Raw Toonage
Encyclopedia
Disney's Raw Toonage is a half hour Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

 animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...

 series that aired on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 network in the fall of 1992.

History and production

The idea for the show had an unusual genesis. Disney TV was developing a 65-half hour series for their Disney Afternoon block entitled He's Bonkers D. Bobcat
Bonkers (TV series)
Bonkers is an animated American television series that aired from September 4, 1993 to February 23, 1994 in first-run syndication . The syndicated run was available both separately, and as part of The Disney Afternoon...

. The premise was similar to Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...

in that the series dealt with the lead character's adventures post-stardom. The actual production of this series was troubled, in large part because the so-called real characters in the series were also animated, only not as broadly as Bonkers and friends.

At the same time, Michael Eisner
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until 2005.-Early life:...

 had purchased the rights to the popular Belgian comic strip Marsupilami
Marsupilami
Marsupilami is a fictional comic book species created by André Franquin, first published on 31 January 1952 in the magazine Spirou. Since then it appeared regularly in the popular Belgian comic book series Spirou et Fantasio until Franquin stopped working on the series in 1968 and the character...

. At some point, someone had the post-modern idea to actually make the cartoons that Bonkers had starred in before becoming a policeman, and the show that would become Raw Toonage was born. The additional segment, Totally Tasteless Video, was intended as a satire of popular culture, not a proving ground for new stars. The host was added to give the show the familiar feel of the World of Disney show.

Due to the shorter production schedule, Raw Toonage, with its Bonkers shorts, was on the air before the 65-half hour show, thus adding some credibility to the back story.

Raw Toonage typically opened with an introduction by a famous character from Disney (such as Goofy
Goofy
Goofy is a cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck...

), who attempted to share some of their expertise with the audience; then the show had a few of the above mentioned shorts chained in a row, rounding out the half hour.

The premise of the Bonkers shorts was that Bonkers was a delivery person, usually assisted by Jitters A. Dog. Conflict was provided by Bonkers' unrequited love for Fawn Deer.

The Marsupilami cartoons took the look of the character from the Belgian comic and gave him a free-spirited personality. He was most often opposed by Foreman Norman, a building contractor.

Totally Tasteless Video did each show in a different style. They were story edited by Tom Minton, who later would write many Pinky and the Brain
Pinky and the Brain
Pinky and the Brain is an American animated television series.The characters Pinky and the Brain first appeared in 1993 as a recurring segment on the show Animaniacs...

episodes at Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

. The first Totally Tasteless Video segment was a parody of movie coming attraction trailers, followed by a spoof on the TV series Doogie Howser. One show dealt with a purposely badly animated super-hero; another was a Robin Hood twist in the Jay Ward style.

Larry Latham produced and directed the 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.

Music composed by Stephen James Taylor (character themes and underscore), Mark Watters, Eric Schmidt, Jerry Grant, Walter Murphy, and Craig Stuart Garfinkle.

Reruns of the show were aired on both Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...

 and Toon Disney
Toon Disney
Toon Disney was an American cable television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company. A spinoff of Disney Channel, it mostly aired children's animated series and some live action programming. Its format had similarities to those of Cartoon Network and Nicktoons...

. "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.

Cast

  • Charlie Adler - Green Frog
  • Jeff Bennett - Jitters A. Dog
  • Rodger Bumpass
    Rodger Bumpass
    Rodger Albert Bumpass is an American character actor and voice actor, who is noted for his long-running-roles as Squidward Tentacles on the hit series SpongeBob SquarePants, and The Chief from Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?. He also voiced Professor Membrane on Invader Zim...

     - Grumbles the Grizzly
  • Nancy Cartwright
    Nancy Cartwright
    Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...

     - Fawn Deer, Windy
  • Jim Cummings
    Jim Cummings
    James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...

     - Bonkers D. Bobcat, Maurice, Norman, Don Karnage (guest star from TaleSpin
    TaleSpin
    TaleSpin is a half-hour American animated television series based in the fictional city of Cape Suzette, that first aired in 1990 as part of The Disney Afternoon, with characters adapted from Disney's 1967 animated feature The Jungle Book. The name of the show is a play on "tailspin", the rapid,...

    )
  • Steve Mackall
    Steve Mackall
    Stephen "Steve" Mackall is a Canadian-American cartoon voice actor. He is best known for the voice of Marsupilami in the cartoon, Disney's Marsupilami ....

     - Marsupilami

Guest stars

  • René Auberjonois - Chef Louie (from The Little Mermaid
    The Little Mermaid (TV series)
    The Little Mermaid is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation based on the 1989 Disney film of the same name. It features the adventures of Ariel as a mermaid prior to the events of the film. This series is the first Disney television series to be spun...

    )
  • Corey Burton
    Corey Burton
    Corey Burton is an American voice actor, perhaps best known as Count Dooku, Ziro the Hutt and Cad Bane in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Brainiac in the DC animated universe and Spike Witwicky and Shockwave in the Transformers universe...

