Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue is an animated drug prevention television special starring many of the popular cartoon characters from American Saturday morning television, among them Winnie-the-Pooh, Bugs Bunny, ALF, the Muppet Babies, and several others. Financed by McDonald's, the special was originally simulcast on April 22 1990 on all three major American television networks: ABC, NBC, and CBS. McDonald's also distributed a VHS home video edition of the special, which began with an introduction from President George Herbert Walker Bush, and First Lady Barbara Bush.
The plot chronicles the story of a teenage boy named Michael who is using marijuana. His concerned sister Corey worries about him, and her cries cause many of her toys, which depict several popular cartoon "all-stars", to come to life. The various cartoon characters proceed to take Michael on a fantasy journey that teaches him the health risks and other downsides a life of drug use can bring.
The special was able to get so many characters from various franchises because the licensors gave producers royalty-free access due to the importance of the special. However, the character of Garfield was reportedly used without its creator, Jim Davis's permission, and consequently the special was never rerun, although it was broadcast in Mexico and many Latin American countries in limited scale. This is a rare VHS video to find (especially new) and no DVD of it has been released. However, the special can be viewed on the internet, at the following address:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-940551580328756105
The special has a small cult following due to popularity of the assembled cartoon characters as well as its subject matter and sees frequent circulation through online auction sites.
There have also been rumors that there was supposed to be a sequel called "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue 2000" and it would feature Ash Ketchum and Pikachu from the popular Pokémon franchise, as well as other characters who were popular at the time, but no one knows for sure. Odds are it was a hoax done to trick fans of the original.
Cartoon all-stars
The characters cameos, from 10 different cartoons, are listed here.
- ALF: Gordon "ALF" Shumway (Paul Fusco)
- Alvin and the Chipmunks: Alvin (Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.), Simon (Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.), Theodore (Janice Karman)
- DuckTales: Huey, Dewey and Louie (Russi Taylor)
- The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger (both Jim Cummings)
- Muppet Babies: Baby Kermit (Frank Welker), Baby Piggy (Laurie O'Brien) Baby Gonzo (Russi Taylor)
- The Smurfs: Papa Smurf (Don Messick) and Brainy Smurf (Danny Goldman)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Michaelangelo (Townsend Coleman)
- Garfield and Friends: Garfield The Cat (Lorenzo Music)
- The Real Ghostbusters: Slimer (Frank Welker)
- Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck (both Jeff Bergman)
Other characters
The other main characters are listed here
- Michael - Jason Marsden
- The Dealer - Joey Dedio
- John - Georgi Irene
- Dad - Townsend Coleman
- Mom - Laurie O'Brien
- Corey - Lindsay Parker
- Smoke - George C. Scott
Crew
- Directors: Milton Gray, Marsh Lamore, Karen Peterson, Mike Svayko, Bob Shellhorn, Duane Poole
- Writers: Buzz Potamkin, Tom Swale
- Producers: Paul Buckmaster
- Voice director: Hank Saroyan
- Composers: Richard Kosinski, Bob Mann, Alan Menken, Guy Moon, Bill Reichenbach, Sam Winans, Jay Bixsen
Trivia
- This cartoon marked the first time that classic Warner Brothers cartoon characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck were voiced by someone other than legendary voice artist Mel Blanc. Blanc had passed away a short time before the production, and Jeff Bergman was called upon to recreate the voices.
External links
- Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue at IMDb
- X-Entertainment: Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue!
- [1]Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue Footage