Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold (found animated TV special; 1995): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:00, 31 December 2020

Promotional artwork for the special.

Status: Found

Date found: 18 Dec 2020

Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold is a 30-minute animated TV special on TNT. The short film was produced by ACOG and Film Roman to promote and provide a backstory for Izzy the Whatizit, the mascot of the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics.

Izzy debuted during the closing ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and was immediately met with a backlash. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games continued to promote the character over many media, including through the video game Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis game consoles. Amidst criticism and ridicule over the character's design, ACOG approached Film Roman to revamp Izzy's appearance, as well as produce a 30-minute animated TV special.

Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold debuted Saturday, August 12th, 1995, on TNT. It aired at 5:30 PM EDT and again at 6:30 PM, and was repeated the following Sunday at 7:30 and 9:30 AM.^[1] Repeats also aired on Cartoon Network in the run up to the Summer Olympics, with a known airing taking place in August 1996.^[2]

Veteran voice actors Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille Jim Cummings feature in the cast, with Izzy himself being voiced by Justin Shenkarow.^[3]

Availability

The special has never re-aired since August 1996 and has no known home release. Claims that the special was distributed internationally have never been substantiated.

On July 4th, 2020, user SADLAD84 rediscovered a three second long clip of the special. This clip had originated from a 1996 CNN article about the character, and had remained undocumented up to that point in time.^[4]

On December 18th, 2020, James C uploaded the entire special to YouTube. He found a recording of it on an old VHS tape while helping his father clean out the garage.

Gallery

The full special.

A box of Izzy fun caps found at an antique mall.

External Links

Wikipedia article about Izzy Retrieved 19 Mar '16
IMDb's page on the TV special. Retrieved 12 Dec '17

References

↑ 1995 Associated Press article on Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold. Retrieved 12 Feb '14
↑ Usenet post confirming the existence of the special being reran on the Cartoon Network. Retrieved 23 Sept '20
↑ Press photo for the special. Retrieved 23 Sept '20
↑ CNN article featuring initial upload of the clip. Retrieved 04 Jul '20

[1] 1995 Associated Press article on Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold. Retrieved 12 Feb '14

[2] Usenet post confirming the existence of the special being reran on the Cartoon Network. Retrieved 23 Sept '20

[3] Press photo for the special. Retrieved 23 Sept '20

[4] CNN article featuring initial upload of the clip. Retrieved 04 Jul '20

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{InfoboxFound
+|title=<center>Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold</center>
+|image=Izzy1.gif
+|imagecaption=Promotional artwork for the special.
+|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>
+|datefound=18 Dec 2020
+|foundby=[https://www.youtube.com/user/kingobeans James C]
+}}
+'''''Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold''''' is a 30-minute animated TV special on TNT. The short film was produced by ACOG and Film Roman to promote and provide a backstory for Izzy the Whatizit, the mascot of the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics.
-{{Template:InfoboxLost
+Izzy debuted during the closing ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and was immediately met with a backlash. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games continued to promote the character over many media, including through the video game ''Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings'' for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis game consoles. Amidst criticism and ridicule over the character's design, ACOG approached Film Roman to revamp Izzy's appearance, as well as produce a 30-minute animated TV special.
-|title = <center>Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold</center>
-|image = Izzy1.gif
-|imagewidth = 250
-|imagecaption = Promotional art.
-|status = <span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>}}'''''Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold''''' is a 30-minute animated TV special produced by ACOG and Film Roman to promote and provide a backstory for Izzy the Whatizit (What is it?), the mascot of the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izzy_(mascot) Izzy Wikipedia article]</ref>
-Izzy debuted during the closing ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and was immediately met with a backlash. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games continued to promote the character in multiple media forms, including the video game ''Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings'' for the SNES and Sega Genesis game consoles. Amidst criticism and ridicule over the character's design, ACOG approached Film Roman to revamp Izzy's appearance, as well as produce a 30-minute animated TV special.
+''Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold'' debuted Saturday, August 12th, 1995, on TNT. It aired at 5:30 PM EDT and again at 6:30 PM, and was repeated the following Sunday at 7:30 and 9:30 AM.<ref>[http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1995/PM-OLY-Izzy-TV/id-fe9ec20c63a023952414bee87f7e695f 1995 Associated Press article on ''Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold''.] Retrieved 12 Feb '14</ref> Repeats also aired on Cartoon Network in the run up to the Summer Olympics, with a known airing taking place in August 1996.<ref>[https://groups.google.com/g/alt.tv.cartoon-network/c/D7Ak_zS0Tqg/m/r6bChbLP7RQJ Usenet post confirming the existence of the special being reran on the Cartoon Network.] Retrieved 23 Sept '20</ref>
-''Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold'' debuted Saturday August 12, 1995 on TNT. It aired 5:30 PM EDT that evening and again at 6:30 PM, and repeated the following Sunday at 7:30 and 9:30 AM.<ref>[http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1995/PM-OLY-Izzy-TV/id-fe9ec20c63a023952414bee87f7e695f 1995 Associated Press article on ''Izzy's Quest for Olympic Gold''.] Retrieved 12 Feb '14.</ref> The special has never re-aired, has no known home release, and has yet to surface online at any length. Claims that the special was distributed internationally have never been substantiated. Considering the consistent backlash against the character, and most Olympic mascots' fate of obscurity and irrelevance, it is unlikely that Izzy will ever see a release through any official channels. <gallery>
+Veteran voice actors Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille Jim Cummings feature in the cast, with Izzy himself being voiced by Justin Shenkarow.<ref>[https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/0RcAAOSwbwZe88a7/s-l1600.jpg Press photo for the special.] Retrieved 23 Sept '20</ref>
-Izzy3.gif
-Izzy5.gif
+==Availability==
-Izzy2.gif
+The special has never re-aired since August 1996 and has no known home release. Claims that the special was distributed internationally have never been substantiated.
-Izzy4.gif
+On July 4th, 2020, user SADLAD84 rediscovered a three second long clip of the special. This clip had originated from a 1996 CNN article about the character, and had remained undocumented up to that point in time.<ref>[https://money.cnn.com/1996/07/24/bizbuzz/izzy_pkg/ CNN article featuring initial upload of the clip.] Retrieved 04 Jul '20</ref>
+On December 18th, 2020, James C uploaded the entire special to YouTube. He found a recording of it on an old VHS tape while helping his father clean out the garage.
+==Gallery==
+{{Video|perrow  =1
+  |service1     =youtube
+  |id1          =TzGr9ibFkrw
+  |description1 =The full special.
+}}
+<gallery mode=packed heights=140px>
+File:IzzyPogs.jpg|A box of Izzy fun caps found at an antique mall.
+File:Izzy3.gif
+File:Izzy5.gif
+File:Izzy2.gif
+File:Izzy4.gif
+File:Izzy_1.jpg
+File:Izzy_2.jpg
+File:Izzy_3.jpg
+File:Izzy_4.jpg
+File:Izzy_3.3.19_Olympics_1_1200x.jpeg
+File:Izzy_3.3.19_Olympics_2_600x.jpeg
+File:Izzy.jpg
+File:S-l400 (1).jpg
+File:Cricket.jpg
+File:Izzy_5.jpg
+File:Izzy_6.jpg
 </gallery>
+==External Links==
+*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izzy_(mascot) Wikipedia article about Izzy] Retrieved 19 Mar '16
+*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0282624/ IMDb's page on the TV special.] Retrieved 12 Dec '17
 ==References==
-<references/>
+{{reflist}}
+[[Category:Found media]]