It's been years since this pilot has been shown to the public and I'm wondering why this hasn't green lite. It's popular, funny, cute and overall everything animation fan want in a cartoon now a days and I'm sure if there was a kickstarter of some kind it would reach more than it's intended goal. I'm not sure how pilots work but If the original creators did get the rights back it would be a prime series to put on netflix.
8 Reviews
Mistress of Disguise
Dawalk-127 April 2018
I didn't catch this when it originally aired on Nick, so I would do so a few years later online instead. Aside from that one gross-out moment which I won't give away, I still found it enjoyable since that was mercifully kept to a minimum. Both this and Constant Payne seemed like such promising and worthwhile or worthy jumping off points for new Nicktoons, but of those two, I think I like Constant Payne more. But this was/still is good too, in its own right. Haplessly, it too, had a very brief moment in the limelight before getting pushed aside for a string of horse-feathers shows like The Mighty B, Fanboy and Chum Chum, Breadwinners, and Planet Sheen. From the negative reviews I've read about the shows that did get picked up for air on the channel in recent years, the majority of which were/are, again, horse-feathers, that's exactly the problem with the company/channel. That, unfortunately, it's constantly run by dense-donkeys who don't know jack about what shows are great enough to be aired on that channel. I'm not so sure if it's simply that mentality that horse-feathers sells, well maybe, that is, except to kids, at least, anyway. Well, dern what they may find appealing then. But those in charge fail to realize that higher-quality programs can still be appealing enough for and draw in all demographics, which they should've focused mainly on instead of promoting and showcasing so much ridiculously garbage shows. There's been way too much of that featured heavily. And after reading about the reception to many of the Nicktoons that have aired in recent years, this is exactly the reason why I'm not into Nick as much as I used to be. We don't get enough high-quality material to watch.
Anyway, now that I vented and got my rant about how Nick lost its touch to some out the way, more about this pilot. Essentially, the main character and heroine is Agent Xero, who could be described as a mistress of disguise as she goes undercover as her alter-ego, Lacey Shadows, and is a member of the agency, The Modifyers, hence the name/title. She is assisted by her robotic companion, Mole, who also modifies. Their mission is to retrieve an item from the villain, Baron Vain, and have it sent to head of The Modifyers, but things go wrong when Xero loses track of it, and now they must find a way to get out of their jam.
Another reviewer has described the kind or kinds of show this is, but I'll mention the visual of it as well.I'm not sure if the animation is in flash or something similar, but I guess the best way I think I can describe the art style is stylized. That's the look I think it has to it. All the characters are very good, especially the protagonists. The voice acting is fine, the music too. But despite all that, in the end, this is yet another case of those things that deserved a lot more than what they got. I didn't know this was pitched to Cartoon Network and it also passed up this. Someone mentioned Netflix being a good candidate for this. At first, I wasn't so thrilled about original shows premiering and airing on streaming sites or services like that one. But now I see it as another option that might be beneficial to it if it were brought there. This clever cartoon is more valuable of series material than the four aforementioned ones that did get series. There's almost no justice when it comes to this. Why the head honchos are so darned obsessed or fixated with derned, unintelligent shows, I'll never know for sure. Recommended to anyone who is curious enough to check it out, fed up with the tripe that keeps getting pushed these days and not into that so of thing.
Anyway, now that I vented and got my rant about how Nick lost its touch to some out the way, more about this pilot. Essentially, the main character and heroine is Agent Xero, who could be described as a mistress of disguise as she goes undercover as her alter-ego, Lacey Shadows, and is a member of the agency, The Modifyers, hence the name/title. She is assisted by her robotic companion, Mole, who also modifies. Their mission is to retrieve an item from the villain, Baron Vain, and have it sent to head of The Modifyers, but things go wrong when Xero loses track of it, and now they must find a way to get out of their jam.
