Oswald (partially found pitch pilot of Nick Jr. animated series; late 1990s)

Screenshot of the pilot found from an issue of Animation Magazine.

Status: Partially Found

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 so that he spends the rest of the pilot chasing it, presumably involving the rest of the main cast in the process, including Weenie and main supporting players Daisy the cheerful, optimistic sentient daisy and Henry the pessimistic, self-centred penguin.

Availability

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. Some backgrounds from this version of the pilot were later found on a Background Design portfolio.

Yaccarino added in a Q&A that in this initial pitch for the series, all the characters had jobs, recalling that Oswald was to write commercial jingles (his piano-playing and singing was carried over into the finished series, but only as a hobby) and Henry, true to his grumbling, sarcastic nature, would be a film critic. It is unknown if any aspects of this made it to the pitch pilot.

Around 2023, a possible short clip was found on a Celluoid Studios animation montage from Vimeo. There is currently no known information as to whether this clip originates from the pilot or not, but the video is likely to have predated the premiere of Oswald. It is believed that the clip may be an ident, animation test, or a commercial rather than a pilot, however it has not yet been confirmed by the uploader or any production member.

Gallery

Possible Footage

A short clip of the pilot (1:30).

Videos

Read-aloud of an early book that may preserve the original, slightly different character .

Images

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  A city street corner.

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  Daisy's apartment building.

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  Music hall.

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  Pet shop.

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  Promotional image for the series using designs from the pilot.

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  Possible concept art from the pilot.

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  Screenshot of the pilot used to promote the series.

See Also

Oswald

• The Oswalds (lost tie-in parody commercial for "Oswald" Nick Jr. series and "The Osbournes" MTV show; 2001-2003)

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)
• Blaze and the Monster Machines (lost pitch pilot of Nick Jr. animated series; existence unconfirmed; 2012)
• Blue Prints (found unaired pilot of "Blue's Clues" Nick Jr. animated/live-action series; 1994-1995)
• Bubble Guppies (found pitch pilot of Nick Jr. CGI animated series; 2006)
• Dora the Explorer (partially found unaired pilots 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)
• PAW Patrol (lost pitch pilots and early concepts of Nick Jr. animated series; 2008-2013)
• Super Why! (found stop-motion Nick Jr. pilot of PBS Kids CGI animated series; 1999)
• The Umizumiz (partially found pitch pilot of "Team Umizoomi" Nick Jr. live-action/CGI animated series; 2008)
• Wallykazam! "Monty's Magic Words" (partially found pilot for Nick Jr. education series; 2010s)

Other

• As Pistas da Blue (partially lost Portuguese adaptation of "Blue's Clues" Nick Jr. animated/live-action series; mid-2000s)
• The Backyardigans (partially lost British dub of Nick Jr. CGI-animated series; mid-late 2000s)
• Binyah Binyah! (found spin-off of "Gullah Gullah Island" Nick Jr. musical series; 1997-1998)
• Blue's Clues (found British adaptation of Nick Jr. animated/live-action series; 1998-2003)
• Bubble and Squeak (partially found Nick Jr. UK live-action puppet series; 2007-2010)
• Downward Doghouse (partially lost precursor to "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan" Nick Jr. animated series; 2000s)
• Made by Maddie (partially found Nick Jr. animated series; 2020)
• Riddle Blue/수수께끼 블루 (partially found Korean adaptation of "Blue's Clues" Nick Jr. animated/live-action series; 2000-2001)
• Whoopi's Littleburg (partially found Nick Jr. musical miniseries; 2004)