     - Ludwig Von Drake, Captain Hook (from Peter Pan
    Peter Pan (1953 film)
    Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. It is the fourteenth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and was originally released on February 5, 1953 by RKO Pictures...

    )
  • Christine Cavanaugh
    Christine Cavanaugh
    Christine Cavanaugh is an American former voice actress who had a distinctive speaking style and had provided the voice for a large range of cartoon characters. She is best known as the voice of Babe in the hit film, Babe, Chuckie Finster on Rugrats, and Dexter for the original Dexter's Laboratory...

     - Gosalyn Mallard (from Darkwing Duck
    Darkwing Duck
    DarkWing Duck is an American animated television series produced by The Walt Disney Company that ran from 1991–1992 on both the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon and Saturday mornings on ABC. It featured the eponymous anthropomorphic duck superhero whose alter ego is mild-mannered...

    )
  • Bill Farmer
    Bill Farmer
    William "Bill" Farmer is an American voice actor and comedian, best known for being the current voice of the Disney characters Goofy, Pluto and Horace Horsecollar.-Early life:...

     - Goofy
  • Terry McGovern
    Terry McGovern (actor)
    Terence "Terry" McGovern is an American film actor, television broadcaster, radio personality, voice-over specialist, and acting instructor.-Personal life:...

     - Launchpad McQuack (from DuckTales
    DuckTales
    DuckTales is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge comic book series, it premiered on September 18, 1987 and ended on November 28, 1990 with a total of four seasons and 100 episodes...

     and Darkwing Duck
    Darkwing Duck
    DarkWing Duck is an American animated television series produced by The Walt Disney Company that ran from 1991–1992 on both the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon and Saturday mornings on ABC. It featured the eponymous anthropomorphic duck superhero whose alter ego is mild-mannered...

    )
  • Russi Taylor
    Russi Taylor
    Russi Taylor is an American voice actress. She is the current voice actress of Disney's Minnie Mouse character. She has held this role since 1986, longer than any other voice actress...

     - Webby Vanderquack (from DuckTales
    DuckTales
    DuckTales is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge comic book series, it premiered on September 18, 1987 and ended on November 28, 1990 with a total of four seasons and 100 episodes...

    )
  • Samuel E. Wright
    Samuel E. Wright
    Samuel E. Wright is an American film and theater actor and singer who is best known as the voice of Sebastian in Disney's The Little Mermaid, for which he provided the main vocals to "Under the Sea", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He also voiced Kron in Disney's CGI film...

     - Sebastian the Crab (from The Little Mermaid
    The Little Mermaid (TV series)
    The Little Mermaid is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation based on the 1989 Disney film of the same name. It features the adventures of Ariel as a mermaid prior to the events of the film. This series is the first Disney television series to be spun...

    )
  • Alan Young
    Alan Young
    Alan Young is an English-Canadian actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games...

     - Scrooge McDuck (from DuckTales
    DuckTales
    DuckTales is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge comic book series, it premiered on September 18, 1987 and ended on November 28, 1990 with a total of four seasons and 100 episodes...

    )

Additional Voices

  • S. Scott Bullock
    S. Scott Bullock
    Stuart Scott Bullock , best known as S. Scott Bullock, is an American actor Bullock is best known for his role as Eddy "Edgar" the Jersey Cow in Barnyard: The Original Party Animals and Back at the Barnyard, Mr...

     -
  • Jodi Carlisle
    Jodi Carlisle
    Jodi Carlisle is an American actress. She appeared in several television and film roles since 1982.-Voice work:Voice actress Jodi Carlisle has been doing voice work for a number of years, beginning on the cartoon series Pac Man in 1982...

     -
  • Brian Cummings
    Brian Cummings
    Brian Cummings is an American voice actor.-Biography:He is known for his work in radio and television commercials, television and motion picture promos, cartoons and as the announcer on The All-New Let's Make a Deal from 1984 to 1985...

     -
  • Pat Fraley
    Pat Fraley
    Patrick "Pat" Fraley is an American voice actor, who is best known as the voice of Krang, Casey Jones and numerous other characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...

     -
  • Tress MacNeille
    Tress MacNeille
    Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...

     -
  • Rita Moreno
    Rita Moreno
    Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....

     -
  • Gary Owens
    Gary Owens
    Gary Owens is an American disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offers deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Owens is equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and is...

     - Badly-Animated Man
  • Rob Paulsen
    Rob Paulsen
    Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...

     -
  • Kath Soucie
    Kath Soucie
    Katherine Elaine Soucie is an American voice actress. She is sometimes credited as Kath Soucie, Katherine Soucie, Kath Souci, Kath E...

     -
  • Dave Thomas
    Dave Thomas (actor)
    David "Dave" Thomas is a Canadian comedian and actor. He was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, but moved to Durham, North Carolina where his father, John E. Thomas, attended Duke University and earned a PhD in Philosophy. Thomas attended George Watts and Moorehead elementary schools...

     -

External links

  • The opening sequence, on YouTube
    YouTube
    YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

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