There are many franchises that fans wish would return or get a “modern remake” or even a “second chance at life” due to advances in technology. We’ve talked about plenty of them on the Nintendo Entertainment Podcast in the last several months. And while not a Nintendo franchise anymore, Banjo-Kazooie remains something that fans wish would get another game, as they feel the duo more than deserves it. However, for whatever reason, those behind the Xbox/Microsoft brand refuse to get the fan-favorite pair any chances, and that includes well back when they first got the franchise.
How so? The team from Time Extension recalled that there WAS a Banjo-Kazooie animated series in the works back in the early 2000s, and then reached out to an animator who worked on the project, Emilio Lopez, to talk about it. According to him, 4Kids Entertainment made a huge error by losing the TV rights to Pokémon, and so they were scrambling to get more content made to “fill the gap.” They had some success with the Viva Pinata show, so Banjo and Kazooie got the tap, among others, to get an animated version of their story, and Lopez expanded upon what the show’s story would’ve been:
“In general this was a pitch that was going to be somewhat of a retelling. But also with new elements like a new adventure. Coming in on the idea that this is people’s first exposure to Banjo if they hadn’t played the games at all .Sort of like how Viva Piñata the series doesn’t fully reflect the games but it does have elements from them. That’s why the designs I submitted took into account some familiar elements from the original games.”
Fair enough, as the duo only had two games, and this animated series was actually meant to coincide with the release of the maligned Nuts & Bolts title that Xbox put out. So…what happened…?
“The higher ups did their pitch and it all just stopped. I remember asking after not hearing anything and they would say they heard nothing back. To be honest, this is pretty common in the entertainment and games industry. You rarely hear, ‘Oh hey, this is not what we are looking for.’ It just stops and is never given a reason. For whatever reason Microsoft did not see this as something that they wanted to invest in.”
Hmmm…Microsoft not wanting to invest in Banjo-Kazooie…that’s a shocker. …not really. Fast forward to now, and the duo haven’t had anything meaningful happen outside of Nintendo bringing them in for Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Let’s hope this isn’t the last time we see them.