Another reviewer has described the kind or kinds of show this is, but I'll mention the visual of it as well.I'm not sure if the animation is in flash or something similar, but I guess the best way I think I can describe the art style is stylized. That's the look I think it has to it. All the characters are very good, especially the protagonists. The voice acting is fine, the music too. But despite all that, in the end, this is yet another case of those things that deserved a lot more than what they got. I didn't know this was pitched to Cartoon Network and it also passed up this. Someone mentioned Netflix being a good candidate for this. At first, I wasn't so thrilled about original shows premiering and airing on streaming sites or services like that one. But now I see it as another option that might be beneficial to it if it were brought there. This clever cartoon is more valuable of series material than the four aforementioned ones that did get series. There's almost no justice when it comes to this. Why the head honchos are so darned obsessed or fixated with derned, unintelligent shows, I'll never know for sure. Recommended to anyone who is curious enough to check it out, fed up with the tripe that keeps getting pushed these days and not into that so of thing.
A Sci-Fi Seed that Never Sprouted
elicopperman13 May 2019
The following review is made with sincere condolences to the late great Chris Reccardi. In addition to producing wonderful sci-fi artwork and working on several beloved animated TV shows, he was an all around lovable and rocking individual with so much energy and creativity bursting out of him. May he rest in peace and his widow Lynne Naylor keep his legacy lasting forever.
In 2007, Reccardi and Naylor made their own pilot for a potential cartoon show on Nickelodeon entitled The Modifyers. The plot centers around the special agent spy named Agent Xero, who works for the organization called the Modifyers with her robotic sidekick Mole. The two penetrate the doings of the evil Baron Vain by using a holographic ring to disguise herself as his favorite minion Lucy Shadows, but after clashing with Vain's henchman Rat over the All-Seeing Eye artifact, they have to retrieve the item without getting caught. Despite this short never growing into something bigger, it is well regarded as somewhat of a cult classic amongst the online community. Even I would say that it was a noble effort for the married couple to produce a short with this much world building, characterization and passion displayed in just under 12 minutes.
In terms of a visual aesthetic, the animation looks grotesque yet intriguing given the overall environment. Given that Reccardi's influences are science-fiction, retro and modern art and the cartoons he worked on, the world in the short feels like it came straight out of a Neo sci-fi comic. In addition, the characters have distinctive differences in their designs, with a saturated tone for Xero & Mole, and a much more gritty and dirty palette for Rat and the Baron. Their designs are also reminiscent of classic and modern cartoons like Looney Tunes, Ren & Stimpy and even The Jetsons, complete with exaggerated facial expressions and a lively shape structure. It's also a nice added bonus how all the effects come off as purely two dimensional without looking like out of place CGI, helping to fit the environment much better.
As for the characters, Xero & Mole have perfectly contrasting personalities. Where Xero is a bubbly albeit overtly curious spy, Mole is much more strict about their duties. Given that they need to retract the all seeing eye which Xero wants to test out its infinite possibilities it makes for a potentially fascinating duo. Rat on the other hand is more of a butt monkey who tries to do his best for the Baron only to constantly fail, but his antics are quite humorous in their own regard. The Baron himself is a notable Drakken and Doofenshmirtz wannabe, where he acts threatening yet it still pretty scrawny and juvenile at heart. That being said, he is certainly more menacing than those two, only proving how much he means business towards the modifyers.
Not to mention, the music score was done by Reccardi himself, and it comes mix a good mix of jazzy spy scores reminiscent of the 60s and rock & roll tracks. Depending on the sequence, the music can go from calm and collective to fast paced and energetic throughout. If there's anything negative I do have to say regarding the cartoon, it's that the ending does not fit very well. When you're pitching a pilot to anybody, it's not always a good idea to end off on a cliffhanger because then you're setting yourself up for inevitable failure if your concept gets rejected. That being said though, what he did get is a very enjoyable and upbeat animated short with lots of potential to be its own unique work, and even though it never got greenlit for television, it will still please the internet for many years to come.
