It actually appears as if, somehow, no one has ever done a thread here about Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. If you watched cartoons at all during the late 1980's or early 1990's, then you remember this, period. But, for those unfortunate souls who were too young to experience the epic awesomeness of this anti-drug propaganda piece, allow me to explain just what the big deal was all about.

To sum it all up briefly, back in 1989 McDonalds got together with the administration of George H. W. Bush and the two forces, awash with cash (as multinational food chains and Republican Presidential administrations tend to be), decided to fork out massive amounts of dough in an attempt to get every major cartoon character of the era into a single sprawling epic to help combat the growing youth drug use problem. Of course, us kids couldn't have cared less about the preachy "Just Say No" aspect of the whole thing. All we cared about was the fact that the Turltes, the Smurfs, Bugs Bunny, Winnie the Pooh, AFL, Alvin and Garfield were all going to be on the same show! After much hype, it all came to pass on one fine Saturday in April of 1990. The cartoon equivalent of the Super Bowl was broadcast on no less than FIVE networks at the same time (ABC, NBC, CBS, USA, and Nickelodeon). I have no idea what the ratings were like, but I've yet to hear a kid that was of age at the time admit they haven't seen it.

For those of you that haven't though, take out 30 minutes, grab some popcorn, then sit back, relax, and enjoy the absurdity:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzKx92QD8Hk

Looking back on it now, the whole thing is about as stupid as one might anticipate. Not to mention confusing for kids, as it basically features no less authority than the President of the United States showing you that, if you smoke pot and steal money from your little sister's piggy bank, then the freaking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles might actually come hang out with you. Considering that most kids of the time (myself included) probably would have traded an eye for a chance to meet Michelangelo for five minutes, this might have been counterproductive in the long run. Despite that fact (or perhaps because of it) I think it's safe to say that we'll never see anything quite like this ever again.

Looking back on it now, the whole thing is about as stupid as one might anticipate. Not to mention confusing for kids, as it basically features no less authority than the President of the United States showing you that, if you smoke pot and steal money from your little sister's piggy bank, then the freaking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles might actually come hang out with you. Considering that most kids of the time (myself included) probably would have traded an eye for a chance to meet Michelangelo for five minutes, this might have been counterproductive in the long run. Despite that fact (or perhaps because of it) I think it's safe to say that we'll never see anything quite like this ever again.


There was a whole string of crazy cross-marketing campaigns like this back in the day.  In the arcades, most games of the 90s had the Winners Don't Use Drugs logo displayed while in attract mode.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Winners_Dont_Use_Drugs.png/220px-Winners_Dont_Use_Drugs.png

Gameplay was unaffected, it was just a logo that had been inserted into the game.  (I don't have any information on the politics behind the move, namely whether it was inserted in exchange for some cash grant/bribe from the government, or whether was it was added "voluntarily" as a result of "moral suasion", aka veiled threats of arcade-unfriendly legislation.  Does anyone have any history on how the logo found its way into the games?)

I'm pleased to note the article I linked mentions the one game that actually turned an anti-drug message into an awesome game:  Eugene Jarvis' 1988 hit NARC featured the best graphics of its day (512x400x8K colors) on the top-of-the-line hardware Williams had to offer, and ate many rolls of quarters while providing hours of gory fun!

I remember watching that not too long ago for s**ts and giggles. I probably saw what when I was young too.

Some users on Youtube who do annotated series to cartoons and such also did annotations to it:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The annotations are also a form of parody, it actually adds to the insanity of the whole thing.

I loved cartoons....still watch some old ones and ones (sorry step no ponies or anime for me tho)


I don't know how I missed it but I did.

Thanks for posting this- maybe I'll remember to check it out on my days off 

I loved cartoons....still watch some old ones and ones (sorry step no ponies or anime for me tho)


I don't know how I missed it but I did.

