Bonkers (American TV series)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Bonkers (TV series))
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

This article is about the Disney animated series. For other TV shows with the same title, see Bonkers.
Bonkers
File:Disney Bonkers logo.png
Genre <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Created by Jay Lender
Larry Latham
Greg Weisman
Duane Capizzi
Robert Hathcock
Richard Trueblood
Len Smith
Voices of <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Theme music composer Randy Petersen
Kevin Quinn
Opening theme Bonkers Theme performed by
Rob Paulsen
Randy Petersen
Kevin Quinn
John Bauman
Kasey Cisyk
Composer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 4 + Half-Hour Episodes
No. of episodes 61 + 4 Half-Hour Episodes (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Greg Weisman

Duane Capizzi and Bob Hathcock (Miranda Wright era seasons)
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Walt Disney Television Animation
Release
Original network <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Picture format NTSC
Original release February 28, 1993 (1993-02-28) –
February 23, 1994 (1994-02-23)
Chronology
Related shows <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Bonkers is an American animated television series and a spinoff as segment series[clarification needed] called He's Bonkers of Disney's Raw Toonage.[1] It aired from February 28, 1993, to February 23, 1994,[2] in first-run syndication (after a "preview airing" on The Disney Channel in early 1993).[3] The syndicated run was available both separately and as part of the programming block The Disney Afternoon.[4] Reruns of the show continued in syndication until 1996 and were later shown on Toon Disney until late 2004.

<templatestyles src="Template:TOC limit/styles.css" />

Premise

The premise of the series was that Bonkers D. Bobcat, an anthropomorphic bobcat who was a popular cartoon star, had washed out of show business and became a cop. He was made the junior partner of Detective Lucky Piquel, a grim and ill-tempered human who hates toons. Throughout the series, the pair work together to solve crimes in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, region. Bonkers repeatedly tried to win Piquel's praise, but usually just ended up ruining missions with his antics.[5] But often those goofy antics would prove to save the day.

After multiple episodes of working with Bonkers, Piquel was given an FBI job in Washington, D.C., and with great glee was finally able to leave Bonkers, but finally realized that after all the time spent hating working with Bonkers he had grown to love him. He took along the police radio, the light, Toots and Fall-Apart Rabbit.[6] At the end of the "Lucky" episodes, Bonkers was given a new partner, the attractive cool-headed Officer Miranda Wright. Although also human, she was far more patient and tolerant of his antics than was Piquel.[citation needed] With Miranda, Bonkers was more the brunt of the slapstick.

Episodes

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Main article: List of Bonkers episodes

The following is an episode list of Bonkers, an animated American television series that first aired from September 4, 1993 to February 23, 1994 and then continued airing as reruns until 1995 on The Disney Afternoon (with select episodes airing on The Disney Channel from February to June 1993 as a preview for the series[3]). The series was set in a Roger Rabbit-like world where "toons" and humans co-exist.

The premise of the series was that Bonkers D. Bobcat, an anthropomorphic bobcat who was a popular cartoon star (he appeared in Disney's Raw Toonage shorts in the fictional world of Bonkers as well) had washed out of show business and became a cop. He was made the junior partner of Detective Lucky Piquel, a grim and ill-tempered human who hates toons. Throughout the series, the pair work together to solve crimes in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, California region. Bonkers repeatedly tried to win Piquel's praise, but usually just ended up ruining missions with his antics.

After some years of working with Bonkers, Piquel was given an FBI job in Washington, D.C., and with great glee was finally able to leave Bonkers, but finally realized that after all the time spent hating working with Bonkers, he had grown to love him. At the end of the "Lucky" episodes, Bonkers was given a new partner, the attractive Sergeant Miranda Wright. Although also human, she was far more patient and tolerant of his antics than was Piquel. With Miranda, Bonkers was more the brunt of the slapstick.

Broadcast chronology

Bonkers' 65 episodes all aired on The Disney Afternoon during the 1993–1994 television season. However, the series can be broken up into multiple groups of episodes, based on when they originally aired and from which set of episodes they came (i.e., the Lucky Piquel episodes, the Miranda Wright episodes, or the Raw Toonage compilation episodes).

Nine of the 19 Miranda Wright episodes first aired on The Disney Channel between February and June 1993 as a preview for the series.[3] These are referred to here as "Group 1."

The syndicated run of the show began with a special hour-long airing of the Lucky Piquel pilot story ("Going Bonkers"/"Gone Bonkers"), that aired the weekend before the series' Disney Afternoon premiere. This first episode was later split into two parts, which are treated as separate episodes. Nineteen more Lucky episodes subsequently premiered in September and October 1993. These 21 episodes are referred to here as "Group 2."

In October 1993, the 19 Miranda Wright episodes aired on The Disney Afternoon, preceded by a special crossover episode, "New Partners on the Block," which tied the previously produced Miranda episodes into the continuity of the Lucky Piquel episodes. Along with the 9 Miranda episodes previously shown on The Disney Channel, 10 more Miranda episodes made their debut. The 10 new Miranda episodes, along with "New Partners on the Block," are referred to here as "Group 3."

In November 1993, 20 more Lucky Piquel episodes began airing on The Disney Afternoon. Fifteen of them premiered in November, with the last 5 being held over until February 1993 (most likely to coincide with the February ratings sweeps). The last 20 Lucky episodes are referred to here as "Group 4."

In addition, four compilation episodes, featuring the Bonkers segments from Raw Toonage were interspersed among the other episodes. These episodes are listed separately.

When the series went into reruns, the Lucky Piquel and Miranda Wright episodes were usually rerun separately (i.e., all of the Lucky episodes, then all of the Miranda episodes, then the Lucky episodes again, etc.), even if the episodes were rerun out of order. (The compilation episodes would be rerun with the Lucky episodes.)

Each episode was given a production code by Walt Disney Television Animation. These codes are in the format "4311-xxx"; the Miranda episodes are numbered "4311-0xx", while the Lucky episodes (along with "New Partners on the Block" and the compilation episodes) are numbered "4311-1xx." The Miranda episodes' production numbers are not consecutive; several numbers are skipped over. The production codes have been sourced from the individual episode registration records in the U.S. Copyright Office catalog. (Since not all of these episode records have a listed production code, and because of the skips in the Miranda episode numbering, the codes for "The Stork Exchange" and "Toon for a Day" are not known.)

In addition, Disney's distribution arm Buena Vista Television used a different numbering system, with all of the Lucky Piquel episodes in production code order, followed by "New Partners on the Block", then all of the Miranda Wright episodes in production code order, with the four compilation episodes randomly interspersed among the Lucky episodes (except for "If," which is placed between "New Partners on the Block" and the rest of the Miranda episodes). BVTV's episode codes carry the prefix "BK-xx". This numbering was also the order generally used when the series was broadcast outside of North America, except with "Going Bonkers" and "Gone Bonkers" moved to the beginning of the order. The resultant "international" order (excluding the compilation episodes) perhaps most closely reflects the series' in-universe chronology.

