Oswald (partially found pitch pilot of Nick Jr. animated series; late 1990s)
Oswald is a 2001-2003 Nick Jr. 2D animated series created by Dan Yaccarino and produced by HiT Entertainment. The show was notable for its uniquely surrealist style, featuring the day-to-day adventures of a good-natured, bowler-hatted blue octopus named Oswald, his sentient hot dog Weenie and their equally whimsical friends in a colourful, childlike universe. According to official sources, the show's pilot was being worked on as far back as the late 1990s. The pilot itself has never surfaced and little is known about its development process, besides concept artwork that dates from about the same time.
Plot
According to Dan Yaccarino in a q&a on Discord, the pilot has Oswald's hat blow off his head and Oswald spends the rest of the pilot chasing it.
Background
The project's existence at least as far back as 1999 has been confirmed indirectly by the creators of fellow Nick Jr series Super Why?, who indicated that the show's pilot, created around the same time, was initially passed over in favor of an Oswald pitch pilot. Around the same time, an Oswald tie-in book was produced showing how the dapper octopod met all his friends, featuring slightly different character designs (Oswald is a shade darker blue, for instance, and Weenie's belly is a much lighter tan). The book was confirmed to be based on the pilot in an email exchange with Yaccarino.[1] Some backgrounds from the pilot were also found on a Background Design portfolio.[2] Dan Yaccarino also stated in a q&a that in the original pitch for the series, all the characters had jobs, recalling that Oswald wrote commercial jingles and Henry would be a film critic. However, it is unknown if this concept made it to the pilot.
Gallery
Images
Videos
See Also
Oswald
Bumpers and Interstitials
- Loretta the Letter Lady (partially found Nick Jr. short interstitial series; mid 1990s)
- Nick Jr. (partially found revamped Face promos of Nickelodeon channel block; 2003-2004)
- Nick Jr. Power Play Summer (partially found Nick Jr. interstitial series; 2005)
- Snappy Larry's Showtime (partially found Nick Jr. UK interstitial series and American dub; mid-2000s)
Pilots
- The Backyardigans (partially found Nick Digital pilot of Nick Jr. CGI animated series; 2002)
- 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)
- Me and My Friends (partially found live-action pilot of "The Backyardigans" Nick Jr. CGI-animated series; 1998)
- Super Why? (partially found stop-motion Nick Jr. pilot of PBS Kids CGI series; 1999)
- The Umizumiz (partially found unaired pilot of "Team Umizoomi" Nick Jr. CGI-animated/live-action series; 2008)
- Wallykazam! "Monty's Magic Words" (partially found pilot for Nick Jr. education series; 2010s)
Other
- Binyah Binyah! (found spinoff of "Gullah Gullah Island" Nick Jr. musical series; 1997-1998)
- Downward Doghouse (partially found precursor to "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan" Nick Jr. animated series; 2000s)
- Made by Maddie (partially found Nick Jr. animated series; 2020)
- Whoopi's Littleburg (partially found Nick Jr. musical miniseries; 2004)
References
- ↑ Archived Yaccarino webpage confirming the unaired pilot is based on the book. Retrieved 26 Jul '22
- ↑ A webpage where the backgrounds were found on. Retrieved 26 Jul '22