Earthworm Jim (found unaired test animation of Kids' WB! animated series; 1995): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 22:40, 16 April 2023

A photograph from an unknown video game publication, showing stills of the test animation for Earthworm Jim.

Status: Found

Date found: 23 Aug 2022

Earthworm Jim is a 2D side-scrolling platformer, created by Doug TenNapel and developed by Shiny Entertainment. In 1995, an animated series was created by Universal Cartoon Studios and aired on Kids’ WB!, which would go on for two seasons. Before this, a test animation was made, featuring a slightly different design for Jim. Information on the test animation is scarce, with very few sources coming forward over the years to provide information about its development. Due to this, the test remains partially found, with clips and promotional stills giving us some insight into the development process of the cartoon series.

Development

Per the former website of comic and animation artist Will Meugniot (who was working on another Universal series at the time, Exo-Squad), StoryboardPro.com, Doug TenNapel created a series of gag sketches for the reel; these sketches were extrapolated into a storyboard by Meugniot and then into a fully-animated reel; TenNapel also provided most of the voice work for the reel.^[1]

Content

The full contents of the test animation are currently unknown at the time of writing. By reading the timestamps provided in magazine scans and promotional stills, some have come to the conclusion that the test is only a minute long. However, this is just speculation, and the actual length of the test is unknown.

Clips of the test have been used to promote the Earthworm Jim cartoon series, and are featured in promotional bumpers for the show. From what is shown, there’s very little dialogue but Jim’s voice more closely matches that of his video game counterpart at that time (as provided by TenNapel). Characters that would end up not appearing in the final cartoon series, such as Major Mucus, are shown in the test for a brief amount of time.

Magazine Scans

In June of 2018, Twitter user @AWDtwit provided a magazine scan with images of the test, with the following caption:

"Finally found it! Look at these really creepy screencaps for the Earthworm Jim cartoon test. I'm curious what the whole thing looked like... and why did they make him so fat?..."^[2]

Details about the magazine have not been provided, and it’s currently unknown which publication it comes from. Sources have narrowed down the publication as possibly being from Electronic Gaming Monthly, but the year and month of the magazine the article was featured in are currently unknown.

A user in the same Twitter thread claims to have seen the test aired on the television network TCC, claiming that the test was only a minute long.^[3] However, with no other sources to confirm this claim, it’s currently unknown if this is factual.

Availability

The whereabouts of the Earthworm Jim test are currently unknown as of the time of writing. Efforts have been made to contact individuals who could possibly have a copy of the test animation, but no new footage has surfaced. It’s possible that another copy of the VHS screener exists but it’s debatable if the collector or current owner of the tape would wish to upload the test online. A full copy, in Windows Media format, was previously available from StoryboardPro.com^[4] but said site has since gone offline. However, on August 23rd, 2022, YouTube user "gooberloll" uploaded the animation test to his channel.

Gallery

Images

Footage

A mirror of the test animation.

Videos

MrBones' video on the subject.

MrBones' follow up video on the subject.

References

[1] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081006182705/http://www.storyboardpro.com/my_plex/my_plex_home.html

[2] A Tweet by the user @AWDtwit, featuring promotional stills of the test. Retrieved 21 Jan '21

[3] A Tweet by user @dbMisadventure about the test animation possibly airing on TCC. Retrieved 21 Jan '21

[4] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081006182705/http://www.storyboardpro.com/my_plex/my_plex_home.html

