Raw Toonage

''Raw Toonage'' is an American animated cartoon program that premiered on CBS on September 19, and ended on December 5, 1992, after 12 episodes or 39 shorts and segments had been broadcast. The program was preceded by a ''He's Bonkers'' theatrical short titled ''Petal to the Metal'' that aired in August 7, 1992.

'' Bonkers'' was spun off from the ''He's Bonkers'' short series and '' Marsupilami'' was spun off from ''Marsupilami'' short series of the program in 1993. '' The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show'' then was spun off from ''Marsupilami'' in 1995.

Cast

Main

* Jeff Bennett as Jitters A. Dog
* Rodger Bumpass as Grumbles the Grizzly
* Nancy Cartwright as Fawn Deer
* Jim Cummings as Bonkers D. Bobcat, Maurice, Norman, Don Karnage (guest star from '' TaleSpin''), Leonardo the Refined Lion
* Steve Mackall as Marsupilami

Guest stars

* René Auberjonois as Chef Louie (from '' The Little Mermaid'')
* Corey Burton as Ludwig Von Drake, Captain Hook (from '' Peter Pan'')
* Christine Cavanaugh as Gosalyn Mallard (from '' Darkwing Duck'')
* Bill Farmer as Goofy (with his style from ''Goof Troop'')
* Frank Welker
* Terry McGovern as Launchpad McQuack (from ''DuckTales'' and ''Darkwing Duck'')
* Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian (from ''The Little Mermaid'')
* Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck (from ''DuckTales'')
* Rita Moreno as Tanya Trunk (episode 2)
* June Foray as Aunt Mindy

Crew

* Ginny McSwain – Dialogue Director
* Jamie Thomason – Talent Coordinator

Short series and segments

* Gray = Hosting — 9 segments, also indicating Goofy starring in "Goofy's Guide to the Olympics" in the sixth episode.
* Blue = He's Bonkers — 11 shorts, excluding the first short ''Petal to the Metal'' (August 7, 1992)
**In that short, Bonkers has to deliver flowers to the starlet Fawn Deer for 5 minutes or else he's fired by his boss Grumbles.
* Green = Marsupilami — 16 shorts, 13 of which became third segments of the episodes of its spin off show in 1993.
* Red = Totally Tasteless Video — 11 shorts that don't have any logical or chronological connection.

History and production

The idea for the show had an unusual genesis. Walt Disney Television Animation was developing a 65-episode half-hour series for their Disney Afternoon block entitled '' He's Bonkers D. Bobcat''. The premise was similar to ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', as the series dealt with the lead character's adventures post-stardom. The actual production of this series was troubled. At some point, someone had the post-modern idea to actually make the cartoons that Bonkers had starred in before becoming a policeman, and ''Disney's Raw Toonage'' was born. At the same time, Michael Eisner had purchased the rights to the popular Belgian comic strip Marsupilami created by André Franquin. ''Totally Tasteless Video'' was intended as a satire of popular culture. A host segment was added to give the program the familiar feel of the ''World of Disney'' show.

Due to the shorter production schedule, ''Disney's Raw Toonage'' was on the air before the above-mentioned half-hour program, thus adding some credibility to the back story. The program typically opens with an introduction by a famous character from Disney (such as Goofy with his style from '' Disney's Goof Troop''), who attempts to share some of their expertise with the audience; then the show has a few of the above-mentioned shorts chained in a row, rounding out the half hour.

He's Bonkers

The premise of the '' He's Bonkers'' shorts is that Bonkers is a delivery person or a proto-hero, usually assisted by Jitters A. Dog. Conflict is provided by Bonkers' love for Fawn Deer, who mainly reciprocates his love for her. Bonkers also has a strict boss or an arch enemy, called Grumbles the Grizzly. Jitters, Fawn and Grumbles also appear in the series ''Bonkers''. Each of the ''He's Bonkers'' shorts were eventually included in 4 special extra compilation episodes of the half-hour series. ''He's Bonkers'' series has 12 shorts overall.

Marsupilami

The ''Marsupilami'' shorts took the look of the character from the Belgian comic, but the characterization differs significantly; Marsupilami is more anthropomorphized, and speaks the language of the human characters fluently, Marsupilami in the comics can only say variations of "houba" and mimic sounds like a parrot. The secondary characters in Disney's Marsupilami series are completely different from those of the comics; in the Disney cartoons, Marsupilami is most often opposed by Norman, who appears in various different roles. Every one but three ("Wannabe Ruler?", "The Young and the Nestless", and "Hot Spots") of the ''Marsupilami'' shorts were not included in the half-hour '' Marsupilami'' series. Marsupilami short series has 16 shorts overall.

Totally Tasteless Video

''Totally Tasteless Video'' did each show in a different style. They were stories edited by Tom Minton, who would later write '' Pinky and the Brain'' at Warner Bros. The first ''Totally Tasteless Video'' short is a parody of movie coming attraction trailers, followed by a spoof on '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'' Other notable shorts involve a badly animated superhero, a prehistoric spoof of '' Magnum, P.I.'', an exorchicken fighting chicken ghosts that haunt a family, and a Robin Hood twist in the Jay Ward style of cartoons. ''Totally Tasteless Video'' series has 11 shorts overall and it didn't have its spin-off tv series.

Larry Latham produced and directed the ''He's Bonkers'', ''Totally Tasteless Video'', and host segments; Ed Wexler produced and directed ''Marsupilami''. At least one of the ''Marsupilami'' cartoons was produced with the idea of a theatrical run in mind.

Reruns of the program were aired on Disney Channel, and Toon Disney. ''Disney's Raw Toonage'' was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in the category of outstanding writing in an animated program and Outstanding Music Direction and Composition in 1993. Music was composed by Stephen James Taylor (character themes and underscore), Mark Watters, Eric Schmidt, Jerry Grant, Walter Murphy, and Craig Stuart Garfinkle. As of 2002, this program is no longer shown following a lawsuit filed against Disney for the breach of contract with use of the character Marsupilami in 1997 as the rights were handed back to Marsu Productions few years later.

References

External links

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{{Disney franchises

1990s American animated comedy television series
1990s American anthology television series
1990s American children's comedy television series
1992 American animated television series debuts
1992 American television series endings
American children's animated anthology television series
American children's animated comedy television series
American English-language television shows
CBS animated television series
Children's television series about talking animals
Television series by Disney Television Animation
Bonkers (TV series)
Marsupilami