A bunch of animation cells, production notes, and pencil sketches from DIC's unsuccessful Battletoads animated pilot are currently up for sale on eBay, with the owners asking for $35,000 for the lot.
So, if you happen to have a spare $35k burning a hole in your pocket and want to own a fascinating piece of Battletoads history, this could be your chance to take home a truly one-of-a-kind collection.
The Battletoads pilot first aired in 1992 and was intended as a way to capitalize on the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which at that point had become a phenomenon.
It was directed by Kent Butterworth (who had worked on The Simpsons and had also directed a few episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and was written by the TV writer Dave Wise (who is not to be confused with the composer of the same name). However, after poor ratings on its initial run, DIC decided to cancel it before it could be picked up for a full series, with the 22-minute pilot later being released as a VHS in 1994.
According to the listing, the assortment of production materials on eBay reportedly came from the collection of a former video game executive and is being sold by the collectibles and comic book store Space Cadets Collection, which is located in Texas. It takes up 10 boxes and includes 5,500 pieces of acetate, an equal number of penciled renditions, and 1000s of rough-out sketches, as well as shooting instructions for each packet.
Apparently, these are the only known animated cells from the show in existence, except for a very small number that were gifted out as presents. As a result, the current owners want to sell the collection to someone who will hopefully keep the materials together, if they can, though what the new owner does with them beyond that is entirely up to them.
This listing first came to our attention yesterday, thanks to a social media post from the former DIC producer Brian A. Miller, who pointed out the auction and joked that he didn't think the original animation cost much more than $35k back in the day.
According to Miller, he didn't have much knowledge of the game before working on the project as an executive in charge of production, and couldn't remember the show's director being much of a gamer either. He also stated that it was DIC that he believed approached Rare to make the show, not the other way around as you might expect.
We're hoping that whoever ends up in possession of this collection can partner with someone to make sure these materials are properly preserved in the future, but we're not exactly holding our breath, given the amount of money that could potentially change hands.