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{InfoboxLost
+{{InfoboxFound
-|title=<center>Earthworm Jim</center>
+|title=<center>Earthworm Jim (Test Animation)</center>
 |image=EarthwormJimScans.jpg
-|imagecaption=A photograph from an unknown video game publication, showing stills of the pitch pilot for ''Earthworm Jim''.
+|imagecaption=A photograph from an unknown video game publication, showing stills of the test animation for ''Earthworm Jim''.
-|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
+|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>
+|datefound=23 Aug 2022
+|foundby=[https://youtube.com/user/gooberloll gooberloll]
 }}
-[[Has brief:: '''''Earthworm Jim''''' is a 2D side-scrolling platformer, created by Doug TenNapel and developed by Shiny Entertainment. In 1995, an animated series was created and aired on Kids’ WB!, which would go on for two seasons. Before this, a pitch pilot was made, featuring a slightly different design for Jim.  Information on the pitch pilot is scarce, with very few sources coming forward over the years to provide information about its development. Due to this, the pilot remains partially found, with clips and promotional stills giving us some insight into the development process of the cartoon series.]]
+''Earthworm Jim'' is a 2D side-scrolling platformer, created by Doug TenNapel and developed by Shiny Entertainment. In 1995, an animated series was created by Universal Cartoon Studios and aired on Kids’ WB!, which would go on for two seasons. Before this, '''a test animation was made''', featuring a slightly different design for Jim.  Information on the test animation is scarce, with very few sources coming forward over the years to provide information about its development. Due to this, the test remains partially found, with clips and promotional stills giving us some insight into the development process of the cartoon series.
+==Development==
+Per the former website of comic and animation artist Will Meugniot (who was working on another Universal series at the time, ''Exo-Squad''), StoryboardPro.com, Doug TenNapel created a series of gag sketches for the reel; these sketches were extrapolated into a storyboard by Meugniot and then into a fully-animated reel; TenNapel also provided most of the voice work for the reel.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20081006182705/http://www.storyboardpro.com/my_plex/my_plex_home.html</ref>
 ==Content==
-The full contents of the pitch pilot are currently unknown at the time of writing. Judging by the timestamps provided in magazine scans and promotional stills, some have come to the conclusion that the pilot is only a minute long. However, this is just speculation, and the current length of the pilot is unknown.
+The full contents of the test animation are currently unknown at the time of writing. By reading the timestamps provided in magazine scans and promotional stills, some have come to the conclusion that the test is only a minute long. However, this is just speculation, and the actual length of the test is unknown.
-Clips of the pitch pilot have been used to promote the ''Earthworm Jim'' cartoon series, and are featured in promotional bumpers for the show. From what is shown, there’s very little dialogue. However, Jim’s voice more closely matches that of his video game counterpart of the time. Characters that would end up not appearing in the final cartoon series, such as Major Mucus, are shown in the pilot for a brief amount of time.
+Clips of the test have been used to promote the ''Earthworm Jim'' cartoon series, and are featured in promotional bumpers for the show. From what is shown, there’s very little dialogue but Jim’s voice more closely matches that of his video game counterpart at that time (as provided by TenNapel). Characters that would end up not appearing in the final cartoon series, such as Major Mucus, are shown in the test for a brief amount of time.
 ==Magazine Scans==
-In June of 2018, Twitter user @AWDtwit provided a magazine scan with images of the pilot, with the following caption:
+In June of 2018, Twitter user @AWDtwit provided a magazine scan with images of the test, with the following caption:
 <blockquote>
-Finally found it! Look at these really creepy screencaps for the Earthworm Jim cartoon pilot. I'm curious what the whole thing looked like... and why did they make him so fat?...<ref>[https://twitter.com/AWDtwit/status/1011129377961021440?s=20 A Tweet by the user @AWDtwit, featuring promotional stills of the pilot.] Retrieved 21 Jan '21</ref>
+"Finally found it! Look at these really creepy screencaps for the ''Earthworm Jim'' cartoon test. I'm curious what the whole thing looked like... and why did they make him so fat?..."<ref>[https://twitter.com/AWDtwit/status/1011129377961021440?s=20 A Tweet by the user @AWDtwit, featuring promotional stills of the test.] Retrieved 21 Jan '21</ref>
 </blockquote>
-Details about the magazine have not been provided, and it’s currently unknown which publication it comes from. Sources have narrowed down the publication as possibly being from Electronic Gaming Monthly, but the year and month of the magazine the article was featured in is currently unknown.
