Rayman's training
| Rayman's training | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Published by | Ubi Soft | |
| Release date | February 1st, 1998 | |
| Genre | Short film | |
Rayman's training is the title of a computer-animated short film produced by Ubi Soft in 1998. Premiering at a European trade show/film festival hybrid by the name of IMAGINA 1998, Rayman's training was never given any form of home release or any official acknowledgement, falling into obscurity for over two decades after its premiere.
The short was made before and during the transitional period of Rayman 2's development from the 2D prototype to the 3D game, having apparently originated as pre-rendered cutscenes before being transformed into a short film.
Plot
Starting with a cold open, Rayman is training with a punching bag with legs on top of a log in the forest. After getting nearly knocked out by the bag, Rayman pretends to jump off the log. Thinking he has fallen to the pits, the punching bag starts searching for him only to be greeted by a surprise attack. The two then taunt, parry, and fight until the bag starts rushing at Rayman. The bag misses, to which Rayman responds by suplexing it on the log. Readying himself for a final blow, the log blacks out. Rayman then follows suit, as the camera pans out. Several Lums can be seen whizzing by the scene, and the scene fades out to black.
Production and originally known sightings
Very little is known about the production of the short, and who specifically worked on it. Production of the short is believed to have started alongside Rayman 2 around 1996 to 1997, as evidenced by the 3D Rayman model being first used for a Rayman Junior advert, a French newsreel about Ubi Soft in 1996 showing the production of the cutscenes of the original Rayman 2 and Rayman's training, and clips of the short later appearing in two French Rayman adverts from 1997. Various clips from the short can be seen in a GamesMaster reel from 1997.
Infamously, the most well-known example of Rayman's training's presence would be clips being used in the E3 1998 trailer for Rayman 2, which was after the original 2D Rayman 2 was cancelled. Due to this timeframe, it can be speculated that some of Rayman 2's original cutscenes were later completed as a animated short, which would become Rayman's training.
The sole known credit that can be given for Rayman's training would be a sound design company by the name of Farra Vox Studios, evidenced by a webpage on their website containing a photograph of the short with the name "Rayman training". The website of the French National Audiovisual Institute, ina.fr, lists the short as "Rayman's training", and is the only other source of the short's name.
There are no other known presences of Rayman's training. None of Imagina's home media has the short included, Ubisoft has not acknowledged the short's existence in any form since 1998, and the short was never released to the public. It was believed to be lost media, until a YouTube user suddenly uploaded the short with no sound on March 12 2022, 24 years later after a collective search by the Rayman fan community.
External links
- Full short with no sound
- Farra Vox Studios' listing of Rayman's training.
- GamesMaster sighting of Rayman's training.
- ina.fr's listing of Rayman's training.
- Advert sighting of Rayman's training.
- Another advert sighting of Rayman's training.
- Rayman 2's E3 1998 trailer, which has clips of Rayman's training.
- Compilation of several clips of Rayman's training.
- A French newsreel that has a segment on Ubi Soft in 1996, which has clips of the production of Rayman 2's cutscenes and Rayman's training.
- French magazine CD Consoles showing possibly the title logo to Rayman's training.