In 2007, Reccardi and Naylor made their own pilot for a potential cartoon show on Nickelodeon entitled The Modifyers. The plot centers around the special agent spy named Agent Xero, who works for the organization called the Modifyers with her robotic sidekick Mole. The two penetrate the doings of the evil Baron Vain by using a holographic ring to disguise herself as his favorite minion Lucy Shadows, but after clashing with Vain's henchman Rat over the All-Seeing Eye artifact, they have to retrieve the item without getting caught. Despite this short never growing into something bigger, it is well regarded as somewhat of a cult classic amongst the online community. Even I would say that it was a noble effort for the married couple to produce a short with this much world building, characterization and passion displayed in just under 12 minutes.
In terms of a visual aesthetic, the animation looks grotesque yet intriguing given the overall environment. Given that Reccardi's influences are science-fiction, retro and modern art and the cartoons he worked on, the world in the short feels like it came straight out of a Neo sci-fi comic. In addition, the characters have distinctive differences in their designs, with a saturated tone for Xero & Mole, and a much more gritty and dirty palette for Rat and the Baron. Their designs are also reminiscent of classic and modern cartoons like Looney Tunes, Ren & Stimpy and even The Jetsons, complete with exaggerated facial expressions and a lively shape structure. It's also a nice added bonus how all the effects come off as purely two dimensional without looking like out of place CGI, helping to fit the environment much better.
As for the characters, Xero & Mole have perfectly contrasting personalities. Where Xero is a bubbly albeit overtly curious spy, Mole is much more strict about their duties. Given that they need to retract the all seeing eye which Xero wants to test out its infinite possibilities it makes for a potentially fascinating duo. Rat on the other hand is more of a butt monkey who tries to do his best for the Baron only to constantly fail, but his antics are quite humorous in their own regard. The Baron himself is a notable Drakken and Doofenshmirtz wannabe, where he acts threatening yet it still pretty scrawny and juvenile at heart. That being said, he is certainly more menacing than those two, only proving how much he means business towards the modifyers.
Not to mention, the music score was done by Reccardi himself, and it comes mix a good mix of jazzy spy scores reminiscent of the 60s and rock & roll tracks. Depending on the sequence, the music can go from calm and collective to fast paced and energetic throughout. If there's anything negative I do have to say regarding the cartoon, it's that the ending does not fit very well. When you're pitching a pilot to anybody, it's not always a good idea to end off on a cliffhanger because then you're setting yourself up for inevitable failure if your concept gets rejected. That being said though, what he did get is a very enjoyable and upbeat animated short with lots of potential to be its own unique work, and even though it never got greenlit for television, it will still please the internet for many years to come.
This didn't get green-lit? What a crime!
Maetch012 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Sometimes, you see a one-shot comic or cartoon and you realize that this has so much potential, but then you learn that there's never going to be any more to it. Such is the case with "The Modifyers", a one-episode pilot that was briefly considered by Nickelodeon but was passed on.
The plot focuses on the young, brave, and slightly mischievous Xero, an agent for a secret mystery-cracking organization called "The Modifyers" who operate in a strange city of abstract visuals and unusual characters With help from her small sidekick/transforming tool Mole and her own power of disguise, she has infiltrated the organization of the evil Baron Vain as "Lacey Shadows" and is competing with one of his henchmen for possession of a valuable object. However, when she tries to deliver the object to her boss, Xero ends up losing track of it, and she ends up getting pulled into more trouble.
The graphical style is incredibly rich and detailed, kind of like Steampunk meets Dr. Seuss, with some 60s spy flair and a bit of magical girl influence for good measure. The characters have such flexible expressions, and you can't help but look when Xero smiles. Mae Whitman delivers a pleasant vocal charm as Xero, and Jeff Bennett and Paul Rugg provide equally-memorable dialogue.
If anything bad can really be said about this, it's that the plot is a little underdeveloped, but since this is a pilot, it's not so much a flaw as it is proof that so much more could've been done had this achieved full show-status. Hopefully, somebody in the higher-levels of TV programming will someday take another look at this and decide to give it a shot.
