Just before the weekend started, the entertainment space lit up when someone suddenly leaked a plot of previously unreleased internal Disney material. We won’t link to it, but this material contains a significant amount of material from the company’s slate of animated television on its Disney Channel and Disney XD networks dating back to the mid-2000s. Gravity Falls, Owl House, you name it: if it has a sizable fanbase (and it’s not a Marvel cartoon), then it’s probably featured here in some way.
The leak included more than 20 pilots, some of which were shows that had been pitched but ultimately never came to fruition. Likewise, there were also 40 series bibles, documents that creators use to introduce their series, from tone and characters to details of potential future seasons. Disney’s animated slate hasn’t had the heights of Cartoon Network or even Nickelodeon, but what’s here may make you think of some shows you haven’t thought about in a while. (For example, they have Bibles for Super Monkey Team HyperForce Go! And American Dragon: Jake Long here, which might take you back.)
Putting aside how surprising it is that everything This has been leaked – and what’s more, whoever did it hasn’t explained why or who he is – what exists is certainly interesting to peruse. Fans of particular series will get a lot out of these pilots and bibles, if only to see how these series have evolved over time, particularly in terms of art style. What is even more interesting is to see which episodes these creators proposed: in Gravity Falls In this case, most of them weren’t made, but you can see how parts of them, like Dipper getting into a golf war with Lil’ Gideon, were retooled into actual episodes.
For creatives, the show bibles will likely be the most interesting items to peruse. Reading some of them, they are quite comprehensive and can be a good guide to help you understand how TV works, or even create your own similar bible for whatever you do. THE Duck Tales The Bible, for example, devotes several pages to each main character’s interests, their particular skills, and their fundamental relationships with each other… as well as how they would react to a mummy.
Again, various websites and Twitter have scoured this content and posted it for you to watch or read – and if you like any of these shows, or just animation in general, it would be worth the It’s hard to look for it. io9 has reached out to Disney for comment on the leak and will update when a response is given.
Want more io9 news? Find out when to expect the latest news wonder, Star WarsAnd Star Trek exits, what is the next step for the DC Universe in cinema and televisionand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
