Week 6 (July 26 – Aug 1) – Generic Cartoon Tapes
“Every day is Saturday Morning at this Jo-Ann Fabric. Every space is liminal in Sylvester’s head (hand-drawn for PS1)” – Scumbalina
Michael (Jason Marsden) is a teenager whose life is spiraling downward due to marijuana use, leaving his younger sister, Corey (Lindsay Parker), worried. One morning, when Corey’s piggy bank goes missing, pop-culture icons spring to life from various items in her room—including Papa Smurf from a comic book, Garfield from a lamp, Alvin and the Chipmunks from a record sleeve and Baby Kermit from an alarm clock, all to find her missing bank.
The cartoon crew finds it in Michael’s room, where they also discover his hidden stash of drugs. Deciding to take matters into their own hands, they launch an intervention. Guided by characters like Bugs Bunny (who deploys a time machine borrowed from Wile E. Coyote to show Michael his past) and the Muppet Babies, who take a trip to his brain, Michael is taken on a surreal psychological journey. He faces off against Smoke (George C. Scott?!?), a villainous anthropomorphic cloud representing addiction. Ultimately, after seeing terrifying visions of a wasted, skeletal future, Michael wakes up, stops Corey from making the mistake of trying the drugs herself and throws Smoke out a window into a garbage truck before finally seeking help from his family.
Look at this cast:
- The Smurfs: Headed by Don Messick as Papa Smurf and Frank Welker as Hefty Smurf.
- ALF: Voiced by Paul Fusco, bringing his signature snark from ALF: The Animated Series.
- Garfield and Friends: Voiced by the legendary Lorenzo Music as Garfield.
- Alvin and the Chipmunks: Led by Ross Bagdasarian Jr. as Alvin and Simon and Janice Karman as Theodore.
- The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Voiced by animation royalty Jim Cummings as both Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.
- Muppet Babies: Featuring Frank Welker as Baby Kermit, Laurie O’Brien as Baby Piggy, and Russi Taylor as Baby Gonzo.
- The Real Ghostbusters: Frank Welker returning as the gluttonous Slimer.
- Looney Tunes: Jeff Bergman stepping into legendary shoes to voice Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck (marking the first time these characters were voiced by someone other than the late, great Mel Blanc).
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Townsend Coleman voicing Michelangelo.
- DuckTales: Russi Taylor pulling triple duty as Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Financed by McDonald’s and benefiting Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities, the special achieved a massive television event footprint on April 21, 1990. It was simulcast simultaneously across all four major American networks at the time—ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox—alongside independent stations and cable channels like Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel and TNT.
This wasn’t just a U.S. phenomenon; it went global with high-profile political introductions. In the United States, it opened with President George H. W. Bush, First Lady Barbara Bush and their dog Millie. International broadcasts matched this political energy, as Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger, Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Chilean First Lady Marta Larraechea Bolívar all set it up in their native homelands.
The production was not without its backstage drama. The Smurfs creator Peyo was reportedly furious that Hanna-Barbera utilized his characters without direct permission, leading him to refuse any future collaborations.
Meanwhile, voice actor Jim Cummings later recalled requesting that Winnie the Pooh’s drug-related dialogue be toned down, noting that the gentle bear was far too innocent to use such vocabulary.
More cartoon land gossip? For a long time, it was reported that the special was never rerun because Garfield was used without the permission of his creator, Jim Davis. However, writer Mark Evanier said that there was a limited agreement to use the orange cat icon, which is why it only aired a few times.
Yet where is the most popular cartoon character of 1990, Bart Simpson? Supposedly, he was snubbed as educators and organizers at the time feared he was too much of a bad influence. Eat my shorts, dude.
It was rumored that the Peanuts gang would be used. They weren’t. But 1990 was the year of sad cartoons, as Why, Charlie Brown, Why? was all about Linus’ classmate Janice suffering from leukemia. I wonder if her parents talked to her in that muted trumpet voice.
You can watch this on YouTube.
