Raw Toonage - History and Production

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. The premise was similar to Who Framed Roger Rabbit 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 had purchased the rights to the popular Belgian comic strip Marsupilami. 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 with his Goof Troop style), 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 episodes at Warner Bros.. 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 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.