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Western Animation: Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue

Hey kids! Do drugs and you'll get to see all your favorite cartoon stars!

Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue is a truly epic Drugs Are Bad special that was originally simulcast commercial-free on Saturday morning, April 21, 1990, on all three major American television networks (Fox had only been on the air for three years at that point), along with most independent stations and several cable networks. Produced by the people who award the Emmys (and animated by Wang Film Productions and Southern Star Studios in Australia). Cartoon characters ranging from Looney Tunes to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles try to teach an at-risk teen named Michael about the dangers of marijuana.

The special was relentlessly promoted in the days leading up to the simulcast. Interestingly, the anti-drug angle was underplayed in these commercials. Instead, the ads pushed the insane crossover among the various "All Stars". The special has not been re-aired on any major networks due to a dispute over the use of Garfield being used without creator Jim Davis' permission, though the Disney Channel managed to sneak in a couple repeat airings of it.

Extensive reviews of the special can be found here

and here

. You can find the special in its entire 32 minute glory on Google video

Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue provides examples of the following tropes:

The Aggressive Drug Dealer: In this special, not only are suburban teenagers lurking about giving away cheap-as-free drugs, Mikey also has to worry about Smoke. Smoke is a shoulder-demon who looks like Hexxus from FernGully, is voiced by George C Scott, and ceaselessly persuades you to experiment with said cheap-as-free drugs.
Aloof Big Brother: Michael has apparently turned into this thanks to his drug use, much to Corey's distress. Her comment that "You always tell me everything!" suggests that they were very close before he started using.
Award Bait Song: The ending credits feature a song about growing up and outgrowing cartoons (?) that's somewhere between sad, saccharine, and (thanks to the DuckTales cast, Chipmunks, and Muppet Babies) cacophonous.
Body Horror: Michael's breaking point comes somewhere between the journey through his own badly damaged brain and the point when it's revealed that he will eventually be so strung-out on hard drugs, he will turn into a zombie.
Breaking the Fourth Wall
- The cartoon characters who did it in their own shows are just as unkind to the one between Michael and Corey's reality and ours.
- Miss Piggy literally does this.
Broken Aesop:
Michael: But I can quit if I want to. I'm in charge of my life!
ALF: Wrong! Not when you're on drugs!
- One of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gives Michael a schpiel about how marijuana is bad. Of all the turtles to do so, this special decided it should be Michaelangelo. (It's obvious this is because he was the most "popular" Turtle at the time but the producers clearly had no idea why he was so popular.)
- The special does lampshade this: when Michael sees the DuckTales characters surrounding him, he exclaims, "Now I'm seeing ducks?? Man, I've gotta get off of these drugs!"
Canon Discontinuity: As far as Utrom Shredder's slideshow of the TMNT multiverse in Turtles Forever is concerned. Then again, when talking about multiverses...
Clueless Aesop: Yup.
Covers Always Lie: Smurfette appears on the VHS cover, but not in the special itself.
Disney Acid Sequence/Deranged Animation: Most of the special, ironically enough.
- What Do You Mean, It Wasn't Made on Drugs??
Drugs Are Bad: The whole point.
Future Me Scares Me: Something to do with becoming a zombie heroin addict in a twisted futuristic hospital. But then, zombieism is a well-known side effect of marijuana.
Good Angel, Bad Angel: The titular 'Cartoon All-Stars' who try to show Michael the negative effects of drug abuse, and Smoke, who tries to keep Michael addicted. And when the All-Stars start to get through to Michael, Smoke goes after Corey...
Human Focused Adaptation
Irony: ALF serving as one of the key characters. It's very possible that there never would've been an ALF cartoon if the TV series hadn't run as long as it did, which was mostly due to outrageous scripts written by a guy on drugs.
Massive Multiplayer Crossover: A complete list can be found on the Other Wiki.
Monochrome Past: Used when Michael goes back in time because, as Bugs Bunny tells him, "This is the past and the past is in black and white. Get it?"
Nice Hat: One of Michael's female "friends" has this... head... wear... thing that absolutely must be seen to be believed. More proof that the people behind this thing had no idea how teenagers actually acted or dressed at the time.
Off Model: Ridiculously so even by the standards set by the All-Stars' cartoons. In the scene with Michelangelo, Smoke says an entire line of dialogue without ever even moving his mouth.
- Garfield accidentally opens his mouth when everyone says "Right!" towards the beginning of the special. It's worth noting that this mistake was also made once in the actual show itself-in the episode "Binky Goes Bad!", when Garfield wonders how Binky would be arrested, he accidentally opens his mouth saying "I know!" before getting the script for that day's Binky the Clown show.
Parental Obliviousness: Michael's parents talk about how worried they are about his behavior. While trying to find two cans of beer that have gone missing. And while ignoring their daughter who tells them that he's been acting strange. She in turns neglects to mention the theft of her piggy bank. Because that's not strange at all.
- It could be argued that they all had to be holding the Idiot Ball in that scene to set up Pooh's anvil, but then the scene is kind of lost forever when he tells Corey to consider all the bad things that could happen to her brother if she doesn't tell her folks what's up. Getting to hang out with all your favorite cartoon characters is a bad thing? (Of course, Michael doesn't get to hang out with them so much as he gets to be jerked around by them while they take turns telling him what a stupid idiot he is, so that probably takes a bit of the fun away from it...)
Politician Guest Star: George HW Bush, then President of the United States, provided a live-action introduction along with First Lady Barbara. Other countries that aired this special had their own politicians provide intros.
Scare 'Em Straight: The special is practically a textbook example of (attempting) this trope.
Sequel Hook: The special ends with Michael throwing out Smoke, who says he'll be back. Michael and Corey respond by saying that if he does come back, then they'll be ready for him.
Theme Tune Cameo: When Alvin and the Chipmunks and Slimer first appear, their respective cartoons' theme songs play in the background.
Understatement: "Those drugs are so boring!"
Very Special Episode: Self-explanatory.