The plot focuses on the young, brave, and slightly mischievous Xero, an agent for a secret mystery-cracking organization called "The Modifyers" who operate in a strange city of abstract visuals and unusual characters With help from her small sidekick/transforming tool Mole and her own power of disguise, she has infiltrated the organization of the evil Baron Vain as "Lacey Shadows" and is competing with one of his henchmen for possession of a valuable object. However, when she tries to deliver the object to her boss, Xero ends up losing track of it, and she ends up getting pulled into more trouble.
The graphical style is incredibly rich and detailed, kind of like Steampunk meets Dr. Seuss, with some 60s spy flair and a bit of magical girl influence for good measure. The characters have such flexible expressions, and you can't help but look when Xero smiles. Mae Whitman delivers a pleasant vocal charm as Xero, and Jeff Bennett and Paul Rugg provide equally-memorable dialogue.
If anything bad can really be said about this, it's that the plot is a little underdeveloped, but since this is a pilot, it's not so much a flaw as it is proof that so much more could've been done had this achieved full show-status. Hopefully, somebody in the higher-levels of TV programming will someday take another look at this and decide to give it a shot.
This would have been the next big hit.
jason-sheets-TheChef14 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I seen the plot of the show and it ends in a cliff hanger which I would think they would be making a new episode but no nick shut it down. I wanted to see what would happen to them. This would have been on the top of the list of shows with the most views if it wasn't rejected by nick and now in 2014 a tasteless show aired on nick about two ducks who sell bread YET they had the nerve to say no to this show which I believe could have became a huge hit who doesn't like a show with a crime fighting girl who -Spoiler- had her cover blown by a ring just too big for her finger by the way the shows only episode ended after the "evil villain" found her ring. This show even though the only episode was about 12 minutes long it was the best show that I have ever seen. The show was well done may have needed a little work, by that I mean action but overall no other work is needed. Also who stops a show without a season to test to see if it is a good show. I hate shows that end on cliff hangers but I hate a show that final and first episode ends on a cliff hanger. You had the cliff hanger to lead into a new show which even said to be continued because the producer thought someday if not today or tomorrow we will get a new show for this up and it will be great. 4 years later still no new show and people still believe that their will be a new show soon hopefully in the next year or so.
Such a great pilot that was sadly rejected.
DannyD19974 April 2017
This actually came out in 2007, not 2010. It's a sad shame that both Nickelodeon, and even Cartoon Network, rejected this show. It would've saved either channel!!! This was made by Lynne Naylor and Chris Reccardi, who were known for their work on Tiny Toons, Ren and Stimpy, Powerpuff Girls (original), Samurai Jack, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, Chowder, and even Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (if I'm not mistaken). I really love the Modifyers, and I wish Disney Channel picked up this show, since both CN and Nick refused to pick this up. And I'm not joking, Cartoon Network was the only other network besides Nickelodeon that refused to pick this show up. This is why Disney Channel picked up the Modifyers. I just absolutely adore Mae Whitman's performance of Agent Xero. Agent Xero was such an adorable character, and I was so sad that I won't see her adventures with Mole. Since Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon still refused to green light this show, why not Disney Channel? I know this pilot is 10 years out of date, but it would've worked more if this was a TV series.
Great pilot
tommagis20 February 2018
Not to be continued (sadly)
Horst_In_Translation16 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"The Modifyers" is an American 12-minute animated cartoon from 2010 that served as an appetizer and pilot project for a potential Nickelodeon show with the same name and characters. It did not happen as this one never got picked up. But looking at the IMDb rating here, I guess it still has its fans. And honestly this mix of SciFi, animation and comedy wasn't bad, had some solid moments and characters I will admit. I doubt this is worse than any/some of the stuff Nickelodeon has actually picked on in the last decade maybe. It shows that several Emmy nominees worked on this pilot project here as there is a certain level of class attached to it. Voice acting is okay too. The animation style sure looks a bit retro and this one could also be a lot older judging from the visual side. But this is not a criticism at all and you probably know it. All in all, there may not be one area where this short film really stands out, but it is a well-rounded effort in pretty much all fields. Would have deserved to get picked up. I recommend checking it out.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
