Me and My Friends (partially found live-action pilot of "The Backyardigans" Nick Jr. CGI-animated series; 1998): Difference between revisions

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Janice Burgess is a former television producer for Nickelodeon. In 1998, Burgess was given the opportunity to pitch a live-action TV pilot at the request of her manager, Brown Johnson.<ref name=tech/> Burgess pitched a concept titled ''Me and My Friends'', which followed four full-body puppet characters as they embarked on adventures in their shared backyard.
Janice Burgess is a former television producer for Nickelodeon. In 1998, Burgess was given the opportunity to pitch a live-action TV pilot at the request of her manager, Brown Johnson.<ref name=tech/> Burgess pitched a concept titled ''Me and My Friends'', which followed four full-body puppet characters as they embarked on adventures in their shared backyard.


The ''Me and My Friends'' pilot was storyboarded by Thomas Henry,<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20100402141445/http://www.fxman.net/team.html Thomas Henry's credits on his website.] Retrieved 28 May '21</ref> a longtime artist for Nickelodeon. The pilot was filmed at Nickelodeon Studios from September to November 1998. The four main characters were Uniqua, an adventurous unique creature whose personality was based on Burgess herself; Pablo, a blue penguin with a tendency to panic; Tyrone, an easygoing orange moose; and Tasha, a self-confident yellow hippo. The characters' costumes were designed and built by Yvette Helin Studios in Brooklyn, New York.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010721183751/http://www.yvettehelinstudio.com/friends.html Page for ''Me and My Friends'' on Yvette Helin's website, archived from 2001.] Retrieved 28 May '21</ref> Two sculptors, Yuji Yashimoto and Dan Quinn, were hired to create animatronic heads for the costumes.
The ''Me and My Friends'' pilot was storyboarded by Thomas Henry,<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20100402141445/http://www.fxman.net/team.html Thomas Henry's credits on his website.] Retrieved 28 May '21</ref> a longtime artist for Nickelodeon. The pilot was filmed at Nickelodeon Studios from September to November 1998. The four main characters were Uniqua, an adventurous unique creature whose personality was based on Burgess herself; Pablo, a blue penguin with a tendency to panic; Tyrone, an easygoing orange moose; and Tasha, a self-confident yellow hippo. The characters' costumes were designed and built by Yvette Helin Studios in Brooklyn, New York.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010721183751/http://www.yvettehelinstudio.com/friends.html Page for ''Me and My Friends'' on Yvette Helin's website, archived from 2001.] Retrieved 28 May '21</ref> Two sculptors, Yuji Yashimoto and Dan Quinn were hired to create animatronic heads for the costumes.


The pilot was declined by Nickelodeon in favor of Dora The Explorer<ref name=tech/>, but Brown Johnson insisted that she liked Janice's characters and would like to see them in a different form.<ref name=tech/> After the pilot's completion, a gold-colored plaque bearing the ''Me and My Friends'' logo was created for Nickelodeon Studios' wall of plaques, which commemorated all of the studio's past productions.<ref>[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/thebackyardigansencyclopedia/images/c/c9/Me_and_My_Friends_Plaque_at_Nickelodeon_Studios_Orlando.jpg Image of the plaque (''Me and My Friends'' is fourth on the bottom row).] Retrieved 28 May '21</ref>
The pilot was declined by Nickelodeon in favor of Dora The Explorer<ref name=tech/>, but Brown Johnson insisted that she liked Janice's characters and would like to see them in a different form.<ref name=tech/> After the pilot's completion, a gold-colored plaque bearing the ''Me and My Friends'' logo was created for Nickelodeon Studios' wall of plaques, which commemorated all of the studio's past productions.<ref>[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/thebackyardigansencyclopedia/images/c/c9/Me_and_My_Friends_Plaque_at_Nickelodeon_Studios_Orlando.jpg Image of the plaque (''Me and My Friends'' is fourth on the bottom row).] Retrieved 28 May '21</ref>
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*Tasha wears a small bow on her head.
*Tasha wears a small bow on her head.


The backyard setting also has some differences. A shed and a gate are visible, which do not appear in the final series. Additionally, Tyrone had a stuffed rabbit toy that he does not have in the final series.
The backyard setting also has some differences. A shed and a gate are visible, which do not appear in the final series. Additionally, Tyrone had a stuffed rabbit toy that he did not have in the final series.


