{"id":20629,"date":"2016-05-11T16:48:20","date_gmt":"2016-05-11T20:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=20629"},"modified":"2016-11-29T03:40:47","modified_gmt":"2016-11-29T08:40:47","slug":"nsfa-cartoon-all-stars-to-the-rescue-1990","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/11\/nsfa-cartoon-all-stars-to-the-rescue-1990\/","title":{"rendered":"NSFA: Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Allstars1\"<\/a>Growing up in the nineties, I would watch cartoons all day long during the weekdays; hell I pulled seven hours at school and was a grade A TV junkie, so I watched a ton of television. During the cartoons, between the toy and candy commercials, there were about thirty anti-drug and alcohol PSA\u2019s played between the hours of three and six. Hey, mock me all you want, but those PSA\u2019s worked and worked well on me. It\u2019s not enough that I always found the idea of drug use disgusting, but the PSA\u2019s that would air on television scared me straight, just as they intended.<\/p>\n

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There was the PSA of the drug dealer transforming in to a serpentine monster<\/strong><\/a>, the “When I Grow Up” series of PSAs<\/strong><\/a>, and the PSA about a son blaming his dad for his drug use<\/strong><\/a>. There were a variety of those PSAs that aired during the day, many of which were more horrifying than most video games and TV shows politicians claimed were harming the youth, at the time. One of the best bits of anti-drug propaganda came in the form of \u201cCartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Allstars2\"<\/a>While I was aware of it back in 1990 thanks to the television simulcast that got the special out to as many children as possible, my school screened it for the entire student body back in 1991, and I was won over in an instant. It\u2019s not enough that Barbara Bush (the bastion of diversity<\/a><\/strong>), and President Bush were explaining how bad drugs were, but when Garfield and Alvin and the Chipmunks told me to stay away from drugs, I listened, dagnabit.<\/p>\n

\u201cCartoon All Stars to the Rescue\u201d is a weird and over the top bit of PSA against the use of recreational drugs, and features a ton of popular cartoon characters, all of whom were able to be trademarked, mind you. So there\u2019s Michelangelo from TMNT, but none of the other characters. There\u2019s Slimer, but none of the ghostbusters. There\u2019s Garfield but no Odie. The power of McDonald\u2019s grasp can only extend so far.<\/p>\n

\"Allstars3\"<\/a>Really, if we wanted to talk about popular cartoon characters, they should have had Bart Simpson join the team, but back then my teachers were warning that he was a bad influence. Yes, folks, back in 1990, Bart Simpson was going to corrupt our innocence. In either case, \u201cCartoon All Stars to the Rescue\u201d is a cavalcade of pop culture characters and popular cartoons, all of whom were on television during the beginning of the decade. Virtually everyone appears here, all of whom are anxiously trying to keep young Michael from becoming a drug addicted loser.<\/p>\n

\"Allstars4\"<\/a>Garfield, Alf, the Smurfs, Bugs Bunny, Winnie the Pooh, and a variety of other characters take it upon themselves to help Michael, who is beginning to ruin his life all for the sake of drugs. When Michael steals his little sister Corey\u2019s piggybank to fund his habit, the cartoons come to life and begin helping Michael and his little sister confront their problems, and deal with a rising habit that will hurt his future as an adult. Michael is lucky enough to be taken under the wing of Bugs Bunny who, with the help of a time machine from a certain coyote, takes Michael back in time to figure out where his drug abuse began, and why he felt the need to begin.<\/p>\n

Michael experiences all elements of cartoon characters, even being confronted and preached to by Michelangelo from the Ninja Turtles, but we never really reach deep down in to why he needed drugs, or where his parents were during these times, or–why they filled some hole in his life. Not surprising, \u201cCartoon All-Stars to the Rescue\u201d did little to nothing to help fight the \u201cdrug war\u201d of the eighties and nineties. \"Allstars6\"<\/a>Sure, every one or two impressionable child like me took the message to heart, but it didn\u2019t accomplish a whole lot. That\u2019s because the drug wars were much more complex and deeply rooted in the government and society than these PSA\u2019s wanted to admit to children. I digress, either way. Regardless, Michael\u2019s soul is being fought for by the pop culture characters of the eighties and nineties, and a menacing drug villain made of marijuana fumed named Smoke. He\u2019s played by none other than George C. Scott! When it comes down to siding with a cinematic icon or Tigger, it\u2019s a tough battle, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n

At least the producers of this special were able to grab all of the voice talent for the respective characters featured in this \u201cAvengers\u201d against the evils of drug abuse, so Jim Cummings, Lorenzo Music, Townsend Coleman? They\u2019re all here! Either way the special is meta and a blatantly self-aware, especially with how the characters all come from various worlds and don\u2019t seem to interact with one another or question what they\u2019re doing in this situation.<\/p>\n

\"Allstars5\"<\/a>When Smoke points out that Bugs is a cartoon, Bugs points out that Smoke is one, too, which makes the wink one step too far for a special trying its hardest to convince kids that avoiding drugs is the way to go. We did eventually outgrow and forget most of the animated characters from \u201cCartoon All-Stars to the Rescue,\u201d but you have to appreciate the inherent camp value and horrifying scenes of a drug worn Michael, in the end. I mock it, and rightfully so since this special is really just a band aid on a larger problem in society, but as an artifact of the nineties, it\u2019s fun, and well intentioned, despite its ability for the bizarre.<\/p>\n