Series overview

Group Episodes Originally aired
First episode Last episode
1 9 February 28, 1993 (1993-02-28) June 6, 1993 (1993-06-06)
2 21 September 4, 1993 (1993-09-04) October 1, 1993 (1993-10-01)
3 11 October 4, 1993 (1993-10-04) October 29, 1993 (1993-10-29)
4 20 November 1, 1993 (1993-11-01) February 23, 1994 (1994-02-23)

Episode list

Group 1 (1993) (Miranda Wright)

# # Title Original airdate Prod. code BK #
1 1 "Trains, Toons and Toon Trains" February 28, 1993 (1993-02-28) (Disney Channel)
Disney Afternoon: October 11, 1993		 4311-006 BK-51
Miranda and Bonkers are sent to escort a criminal, Stiff Lips Sullivan on a train, who knows the location of a stolen jewel cache. A mob couple is also interested in the jewels, but Bonkers eventually misleads them to the police station.
2 2 "Tokyo Bonkers" March 7, 1993 (1993-03-07) (Disney Channel)
Disney Afternoon: October 18, 1993		 4311-008 BK-53
Miranda and Bonkers are delivering Z-Bot to the Tokyo Police HQ, but Bonkers loses him to Z-Bot's minions, the Ninja Kitties. Miranda and the Tokyo Inspector track Z-Bot only to be apprehended. Bonkers comes to the rescue and traps Z-Bot.
3 3 "The Stork Exchange" March 14, 1993 (1993-03-14) (Disney Channel)
Disney Afternoon: October 25, 1993		 4311-003 BK-49
Sleazy Lilith DuPrave kidnaps the storks who bring Toon babies, as part of a plot to smuggle a stolen weapon out of the country.
4 4 "Bobcat Fever" March 21, 1993 (1993-03-21) (Disney Channel)
Disney Afternoon: October 6, 1993		 4311-028 BK-65
Al Vermin tricks Cheryl Germ (a toon microbe and an actress) into infecting Bonkers, while she thinks that it is just her role in a new movie. Miranda and Professor von Drake have to stop Cheryl before she causes irreversible damage to Bonkers' brain.
5 5 "The Toon That Ate Hollywood" April 4, 1993 (1993-04-04) (Disney Channel)
Disney Afternoon: October 13, 1993		 4311-010 BK-55
A lame clown named Gloomy, and his toon frog sidekick, Giggles steals Dr. Von Drake's Humoriser and drains toons' sense of humor. Miranda and Bonkers follow the trail and the clown overloads the humoriser causing his frog partner to mutate into a humor monster. Miranda beats the monster with a round of gags.
6 6 "When the Spirit Moves You" April 11, 1993 (1993-04-11) (Disney Channel)
Disney Afternoon: October 20, 1993		 4311-025 BK-64
Bonkers and Miranda get a ghost to leave the building that it is haunting but now it is haunting the police station. Can they get the ghost to leave or will the police station be forever haunted?
7 7 "Fistful of Anvils" April 18, 1993 (1993-04-18) (Disney Channel)
Disney Afternoon: October 27, 1993		 4311-019 BK-60
Bonkers is babysitting Miranda's nephew, Timmy. Bonkers tells him a Wild Western story about Anvil Gulch starring Trail Mix to save the town from the Bug-Eyed Bandits with the aid of Two-Gun.
8 8 "What You Read Is What You Get" April 25, 1993 (1993-04-25) (Disney Channel)
Disney Afternoon: October 7, 1993		 4311-020 BK-61
Bonkers constantly reads the papers when what he reads happen. At the National Trash the boss and her typewriter Hilde abduct Bonkers. Hilde turns against her boss when she realises what she types are lies. Bonkers wakes up to find all this never happened.
9 9 "Toon for a Day" June 6, 1993 (1993-06-06) (Disney Channel)
Disney Afternoon: October 22, 1993		 4311-004 BK-50
After Wildman Wyatt is arrested, Sgt. Grating gets hit on the head convinced he's Bucky Buzzsaw, causing problems. Wildman escapes and goes after Grating. After a round of ambushes, Grating takes care of Wildman with a large statue.

Group 2 (1993) (Lucky Piquel)

