produced under the 701-NNN-4NN production umbrella. 400 was used for the full special, while various codes were used for short scenes and transition scenes in the episode. However, these codes have gone unused: 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 416, 418, 419, 420, 424, 426, 427, 428, and 429. It is possible that they are either deleted scenes from the episode or even intended for another fourth-wave-centric episode(s) that was never broadcast.

Two other production codes; 501-296-100 and 701-NNN-300; were initially thought to be unused. 701-NNN-300 has been revealed to have been used for cutscenes in the iOS/Android game Calling All Mixels; and 501-296-100 has been revealed to have been used for "Movie," a mysterious special that featured most of season 1's shorts in the style of "Mixed-Up Special" that only aired in India and Italy and was released on a VCD in Poland.

Otherwise, no information exists to prove that these codes were actually used for any media, as no images or videos with these codes have been discovered. It is rumored that LEGO sets for scrapped Mixels characters may have been made that logically would make appearances in these specials (one of the scrapped Mixels characters would, indeed, be made into a character in The LEGO Movie 2 named Chocolate Bar,[2]) though it may also be referring to unseen LEGO models used as guides for animated versions (as is the case for all of the main Mixels) of the Background Mixels, generic Mixels used throughout season 2.

Mixels Wiki Comments

A user on the Mixels Wiki met Billy West and asked him about his involvement with Mixels (through voicing the characters Gobba, Lunk and Tentro), and West said that production on the show was rushed, and the actors were basically put into a recording booth and told to read out the lines. This could possibly mean that some of the shorts were so sloppily done they were scrapped, including the episode that likely has the 501-296-03D production code (part of the third batch (03) of shorts, which debuted West's characters, who are all from the tie-in toy line's second wave).

According to another user, it is possible that the lost episodes may have intended to feature Mixes that were never seen on the actual show but were used on the show's now-defunct website. Similarly, the lost 701-NNN-800 special may have featured Maxes from the toy line's seventh wave onward, most of which never received animated styles. In addition, an illustration in Calling All Mixels features the antagonist Major Nixel having been knocked out, it is also possible that this illustration could have been intended for one of the lost shorts.[3]

Episode 501-296-02G

First brought up by LMW Forums member "sleepybat" on September 9th, 2019, another unused production code, 501-296-02G, may have indeed been used for a lost short. Proving the existence of the episode is an unused score track by Season 1 composer Kevin Manthei.[4]

Seeing as the unused score is part of the same track (02A-D) as several aired Series 1 shorts (02A ["Pothole"] to, actually, 02F ["Hot Lava Shower"]) further hints that the episode was at least partially produced.

The synopsis of this episode, "Impromptu jam session attracts the attention of a new tribe.," was leaked on Zap2it, accidentally placed under "Mixed Up Special"'s listing.[5] Due to the timing of its discovery, however, it was initially believed to be a description for the then-upcoming special "Every Knight Has Its Day" because of the seventh wave introducing a music-themed tribe called the Mixies.

On August 26, 2024, an extended summary of this episode was discovered in Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese TV listing descriptions for "Mixed Up Special", "An impromptu Mixel jam session captivates a new tribe: The Sproingers." In production order, it is likely that this would have been the last short of the line's first wave, as the synopsis is a likely hint that it would have been the first episode to include the line's second wave's characters (as "Sproingers" is likely an early name for the Flexers, a second-wave tribe; and as opposed to "Wrong Colors", which features two-second wave characters, Flurr and Gobba).

It is possible footage from Vincenzo Zumpano's animation demo reel, mentioned earlier in this article, may have been used in the episode.

Gallery

See Also

Anthology and Short Series

Audio

Bumpers and Interstitials

Pilots

Live-Action

Other Cartoon Network Series

References