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Dora_Pilot_early_version_1440x972

Dora Pilot early version 1440x972

Pilot is an episode of Dora the Explorer that only aired once In 1999.

A pilot for Dora the Explorer was made by the studio Funline Animation. Half of the 15-minute pilot[1] was officially released on Funline's website by Helena Giersz, the production designer of the series.

Characters[]

Summary[]

Dora and Boots find their way to the beach.

Production[]

Helena Giersz from Funline Animation, a studio located in NY, once got a phone call in 1997 from Nickelodeon asking for character designs for a children's show originally called "Nina's Pop-up Puzzle." This was a working title for what was soon to become "Dora the Explorer," and according to her the phone call "changed everything and started [her] journey" with the popular Nickelodeon series and its spin-off, "Go, Diego, Go!." She was told by the writers that Nina (who was later renamed Dora) lived in a computer, had a sidekick Boots (named after the computer term "reboot") who was a monkey, and solved math and language problems together.

She states various changes that were made, including Tico the Skunk (who later became a squirrel), "Benito" the Bull, who was later renamed Benny, and Boots the Monkey who wasn't wearing any boots. He also had a design similar to the Grumpy Old Troll, as well as the marmoset of the new Fiesta Trio from the 2024 reboot. The only character that was never changed from their first sketch was the infamous Swiper the Fox. Together these group of friends worked towards a goal they had to accomplish in each episode, and at the very end of the "level," the characters would sing the "We Did It!" song with the snail marching band, which was inspired by popular kid's computer games from the 90's and how similarly they ended.

Early on in the series development, research determined that Nina should have an additional goal, which was to teach the viewers Spanish. As mentioned earlier there were many changes from the design sketches, and one of them was Nina, the green-eyed redheaded Irish girl, who became the dark-haired, dark-eyed Dora from Puerto Rico we know today. The show was picked up for production, and six people including Helena traveled to Puerto Rico for a research trip, and for the first time she got to experience the flavor and colorful world of the rainforest. This very trip inspired her to make various changes to the characters, as they were happening throughout production. Many episodes later, Dora got a home and a family.

The pilot was made in Poland, and the production team had to wait 6 months for the news about the show getting picked up.[2]

Trivia[]

  • This is the first episode ever not to air on TV currently.
  • The pilot was later remade into the episode "Beaches".
  • Despite this is no longer airing and is only airing once on TV, this is the only episode to be completed and produced in the 1990's and the 20th century, as it was produced in 1998.
  • A few changes from Helena's concept art were made, including:
    • Boots not wearing any boots and having a color scheme similar to the Grumpy Old Troll, as well as the marmoset of the new Fiesta Trio from the 2020's reboot.
    • Tico the Skunk, who would later become a squirrel.
    • Benito the Bull, who would later be renamed Benny.
    • The only character who reportedly did not go through any changes from the concept art is Swiper.
  • The voice actors present are unknown, but Dora, Boots, Tico and Benny are believed to have the same voice actors, except they sound young.
  • Although the people who voiced the characters are unknown, Kathleen Herles did voice Dora in the pilot since she was 7 years old in 1998 when she voiced the character.
  • The end of the pilot does not feature the cursor that would later be integrated into the show's formula.
  • The We Did It! song is the only known song to be used in this episode.
  • The test pilot only has the walking cycles.
  • Dora has the final design, however, Boots still is not the same as the final and he has the same fur as the Grumpy Old Troll and the marmoset of the new Fiesta Trio from the 2024 reboot.
  • The test pilot does not feature their pilot designs.
  • The butterfly from the Character Find segment from the TV show is seen a couple times.
  • The Blue Cursor originally was in a white color in the pilot.
  • The main theme song of the pilot episode is short and softer with a rock rhythm and in a found fragment it looks something possibly like an early version of the room theme from seasons 1-2 of the 2000 series and even the computer is white instead of green and shows a light blue background on the screen presenting Dora, Boots, Benito and Tico walking across the screen in each part very similar to the theme of seasons 1-2 of the 2000 series and even in the computer screen shows the original logo of the series.
  • Helena Giersz has said there was never a second pilot[3].

Test Pilot (1998)[]

Dora_Pilot_1440x972_copy

Dora Pilot 1440x972 copy

A test pilot for the series was also made, however, the audio is unavailable, and the information on it is scarce.

References[]

  1. Books
  2. http://www.funlineanimation.com/dora/
  3. Funline Animation - Reel Never before seen first BW Pencil Test Animation from Dora The Explorer Pilot! 1998 @jaylenshouseoffun4880 "I Think Alot Of Lost Media People Will Be SO Happy That We Found New Clips Of The Pilot. Now A Question Everyone Is Asking. Was There A 2nd Pilot?" @funlineanimation1926 "No:)"
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