# # Title Original airdate Prod. code BK #
10 1 "Going Bonkers (Part 1)" September 4, 1993 (1993-09-04) 4311-124 BK-24
W.W. Wacky cancels Bonkers and his friends' show production. Bonkers joins the Hollywood Police with a partner, Lucky Piquel on a case for missing Toons, snatched by a criminal called 'The Collector'.
11 2 "Gone Bonkers (Part 2)" September 4, 1993 (1993-09-04) 4311-136 BK-36
Bonkers gets captured by Doodles during his search for Fallapart. Toots leads Piquel to the Collector's hideout, saving Bonkers. The Collector is revealed to be a human before he gets trapped in the prop box.
12 3 "In the Bag" September 6, 1993 (1993-09-06) 4311-101 BK-01
Bonkers and Piquel investigate the Hatter's house where items are being stolen. The thieving Toon Handbag gives the duo a hard time, but he eventually reveals his true colours and gives back what he took.
13 4 "Hear No Bonkers, See No Bonkers" September 7, 1993 (1993-09-07) 4311-104 BK-04
Bonkers accidentally gets Piquel fired and he and Onnie vanish from a toon invisibility substance disguised as bath foam. Piquel and Bonkers tail the crooks that advertised the substance and Piquel gets his job back.
14 5 "Out of Sight, Out of Toon" September 8, 1993 (1993-09-08) 4311-108 BK-08
In search of the minuscule toon Maggie, Piquel catches Toon Flu. Bonkers and Fallapart try to cure Piquel before he completely becomes a toon, while Piquel stumbles upon Maggie in the sewers and finds the flu wasn't serious after all.
15 6 "Is Toon Fur Really Warm?" September 9, 1993 (1993-09-09) 4311-102 BK-02
Piquel requests Bonkers to invite Skunky Skunk to Marilyn's birthday, but finds he has disappeared after being accused of manslaughter. The Toon Squad track Skunky and eventually catch the culprits, Seymour Chumski and Jed McScam.
16 7 "Calling All Cars" September 10, 1993 (1993-09-10) 4311-105 BK-05
Toon tow truck Ma Parker gets into Piquel's confidence to steal car parts from the police garage assisted by Wooly and Bully. Bonkers reveals Ma Parker's intentions to Piquel and the duo stop the criminals at the monster truck competition.
17 8 "Fall Apart Bomb Squad" September 13, 1993 (1993-09-13) 4311-107 BK-07
A crazy Toon Bomb who wants to be a stand-up comic terrorizes the city, and Piquel and Bonkers take the case with their new explosives expert, Fall-Apart Rabbit.
18 9 "In Toons We Trust" September 14, 1993 (1993-09-14) 4311-114 BK-14
Piquel arrests Baby Hubert at a robbery scene, while Bonkers assumes he is innocent, but Diamond Bill makes matters worse for both Bonkers and Hubert. Piquel and Bonkers chase Diamond Bill and clear Hubert's name.
19 10 "Never Cry Pig" September 15, 1993 (1993-09-15) 4311-129 BK-29
Piquel and Bonkers are beckoned by the Three Big Pigs to catch the Mean Old Wolf, which they pin for their own damages. Bonkers breaks the wolf out prison and they arrive at Porkwood managing to uncover the pigs' scam plan.
20 11 "Hamster Houseguest" September 16, 1993 (1993-09-16) 4311-110 BK-10
A big toon hamster called Tiny has a stayover at Piquel's house. He's actually hiding from the Mysterious Shadow, revealed to be his old friend Mr. Big. Their lack of experience in the real world makes it hard to get a new job.
21 12 "The Cheap Sheep Sweep" September 17, 1993 (1993-09-17) 4311-103 BK-03
Bonkers and Piquel go on a case for stolen items and missing toons. A sneaky wolf who is behind this abducts Bonkers. Piquel goes undercover in the sheep factory to save Bonkers and the two put the wolf in sheep's clothing.
22 13 "The Day the Toon Stood Still" September 20, 1993 (1993-09-20) 4311-117 BK-17
Toons everywhere have gone out of control. Fall Apart takes Piquel and Bonkers to Pops Clock, who is causing havoc due to feeling taken for granted by the toons. Fall Apart manages to renew Pops' faith with a 'thank you', prompting him to fix the damage.
23 14 "Weather or Not" September 21, 1993 (1993-09-21) 4311-121 BK-21
Piquel gets annoyed from the repeated misleading weather forecasts caused by the absence of the weather toons: Sunny, Cloudy, Snowy, Sparky, and Toony Tornado. Bonkers eventually reveals the disappearance was staged by the weather toons themselves and he traps them in a weather map.
24 15 "Basic Spraining" September 22, 1993 (1993-09-22) 4311-109 BK-09
Having failed to catch the mastermind criminal Slippery McSlime, Piquel sends Bonkers to police academy, a trap set up specially by McSlime to dispose of the duo. Using toon tricks, Bonkers outsmarts and busts Mackey.
25 16 "Once in a Blue Toon" September 23, 1993 (1993-09-23) 4311-113 BK-13
Piquel and Bonkers have been chosen for a toon reforming program starting with a toon that eats everything in sight called Louse. The program does not go well with Louse, but Piquel's anger prompts him into behaving.
26 17 "Luna-Toons" September 24, 1993 (1993-09-24) 4311-116 BK-16
An alien called Cadet Quark sets off to conquer the earth. Bonkers makes friends with Quark, while Piquel is seeking a thief (Crab Nebula). Quark helps Piquel catch Crab Nebula and asks his superiors to allow him to stay on earth.
27 18 "Time Wounds All Heels" September 27, 1993 (1993-09-27) 4311-131 BK-31
Convicted Max Coody a man sentenced 20 years ago is released from prison and wants to get even with Piquel. Piquel frantically tries to protect himself. Rather than exact revenge on Piquel, Max is filled with gratitude for helping him reform.
28 19 "Poltertoon" September 28, 1993 (1993-09-28) 4311-132 BK-32
A ghost wreaks havoc in the Piquel household, just on the day the Kanifky's invite themselves over for dinner.
29 20 "Hand Over the Dough" September 29, 1993 (1993-09-29) 4311-123 BK-23
Piquel and Bonkers investigate explosions of Butterman Bakery's service. Mikey Muffin is revealed to be the bomber in order to take over Butterman's business. Piquel and Bonkers halt Mikey's plan and turn Mikey into a biscuit.
30 21 "Tune Pig" October 1, 1993 (1993-10-01) 4311-106 BK-06
Piquel takes Dilandra for their anniversary to the Holio Kalimari Concert. The untalented Holio is forcing Charlie pig to sing his songs. Bonkers rescues Charlie's mother from Old Mac's petting zoo while Piquel disrupts Holio at dinner.

Group 3 (1993) (Miranda Wright)

# # Title Original airdate Prod. code BK #
31 1 "New Partners on the Block" October 4, 1993 (1993-10-04) 4311-145 BK-45
Piquel tries go on a case for Fireball Frank solo, and is seemingly killed, but is actually captured with Agent Talson by Frank. Together Officer Miranda and Bonkers rescue the two and arrest Frank. Bonker's partnership with Piquel is switched with Miranda.
32 2 "Witless for the Prosecution" October 5, 1993 (1993-10-05) 4311-002 BK-48
Miranda can testify against publisher Lillith DuPrave at her counterfeiting trial. So, she hides out in Bonkers's house until the trial. So, Bonkers and his friends decide to annoy her by smothering her with attention.
33 3 "Do Toons Dream of Animated Sheep?" October 8, 1993 (1993-10-08) 4311-016 BK-59
Tired of being a part of Bonkers dreams, the toon sheep Baa-bara invades the dreams to make them her own, draining Bonkers health. With the help of Dr. Von Drake, Bonkers manages to exchange good dreams for Baa-bara in return for ceasing her invasion.
34 4 "Quibbling Rivalry" October 12, 1993 (1993-10-12) 4311-012 BK-57
After Miranda catches a cat burglar, her TV reporter sister Shirley arrives. In broadcasts, Shirley films Bonkers in troubled situations, making him look like a menace to society. Miranda gets a good scoop after Bonkers saves an old lady and her cat from a building on fire.
35 5 "Springtime for the Iguana" October 14, 1993 (1993-10-14) 4311-009 BK-54
Bonkers takes Roderick Lizard to star at the studio. Crunchy sets Roderick up for arson in order to get the part for himself. Bonkers has a hard time getting answers, while Roderick bails himself out of prison. Together they chase and pin down Crunchy.
36 6 "CasaBonkers" October 15, 1993 (1993-10-15) 4311-021 BK-62
In a restaurant Bonkers recalls an interest for Catcha. As Al Vermin bursts in, Catcha entrusts a package to Bonkers. The package is revealed to contain the Circle Beenie. Al Vermin, Catcha, Miranda and Flaps all try to get it from Bonkers until the original owners come to reclaim it.
37 7 "Love Stuck" October 19, 1993 (1993-10-19) 4311-001 BK-47
Bonkers and Miranda investigate disappearing bachelors on the "Love Corral" TV show. Envious Winston Prickly kidnaps the latest Bachelor. Bonkers goes undercover in the game show only to lose Rita. Bonkers tails Winston all the way to an amusement park.
38 8 "Of Mice and Menace" October 21, 1993 (1993-10-21) 4311-007 BK-52
Flaps and three mice steal from the toon museum, Dumbo's flag. Bonkers adopts the three mice as pets, while Miranda arrests Flaps. Bonkers endures their abuse, as they endure his embarrassing welfare. The mice soon turn against Flaps and reform for their crimes.
39 9 "Dog Day AfterToon" October 26, 1993 (1993-10-26) 4311-011 BK-56
After the "Pitts and Smarts" show is cancelled, Pitts threatens a bank with a bomb for a demand to get back into showbiz. Bonkers tries everything to convince Pitts until they get into a chase to the airport, when Bonkers blows Pitts with his own bomb.
40 10 "The 29th Page" October 28, 1993 (1993-10-28) 4311-015 BK-58
Al Vermin seeks a fortune of Ed Barlor and his only key clue is in the 29th page. The gang try to find that page in every sort of book causing catastophies around town. Miranada and Bonkers consult Snitch for help and soon a battle for the fortune ensues.
41 11 "Cartoon Cornered" October 29, 1993 (1993-10-29) 4311-022 BK-63

