Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue

*Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue*
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
	Promotional poster
Genre	Social guidance film
Written by	Duane Poole; Tom Swale
Directed by	Milton Gray; Marsh Lamore; Bob Shellhorn; Mike Svayko; Karen Peterson (supervising)
Voices of	Ross Bagdasarian Jr.; Jeff Bergman; Townsend Coleman; Wayne Collins; Jim Cummings; Joey Dedio; Danny Goldman; Georgi Irene; Janice Karman; Aaron Lohr; Jason Marsden; Don Messick; Lorenzo Music; Laurie O'Brien; Lindsay Parker; George C. Scott; Russi Taylor; Frank Welker;
Music by	Southern Star Productions
Original release
Network	ABC; NBC; Fox; CBS; USA Network; Syndication
Release	April 21, 1990

Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue is a 1990 American animated

independent stations, as well as various cable networks.^[2]^[3] McDonald's released a VHS home video edition of the special distributed by Buena Vista Home Video, which opened with an introduction from President George H. W. Bush, First Lady Barbara Bush and their dog, Millie. It was produced by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation and Southern Star Productions, and was animated overseas by Wang Film Productions. The musical number "Wonderful Ways to Say No" was written by Academy Award-winning composer, Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman, who also wrote the songs for Walt Disney Animation Studios' The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin

.

The plot chronicles the exploits of Michael, a teenage boy who is using

intervention

in the form of a fantasy journey to teach him the adverse consequences of drug use.

Plot

An unseen person steals a piggy bank off the dresser in the bedroom of a young girl named Corey. The theft is witnessed by

Smurfs comic book with the other Smurfs and alerts the other cartoon characters in the room: Alf from a picture, Garfield as a lamp, Alvin and the Chipmunks from a record sleeve, Winnie the Pooh as a stuffed animal, Baby Kermit as an alarm clock, and Slimer

, who arrives through the wall.

Alf, Garfield, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore identify the thief: Michael, Corey's older brother, who has a box of

marijuana

hidden under his bed. Meanwhile, Corey expresses her concerns about Michael's change in behavior since they used to have a close sibling relationship, which he angrily denies, causing him to storm out of the house. The cartoons set off to take action regarding Michael's addiction, leaving Pooh behind to look after Corey.

At an

Wile E. Coyote. It is shown that Michael's addiction started through peer pressure from older high school students when he was around Corey's age. Back in the present, Michael is hesitant to smoke crack with his "friends" before one of them steals his wallet. He and Smoke chase after her until they fall into a sewer and encounter Michelangelo, who tells them that the drugs are harming his brain. Baby Kermit, Baby Miss Piggy, and Baby Gonzo take him on a roller coaster-like tour of the human brain. Michael finds himself at a park, where Huey, Dewey, and Louie as well as Tigger

join the rest of the cartoons to sing about how to refuse drugs.

Michael wakes up in his room, believing his interactions with the cartoons to be a nightmare. Corey tries talking to him, but he snaps and shoves her against his bedroom wall. He tries to apologize, but she runs out of his room frightened. Smoke approves of Michael's actions, but he starts having regrets. Michael then looks at himself in a small mirror from which Alf grabs him and pulls him inside. Inside a hall of mirrors, Alf shows Michael his current reflection, then an aged, sickly version of himself severely affected by drugs. When Michael insists that he can easily quit and is in control of his actions, Alf reveals that Smoke is actually in charge. Back in Michael's room, Smoke traps Pooh in a cabinet and tempts Corey to try Michael's marijuana for herself. She considers the possibility that it could mend her relationship with Michael.

The drug-induced carnival in Michael's mind leads him to Daffy Duck, who reads his future in a crystal ball and sees an almost skeletal Michael on his deathbed. After one last warning from the cartoons, an ashamed Michael stops Corey from using the drugs just in time. When he apologizes and expresses concern over whether he can change, she advises him to seek help from family. Smoke tries to persuade him otherwise, but Michael throws him out a window into a garbage truck. All of the cartoons appear on a poster on Michael's wall, and they agree to be prepared for if and when Smoke returns. Michael releases Pooh from the cabinet, who jumps into the poster with the others before the siblings go downstairs to talk to their parents.

Characters

The characters, from 10 different franchises, are (in order of appearance):

The Smurfs: Papa Smurf, Brainy Smurf, Hefty Smurf, and some other unidentified Smurfs (although Smurfette is seen on the poster and VHS cover, she doesn't appear in the special; Harmony Smurf and Baby Smurf make picture cameos)
ALF: The Animated Series: ALF
Garfield and Friends: Garfield
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Alvin, Simon, and Theodore
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Winnie the Pooh and Tigger
Muppet Babies: Baby Kermit, Baby Piggy, and Baby Gonzo
The Real Ghostbusters: Slimer
Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny, and Daffy Duck (Wile E. Coyote is mentioned but not seen; his time machine is used by Bugs Bunny)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Michelangelo (although he appears in the special, he is not shown on the poster and VHS cover)
DuckTales: Huey, Dewey, and Louie

Voice cast

The various character owners licensed them freely due to the public service aspect of the special.^[4]^[5]

The special marked the first time the characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck were voiced by someone other than Mel Blanc, who had died shortly before the production,^[6] prompting Warner Bros. to enlist Jeff Bergman in his place.^[7]