The Adventures of Johnny Quasar (found prototype "Jimmy Neutron" animated shorts; 1995-1997): Difference between revisions

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[[File:quasar.jpg|thumb|215px|Production art with early versions of Sheen, Nick, Cindy, and Carl. Note that Johnny Quasar looks more like Jimmy Neutron, his final version, but still has the old name.]]
{{InfoboxFound
[[File:Jntrn b.gif|frame|The old version of Jimmy Neutron: Johnny Quasar.]]
|title=<center>The Adventures of Johnny Quasar</center>
[[File:jimmy_jqfamily.gif|frame|The old version of Jimmy Neutron's family.]]
|image=JohnnyQuasar95Title.png
Johnny Quasar is a precursor for Jimmy Neutron. Made in 1995, creator John A. Davis brainstormed the character Jimmy Neutron (then named Johnny Quasar) sometime in the 80's. He wrote the pilot under "Runaway Rocketboy" (later became the name of the 2nd pilot).
|imagecaption=Title card of the 1995 demo.
|datefound=14 Aug '17
|foundby=[https://youtube.com/user/wizknocker Hilal H.]
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>
}}
'''''The Adventures of Johnny Quasar''''' (also known as simply ''Johnny Quasar'') is a 40-second long demo that was the precursor of ''Jimmy Neutron''. Created in 1995 by John Davis and his partner Keith Alcorn with initial designs by Paul Claerhout, it was first shown publicly at the 1995 SIGGRAPH conference, winning two awards – Best in Character Animation and Best in Show – for the LightWave 3D engine called "Waveys." Another demo of the same title was produced in 1997, featuring the titular character confronting aliens.


He revisited the idea in the 90's while moving out of his home. He then pitched the idea to SIGGRAPH (a computer graphic conference, now called SIGGRAPH 2015). At SIGGRAPH, he met Steve Odekerk.
Impressed with the demo, series producer Steve Oedekerk partnered with DNA Productions and helped with the production of a new, 13-minute pilot to pitch to Nickelodeon. The new pilot (titled ''Runaway Rocketboy'') marked the first appearance of Jimmy Neutron. Apparently, his name was changed to avoid parallels being drawn to other popular characters Jonny Quest and Captain Quasar.


The only known footage of this pilot to this day is a short clip where Johnny Quasar introduces himself and Goddard on DNA Productions' (the creators of Jimmy Neutron) website. 3 screenshots of the pilot were found in the same website.
==The Search==
Despite how notable it was at the time, only the first 11 seconds of the 40-second demo surfaced, and what had surfaced was of very poor quality. The first 3 seconds, lacking the original audio, was found on a 1994 VHS demo reel for LightWave 3D. The following 8-second clip came from the old DNA Productions website, from sometime after 1995.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19970112045247/http://www.dnahelix.com:80/johnnyq.mov The 8-second clip from DNA Productions' website.] Retrieved 19 Sept '17</ref>


==Footage and screenshots==
In addition, several poor quality stills featuring Johnny Quasar were also on the old DNA website. Previously, they were presumed to be part of the original demo animation. However, this has been confirmed false by series character designer and storyboard artist Paul Claerhout.


{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrFlLJRQkmw|320x240|center|The only known footage of the pilot.|frame}}
Additionally, several magazine articles have been discovered talking about this animation in varying degrees of detail, sometimes accompanied by images from the demo. Scans are available below.
[[File:jimmyjqAttack.gif|thumbnail|Screenshot 1]]
[[File:jimmyjqGunsup.gif|thumbnail|Screenshot 2]]
[[File:jimmyjqMoonwalk.gif|thumbnail|Screenshot 3]]


[[Category:Lost animation]]
For a time, it was thought the demo might've been on a rare CD-ROM, from the 1995 SIGGRAPH conference, but it has since come out that this is, in fact, false (It was confirmed by Redditor /u/siliconclassics and the V&A Archive of Art and Design- who both have copies of the discs).<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/vintagecgi/comments/63fnzg/looking_for_lost_johnny_quasar_40second_short/dg2pqew/?st=j7s4a6zk&sh=02530a93 siliconclassics's Reddit post.] Retrieved 19 Sept '17</ref><ref>[https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb73-aad%2F2009%2F19%2Faad%2F2009%2F19%2F20%2F1%2F20 Page describing V&A Archive of Art and Design's ownership of said CD-ROM.] Retrieved 19 Sept '17</ref>
 
