Super Why Pilot: How Nick Jr.'s Legendary Lost Episode Vanished & Who Found It

While PBS may be beloved for its animated "Arthur" series that ended after 25 years, a generation of children fell in love with reading through "Super Why!" — but the show didn't start out the way you might think. Before becoming the series we know and love, the show got its beginnings as an adorable clay animated pilot. Chances are you wouldn't have been able to see the pilot until more recently, however, as the episode had been considered lost media for over 20 years. 

The series originated from the mind of future children's show creator Angela C. Santomero. Working alongside the Canadian stop motion studio Cuppa Coffee Studios, Santomero turned in her pilot, then titled "Super Why?," to Nick Jr. in 1999. The show was never picked up, with some sources saying negative reviews were to blame while others claim that the 2D animated series "Oswald" was chosen by the network instead. 

For years, fans had been trying to hunt down the elusive episode. For some time, select clips existed on Cuppa Coffee's website, but these have since disappeared, with only photos from the episode being featured on their archived site. In 2021, YouTuber @pdog64 uploaded the pilot's full audio track which they received after reaching out to McMaster University about a listing. The full episode itself wouldn't be discovered until June 2023, when YouTubers @Melody and @Old Washington Resident contacted the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where the pilot won an award for best educational film amongst its original release. They successfully got a copy from the festival's archives, allowing the world to finally see what the early effort had to offer. 

Unearthing the "Super Why!" pilot was a big deal for lost media lovers. For kids who grew up with the 2007 PBS kids series, it was fascinating to see how the show got its start and perhaps, more interestingly, how both final products differ from one another. 

The pilot follows the titular hero, voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen, who would later voice Aang on "Avatar: The Last Airbender," as he visits the "The Three Little Pigs" storybook to find a way to keep his toy tower from being knocked down. Outside of a similar premise, following superhero-themed child characters who enter books to solve their problems, both drastically differ.

Unlike the poppy theme song in the final show, the pilot's theme has different lyrics and is set to a reggae beat. This style of music properly reflects the episode's pacing, with a more laid back approach to its proceedings unlike the faster paced plots of the series. The animation mediums not only changed, but the character designs had a massive overhaul with the show's cast more closely resembling real kids compared to the pilot. Plot points are also different, as the pilot's protagonist resides in a library instead of the fictional Storybook Village. The only character that appears in both is the main character, Super Why, who's real name is Willy in the pilot and Whyatt on the show. Regardless of their differences, however, the creator's good-hearted goals managed to shine through. 

Even if Angela C. Santomero's original idea for "Super Why!" didn't make the cut, this did little to halt the passionate creator from making a difference in the lives of children. Santomero, who also had a hand in the creation of other hit kid's shows such as "Blues Clues" and "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood," saw "Super Why!" not as just another entertaining series, but as an opportunity to get kids hungry for learning. 

In an interview with Zooglobble, Santomero, an eager reader from childhood, explains what sparked her desire to create a show centered on reading. "When I was in college, I realized that not everyone is a visual learner and that some have a harder time seeing beyond the words in a book," she explains. "I wanted to celebrate reading and use animation to help kids visualize the worlds and the characters that are beyond the text. Helping kids to learn and LOVE to read is a passion of mine." And learn they did. 

"Super Why!" became an acclaimed hit, with many loving the show's rich educational value, diverse cast of characters, and its usage of classic fairy tales. The series ran from 2007 and ended in 2016, concluding with three seasons, 106 episodes, two Daytime Emmy nominations, and even a live musical show that ran from 2012 to 2013.