==Availability==
==Availability==
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File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-03-19-863.jpg|Uniqua's head.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-03-19-863.jpg|Uniqua's head.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-06-17-678.jpg|Crew member entering the Uniqua costume.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-06-17-678.jpg|Crew member entering the Uniqua costume.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-01-30-391.jpg|Pablo doing a gesture.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-01-30-391.jpg|Pablo making a gesture.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-05-26-373.jpg|Crew member in the Pablo suit.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-05-26-373.jpg|Crew member in the Pablo suit.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-19-10-311.jpg|The cast and crew on the set.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-19-10-311.jpg|The cast and crew on the set.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-04-51-341.jpg|Crew member with Tyrone.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 13-04-51-341.jpg|Crew member with Tyrone.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 12-59-35-282.jpg|Crew member with Tyrone.
File:Bandicam 2021-02-14 12-59-35-282.jpg|Crew member with Tyrone.
File:Screenshot 20220221 124756.png|The 4 characters standing in a line
File:Screenshot 20220221 124756.png|The 4 characters standing in a line.
File:Screenshot 20220221 124807.jpg|The animatronic heads
File:Screenshot 20220221 124807.jpg|The animatronic heads.
File:Screenshot 20220221 124710.jpg|Tasha
File:Screenshot 20220221 124710.jpg|Tasha.
File:Screenshot 20220221 124720.jpg|Tyrone
File:Screenshot 20220221 124720.jpg|Tyrone.
File:Screenshot 20220221 124835.jpg|Tasha and Tyrone without their heads
File:Screenshot 20220221 124835.jpg|Tasha and Tyrone without their heads.
File:Screenshot 20220221 124741.jpg|Uniqua actor in the suit
File:Screenshot 20220221 124741.jpg|Uniqua actor in the suit.
File:Screenshot 20220221 124826.jpg|Tasha and Tyrone with a crew member
File:Screenshot 20220221 124826.jpg|Tasha and Tyrone with a crew member.
File:Screenshot 20220221 124748.jpg|Wide shot of the playground set
File:Screenshot 20220221 124748.jpg|Wide shot of the playground set.
File:Screenshot 20220221 124819.jpg|The meerkats
File:Screenshot 20220221 124819.jpg|The meerkats.
File:Me and My Friends photo 2.jpg|Tyrone with costume designer Yvette Helin.
File:Me and My Friends photo 2.jpg|Tyrone with costume designer Yvette Helin.
File:Backyardigans concept art.jpeg|Character concept art.
File:Backyardigans concept art.jpeg|Character concept art.
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===Videos===
===Videos===
{{Video|perrow  =4
{{Video|perrow  =2
   |service1    =youtube
   |service1    =youtube
   |id1          =uFsSrtFbfNk
   |id1          =5nmZI32a4Ps
   |description1 =LSuperSonicQ’s video on the subject.
   |description1 =SewerReviewer's video on the subject.
   |service2    =youtube
   |service2    =youtube
   |id2          =v=5nmZI32a4Ps
   |id2          =9Yn1JfJaf2g
   |description2 =SewerReviewer's video on the subject.
   |description2 =LSuperSonicQ’s livestream that showcases the costume designers’ images.
  |service3    =youtube
  |id3          =9Yn1JfJaf2g
  |description3 =LSuperSonicQ’s livestream that showcases the costume designers’ images.
  |service4    =youtube
  |id4          =v=pGuQDCiamc0
  |description4 =SewerReviewer's follow up video on the subject.
}}
}}
{{Video|perrow  =1
{{Video|perrow  =2
   |service1    =youtube
   |service1    =youtube
   |id1          =v=UpF4EX155oc
   |id1          =pGuQDCiamc0
   |description1 =SewerReviewer's second follow up video on the subject.
  |description1 =SewerReviewer's follow-up video on the subject.
  |service2    =youtube
  |id2          =UpF4EX155oc
   |description2 =SewerReviewer's second follow-up video on the subject.
}}
}}