YouTuber and Lost Media Wiki user [https://www.youtube.com/user/LSuperSonicQ LSuperSonicQ] later made contact with series co-creator Keith Alcorn, who talked to Davis briefly about the demo. Alcorn believed that it was in a particularly large file storage area, saying that he'd look in when he has the chance. Keith did later get back to LSuperSonicQ and told him that Davis briefly did look through the storage area but unfortunately didn't find the short.
 
Lost Media Wiki user [[User:CheatFreak|CheatFreak]] made contact with Paul Claerhout about the possibility of him having a copy - however, he didn't seem to have one, but he did give several new details about the demo, the character designs, and the aforementioned renders from the DNA website.
 
According to Paul, these stills are actually early production test renders for the later pilot ''Runaway Rocketboy'', made to help sell the pilot to Nickelodeon. They were produced a bit before the revised designs were put into full effect, a bit before the switch to the Jimmy Neutron name and were discarded when they adopted the new designs that Claerhout and Alcorn came up with.
The initial character designs for Johnny Quasar pictured below were inspired by George Pal's Puppetoons, a series of the 1940s stop-motion puppet show films. The revised designs that were eventually used (also shown below) were created in collaboration between both Claerhout and Alcorn together.
 
The first set of footage featured only Johnny Quasar flying in, introducing himself and Goddard before looking into the camera saying, ''"Gotta Blast!"'' and flying off into space - a line later reused for tons of promotional material and other Jimmy Neutron media.
 
On August 14th, 2017, Johnny Quasar's voice actor uploaded the full 1995 and 1997 demos on his YouTube channel [https://youtube.com/user/wizknocker Hilal H.].
 
==Gallery==
{{Video|perrow  =2
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =bqLMz3rM7Jc
  |description1 =The full 1995 demo.
  |service2    =youtube
  |id2          =08qCKcRugzw
  |description2 =The full 1997 demo.
}}
===Concept Art===
<gallery mode=packed heights=160px>
File:Needsmorejpeg.jpg|The earliest production artwork for the ''Johnny Quasar'' characters by series designer and artist Paul Claerhout.
File:jimmyjqMoonwalk.gif|A screenshot from the second 1997 demo of Johnny Quasar, featuring Johnny and Goddard walking in the moonlight.
File:jimmy_jqfamily.gif|Another one, showing Johnny and his family.
File:quasar.jpg|Later production art with early versions of Sheen, Nick, Cindy, and Carl, produced by Paul Claerhout in collaboration with Keith Alcorn, shortly before the name change.
File:Concept Art Johnny Quasar.jpg|Concept art that features early sketches of Johnny and his robotic dog, Goddard.
</gallery>
===Magazine and Booklet Scans===
Scans courtesy of computerarchive.org, Redditor /u/siliconclassics, and a 4chan anon.
<gallery mode=packed heights=160px>
Video_Toaster_User_Issue_36_1995_Nov_Page_044,045.jpg|Pages 46 and 47 from a 1995 issue of Video Toaster, an article about the Wavey Awards, of which Johnny Quasar is prominently featured.
Video_Toaster_User_Issue_36_1995_Nov_Page_046,047.jpg|Pages 48 and 49 from a 1995 issue of Video Toaster, the rest of that article showing John Davis accepting his award that Johnny Quasar won.
UnknownQuasarScan.jpg|A perspective corrected photo of an unknown book or magazine talking briefly about ''Johnny Quasar''.
</gallery>
<gallery mode=packed heights=320px>
Computer Graphics World Feb96 Vol 19 Issue 2 Page 52.jpg|Pages 52 of a 1996 issue of Computer Graphics World, showing some high-quality images from the demo.
NewTekniques Issue 17 2000 Jan Feb Page 11.jpg|Page 11 of NewTekniques Issue 17 featuring an article on how DNA Productions came to creating ''The Adventures of Johnny Quasar'', and how it evolved into what we know today as ''Jimmy Neutron''.
</gallery>
==External Links==
*[https://jimmyneutron.wikia.com/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Johnny_Quasar The Jimmy Neutron Wikia page to ''Johnny Quasar''.]
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
 
[[Category:Found media|Adventures of Johnny Quasar]]

Revision as of 14:12, 20 September 2019

JohnnyQuasar95Title.png

Title card of the 1995 demo.

