A series referred to as The Environmental Show by the press, but called W.I.L.D. during production, was proposed for The Disney Channel in 1990 with the intentions of educating young people about animals and the . Set in a TV station, anchor Ponce D. Lion and iguana cohost Netty would have been two featured main characters. Jim Henson spoke about the project with People magazine, expressing the notion that "preteens love animals... You can turn that interest into an awareness of problems in the world today."