Magic Bloom (partially found early Winx Club pilot; 1999): Difference between revisions

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m (Airhogs777 moved page Magic Bloom/Winx: Just Fairies (partially found early pilots from animated series; 1999) to Magic Bloom (partially found early Winx Club pilot; 1999) over redirect: As confirmed at the Lucca Comics convention and Rainbow's...)
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{{InfoboxLost
{{InfoboxLost
|title=<center>Winx Club (pilot)</center>
|title=<center>Winx Club (pilot)</center>
|image=JustFairies.jpg
|image=Winx-1.jpg
|imagecaption=Early promotional image.
|imagecaption=A screenshot from the pilot.
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
}}
}}
''Winx Club'' is a phenomenon in Europe, created by the Italian comic artist Iginio Straffi through his studio Rainbow SpA. It debuted in 2004 and quickly became an international hit, eventually attracting the interest of the American giant Viacom, which now co-owns Rainbow along with Straffi. Before it became the success it is today, however, Rainbow spent several years developing the show. These testing stages resulted in the production of an unaired pilot episode, of which only small pieces have seen the light of day.
''Winx Club'' became a hit after premiering in 2004. The show quickly attracted the interest of the American company Viacom, which now co-owns the ''Winx Club'' animation studio (Rainbow S.p.A.) alongside the cartoon's creator, Iginio Straffi. Viacom's Nickelodeon started co-producing the show in 2011 and it became even more popular, ranking as Nickelodeon UK's second-highest-rated series. Before ''Winx Club'' even aired, however, Mr. Straffi spent several years developing the show. These testing stages resulted in the production of a short pilot episode, of which only small pieces have seen the light of day.


==Magic Bloom (1999-2001)==
==Magic Bloom (1999-2001)==
A proof of concept titled '''''Magic Bloom''''' was animated from around 1999 to 2001. In this stage, the main characters were younger teenagers and the character designs resembled those of classic European fairies. 20 seconds of footage were released as part of a video interview with Iginio Straffi, in which he briefly discusses the circumstances surrounding the pilot's production.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuw9Jb7H1wc&t=920 2013 interview with Iginio Straffi.] Retrieved 12 Mar '19.</ref>
The first incarnation of the series was titled '''''Magic Bloom''''' and was in development from 1999 to 2001. Here, the main characters were younger teenagers and the character designs resembled those of classic European fairies. 20 seconds of footage were released as part of a video interview with Iginio Straffi, in which he briefly discusses the circumstances surrounding the pilot's production.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuw9Jb7H1wc&t=920 2013 interview with Iginio Straffi.] Retrieved 12 Mar '19.</ref>


Sometime around early 2002, Rainbow held a test screening of the pilot in order to gauge audience reaction. According to a 2003 article, the ~120 test viewers "loved the series' concept, but found its look less than enchanting."<ref name="kidscreen">[http://kidscreen.com/2003/09/01/fashion-20030901/ Rainbow, Scholastic Ent. turn to style specialists for design innovations.] Retrieved 12 Mar '19.</ref> Iginio Straffi himself was unsatisfied with the pilot, recalling in 2016 that the end product "looked like just another Japanese-style cartoon ... nothing like [the modern] ''Winx''."<ref>[https://movieplayer.it/articoli/rainbow-lintervista-a-iginio-straffi-sullanimazione-in-italia_15112/ 2016 MoviePlayer interview with Iginio Straffi.] Retrieved 12 Mar '19.</ref> Despite already gaining the support of broadcasters and investing over €100,000 in the pilot, Straffi scrapped the entire animation and started retooling the series. He hired an array of new designers to change the pilot's "dull" designs and color palette.<ref name="kidscreen"/>
Sometime around early 2002, Rainbow held a test screening of the pilot in order to gauge audience reactions. According to a 2003 article, the test viewers "loved the series' concept, but found its look less than enchanting."<ref name="kidscreen">[http://kidscreen.com/2003/09/01/fashion-20030901/ Rainbow, Scholastic Ent. turn to style specialists for design innovations.] Retrieved 12 Mar '19.</ref> Iginio Straffi himself was unsatisfied with the pilot, recalling in 2016 that the end product "looked like just another Japanese-style cartoon ... nothing like [the modern] ''Winx''."<ref>[https://movieplayer.it/articoli/rainbow-lintervista-a-iginio-straffi-sullanimazione-in-italia_15112/ 2016 MoviePlayer interview with Iginio Straffi.] Retrieved 12 Mar '19.</ref> Despite already gaining the support of broadcasters and investing over €100,000 in the pilot, Straffi scrapped it and started retooling the series from the ground up. He hired an array of new designers to change the pilot's "dull" designs and color palette.<ref name="kidscreen"/>


