Toonstruck
Encyclopedia
Toonstruck is a 1996 point-and-click
adventure game in which, although all the imagery is drawn and scanned into the game, the protagonist Drew Blanc (played and voiced by Christopher Lloyd
) is an actual video-captured representation of the actor (the name is a pun, since the character has "drawn a blank" on coming up with a new idea for a character). Drew's sidekick, crudely named Flux Wildly, is a drawn character voiced by Dan Castellaneta
. Toonstruck also features scan-line compressed
FMV
. It was also one of the first video games to include stock music from APM Music
, notably the classic "Spooky Scherzo" by Sam Fonteyn
.
in its design, with only an inventory icon (represented by a "Bottomless Bag") as an omnipresent HUD. The pointer key, represented by an animated white-gloved hand, is context-sensitive
, changing icon depending on what it is rolled over.
animator and the original creator of the Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show. This show has been an unprecedented ten year success for his company, but in reality the many cute talking rabbit
s that star in the show sicken him. His self-revered creation, Flux Wildly, a wise-talking and sarcastic small purple character, has been denied the chance of starring in his own show. Drew's boss, Sam Schmaltz (played by Ben Stein
), sets him the task of designing more bunnies to co-star in the Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show by the next morning. However, the depressed animator
soon nods off, suffering from acute artist's block
. He wakes early the next morning to inexplicably find his television
switched on, announcing the Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show. Suddenly, Drew is mysteriously drawn into the television screen and transported to an idyllic two-dimensional
cartoon world populated by his own creations, among many other cartoon characters. He soon befriends Flux Wildly, and discovers that this fiction
al paradise
is being ravaged by a ruthless new character with a devastating weapon of evil, a flying machine equipped with a ray beam
that mutates the pleasant, childish landscape and its inhabitants into dark, twisted and mean versions of themselves. He is tasked with hunting down and stopping this madman, thereby restoring peace
and harmony to the land, in return for safe passage back to three-dimensional reality.
gave Toonstruck a score of 8.8 out of 10.
Keith Arem, a developer who currently owns the right to Toonstruck 2, is planning to release a full version of Toonstruck which would include the second half of the game. But since he needs "tremendous fan support" to justify its release and get funding, there is a petition for the release of Toonstruck 2. In November 2010 Keith Arem stated on the Toonstruck 2 Facebook page that he's going to release some "behind the scenes peeks into the development process" in the next months.
In May 2011, Keith Arem officially confirmed they're currently working on an enhanced re-release of ToonStruck, which they may add some of the sequels content if they can afford it. Hes also stated they'd like to re-build the fanbase first, before moving onto the development of Toonstruck 2. It was also confirmed by Arem that an official announcement for the enhanced edition would hopefully be made by the time of Comic Con in July 2011.
In June 2011, Trevor Greer, a friend of Arem's, confirmed on the Toonstruck 2 Facebook page that his father, Arem and himself are overseeing the project through Arem's owned PCB Productions company. Greer also answered some fan questions, most notably mentioning that a iOS version of the game is in development first for iPhone/iPad. A PC & Mac release may happen soon after depending on its success. More info was to be announced at Comic Con in July. However a rep at the PCB productions booth said they had planned to make an announcement during the convention, but were waiting for the right word to say so due to legal issues being resolved at the moment.
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
adventure game in which, although all the imagery is drawn and scanned into the game, the protagonist Drew Blanc (played and voiced by Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
) is an actual video-captured representation of the actor (the name is a pun, since the character has "drawn a blank" on coming up with a new idea for a character). Drew's sidekick, crudely named Flux Wildly, is a drawn character voiced by Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
. Toonstruck also features scan-line compressed
Data compression
In computer science and information theory, data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use....
FMV
Full motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
. It was also one of the first video games to include stock music from APM Music
APM Music
APM Music is a production music company. Music tracks from APM Music are used in such shows as The Ren & Stimpy Show and SpongeBob SquarePants. NFL Films has a joint venture between the NFL and APM Music where music is composed for NFL-related media...
, notably the classic "Spooky Scherzo" by Sam Fonteyn
Sam Fonteyn
Sam Fonteyn was an English composer-pianist whose most significant output was for the Boosey & Hawkes Music Library, for which he composed and recorded countless works. Most are short character pieces for the piano with colorful titles indicating the images the pieces are meant to conjure. Others...
.
Gameplay
Toonstruck is a point-and-click adventure game where the player controls Christopher Lloyd's digitised likeness. The game uses extensive minimalismMinimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
in its design, with only an inventory icon (represented by a "Bottomless Bag") as an omnipresent HUD. The pointer key, represented by an animated white-gloved hand, is context-sensitive
Context sensitive user interface
A context sensitive user interface is one which can automatically choose from a multiplicity of options based on the current or previous state of the program operation.Context sensitivity is almost ubiquitous in current graphical user interfaces, and should, when operating correctly, be practically...