Bonkers goes to Wackytoons Studio to pick up a cheque from Duck Jones. Bucky Buzzsaw traps Sgt. Grating in the Wacky stage, whilst Wildman Wyatt escapes prison and chases Grating through the studios until Bonkers' clock comes to his rescue in stage 13.

NOTE: Dumbo, the Doorknob from Alice in Wonderland, Pete, Goofy, and Hyancith Hippo and Ben Ali Gator from Fantasia make cameo appearances

Group 4 (1993–94) (Lucky Piquel)

# # Title Original airdate Prod. code BK #
42 1 "The Good, the Bad, & the Kanifky" November 1, 1993 (1993-11-01) 4311-127 BK-27
After an accident, the mayor reassigns Chief Kanifky with the Toon Squad. Kanifky is put out of commission after many debts in the case of Scatter Squirrel. Together Kanifky, Bonkers and Piquel pursue and arrest Scatter.
43 2 "I Oughta Be in Toons" November 2, 1993 (1993-11-02) 4311-111 BK-11
Bonkers and Piquel go to investigate the disappearance of Mickey Mouse. Amateur imposter Babyface is replacing Mickey in addition to a bulldog as Pluto. With the bulldog's help, Bonkers and Piquel catch the imposter.
44 3 "Frame That Toon" November 3, 1993 (1993-11-03) 4311-137 BK-37
While Piquel and Bonkers investigate multiple thefts, toon saxophone Alto tries to find his older brother Mac the Bass. However cowardly Mac assists Mr. Malone and his large toon ape accomplice with their thefts. Bonkers, Piquel and Alto get trapped by Malone and the ape, but Mac helps Bonkers arrest the thieves.
45 4 "A Wooly Bully" November 4, 1993 (1993-11-04) 4311-120 BK-20
Having lost his acting career, Mammoth Mammoth resorts to criminal activities. Bonkers and Piquel find the mammoth in the peanut butter factory and go after him at the toon studio. After a series of amateur attempts, Bonkers arrests the mammoth.
46 5 "Stay Tooned" November 5, 1993 (1993-11-05) 4311-122 BK-22
Piquel comes across mobster Flannigan's logbook. Bonkers who is strictly not to touch it, loses it to Toots, causing major problems for Piquel, Kanifky and Fall Apart. Flannigan interrogates Bonkers for his logbook, but Piquel comes to the rescue.
47 6 "Color Me Piquel" November 11, 1993 (1993-11-11) 4311-112 BK-12
Piquel and Bonkers investigate missing toons, a toon bowler hat as the only lead. Bonkers gets taken where all the other toons are held for their colours by two malicious (and therefore, faded) toons. Piquel goes disguised as a toon with Fall Apart and rescues Bonkers and the other toons from their captors.
48 7 "Stand-In Dad" November 12, 1993 (1993-11-12) 4311-128 BK-28
On Grampa Arnie's Ant show an evil executive is swiping audience's pocket cash with a vacuum. Kanifky sends Piquel undercover to host the show taking Marilyn to spend some quality time with her. Bonkers invites Marilyn to the show getting her snatched by the executive, but Piquel and Bonkers rescue her and arrest the executive.
49 8 "Cereal Surreal" November 15, 1993 (1993-11-15) 4311-130 BK-30
Bonkers and Piquel investigate missing cereal box prizes. The temporate mascots of Wheat Crunchies Turbo, Banshee and Kapow are the culprits and set up Slap, Sniffle and Plop, but Bonkers and Piquel arrive to stop them and save the CEO.
50 9 "The Dimming" November 17, 1993 (1993-11-17) 4311-125 BK-25
Piquel takes a vacation to a "Haunted Mountain Resort" to pursue his dream of becoming a horror writer. Bonkers sends Fall-Apart and the grapevine to scare him, but then a ghost shows up.
51 10 "Toon with No Name" November 18, 1993 (1993-11-18) 4311-135 BK-35
Piquel and Bonkers are in pursuit of a masked bandit and every encounter mirrors a wild western cartoon Bonkers once starred in, until they find out that the bandit is none other than the screen writer Oswald.
52 11 "Get Wacky" November 19, 1993 (1993-11-19) 4311-141 BK-41
Bonkers and Piquel are assigned to catch escaped convict Wacky Weasel. The Toon Squad fails to nail him at the supermarket, the museum and the Fabergé egg exhibit, but Bonkers outsmarts the weasel at the Wacky Studio.
53 12 "The Final Review" November 22, 1993 (1993-11-22) 4311-115 BK-15
Bonkers and Piquel are assigned to protect the TV critic Charles Quibble (who shuns Bonkers). The perpetrator is revealed to be television show cop TJ Finger who kidnaps Quibble for his last review, but Piquel arrests him and Bonkers saves Quibble.
54 13 "Seems Like Old Toons" November 26, 1993 (1993-11-26) 4311-138 BK-38
Two bees and a bear are in need of animator to finish their cartoon before the studio is demolished. Marilyn receives their request and heads to the studio and volunteers to finish their work. Piquel and Bonkers help finish the cartoon moments before the studio is demolished.
55 14 "Miracle at the 34th Precinct" November 27, 1993 (1993-11-27) 4311-144 BK-44
With Father Christmas missing in blizzard over California, two of his little helpers recruit Piquel to take his place until he can be found. While Piquel struggles to do his job, Fall Apart socialises with the real Father Christmas.
56 15 "Comeback Kid" November 29, 1993 (1993-11-29) 4311-143 BK-43
Two confidence tricksters, Chick and Stu trick Bonkers and Piquel into becoming actors to get the opportunity to steal a large diamond on its way to a museum. They manage to swipe the diamond, but Bonkers and Fall Apart thwart their heist.
57 16 "The Greatest Story Never Told" February 7, 1994 (1994-02-07) 4311-133 BK-33
Bonkers hires toon camera Zoom and microphone Boom to make Piquel appear suitable for Cop of the Year. Zoom and Boom ruin Piquel's reputation making him look like both a clown and a mugger's partner. With Bonker's help, Piquel clears his name.
58 17 "Fall Apart Land" February 9, 1994 (1994-02-09) 4311-119 BK-19
Hoping to help an overworked Piquel, Fall-Apart buys a dump from a crooked owner Seymour Sleezebottom to build their dream theme park. Seymour takes over the theme park, but is arrested for illegal activity.
59 18 "Imagine That" February 14, 1994 (1994-02-14) 4311-126 BK-26
Piquel and Bonkers are sent to investigate graffiti committed by a toon pencil. The pencil impersonates Scribble and goes with Marilyn to the toon world. While Bonkers and Piquel pick up the trail, Marilyn helps the pencil turn over a new leaf.
60 19 "A Fine Kettle of Toons" February 17, 1994 (1994-02-17) 4311-142 BK-42
Piquel secretly plans a surprise party for the Chief Kanifky for his 40th. anniversary on the force. But Kanifky wants to know what he's up to, so he teams up with Fall-Apart to spy on Bonkers and Piquel.
61 20 "Stressed to Kill" February 23, 1994 (1994-02-23) 4311-139 BK-39
Series Finale: Piquel is having a nervous breakdown being unable to nab the mole thief, who is stealing works of priceless art and he is haunted by the sight of him. Failed attempts at curing Piquel's stress, turn him into an ape until he accidentally lands on the mole.

