Kirby of the Stars Pilot

The Kirby of the Stars (星のカービィ, Hoshi no Kābī) Pilot is an un-aired "prototype" of the anime. It is not narrated, and has no voice acting. It was created in 2000 and licensed under Hal Laboratory and Nintendo.

History
To celebrate the release of Kirby Air Ride in Japan, a special Kirby DVD was released with a popular video gaming magazine. It had clips from episodes and different games, and also a short 'pilot anime' that seems to be an early form of the show. No information was given about it, and it was not narrated with any voice acting. It was done in a mix of 3D computer graphics and 2D animation, much like the current series.

The Plot
Kirby is sleeping on his Warp Star in space. Beyond his control, his Warp Star is sucked in by Pop Star's gravity, burning in the atmosphere and crashing somewhere in Dream Land. In the aftermath, we see an unnamed girl who resembles Tiff near Kirby in the ground. She appears to yell at him for knocking her, but Kirby innocently laughs and is perplexed by the alien being. The two become fast friends, and go floating in the skies about Dream Land.

Meanwhile, King Dedede is somehow alarmed to see Kirby with the girl, so he resolves to ruin their time. First, King Dedede tries to shoot Kirby with an oddly lethal machine gun, but the machine gun explodes in Dedede's face. Next, Kirby and the girl are on a strange green mountain; Dedede tries to pound Kirby on the ground with a sharp wooden stake, but the two nonchalantly leave and Dedede instead hits the mountain (which turns out to be a rudely-awakened reptilian creature). King Dedede later sees Kirby taking a nap with the girl at the beach. Dedede burrows underground and rises to hit Kirby with his hammer, but the waves from the ocean wash Dedede away. Finally, Dedede sees Kirby having a picnic with the girl and Dedede mixes an explosive together - which once again backfires. Dedede's plans have made himself known to Kirby and the girl. Kirby happily offers Dedede a hot dog on a fork, and Dedede snatches it in defeat. Kirby goes back to the girl and King Dedede starts crying in delicious irony.

All of a sudden a huge cloud of darkness appears and five smoke balls unleash monsters. The first smoke ball opens up in a blue light, and Captain Stitch comes out. The second smoke ball opens up in a yellow light, and the winged Meta Knight comes out holding a sword. The third smoke ball opens up in a purple light, and Ice Dragon comes out. The fourth smoke ball opens up in a green light, and a form of Dark Matter comes out. The fifth smoke ball opens up in a red light, and Master Green comes out.

Kirby beings to inhale them, which takes them by surprise. He inhales Captain Stitch and he spits him out to defeat Meta Knight. Kirby swallows Ice Dragon and copies his ability, shooting his ice breath to freeze the Dark Matter. Kirby then swallows Master Green and copies his ability, electrocuting more monsters that just appeared: Blocky, Efrite, Mr. P. Umpkin, Sweet Stuff and Haboki.

King Dedede (with Kirby on his back) and the girl charge onwards until a yellow beam catches them; a shadowy enemy who appears to be Nightmare captures the Trio. Kirby wakes up from his (appropriate) nightmare. He is on a Warp Star in his blanket, safe and sound. He is still in outer space, his destination unknown. He lays still as the Hoshi no Kirby logo fades in, a premonition of things to come.

Character Differences
The pilot of Kirby of the Stars has several differences between itself and the anime you would see on TV. Some examples may just be the appearances of the characters themselves.

Kirby's appearance is similar to his simple appearance in games like Kirby's Adventure and Kirby's Dream Land 2. However, there is not that much of a difference. He appears to be able to float, unlike in the anime (Kirby rarely uses his floating ability). He also still has a childish psyche. Also, when Kirby copies an enemy's ability, he does not gain a hat, and doesn't appear to have to swallow, either. Furthermore, when Kirby wakes up with a scream, it was the freaked pose, because one eye gets smaller, then the other eye does, and the eye that got small changes back to normal. This is used in some games like Kirby's Adventure.

King Dedede's design is much more similar to Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. Rather than his usual white bobble, which is seen in the regular anime and most Kirby games, he has a yellow crown on top of his hat. He does not wear his gloves, either. Most of his scheming is reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote, pulling simple pranks (and backfiring) rather than summoning a Demon Beast to do away with Kirby.

The female character in the pilot has no name, but she appears to be an early concept design for Tiff. She appears to be able to fly, and her crown suggests that she may be a princess or perhaps even the daughter of King Dedede.

Meta Knight seems to be a foe to Kirby, unlike in the anime where he is seen to be a mentor. The sword he uses is not the Galaxia of the anime, as it has no spikes on the side. This is because Galaxia did not have a set design yet - it instead looks much more similar to Master, the sword of Kirby &amp; the Amazing Mirror. This is also the only time Meta Knight ever uses his wings in the anime.

Kirby of the Stars: The Pilot Episode
Can't see the video? Go here.

Trivia

 * For unknown reasons, Kirby can float without inhaling air first.
 * During the battle scene, when kirby sucks up an enemy which gives him spark, he is not given a transformation sequence or the signature spark hat despite the pilot coming out after Kirby super star.