B.C. documentarians secure original ‘ReBoot’ master tapes, but need help to play them

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ReBoot.The pioneering program was the first full-length 3D animated show on TV, predating even Toy Story.Produced in Vancouver by Mainframe Entertainment, it aired on YTV between 1994 and 2001, and decades later still has a committed fan base.Among those super fans are Jacob Weldon and Raquel Lin, a B.C.

duo now crafting a documentary about the creation of the show and its impact in the film and TV world.Weldon said he wants to see ReBoot recognized for its place in the evolution of computer animation — recognition he said it rarely gets.“Even on Wikipedia I think there’s maybe one line that is like, oh yeah, ReBoot came out in 1994, but that one line encapsulates this 16-year colourful insane history that’s like a Wild West pioneering story of CGI, so I just wanted to see that story told,” he said.“We know so many people that DM us, comment on our Facebook, Instagram, everything, that are just like, ‘Yeah, oh my God I love that show and that’s why I got into animation,’ or That’s why I came to Vancouver for school,'” Lin added.“It’s this ripple effect that has kind of created waves that no one really knows about.”When ReBoot was finally cancelled — cut short in its fourth and final season — its protagonists were left in peril and the show ended on a cliffhanger.It’s another factor that Lin and Weldon say has helped immortalize the show and has helped fans hoping for a revival that might finally explain the characters’ fate.Earlier this month, the documentary also got a potential major boost.Mainframe allowed Lin and Weldon to come to the studio to look for the show’s original master tapes, recordings some believed might have been permanently lost.They struck gold.An update on the status of our search.These past few days