Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990)

Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue is a 1990 American animated drug-abuse prevention television special starring many of the popular cartoon characters from American weekday, Sunday morning, and Saturday morning television at the time of this film's release. Financed by McDonald's and Ronald McDonald Children's Charities, the special was originally simulcast on April 21, 1990 on all four major American television networks (by supporting their Saturday morning characters): ABC, NBC, FOX and CBS, and most independent stations, as well as various cable networks. McDonald's also distributed a VHS home video edition of the special, produced by Buena Vista Home Video, which opened with an introduction from President George H. W. Bush, and First Lady Barbara Bush. The show was produced by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation and Southern Star Productions, and was animated overseas by Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd.. The musical number "Wonderful Ways to Say No" was written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who also wrote the songs for Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.

The plot chronicles the exploits of Michael, a teenager who is using marijuana and stealing his father's beer. His younger sister, Corey, is worried about him because he started acting differently. When her piggy bank goes missing, her cartoon tie-in toys come to life to help her find it. After discovering it in Michael's room along with his stash of drugs, the various cartoon characters proceed to work together and take him on a fantasy journey to teach him the risks and consequences a life of drug-use can bring and save the world.



^ "Cartoon special: Congressmen treated to preview of program to air on network, independent and cable outlets.". The Los Angeles Times. 1990-04-19. Retrieved 2010-08-24.

^ Bernstein, Sharon (1990-04-20). "Children's TV: On Saturday, networks will simulcast 'Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue,' an animated feature on drug abuse.". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-08-24.

^ "Hollywood and Networks Fight Drugs With Cartoon". New York Times. 1990-04-21. Retrieved 2010-08-29.

Synopsis

In Corey's bedroom, an unseen person steals her piggy bank from her dresser. The theft is witnessed by Papa Smurf, who emerges from a Smurfs comic book with the other Smurfs and alerts the other cartoon characters in the room (Garfield as a lamp, ALF from a framed picture, Baby Kermit as an alarm clock, Winnie the Pooh as a doll, Alvin and the Chipmunks from a record sleeve, and Slimer who passes through a wall).

Actors