Geronimo Stilton (non-existent pilot for animated television series; 1999)
Geronimo Stilton is an Italian series of children's books written by Elisabetta Dami. The series featured the title character, a mouse possibly inspired by Sherlock Holmes but not really going on detective adventures. Instead, he is going on some adventures with his family and describing them in the books like a memoir. Before reaching international popularity, it became a huge skyrocket within Italy two years after the books were first published in 1999, so much that in 2002, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) made an article about how it was challenging sales of the much popular Harry Potter which also started the same year as Geronimo Stilton.[1] In 1999, there was a pilot for an animated television series based on the books and also a possible television series that aired from the years 1999 to 2002. These most likely never aired outside Italy till the 2009 incarnation which became a big success.
Plot
So far, there is absolutely no information about the plot which has been received or found. In other cases, it may have adapted one of the books in the series.
Availability
Almost completely no information about the pilot has been found and no footage or screenshots exist online. The pilot itself was made by Stranemani Animation and Gertie Production (both Italy).[2]
Considering the many mentions of it on a few sources and documents and animator's portfolios, it's possible the whole pilot or some pilot material may be in the hands of Stranemani Animation, an animator who worked on it or a collector.