The original character design sheets from ''Magic Bloom'' (source unidentified) have been uploaded to the Internet. Additionally, some shorter pieces of footage have been released to the public (seen in a promotional DVD from 2003, as well as the 4Kids opening) that can't be identified from actual finished ''Winx'' episodes, leading many to believe that these scenes were from the ''Magic Bloom'' pilot and were re-used for promotional materials due to the show not having enough completed footage to use at the time.
The original character design sheets from ''Magic Bloom'' (source unidentified) have been uploaded to the Internet. Β 


At the 2018 Lucca Comics & Games convention, the transformation scenes from the ''Magic Bloom'' pilot were shown as part of an exhibition commemorating the 15th anniversary of ''Winx Club''. At around 33 seconds, this is the most footage from the pilot that has been released so far. The sequences are captioned "Magic Bloom - Pilot 2001," indicating that the pilot was indeed finished in 2001. The exhibition also revealed that Stella's original name was Sasha (see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtY5G8q8o8c here] for the video).
At the 2018 Lucca Comics & Games convention, the transformation scenes from the ''Magic Bloom'' pilot were shown as part of an exhibition commemorating the 15th anniversary of ''Winx Club''. At around 33 seconds, this is the most footage from the pilot that has been released so far. The exhibition also revealed that Stella's original name was Sasha (see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtY5G8q8o8c here] for the video).


[[File:JustFairies.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
==Winx: Just Fairies! (2003)==
==Winx: Just Fairies! (2003)==
A small poster with a logo reading '''''Winx: Just Fairies!''''' was on Rainbow SpA's website in early 2003, before the show's premiere. This indicates that the series proper went through another name change before becoming ''Winx Club''. It is unknown if any animation (such as a different opening) was made using this early title, but it is possible given the logo's usage as late as 2003. The image shows the finished designs of the three characters who appear on it.
A small poster with a logo reading '''''Winx: Just Fairies!''''' was on Rainbow SpA's website in early 2003, before the show's premiere. The image shows the finished designs of the three characters who appear on it (Bloom, Sky, and Icy). This image is the only known material that uses this title, but there is other scrapped animation that uses the final character designs. Fans have identified footage from early promotional material (early Italian DVDs and pre-release teasers) that show scenes that are absent in the finished show. It is possible they were created for a trailer from before the first season was finished.


==Gallery==
==Gallery==

Latest revision as of 14:46, 1 March 2021

Winx-1.jpg

A screenshot from the pilot.

Status: Partially Found

Winx Club became a hit after premiering in 2004. The show quickly attracted the interest of the American company Viacom, which now co-owns the Winx Club animation studio (Rainbow S.p.A.) alongside the cartoon's creator, Iginio Straffi. Viacom's Nickelodeon started co-producing the show in 2011 and it became even more popular, ranking as Nickelodeon UK's second-highest-rated series. Before Winx Club even aired, however, Mr. Straffi spent several years developing the show. These testing stages resulted in the production of a short pilot episode, of which only small pieces have seen the light of day.

Magic Bloom (1999-2001)

The first incarnation of the series was titled Magic Bloom and was in development from 1999 to 2001. Here, the main characters were younger teenagers and the character designs resembled those of classic European fairies. 20 seconds of footage were released as part of a video interview with Iginio Straffi, in which he briefly discusses the circumstances surrounding the pilot's production.[1]

Sometime around early 2002, Rainbow held a test screening of the pilot in order to gauge audience reactions. According to a 2003 article, the test viewers "loved the series' concept, but found its look less than enchanting."[2] Iginio Straffi himself was unsatisfied with the pilot, recalling in 2016 that the end product "looked like just another Japanese-style cartoon ... nothing like [the modern] Winx."[3] Despite already gaining the support of broadcasters and investing over €100,000 in the pilot, Straffi scrapped it and started retooling the series from the ground up. He hired an array of new designers to change the pilot's "dull" designs and color palette.[2]

The original character design sheets from Magic Bloom (source unidentified) have been uploaded to the Internet.

At the 2018 Lucca Comics & Games convention, the transformation scenes from the Magic Bloom pilot were shown as part of an exhibition commemorating the 15th anniversary of Winx Club. At around 33 seconds, this is the most footage from the pilot that has been released so far. The exhibition also revealed that Stella's original name was Sasha (see here for the video).

JustFairies.jpg

Winx: Just Fairies! (2003)

A small poster with a logo reading Winx: Just Fairies! was on Rainbow SpA's website in early 2003, before the show's premiere. The image shows the finished designs of the three characters who appear on it (Bloom, Sky, and Icy). This image is the only known material that uses this title, but there is other scrapped animation that uses the final character designs. Fans have identified footage from early promotional material (early Italian DVDs and pre-release teasers) that show scenes that are absent in the finished show. It is possible they were created for a trailer from before the first season was finished.

Gallery

Video

Magic Bloom footage

Magic Bloom transformation sequences

Concept Sheets

Footage

External Link

References