This year marks the 20th anniversary of one of my favorite Disney animated series, Raw Toonage. Raw Toonage first aired on September 19th, 1992. It is hosted by various Disney characters It featured H He's Bonkers, Totally Tasteless Videos, and my personal favorite: Marsupilami. I always love it when Marsupilami can speak (He does not only say "HOUBA!"), And has a gorilla friend: Maurice. What was your favorite segment on Raw Toonage?
-------------------------
Marsupilami: "No Maurice, Those flowers were for your lady, Not for your lunch. Now what are you going to give her?"
I never really watched Raw Toonage, so I didn't know that it was the show Marsupilami was from. I kind of stopped watching the Disney Afternoon when Bonkers came out.
Actually, Raw Toonage was never part of the Disney Afternoon; it aired on CBS on Saturday mornings in the fall of 1992. And Marsupilami was a comic in Belgium before it was a TV show. Then Mouse House CEO Michael Eisner acquired the rights to the comic around the time that Raw Toonage was in pre-production.
The He's Bonkers shorts were actually created to be a precursor to the syndicated Bonkers show which aired on The Disney Afternoon, as they tied in to Bonkers' back story of being a Wacky Toons film star before getting the ax.
As for Raw Toonage itsefl, I didn't see much of it, because my local CBS affiliate didn't carry the show.
Well yes, Marsupilami continued to be on Saturday Mornings on NBC and Bonkers moved to syndication.
Slight correction: Bonkers was made for syndication, The Disney Afternoon to be precise. "He's Bonkers" was the segment on Raw Toonage, and reruns of those segments did indeed later turn up on The Disney Afternoon.
Bonkers was not a cop as he was in the 30 minute syndie "Bonkers" stories and Fawn Deer was Bonkers' regular girlfriend in the "Raw Toonage" version. I remember Bonker's frustrated sidekick who always quietly said "I hate my life" as a catch phrase.
"Marsupilami" was okay if repetitive with the ongoing conflict with the mean ape in every story.
I've seen the show on and off. Too many pre-emptions on the CBS Schedule for NCAA Football and Basketball coverage on the West Coast. "Webbygail" the girl duck sidekick to Huey, Dewey, and Louie in the "Duck Tales" show appeared in the show's regular opening intro but she never appeared in any of the segments in the series that I remember. Ludwig Von Drake was sort of the "host" of the show and appearing in the segment's introductions and bumpers.
-------------------------
"Don't chew gum on camera. Don't whistle. You may kiss Bob Barker but please don't kill him." -announcer Johnny Olson briefing the audience of potential contestants for "The Price is Right"
(This post was edited by artytoons on Nov 15, 2012, 8:11 PM)
I remember reading that each show was hosted by a different famous Disney character, like Goofy, the aforementioned Ludwig Von Drake, etc. One of the few whole episodes of Raw Toonage that I actually saw had Don Karnage (from TDA's Tail Spin) as the host.
IIRC, Bonkers' dog companion was named Jitters A. Dog. There was also a grouchy bear named Grumble who was typically cast as the heavy or Bonkers' boss, as I recall.
I don't recall seeing the show, but I've seen the spin-off called "Bonkers"!
Again, not to be anal, but Bonkers was not a spin-off of Raw Toonage, since chronologically Bonkers came first. Bonkers was already in the can and ready to roll when someone at Disney got the idea to actually make the cartoons that Bonkers had starred in before becoming a policeman, and Raw Toonage was born from that. So if anything, Raw Toonage was a spin-on to Bonkers.
I don't recall seeing the show, but I've seen the spin-off called "Bonkers"!
Again, not to be anal, but Bonkers was not a spin-off of Raw Toonage, since chronologically Bonkers came first. Bonkers was already in the can and ready to roll when someone at Disney got the idea to actually make the cartoons that Bonkers had starred in before becoming a policeman, and Raw Toonage was born from that. So if anything, Raw Toonage was a spin-on to Bonkers.
Well, I don't remember much about Bonkers. But I prefer Marsupilami.
-------------------------
Marsupilami: "No Maurice, Those flowers were for your lady, Not for your lunch. Now what are you going to give her?"
^I can't comment on Marsupilami, because I barely saw it, and haven't read the European comic it was based on at all. Again, my local CBS affiliate didn't air Raw Toonage, so I only caught fleeting glimpses of it, usually if I was out of town or on a low-powered TV which wasn't attached to our cable feed where I could see it on a fuzzy, snowy Washington D.C. affiliate. I only know about the "He's Bonkers" shorts because a few of them aired on The Disney Afternoon once or twice.
A Canadian friend of mine tells me the Marsupilami comics were better than the cartoon, but again, I've never read the comic, so it's not for me to comment.
Raw Toonage turns 20
