What if CASTTR had a sequel?

This is an attempt I'm making at a "What If?" article.

For all you children of the 80's, I'm pretty sure that some of you remember "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue". For those of you who don't, here's a quick run down of what it was.


"Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue" was a half-hour animated TV special that aired in 1990, and it broadcasted on ABC, CBS and NBC on the exact same day.

The plot involves a teenage kid named Michael who has a big problem. His problem is that he is taking drugs. It's going to take the combined efforts of a bunch of the Saturday morning cartoon characters from the 80's to try to convince him that drugs are bad and that he should say "no" to them.


There's also this weird character named Smoke who is trying to convince Michael that he should continue taking drugs and that they'll make him look cool.

The cartoon characters who were involved in this special were...


The Smurfs...


Alf (from "Alf: The Animated Series")...


Garfield (from "Garfield and Friends")...


Alvin and the Chipmunks...


Winnie the Pooh and Tigger (from "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh")...


Kermit, Piggy and Gonzo (from "Muppet Babies")...


Slimer (from "The Real Ghostbusters")...


Michaelangello (from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles")...


Huey, Dewey and Louie (from "Duck Tales")...


and for some unknown reason, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

Looking at that cast, I wonder why they didn't include the Care Bears and the guys from G.I. Joe. I mean, the Care Bears always made sure everyone did what was right for them. Also, G.I. Joe had their own PSA commercials in the 80's, so this would be a great opportunity!

Now for the purpose of this article...

What if "Cartoon All-Stars" had a sequel to it? If it did, this one would have some differences to it. Think of this as "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, Part 2".

For one thing, it would be released on the same three network television stations, but it would premiere in 2000, and this one would contain cartoon characters from the 90's. The kid on drugs would be a different kid as well. Smoke would be back, and I was thinking of having him voiced by the same actor, but after doing some research, I found out that Smoke was voiced by George C. Scott, and Scott passed away in 1999. I was thinking maybe John Finnegan might have done a good voice for him.

Anyway, you're probably wondering which cartoon characters I would have involved in this special? Well, I've compiled a list of possible characters and included some reasons as to why I think they would work.


Captain Planet
(Captain Planet and the Planeteers)
Captain Planet may be someone who cares more about the environment than he does about drugs, but he still is a very good teacher, so a special like this would definately work for him. As long as we don't have to deal with those annoying Planeteers, everything should go well. Wait, don't the Planeteers need to be together in order to make Captain Planet come to life? Well, this is a special, and we're here to see all our favorites. I guess anything can be possible possible.


Buster Bunny, Babs Bunny, Plucky Duck and Hampton J. Pig
(Tiny Toon Adventures)
The Tiny Toons were really a phenomenom in the early 90's, so I'd have to put them in here. I picked these four because they were really the four most popular characters from the show as well as the stars. However, they might cause a little conflict in the plot since each one represents one of the seven deadly sins.


Darkwing Duck
(Darkwing Duck)
Since I think he's one of Disney's coolest creations, it would definately be awesome to see him in this special. It might also be really cool if he whipped out his gas gun and used it to suck up Smoke! Also, how could we not put him in a show and not have him deliver any of his totally awesome catchphrases?


Yakko, Wakko and Dot Warner
(Animaniacs)
They had one of the longest-running and most successful cartoons of the 90's, so the Warner kids would definately be fun to see. Even though they are wild and frustrating most of the time, they actually have taught us some valuable lessons in a lot of their episodes. Education is the whole purpose of this special, so with the Warner trio, you can't go wrong.


Sonic the Hedgehog
(Sonic SatAM)
I'm sure you all would have guessed that Sonic would be one of the characters in this special. After all, all of us who remember "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" surely remember his little "Sonic Says" thing at the end of each episode. While both the "Adventures" and "SatAM" Sonic were technically the same Sonic, it was the "SatAM" Sonic who came on Saturday mornings. (Yes, I know that's a picture of the "Adventures" Sonic, so deal with it!)


Spider-Man
(Spider-Man: The Animated Series)
Everyone will definately watch this if Spider-Man was in it! I seriously don't know a single person who doesn't like Spider-Man, and I don't know why it is that way. On top of that, he seems like your educating kind of guy. If I remember correctly, Spider-Man had a few specials in the 70's or 80's where he taught kids about the importance of home safety. Anyone will listen to a cool guy like him!