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===Nick Jr. Original Pilots===
===Nick Jr. Original Pilots===
*[[Blue Prints (partially found unaired pilot of "Blue's Clues" Nick Jr. animated/live action series; 1994-1995)]]
*[[Blue Prints (partially found unaired pilot of "Blue's Clues" Nick Jr. animated/live action series; 1994-1995)]]
*[[Bubble Guppies (partially found unaired pilot of Nick Jr. CGI animated series; 2006)]]
*[[Dora the Explorer (partially found unaired pilot episodes of Nick Jr. animated series; late 1990s)]]
*[[Dora the Explorer (partially found unaired pilot episodes of Nick Jr. animated series; late 1990s)]]
*[[Super Why? (partially found stop-motion Nick Jr. pilot of PBS Kids CGI series; 1999)]]
*[[Super Why? (partially found stop-motion Nick Jr. pilot of PBS Kids CGI series; 1999)]]
*[[Bubble Guppies (partially found unaired pilot of Nick Jr. CGI animated series; 2006)]]
*[[Oswald (lost unaired pilot of Nick Jr. animated series; late 1990s)]]
*[[The Umizumiz (partially found unaired pilot of "Team Umizoomi" Nick Jr. CGI-animated/live-action series; 2008)]]
*[[The Umizumiz (partially found unaired pilot of "Team Umizoomi" Nick Jr. CGI-animated/live-action series; 2008)]]



Revision as of 17:47, 1 August 2022

Me and My Friends photo 1.jpg

Still of the cast, courtesy of The Backyardigans Wiki.

Status: Partially Found

Me and My Friends is a live-action pilot episode taped at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida. It was written and produced by Janice Burgess, and it was taped from September to November 1998. The pilot was declined by Nickelodeon,[1] but in 2002, Burgess reworked the concept into an animated pilot featuring the same characters. This second pilot was successful and became the CGI-animated series, The Backyardigans.[2]

Production

Janice Burgess is a former television producer for Nickelodeon. In 1998, Burgess was given the opportunity to pitch a live-action TV pilot at the request of her manager, Brown Johnson.[1] Burgess pitched a concept titled Me and My Friends, which followed four full-body puppet characters as they embarked on adventures in their shared backyard.

The Me and My Friends pilot was storyboarded by Thomas Henry,[3] a longtime artist for Nickelodeon. The pilot was filmed at Nickelodeon Studios from September to November 1998. The four main characters were Uniqua, an adventurous unique creature whose personality was based on Burgess herself; Pablo, a blue penguin with a tendency to panic; Tyrone, an easygoing orange moose; and Tasha, a self-confident yellow hippo. The characters' costumes were designed and built by Yvette Helin Studios in Brooklyn, New York.[4] Two sculptors, Yuji Yashimoto and Dan Quinn were hired to create animatronic heads for the costumes.

The pilot was declined by Nickelodeon in favor of Dora The Explorer[1], but Brown Johnson insisted that she liked Janice's characters and would like to see them in a different form.[1] After the pilot's completion, a gold-colored plaque bearing the Me and My Friends logo was created for Nickelodeon Studios' wall of plaques, which commemorated all of the studio's past productions.[5]

In the early 2000s, Burgess reworked the concept into a CGI-animated short. This short was successfully picked up as The Backyardigans, which premiered in 2004. The animated series notably added a fifth main character, Austin the kangaroo, who did not appear in Me and My Friends. Nickelodeon's character description from 2004 labels Austin as "the new kangaroo on the block."[6]

Differences

The characters' appearances are not vastly different from that of the CGI series, besides a few minor differences:

  • Uniqua has visible nostrils and a thin tail.
  • Pablo's hat propeller is yellow, as opposed to red.
  • Tyrone and Tasha's nostrils are black instead of dark yellow and dark orange. These were utilized as vision areas.
  • Tyrone's shirt has yellow/blue stripes rather than red/blue stripes.
  • Tasha wears a small bow on her head.

The backyard setting also has some differences. A shed and a gate are visible, which do not appear in the final series. Additionally, Tyrone had a stuffed rabbit toy that he did not have in the final series.

Availability

A clip of Me and My Friends was released in a 5-minute compilation video created by former crew members of Nickelodeon Studios for its 10-year anniversary in 2000. There are around 3 seconds of video without the original audio. At least eight photos from the production were released by the pilot’s costume designers.

Gallery

Images

Videos

SewerReviewer's video on the subject.

LSuperSonicQ’s livestream that showcases the costume designers’ images.

SewerReviewer's follow-up video on the subject.

SewerReviewer's second follow-up video on the subject.

See Also

The Backyardigans

Nick Jr. Original Pilots

External Links

References