Compilations

# Title Original airdate Prod. code BK #
62 "The Rubber Room Song" September 30, 1993 (1993-09-30) 4311-147 BK-18

The Rubber Room Song Reprise

Ski Patrol – Bonkers and Jitters as paramedics go to take an injured skier Grumbles to the Plummet Summit Hospital for Nurse Fawn Deer.

Bonkers in Space – Bonkers and Jitters work at the Intergalactic Carwash run by Grumbles, but Jitters gets carried off in space, so Bonkers goes with Fawn Deer to rescue him.

Draining Cats and Dogs – Bonkers and Jitters as plumbers are sent by Grumbles to help Fawn Deer with her flooded house, but Bonkers bursts the kitchen pipe.
63 "O Cartoon! My Cartoon!" November 10, 1993 (1993-11-10) 4311-149 BK-40
Get Me A Pizza (Hold the Minefield), Spatula Party, Sheerluck Bonkers
64 "If" November 16, 1993 (1993-11-16) 4311-150 BK-46

Bonkers explains to Jitters Toon physics.

Petal to the Metal - Bonkers has to deliever flowers to Fawn Deer in a matter of time or else he is fired. This segment was released to theaters as an animated short accompanying 3 Ninjas.[7]

Dogzapoppin - Bonkers has to give a package to Grumbles, who is crippled in bed, while avoiding his dog

Trail Mix Bonkers & the Pony Express - Bonkers has to outlaw a criminal
65 "Goldijitters and the 3 Bobcats" November 24, 1993 (1993-11-24) 4311-148 BK-34

Bonkers tells a parodic tale of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears.

Get Me to the Church on Time – Bonkers takes Jitters on a trip to the church for his marriage, causing him a lot of inconvenience along the way.

Quest for Fire – Bonkers embarks on a job to collect firewood for some cavemen, except that the source of wood is inhabited by a Pterosaur.

Gobble Gobble Bonkers – Bonkers gets a turkey for thanksgiving, but has to rescue her when he realises she's the dinner.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 11, no. 2, February/March 1993: pp. 28, 34.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Characters

Bonkers D. Bobcat

Bonkers, as he appears in the series

Bonkers D. Bobcat (voiced by Jim Cummings) is an overly energetic and hyperactive cartoon anthropomorphic bobcat that works in the Toon Division of the Hollywood PD.[1] Once a big name cartoon star for Wackytoons Studios, he was fired due to his show being bumped out of first place in the ratings. He was introduced to law enforcement when he unknowingly saved cartoon celebrity Donald Duck from a park mugger (mostly due to the help of officer Lucky Piquel) and was given full credit for the mugger's capture.

For his actions, he received the Citizen of Valor award by the Chief of Police, Leonard Kanifky. Bonkers, while soaking in the praise, told the chief about how his experiences starring in police cartoons helped in the capture of the mugger. Chief Kanifky mistook his fictional roles as real life, worldwide police accounts and, thinking that Bonkers would be a benefit to the police force, asked if the former cartoon star would like a job working for the Hollywood PD, which Bonkers accepted because of his recent unemployment from Wackytoons Studios. Bonkers then requested Lucky as his partner, and the two established the beginning of the Toon Division. When Bonkers first came home to Lucky's house, he was treated as a sort of adopted son to Lucky.

Although Bonkers means well, he usually messes up cases for his fellow officers due to his lack of experience in law enforcement and his wild, exaggerated, cartoony nature. He even tells Lucky at one point that he is not good at logical police thinking because he is a toon. Not only does Bonkers make a design change between the 'Lucky' and 'Miranda' episodes, his personality is slightly tweaked as well. Despite being a police officer, Bonkers is unarmed. However, he still carries a badge.

In the 'Miranda' episodes, he's portrayed as a rather clumsy, somewhat foolish character who ends up being the show's punching bag. In the Lucky episodes, he's less of a buffoon and more of an Inspector Clouseau-type, in control of himself (though still hyperactive), and carries an extensive knowledge about the toon and their behavior, which is an asset on cases dealing with rogue toons (Lucky would very rarely acknowledge this, although he knows it deep inside[citation needed]). The joke is his lack of law enforcement experience and procedure is still his "Achilles' heel".

Supporting characters

  • Fall Apart Rabbit (voiced by Frank Welker) is Bonkers' clumsy best friend and stunt-double back during Bonkers' Hollywood days, appearing only in the "Lucky Episodes." He literally falls apart at the drop of a hat and must wear bandages over various body parts to keep himself from dismantling. He is often remarkably stupid and goofy, even for a cartoon character.
  • Fawn Deer (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) is Bonkers's main love interest and co-star when he was a cartoon star. Bonkers is willing to do just about anything to please and impress her. Fortunately for Bonkers, Fawn clearly reciprocates his obvious love for her, as she has proven it on numerous occasions by kissing him on the cheek, and sometimes on the lips. She appears mainly in the "Miranda Episodes".