Status: Found

Date found: 14 Aug '17

Found by: Hilal H.

The Adventures of Johnny Quasar (also known as simply Johnny Quasar) is a 40-second long demo that was the precursor of Jimmy Neutron. Created in 1995 by John Davis and his partner Keith Alcorn with initial designs by Paul Claerhout, it was first shown publicly at the 1995 SIGGRAPH conference, winning two awards – Best in Character Animation and Best in Show – for the LightWave 3D engine called "Waveys." Another demo of the same title was produced in 1997, featuring the titular character confronting aliens.

Impressed with the demo, series producer Steve Oedekerk partnered with DNA Productions and helped with the production of a new, 13-minute pilot to pitch to Nickelodeon. The new pilot (titled Runaway Rocketboy) marked the first appearance of Jimmy Neutron. Apparently, his name was changed to avoid parallels being drawn to other popular characters Jonny Quest and Captain Quasar.

The Search

Despite how notable it was at the time, only the first 11 seconds of the 40-second demo surfaced, and what had surfaced was of very poor quality. The first 3 seconds, lacking the original audio, was found on a 1994 VHS demo reel for LightWave 3D. The following 8-second clip came from the old DNA Productions website, from sometime after 1995.[1]

In addition, several poor quality stills featuring Johnny Quasar were also on the old DNA website. Previously, they were presumed to be part of the original demo animation. However, this has been confirmed false by series character designer and storyboard artist Paul Claerhout.

Additionally, several magazine articles have been discovered talking about this animation in varying degrees of detail, sometimes accompanied by images from the demo. Scans are available below.

For a time, it was thought the demo might've been on a rare CD-ROM, from the 1995 SIGGRAPH conference, but it has since come out that this is, in fact, false (It was confirmed by Redditor /u/siliconclassics and the V&A Archive of Art and Design- who both have copies of the discs).[2][3]

YouTuber and Lost Media Wiki user LSuperSonicQ later made contact with series co-creator Keith Alcorn, who talked to Davis briefly about the demo. Alcorn believed that it was in a particularly large file storage area, saying that he'd look in when he has the chance. Keith did later get back to LSuperSonicQ and told him that Davis briefly did look through the storage area but unfortunately didn't find the short.

Lost Media Wiki user CheatFreak made contact with Paul Claerhout about the possibility of him having a copy - however, he didn't seem to have one, but he did give several new details about the demo, the character designs, and the aforementioned renders from the DNA website.

According to Paul, these stills are actually early production test renders for the later pilot Runaway Rocketboy, made to help sell the pilot to Nickelodeon. They were produced a bit before the revised designs were put into full effect, a bit before the switch to the Jimmy Neutron name and were discarded when they adopted the new designs that Claerhout and Alcorn came up with.

The initial character designs for Johnny Quasar pictured below were inspired by George Pal's Puppetoons, a series of the 1940s stop-motion puppet show films. The revised designs that were eventually used (also shown below) were created in collaboration between both Claerhout and Alcorn together.

The first set of footage featured only Johnny Quasar flying in, introducing himself and Goddard before looking into the camera saying, "Gotta Blast!" and flying off into space - a line later reused for tons of promotional material and other Jimmy Neutron media.

On August 14th, 2017, Johnny Quasar's voice actor uploaded the full 1995 and 1997 demos on his YouTube channel Hilal H..

Gallery

The full 1995 demo.

The full 1997 demo.

Concept Art

Magazine and Booklet Scans

Scans courtesy of computerarchive.org, Redditor /u/siliconclassics, and a 4chan anon.

External Links

References