Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990) (TV)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Directors:

Milton Gray
Marsh Lamore

Writers:

Duane Poole (writer) and
Tom Swale (writer)

Release Date:

21 kwiecieñ 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

Many different cartoon stars like Bugs Bunny, the Muppet Babies and Garfield join forces to convince a boy that drugs aren't cool.

Plot Keywords:

The Muppets | Marijuana | Teenage Boy | Piggy Bank | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Cast

Ross Bagdasarian Jr.	...	Alvin / Simon (voice) (as Ross Bagdasarian)
Jeff Bergman	...	Bugs Bunny / Daffy Duck (voice)
Townsend Coleman	...	Michaelangelo / Dad (voice)
Wayne Collins	...	(voice)
Jim Cummings	...	Tigger / Winnie the Pooh (voice)
Joey Dedio	...	The Dealer (voice)
Danny Goldman	...	Brainy Smurf (voice)
Georgi Irene	...	(voice)
Janice Karman	...	Theodore (voice)
Aaron Lohr	...	(voice)
Jason Marsden	...	Michael (voice)
Don Messick	...	Papa Smurf (voice)
Lorenzo Music	...	Garfield (voice)
Laurie O'Brien	...	Baby Piggy / Mom (voice)
Lindsay Parker	...	Corey (voice)

Runtime:

USA:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:T | USA:Unrated

Company:

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS)

Trivia:

This marked the first time either Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck was voiced by someone other than Mel Blanc, who had died in 1989 shortly before production. Bugs and Daffy were both voiced in this production and subsequently in several following productions by Jeff Bergman.

Quotes:

Gordon 'ALF' Shumway: [after emerging from a picture frame on Corey's dresser after her piggy bank is stolen] You wanna help track down the thief, Garfield?
Garfield: [Garfield is a lamp] Hey, going through life with a blue lampshade is work enough. Wake me when the lasagna comes.
Gordon 'ALF' Shumway: [yanks the lamp attachment off of Garfield] Let me rephrase that: do you wanna help, or do you wanna be lunch?
Garfield: [salutes and climbs off the dresser] My luck to be stuck on a dresser with a pushy alien.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Wonderful Ways to Say No

Entertaining for kids? Well, it was for me back in the day. Will it affect their decisions later in life? I doubt it

I think I was just over 3 ½ years old when this animated anti-drug TV special came out, and I saw it on video many times during my childhood, probably starting not long after its original airing. Like probably every other cartoon I saw around that time, I found this one highly entertaining, even though I didn't have a clue what it was about when I first saw it, as I didn't even know what drugs were. I guess the more I learned about drugs as I was growing up, the more I understood the message of "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue". I've gotten to see this special again after many years, but can't say I take it as seriously as I once did.

Michael is a teenager who steals his younger sister, Corey's piggy bank one morning before she wakes up. When one of the Smurfs wakes up, he notices Corey's piggy bank is missing, so he and the rest of the Smurfs leave the book they're in and round up other popular cartoon characters. They wake her up and investigate the theft, soon discovering that it's in Michael's room and he has just broken it open! Corey is concerned about her brother's behaviour as of late, and while the popular cartoon characters are hiding under the bed, a box of drugs is discovered. After Michael leaves the house, the cartoon characters soon leave as well, and intend to teach the troubled teenager not to take illegal drugs. Meanwhile, Michael is hanging out with some peers who pressure him to try some more drugs, while a demon named Smoke who follows him around does the same!

In case you were wondering, I have never taken any illegal drugs, nor have I ever taken up smoking. Do I have this cartoon to thank for that? I don't think so. Drugs were something I learned a lot about in my childhood, and during adolescence, a time in one's life when they may start, I found no good reason to try any, so even if I had never seen "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue", I'm sure my life as it is would be the same. Therefore, I will give it credit for entertaining me so much when I was a kid (though not so much when I last watched it, basically just a bit of humour and the animation impressed me), but not for educating me. Also, right now, I realize that this animated TV special certainly isn't totally based on fact. It basically implies that you must avoid all drugs, or else you will turn into a neglectful, hostile, violent junkie, have terrifying hallucinations or dreams, and end up looking like a zombie! It implies that it starts with marijuana and gets worse, which certainly isn't always the case, and marijuana alone can't cause such atrocities, that's for sure! In fact, if marijuana were legalized, I still wouldn't use it, but wouldn't complain. Now, this cartoon also shows that youth start to take drugs because of peer pressure, and I think that's very often the case, so I guess they at least got that right. Still, that doesn't hide the flaws.

Some compare "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue" to "Reefer Madness", an anti-marijuana film from the 1930s. I haven't seen that film, but have heard about it and how ridiculous it is. This cartoon is probably more credible than that, but it is still not totally a fact piece, and I definitely learned about drugs from more credible sources than this while growing up. So, I'm sure this cartoon entertained many people in their childhood, with so many popular children's characters, such as the Smurfs, the Chipmunks, ALF, Garfield, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Winnie the Pooh, Michaelangelo from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", the Muppet Babies, etc. However, for adults and adolescents, the cartoon may seem laughable. I'm also sure that some people who saw "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue" in their childhood and enjoyed it have since started taking drugs. I'm not one of them, but like I said, I don't think this cartoon has much to do with that. So, as an anti-drug piece, I can't say I think it's very effective, and, as I've already pointed out twice, it's not 100% fact. Yes, there are illegal drugs that can seriously harm or even kill you, but sometimes, the effects of soft drugs like marijuana are exaggerated, and marijuana certainly doesn't automatically cause someone to take heavier drugs as some people may like to have kids believe.