Piquel family

  • Detective Lucky Shirley Piquel (voiced by Jim Cummings) is a police detective and Bonkers' partner from the "Lucky Episodes". He is a slovenly, morbidly obese, street-wise mustachioed man. He is balding, but wears a toupée. Lucky is a serious, hard-boiled detective whose by-the-book nature is at odds with Bonkers' decidedly more maniacal approach to crime solving. Chief Kanifky usually mistakes his last name for Pickle. In the first several episodes in which he appeared, he defeated the villain by falling on them or otherwise crushing them beneath his massive girth. Although he often was able to get to the core of the cartoon universe by finally embracing it, with Bonkers' help. Will prove increasingly good and less comfortable against an annoying toon, in each case of the cartoons. He is the father of Marilyn and husband to Dilandra or who he normally calls "Dil" or "Dyl". It was revealed in Once in a Blue Toon that his middle name is Shirley, and that he has a 53-inch waistline. He drives a rather torn-down patrol car through the series.
  • Marilyn Piquel (voiced by Sherry Lynn) is Lucky's child genius daughter. She is an aspiring artist as well as a script/story writer and has deep connection to toons such as Bonkers, with her favorite toon being TV star Skunky Skunk. She is more than capable of taking care of herself and aids her father in a number of his cases often being the words of wisdom or a source of knowledge to Lucky. Although looking like her mom Dilandra "Dil"/"Dyl" (aside from her big round glasses and freckled face), she also shares her father's hair color.
  • Dilandra "Dyl" Piquel (voiced by April Winchell) is Lucky's understanding wife who supports her husband and at times encourages their daughter Marilyn.

Wright family

  • Officer Miranda Wright (voiced by Karla DeVito) is a police officer that works at the same police station as Lucky. She is Bonkers' partner from the "Miranda Episodes". Her name is a play on Miranda rights, an American system in which people under arrest get certain rights, she's the opposite of Lucky and Sgt. Grating when it comes to toons and their antics as she likes/loves them especially her friend and partner Bonkers as she cool headedly tolerates his antics and stands up for him against their own boss, While she may have somewhat of a personal limit to Bonkers' sporadic behavior at times, it doesn't really seem to annoy her, She even seems amused at times, but nonetheless they still truly care and stand up for each other as friends and partners.
  • Shirley Wright (voiced by Erin Gray) is a news reporter, Miranda's older sister, and apparently Timmy's mother.
  • Timmy Wright (voiced by Dana Hill) is the troublesome nephew of Miranda Wright, who Bonkers babysits.

Los Angeles Police Department officers

  • Leonard Kanifky (voiced by Earl Boen) is the absent-minded chief of police, and is the boss of Bonkers and Lucky (before Bonkers is reassigned) he also appears in the Miranda episodes "Dog Day AfterToon", "Cartoon Cornered" and "When the Spirit Moves You". He has the tendency to ramble on and trail off, as if senile. He constantly mispronounces Lucky's last name "Pickle".
  • Sergeant Francis Q. Grating (voiced by Ron Perlman) is a police sergeant and, the boss of Bonkers and Miranda. A running gag is that Grating is almost driven insane by Bonkers. Like Lucky, he hates toons too. However, in "Cartoon Cornered", he befriended Bonkers' clock after their adventures in Wacky Toons Studio. In "Dog Day AfterToon" he shows some respect to Bonkers after he is saved from the bank hold-up; albeit reluctantly.

Recurring civilian characters

  • The Mad Hatter and March Hare – From Disney's Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter (voiced by Corey Burton) and March Hare (voiced by Jesse Corti) make three appearances in the show. They live in the Hollywood Sign; the "H" is the Door.
  • Toots (voiced by Frank Welker) – Bonkers's pet horn, appearing only in the "Lucky Episodes". Last appearance was in "New Partners on the Block".
  • Police Light (voiced by Charlie Adler) – The toon police light. Appearing only in the "Lucky Episodes". Last appearance was in "New Partners on the Block".
  • Broderick (voiced by Jim Cummings) – The toon radio. Appearing only in the "Lucky Episodes". Last appearance was in "New Partners on the Block".
  • Jitters A. Dog (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – a small, nervous dog who was Bonkers's friend and sidekick in Raw Toonage; and the episodes with Miranda. His role in the series was of the straight man, constantly having serious bodily harm done to him through Bonkers' recklessness (and occasionally others) his catchphrase is; "I hate my life". Despite his mostly negative luck, He is still Bonkers's best friend, though Jitters himself might disagree. He did have a quick cameo in "Going Bonkers".
  • Grumbles Grizzly (voiced by Rodger Bumpass) – a grizzly bear who was Bonkers's strict boss in Raw Toonage, appears occasionally in Bonkers.
  • Harry the Handbag (voiced by Frank Welker) – a deeply troubled toon who captured and stored objects and people inside of himself in a misguided belief that it would end his loneliness.
  • Tiny (voiced by Charlie Adler) – a huge but polite hamster stayed at Lucky's house to hide from a scary shadow, which turns out to be his old friend, Mr. Big.
  • Pops Clock (voiced by Stuart Pankin) – a The toon keeper of toon-time, which is what keeps toons under-control, but was mad when nobody appreciated him for all the work he did.
  • Skunky Skunk (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) – A favorite toon TV star of Marilyn Piquel who was framed for manslaughter by an embittered Celebrity chef, who then tried to arrange a "fatal accident" for him.
  • Professor Ludwig Von Drake (voiced by Corey Burton) – a scientist duck who occasionally appears as a scientific expert or creator of inventions that Bonkers uses in his cases.
  • Roderick Lizzard (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – a yellow iguana and a temperamental actor with the manners of a British aristocrat. He also prefers to have his surname pronounced lee-ZARD rather than LIH-zurd.
  • Bucky Buzzsaw (voiced by Pat Fraley) – a toon beaver who stars in his own show at Wackytoon Studios. He appears in the Miranda Episodes. His catchphrase is "whoopidy woo woo"
  • Slap, Sniffle and Flop – Toon mascots of the Weetie Crunchy cereal. Loosely based on Snap, Crackle and Pop from Rice Krispies.
  • Brer Bear – From Song of the South. He made his cameo appearance in "Casabonkers".
  • Donald Duck (voiced by Tony Anselmo) – a famous Disney duck that Bonkers saved from being robbed in "Going Bonkers".
  • Mickey Mouse (voiced by Wayne Allwine)
  • Goofy (voiced by Bill Farmer) – he made his cameo appearance from Goof Troop, together with Pete, Max and PJ.
  • Horace Horsecollar
  • Clarabelle Cow
  • Darkwing Duck (voiced by Jim Cummings) – occasionally appears in the Miranda episodes.
  • Marsupilami
  • Lady and the Tramp – They made their cameo appearance in various episodes of the show, specifically the Miranda episodes, including "Casabonkers".
  • Mrs. Francine Kanifky (voiced by Tress MacNeille) – the wife of Kanifky typically appears for a very short portion of the episodes in which she appears. In "The Dimming" and "Poltertoon". She is more integral to the overall story.