+Details about the magazine have not been provided, and it’s currently unknown which publication it comes from. Sources have narrowed down the publication as possibly being from Electronic Gaming Monthly, but the year and month of the magazine the article was featured in are currently unknown.
-A user in the same Twitter thread claims to have seen the pilot aired on the television network TCC, claiming that the pilot was only a minute long.<ref>[https://twitter.com/dbMisadventure/status/1011272204221407238 A Tweet by user @dbMisadventure about the pitch pilot possibly airing on TCC.] Retrieved 21 Jan '21</ref> However, with no other sources to confirm this claim, it’s currently unknown if this is factual.
-==Promotional Material==
-A video by the YouTuber “TheElecPlays92” would reveal the existence of a VHS screener for the ''Earthworm Jim'' cartoon series, containing footage of the pitch pilot. According to "TheElecPlays92", the VHS screener was given to various video game news publication journalists to report about the cartoon series. He would go on to say that he would provide more information about the VHS screener in a separate video. However, this has not come to fruition, and there are many questions that still remain unanswered.
+A user in the same Twitter thread claims to have seen the test aired on the television network TCC, claiming that the test was only a minute long.<ref>[https://twitter.com/dbMisadventure/status/1011272204221407238 A Tweet by user @dbMisadventure about the test animation possibly airing on TCC.] Retrieved 21 Jan '21</ref> However, with no other sources to confirm this claim, it’s currently unknown if this is factual.
 ==Availability==
-The whereabouts of the ''Earthworm Jim'' pilot are currently unknown as of the time of writing. Efforts have been made to contact individuals who could possibly have a copy of the pilot, but no new footage has surfaced. It’s possible that another copy of the VHS screener could exist, but it’s debatable if a collector or current owner of the tape would wish to upload the contents online. Currently, the pilot remains partially found.
+The whereabouts of the ''Earthworm Jim'' test are currently unknown as of the time of writing. Efforts have been made to contact individuals who could possibly have a copy of the test animation, but no new footage has surfaced. It’s possible that another copy of the VHS screener exists but it’s debatable if the collector or current owner of the tape would wish to upload the test online. A full copy, in Windows Media format, was previously available from StoryboardPro.com<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20081006182705/http://www.storyboardpro.com/my_plex/my_plex_home.html</ref> but said site has since gone offline. However, on August 23rd, 2022, YouTube user "gooberloll" uploaded the animation test to his channel.
 ==Gallery==
+===Images===
 <gallery mode=packed heights=150px>
-EWJ_1.JPG
+EWJ_7.JPG
 EWJ_2.JPG
 EWJ_3.JPG
 EWJ_4.JPG
+EWJ_6.JPG
 EWJ_5.JPG
-EWJ_6.JPG
+EWJ_1.JPG
-EWJ_7.JPG
 </gallery>
-==Videos==
+===Footage===
+{{Video|perrow  =1
+  |service1     =archiveorg
+  |id1    	=earthworm-jim-cartoon-pilot
+  |description1 =A mirror of the test animation.
+}}
+===Videos===
 {{Video|perrow  =2
    |service1 	=youtube
-   |id1      	=4nwMzszl_sI
+   |id1      	=RhmEnzl7Lg8
-   |description1 =YouTuber "TheElecPlays92" shows off his copy of the VHS Screener (20:47).
+   |description1 =MrBones' video on the subject.
-   |service2     =youtube
+   |service2 	=youtube
-   |id2          =AT3_DX4we28
+   |id2      	=TqwSx2YQzJ4
-   |description2 =A TV Promo featuring footage from the pitch pilot.
+   |description2 =MrBones' follow up video on the subject.
 }}
+==See Also==
+*[[Animaniacs (unproduced "Minerva Mink" animated shorts; early 1990s)]]
+*[[Animaniacs "I'm Mad" (partially found original theatrical version of animated short; 1994)]]
+*[[Animaniacs "The New Year's Party Tonight" (partially lost alternate version of animated comedy series short; 1995)]]
+*[[Animaniacs "Potty Emergency" (lost deleted scenes of episode of animated comedy series; 1993)]]
+*[[Brainstem (lost preview version of "Pinky and the Brain" song; 1995)]]
+*[[Channel Umptee-3 (partially found Kids' WB! educational animated series; 1997)]]
+*[[Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island (partially found pitch pilot of Kids' WB! animated comedy series; early-mid 2000s)]]
+*[[Detention (found Kids' WB! animated series; 1999-2000) ]]
+*[[Kids' WB! (partially found animated "Backlot" bumpers of children's programming block; 1997-2003)]]
+*[[Kids' WB! (partially found "Crazy Takes" promos of children's program block; early 2000s)]]
+*[[Kids' WB! "Top 20 Pokéthon Countdown" (partially found promos and bumpers of event from children's programming block; 1999)]]
+*[[Lobo (lost production material of cancelled Kids' WB! animated series based on DC character; 1990s)]]
+*[[Monster Allergy (partially found Kids' WB! English dub of animated series based on comics; 2006)]]
+*[[Waynehead (found Kids' WB! animated series; 1996-1997)]]
+*[[Welcome Home, Animaniacs! (partially found Kids' WB Saturday morning preview; 1995)]]
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
-[[Category:Lost animation]]
+[[Category:Found animation]]
-[[Category:Lost TV]]
+[[Category:Found media]]
-[[Category:Partially found media]]
-[[Category:Featured articles]]