, changing icon depending on what it is rolled over.
Plot
Drew Blanc is a cartoonCartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
animator and the original creator of the Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show. This show has been an unprecedented ten year success for his company, but in reality the many cute talking rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s that star in the show sicken him. His self-revered creation, Flux Wildly, a wise-talking and sarcastic small purple character, has been denied the chance of starring in his own show. Drew's boss, Sam Schmaltz (played by Ben Stein
Ben Stein
Benjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
), sets him the task of designing more bunnies to co-star in the Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show by the next morning. However, the depressed animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
soon nods off, suffering from acute artist's block
Writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
. He wakes early the next morning to inexplicably find his television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
switched on, announcing the Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show. Suddenly, Drew is mysteriously drawn into the television screen and transported to an idyllic two-dimensional
Dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
cartoon world populated by his own creations, among many other cartoon characters. He soon befriends Flux Wildly, and discovers that this fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al paradise
Paradise
Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
is being ravaged by a ruthless new character with a devastating weapon of evil, a flying machine equipped with a ray beam
Raygun
Rayguns are a type of fictional directed-energy weapon. They have various alternate names: ray gun, death ray, beam gun, blaster, laser gun, phaser, etc. They are a well-known feature of science fiction; for such stories they typically have the general function of guns...
that mutates the pleasant, childish landscape and its inhabitants into dark, twisted and mean versions of themselves. He is tasked with hunting down and stopping this madman, thereby restoring peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
and harmony to the land, in return for safe passage back to three-dimensional reality.
Characters
Several famous actors provide the voice talent for the game.- Drew Blanc (Christopher LloydChristopher LloydChristopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
): the animator who yearns to make a cartoon about his character, Flux Wildly, but instead has worked ten years on another of his creations , Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun. This show became a great success and since then Drew has grown to hate Fluffy and her cute bunny friends. When trying to come up with new character for the new show 'Fluffy and Friends' Drew is mysteriously drawn into the cartoon world through the television. There he tries to help the helpful Cutopians in an effort to return to his own world. - Flux Wildly (Dan CastellanetaDan CastellanetaDaniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
): Drew's favourite creation, a sarcastic and playful purple creation who was never allowed to star in his own show. When Drew is brought to the cartoon world, Flux assists him in helping the Cutopians to stop the evil Count Nefarious. Flux helps throughout the first half of the game, throughout Cutopia, his homeland Zanydu and the malevolands, cracking jokes and can sometimes be used like an item to overcome certain puzzles in the game. - Count Nefarious (Tim CurryTim CurryTimothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....
): the most evil character in the cartoon world, residing in his tower, castle, thing, in the malevolands, plotting to take over the cartoon world and turn everyone and everything in it into dark, twisted creatures like those of the malevolands. He sends out his three henchmen to do his dirty work and capture Drew and Flux when he hears of their effort to build the cutifier. - King Hugh (David Ogden StiersDavid Ogden StiersDavid Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
): the smiley king of Cutopia. He sends Drew and Flux on a mission to find items for the cutifier in exchange for helping Drew to return to his own world. - Sam Schmaltz (Ben SteinBen SteinBenjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
): Drew's boss, who appoints Drew to create new characters for their company's most successful show, The Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show. - Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun (Tress MacNeilleTress MacNeilleTress 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...
): the sugar sweet rabbit of Cutopia, whose job is to be the 'cutest rabbit in the whole wide world'. She is Drew's most famous creation, starring in her own show of ten years, but, she is not all that she seems. - Ms. Fortune (Tress MacNeille): a psychic feline who assists Count Nefarious in his evil schemes, informing him of any possible meddlers in his plan and looking into the future to see what is to come.
- Marge (Tress MacNeille): the sweet cow who makes butter for Cutopia in the barn.
- Maxine (Tress MacNeille): Drew's wife that called Drew in the morning.
- Polly (April WinchellApril WinchellApril Terri Winchell is an American actress, writer, voice actor, talk radio host, and commentator. She is the daughter of the late Paul Winchell.-Acting:...
): a kindly sheep who hangs around with Marge in the barn. - Elmer (none): a 'special'(or a dying) horse who lives in the barn with Marge and Polly, never saying a word.
- The Carecrow (Jeff BennettJeff BennettJeffrey Glenn "Jeff" Bennett is an American voice actor and musician, listed "among the top names in the voice-over field", best known as the voice of Johnny Bravo in the series of the same name...
): a camp scarecrow who looks after the crows in the fields and yearns for the perfect outfit. - Ms. Fit (April Winchell): the pretty, ditzy proprietor of the Costumarama in Cutopia. She loves to read.
- Fingers (Dom DeLuiseDom DeLuiseDominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
): the slimy Zanian who left for Cutopia to con the gullible Cutopians in his video arcade. - Dough, Ray and Mee (Jim CummingsJim CummingsJames 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...
, Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
, and Rob PaulsenRob PaulsenRobert 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...
): the singing frogs who work in the bakery, baking and selling day-young, fresh, and day-old bread, respectively. - Jim (Jeff Bennett): the muscled bulldog who owns his own gym in Zanydu.
- Woof and Warp (Jeff Bennett and Jim Cummings): the owners of Wacme, who provide Zanydu with the finest abuse gadgets for causing one another pain. All their products are tried and tested... on each other.
- B.B Wolf (Jim Cummings): the suave wolf who resides in the Malevoland woods, hosting dinner parties and generally pretending to be sophisticated.
- Outhouse Guard (Jeff Bennett): the dedicated security guard at the Zanydu outhouse, who hasn't left his post for years.
- Barman (Rob Paulsen): the big lump of half-Irish, half-Scottish cheese who owns the pub in Cutopia.
- Feedback, Goggles and Lugnut (Jim Cummings, Corey BurtonCorey BurtonCorey 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...
, and Rob Paulsen): Nefarious' doodle henchmen, with loss of speech, sight and hearing respectively. They use special-made gadgets, invented by the megalomaniacal Robot Maker, to overcome their losses. - Footman (Corey Burton): King Hugh's footman, who cares about his master more than he'll openly admit.
- Seedy (Jim Cummings): the owner of the sleazy bowling alley in the Malevolands, the only one to ever score a strike with his special 'technique'.
- Bouncer (Tress MacNeille): the gritty bouncer at Seedy's who'll stop anyone from getting in without proper attire.
- Bricabrac (Corey Burton): King Hugh's scatterbrained engineer who creates the blueprints for and builds the cutifier.
- Robot Maker (Jeff Bennett): the mechanical man who creates machines for Nefarious and dreams of machines ruling the world. Both his design and personality appear to have drawn inspiration from the DalekDalekThe Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
of Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
fame. - Snout the Ogre (Jim Cummings): Drew's allergy-prone guard at Nefarious' dungeon.
- Spike (Jeff Bennett): a demented clown whose brain is frazzled and driven to insanity for Nefarious' amusement.
- Gator Guards (Frank Welker and Jim Cummings): Count Nefarious' castle guards used to attempt to keep Drew within the castle. They also like to goof around.
Locations
- Cutopia: The home of all the happy and adorable cutopians. Cutopia is bright and simplistic, with a bakery, an Irish pub, a costume shop and a video arcadeVideo arcadeAn amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
in the town centre. King Hugh's castle overlooks Cutopia with a barn and fields lying on the outskirts. - Zanydu: Flux's homeland. Zanydu is colourful and wacky, with a gym, an outhouse (purely for fish-flushing), Wacme (a shop selling abuse technology like that of ACMEAcme CorporationThe Acme Corporation is a fictional corporation that features prominently in the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons as a running gag featuring outlandish products that fail catastrophically at the worst possible times...
in the Looney TunesLooney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
) and the way outback, a parody of the Australian Outback. - Malevolands: The dark and adult part of the cartoon world, with Nefarious' castleCastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
looming in the distance. Here you can find a bowling alley, a robotics shop and a prison.
Reception
Although receiving mostly positive reviews from game critics, the game wasn't overly successful due to the rise of new 3-D games and poor marketing. GamespotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave Toonstruck a score of 8.8 out of 10.
Sequel
The released version of Toonstruck contained less material than originally planned. Shortly before the beta version was released, the game was divided in half. The removed material, video and animations from the first game were to be released as a sequel; however this material was never released. A number of the unused backgrounds, animations and pictures remain on the internet.Keith Arem, a developer who currently owns the right to Toonstruck 2, is planning to release a full version of Toonstruck which would include the second half of the game. But since he needs "tremendous fan support" to justify its release and get funding, there is a petition for the release of Toonstruck 2. In November 2010 Keith Arem stated on the Toonstruck 2 Facebook page that he's going to release some "behind the scenes peeks into the development process" in the next months.
In May 2011, Keith Arem officially confirmed they're currently working on an enhanced re-release of ToonStruck, which they may add some of the sequels content if they can afford it. Hes also stated they'd like to re-build the fanbase first, before moving onto the development of Toonstruck 2. It was also confirmed by Arem that an official announcement for the enhanced edition would hopefully be made by the time of Comic Con in July 2011.
In June 2011, Trevor Greer, a friend of Arem's, confirmed on the Toonstruck 2 Facebook page that his father, Arem and himself are overseeing the project through Arem's owned PCB Productions company. Greer also answered some fan questions, most notably mentioning that a iOS version of the game is in development first for iPhone/iPad. A PC & Mac release may happen soon after depending on its success. More info was to be announced at Comic Con in July. However a rep at the PCB productions booth said they had planned to make an announcement during the convention, but were waiting for the right word to say so due to legal issues being resolved at the moment.