Recurring antagonists

  • The Collector (voiced by Michael Bell) - the villain from the pilot episode ("Going Bonkers") and therefore the first criminal Bonkers encounters. He is a toon that collects other toons in suspended animation. At the end of the episode, he is revealed to simply be a deranged, cartoon obsessed human nerd in disguise.
    • Mr. Doodles (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - the Collector's evil henchman.
  • Ma Parker (voiced by June Foray) - a toon tow truck who has tricked Lucky into thinking she's really sweet, but is found out by Bonkers is that she is really a criminal who is stealing parts of their police car to build a suit of armor for a monster truck rally. With her armor she is nearly invulnerable from the outside but Bonkers tricks her into opening her hood. Despite her efforts Ma is helpless as Bonkers tinkers with her engine until she is unable to move. He then proceeds to arrest the immobilized toon truck.
  • The Rat (voiced by Brad Garrett) - a toon rat who was really a wannabe human star in disguise to replace Mickey Mouse.
  • The Ape (voiced by Chuck McCann) - Mr. Malone's large toon pink gorilla accomplice.
  • Chick and Stu (voiced by Chick Vennera and Tino Insana)
  • Mammoth Mammoth – (voiced by Stuart Pankin) -
  • Toon Bomb – (voiced by Jess Harnell) -
  • Mr. Big (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) - a toon mouse who, despite the name, is very small. He is a friend to Tiny, who is a huge but polite hamster. He used a giant shadow to scare him.
  • The Weather Toons – Five toons, including Sunny (the sun), Cloudy (a raincloud), Snowy (a drift of snow), Sparky (a lightning bolt), and Toony Tornado (a tornado).
  • Louse A. Nominous (voiced by Brad Garrett) - an unreformable toon criminal that Bonkers and Lucky were forced to reform. He eats anything in his path (usually furniture). He wrote a book about reforming toons. A running gag that occurs is when he eats something inedible, he laughs and says "Ain't I a louse?".
  • Mikey Muffin (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) - the toon mascot of Butterman's Bakery, but is found out that he was blowing up the bakeries with "doughbombs" to try to get Butterman's secret recipe, he only appeared in the Lucky Piquel era episode "Hand Over The Dough".
  • Wacky Weasel (voiced by Rip Taylor) - the cunningest (and most feared as even the laid back Chief Leonard Kanifky was afraid of him) toon villain that ever existed who had a fixation for eggs of any kind, which originally led to his capture (he broke into a prison because he heard it was full of "bad eggs") upon breaking out of jail, he went on a rampage through the city, running rings round the entire police force, before finally being outsmarted by Bonkers, he only appeared in the Lucky Piquel era episode "Get Wacky".
  • Scatter Squirrel (voiced by Tino Insana) - a crazed thief with a fixation for nuts of any kind, Lucky and Bonkers had to aid former Chief Leonard Kanifky in capturing him, in order for the mayor to give Kanifky's job back.
  • Toon Pencil (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) - a toon graffiti artist who spread toon graffiti all over Hollywood, Marilyn had a major role in helping her father and Bonkers track him down by chasing the pencil into a surreal toon world where he (the pencil) normally would hide out.
  • Zoom and Boom (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) -
  • Warris and Donald– two toon ex-comedians that are fading in color and kidnap other toons to steal their colors. They only appear in the Lucky Piquel era episode, "Color Me Piquel".
  • Turbo, Banshee and Kapow - trolls who replaced Slap, Sniffle and Flop in their cereal commercial and tried to frame them for stealing prizes in the cereal boxes.
  • TJ Finger (voiced by Dan Ferro) - a toon actor who kidnapped TV critic Charles Quibble, because Quibble's bad reviews caused TJ's show Cop Squad to get cancelled, He only appeared in the Lucky Piquel era episode "The Final Review."
  • Two-Bits (voiced by Gilbert Gottfried) - an executive for Grandpa Arnie's Ant Show, who uses a vacuum to steal the audience's change so that he can reunite with “Nicky”, a nickel he had lost when his father put it in a parking meter. Two-Bits stops stealing change after Lucky gives him his last nickel, which turns out be Nicky.
  • Fireball Frank (voiced by Brad Garrett) -
  • Al Vermin (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - the toon cockroach who is Miranda and Bonkers's nemesis from the Miranda Wright era episodes.
  • Lilith DuPrave (voiced by Eileen Brennan) - Lilith DuPrave is a sleazy business woman and one of Bonkers and Miranda's nemesis who is the owner of a printing office where she not only publishes "Hollywood Chronicle" (and later "The National Trash") but prints counterfeit money as well. She is also responsible for smuggling weapons and kidnapping toons.
    • Mr. Blackenblue (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - a heavily armed, powerfully-built man that never removes his glasses. He is the bodyguard of Lilith DuPrave and doubles as a hitman.
  • WildMan Wyatt (voiced by Pat Fraley) - Sergeant Grating's sworn enemy.
  • Katya Legs Go-won-a-lot (voiced by Sherry Lynn) - a toon cat who is an actress, a singer, and a thief, she appeared in the Miranda Wright era episode "CasaBonkers."
  • Flaps the Elephant (voiced by Joe Alaskey) - a massive toon elephant with small ears. He wishes he could fly like Dumbo
  • Seymour Sleazebottom and Limo Seymour (voiced by Corey Burton) - a crooked real estate agent, and his pink toon limo (Voiced by Charlie Adler). They Only appear in the Lucky Piquel era episode, "Fallapart Land".
  • Winston Prickley (voiced by Rene Auberjononis) - a crooked lovesick porcupine who kidnaps other men just to try win the love of women, but never wins a woman's heart especially due to kidnapping crimes, he appeared in the Miranda Wright era episode "Love Stuck."
  • Gloomy the Clown - a crooked nemesis of Bonkers and Miranda who is a circus clown wanting to be funniest man alive but is really lame and can't stand toons stealing and overshadowing his spotlight and attention (voiced by Ken Mars)- he only appeared in The Miranda Wright era episode "The Toon that Ate Hollywood".

Production

The series played 65 episodes, as part of The Disney Afternoon.[2] They were not created in chronological order: The "Miranda" episodes were actually produced first, excluding the two-part series premiere, which featured Piquel and Bonkers meeting for the first time.[3] This discrepancy becomes evident when observing the look of the main character in both sets of episodes.[4] In the Raw Toonage shorts, Bonkers was orange with one brown spot, golf-club-like ears, and an undone tail. When the Lucky Piquel-era episodes (produced by Robert Taylor) were made, the character had a major overhaul: skinnier ears, two black spots on each his tufts, black Tigger-like stripes on his tail, and a different uniform. The Miranda Wright-era episodes (produced by Duane Capizzi, Robert Hathcock & Greg Weisman) use Bonkers's original look from Raw Toonage. The series also occasionally featured episodes of "cartoons" from Bonkers's pre-police actor days, all lifted from the Raw Toonage series. The two-part premiere can be seen to show the reason for the difference in appearance as he mostly appears with his Black Dot Lucky design, but when he goes into makeup, his sweater is put on, and when his head re-appears, his spots have turned brown, then his ears are 'puffed' up. While this works for explaining the two designs in context, New partners does not show or explain why he then decided to use his 'make up' version for every day.