Thanks for posting this- maybe I'll remember to check it out on my days off


You didn't even have to mention that in your post.  ::)

You didn't even have to mention that in your post.  ::)


;D

;D


:D

I just watched this the other day, it's interesting to see that this is the first time that someone other than Mel Blanc voiced Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Also, Jim Cummings as Pooh.... I can't tell a difference between Jim Cummings and Sterling Holloway, it's like the actor didn't change at all. I LOL'd when Pooh got his butt handed to him by Smoke >:D

I just watched this the other day, it's interesting to see that this is the first time that someone other than Mel Blanc voiced Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Also, Jim Cummings as Pooh.... I can't tell a difference between Jim Cummings and Sterling Holloway, it's like the actor didn't change at all. I LOL'd when Pooh got his butt handed to him by Smoke >:D


What's funny is that this special showcases a trope artifact, aka the aggressive drug dealer.

This trope existed throughout the late 80s and for a little while in the 90s, PSA commercials at that time made it look like the drug dealers would give away drugs for free at first to get kids hooked.

One of the reasons for this probably was if they would used kids rejecting their peers drug offers, it would have looked anti-social by 80s standards(in contrast, newer PSAs do use the "rejecting your friends drugs" angle instead). This made using a pushy drug dealer easier in comparison.

The hilarity is that no smart drug dealer in their right mind would try to push drugs on anyone, due to the fact that it draws greater attention to them(thus risking arrest) and is the equivalent of throwing away money.

What's funny is that this special showcases a trope artifact, aka the aggressive drug dealer.

This trope existed throughout the late 80s and for a little while in the 90s, PSA commercials at that time made it look like the drug dealers would give away drugs for free at first to get kids hooked.


I can't find the late-2000s/early-2010s PSA that showed "cigarette girls" using this trope, but I did find this (unrelated to the topic of tobacco marketers as aggressive dealers, but very relevant to what PSAs were like in the 80s) little gem:

zJlA09EflBU
  - Public Service Announcement, Cigarette Mash, New York State Health Department, 1985.

I actually remember watching this in school as a kid.  It had to be a few years after it originally aired, since I wasn't even in school at the time.

It seems like the War on Drugs has declined a bit. How many schools still have DARE programs?  ;D

It seems like the War on Drugs has declined a bit. How many schools still have DARE programs?  ;D


Probably none, since the aggressive drug dealer trope is obsolete.  :D

I actually remember watching this in school as a kid.  It had to be a few years after it originally aired, since I wasn't even in school at the time.


Yep. We watched this thing annually for the first four years that I was in elementary school. By the last time (when I was in 3rd grade) I could actually just about recite the script word for word.

I'm bumping my own topic in commemoration of the fact that last Thursday was the 26th anniversary of Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.

And, so anybody that hasn't seen this thing could have another chance to watch it. Really, it's worth the time just to see Winnie the Pooh talking about pot smoking alone. ;D

I'd watch the movie from the Nostalgia Critic's review. It was alright, but not as good as the other late 80s/early 90s cartoons.

https://vice-images.vice.com/images/content-images/2015/04/20/looking-back-on-cartoon-all-stars-to-the-rescue-421-body-image-1429569695.jpg?resize=*:*&output-quality=75


Woah! When I looked at the title of this thread, at first I was like "ok something from the late 80's/early 90's? Neh I don't remember that." but then all of the sudden I just searched this and found out it was a cartoon movie that thought you about not using drugs (weed was used as the example lol) and in this day in time with marijuana being legalized in some states and it becoming more popular, man the message of this movie would not stand up anymore. It be a epic failure, but damn the flashbacks were crazy. Throughout 1999-early 2001 I used to watch this on VHS regularly. I didn't really understand what was going on but I loved the movie because it felt so dreamy and adventurous with all the cartoon colors in my head. I never got the full message of this movie until years later, but when I was a preschooler watching this regularly it felt like a rollercoaster ride at Six Flags or something with cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny, Alvin, or Leonardo. Going down the sewage all the way to the changing mirrors. That smoke villain used to be creepy as well. This movie was also the very first time I discovered Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck too, before I started watching Looney Tunes on CN regularly.