The Raw Toonage shorts were an after-thought of production.[5] While Bonkers was in pre-production, the Raw Toonage team headed by Larry Latham produced 12 "He's Bonkers" shorts. These shorts were, in the context of Bonkers, explained to be some of the shorts Bonkers made at Wackytoons Studios before he was fired. The animated short entitled Petal to the Metal was originally shown in theaters in 1992 before the feature movie 3 Ninjas,[6] while the rest were shown on the program Raw Toonage. In syndication, the shorts were collected into four full episodes with fillers of new material in between.

Meanwhile, Duane Capizzi, making his producing debut, was brought into the fold and teamed with animation veteran Robert Hathcock and charged with making 65 episodes (a full season's worth in syndication). The episodes theoretically would feature Bonkers with Wright as his partner. These episodes came back from overseas animation studios looking less than spectacular, causing considerable concern at Disney.[3] Ultimately, the original team was replaced, and a team headed by Robert Taylor came in.[3] Only 19 of the original-order shows survived to air;[3] they are what is known as the "Miranda Wright episodes" of Bonkers. Nine of these episodes were aired on The Disney Channel during the first half of 1993 as a preview for the series,[7] before its syndicated premiere in the fall. The 19 Miranda Wright episodes are shown toward the end of the series in the official continuity.[3] Greg Weisman (co-creator of Disney's Gargoyles) worked on the Miranda episodes, and Bonkers's relationship with Miranda inspired Goliath's relationship with Elisa Maza.[6]

Taylor threw out the old premise of the show.[3] He replaced it with the Lucky Piquel scenario, but his episodes were revised and established to occur before the original episodes. 42 episodes of the "Piquel Era" were made, including one (New Partners on the Block), which attempted to bridge the gap between the two somewhat contradictory storylines.

The series was long incorrectly rumored to have originally been intended as a Roger Rabbit spin-off series which ended up being scrapped due to licensing issues from Amblin Entertainment, with Bonkers being created instead. However, in 2008, Greg Weisman, who was a writer on the series, denied this. While confirming that the title character was inspired by Roger, and the Toontown concept had also been influenced by the film, Weisman insists that Bonkers was always meant to be his own character.[8]

The syndicated version of the series (which omits several of the original episodes that survived first-run) was last seen on Toon Disney until late 2004.

The series became available to stream on Disney+, upon its launch on November 12, 2019.[9]

New Partners on the Block

New Partners on the Block was a transition episode that showed how Bonkers went from having Lucky Piquel as a partner to having Miranda Wright as his newest partner. The episode was much like the pilot episode/movie "Going Bonkers", using the CGI rain and bringing back the characters that were associated with Bonkers, those characters being Fawn Deer, Jitters A. Dog, and Grumbles Grizzly and, unlike the pilot, had more speaking and screen time.

At the end of the episode, Bonkers, along with Miranda and Lucky, captured the main villain, bomber Fireball Frank and Rescues FBI Agent Tolson in the process, making Bonkers and Miranda a team and giving Lucky a job as an FBI Agent in Washington, D.C. Piquel, his family Dyl (wife) and Marilyn (daughter), Fall-Apart Rabbit, Toots and Brodrick the toon radio all subsequently relocated to Washington, D.C., allowing them to be written out of the show.

This episode was removed from rotation in the United States after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing due to its bombing/terrorism plot, and was consequently never rerun on Toon Disney, even before Disney's stricter censorship policies following the September 11 attacks. Another episode, "Fall Apart Bomb Squad," was also not shown on Toon Disney for similar reasons. However, both episodes have been rerun in Europe (especially in Italy).[4] In addition, both episodes are available to stream on Disney+.

Home media

Bonkers was released on three VHS tapes and Betamax tapes in 1995 by Walt Disney Home Video, each containing no more than two episodes. They include the following:

VHS titles Episodes Release date
Going Bonkers "Going Bonkers" (Parts 1 and 2) 1995
Basic Spraining "Basic Spraining"
"Is Toon Fur Really Warm?"		 1995
I Oughta Be in Toons "I Oughta Be in Toons"
"Weather or Not"		 1995

Video on demand

The entire series available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S. since its launch on November 12, 2019. It will also be available in Europe (particularly in Italy).

Other appearances and references

  • Aladdin (1994–1995): In the episode "Snowman is an Island", the Genie was transformed into Bonkers.
  • Animaniacs jabbed at Bonkers (which was often its timeslot rival in a number of markets as a part of Fox Kids), especially in the Slappy Squirrel segments, referring to it as being unfunny. This continued in the 2020 revival as it was parodied in the first episode as Clunkers, a talking police car who is also a time machine.
  • Goosebumps referenced the show in "Piano Lessons Can Be Murder", the 13th book of the original series.
  • DuckTales (2017): Bonkers makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the episode "Let's Get Dangerous!"
  • Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022): Bonkers makes two non-speaking cameo appearances. The first is during the film's finale alongside other bootlegged cartoon characters having been bootlegged into a walrus. The second is during the end credits on a billboard for "Disney Afternoon Fist Fight" alongside other DA toons, and he's back to his old self.
  • The Simpsons: There is a possible reference to bonkers in the 9th episode of season 12 "HOMR" at 3:06, in which a cardboard cutout of an orange cat alongside other cartoons in a police uniform appears briefly

Video games

The series inspired three video games. The first, titled Bonkers, is a platform game by Capcom, released for the Super NES in October 1994.[10][11] In the game, Bonkers must retrieve three items stolen from a museum.

An action game by Sega, also titled Bonkers, was released in 1994 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It consists of four mini-games in which Bonkers attempts to apprehend criminals from the series.

The third game, Disney's Bonkers: Wax Up!, was published for the Game Gear in 1995, followed three years later by a Brazilian-only release on the Master System. In the game, Bonkers sets out to rescue Lucky and several toons who have been captured.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :0
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hicks, Chris. 1992-08-07. Movie Review: 3 Ninjas Archived August 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Desert News, via desertnews.com, retrieved on 2007-08-29.
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named preview_airing
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Bonkers on Disney+Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Warning: Default sort key "Bonkers (TV Series)" overrides earlier default sort key "Bonkers (Tv Series)".

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Bonkers_(American_TV_series)&oldid=726968470"