Sailor Moon
(Sailor Moon)
If Sailor Moon was in the special, there's no doubt that it will get a lot of female viewers. Just about every girl that I know is into Sailor Moon. I'm not sure how she would help in the drug situation, since I myself happen to find her to be, for the most part, a clutz. I guess she could use her moon tiarra to swipe the cigarette out of the boy's mouth. Then again, I guess it's popularity that really matters.


Timon and Pumbaa
(The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa)
I guess they seem suitable. I mean, even though they are lazy, stupid and selfish, they did have some PSA commercials around the same time as the cartoon series where they talked about the importance of nutrition. I can actually hear one of them saying a memorable quote right now: "I'd rather eat bugs then take drugs." Hmm...does that sound familiar?


Dexter and Dee Dee
(Dexter's Laboratory)
I would think that Dee Dee would probably appear first, and once she hears about the whole drug deal, she'd warn Dexter about it and have him use his science to try to come up with a solution. Dexter would probably be the smartest of all the cartoon characters in this special, but many may not be able to understand him due to his big vocabulary.


Doug Funnie
(Disney's Doug)
I do like the Nickelodeon version of Doug a lot better, but by this time, Disney had owned the rights to this show. Doug is a good kid, and he's pretty much what we'd want every 12-year-old kid to be as far as how self-awareness goes. He would have no problem saying "no" to drugs, so he's welcome on the team.


Lucky, Cadpig, Rolly and Spot
(101 Dalmatians: The Series)
It seems like the Dalmatians are always showing up on my articles; I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I know "101 Dalmatians" was not a well-known show, but if you actually watched it, just about every episode had some strong life lessons that were taught. If I know these pups, (and believe me, I do) they definately know their rights and wrongs. With Lucky's leadership, Cadpig's intelligence, Rolly's strong nose and Spot's common sense, these pups would definately make a strong addition to the team of cartoon all-stars.


Pikachu
(Pokemon)
If any character from "Pokemon" is going to be in this special, it has to be Pikachu! I know, his vocabulary is limited to no more than his name, but you gotta remember, he was the most popular character on the show, and fans would be really pissed to not see him! If this special ever did become a reality, I would think that Pikachu would be like how Slimer was in the 80's one, as in, he doesn't really add much to the show and is just there for entertainment purposes.


Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup
(The Powerpuff Girls)
Now, sure, this show may not be that well-recognized today, but back in 2000, this show was hot! Having the Powerpuff Girls on the cartoon all-star team is definately appropriate. Admittingly, I've always loved the Powerpuff Girls, and that's saying a lot for someone of my gender.


Edd
(Ed, Edd n Eddy)
"Ed, Edd n Eddy" always was one of Cartoon Network's most popular shows, so I think having someone from that show would make sense. Out of all the 13 characters in the cast, the only one worthy of being on the cartoon all-star team would be Double D. He's the only character from the show with enough common sense and intelligence to teach anyone the importance of something like saying "no" to drugs.


Agumon, Palmon and Gabumon
(Digimon: Digital Monsters)
This show may have been fairly recent, but I don't think it would hurt to throw a few Digimon into the mix. I know, Palmon may an underrated Digimon compared to Agumon and Gabumon, but she knows how what plants can affect people (some drugs are made of weed).


Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
Since Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck were in the first one for some unknown reason, I decided to throw Mickey and Donald into this one. I know, a lot of you are thinking, "Is it okay to do this?" Well, Disney owned the rights to the first Cartoon All-Stars, so I'm sure they'd own the rights to this one as well.

Honorable Mentions: For those of you who felt some characters were left out, well, I'm going to list other 90's cartoon characters and explain why I left them out.


Bart Simpson
The Simpsons wasn't really made to be a kid's show. Maybe a lot of kids did watch The Simpsons, but it wasn't intentionally made for kids. Besides, I really don't think Bart or Homer or anyone else in the cast is the type who would tell kids not to do drugs.


Ren and Stimpy
This may have been made by Nickelodeon, but looking back on it, a majority of the stuff that happened on Ren and Stimpy wasn't very kid-friendly. It doesn't seem to make sense to have characters on a sick show try to keep kids off of drugs. In fact, I think the creators of that show were definately on something.


The Rugrats
This may have been the most popular kids show of the 90's, but if you think about it, the whole show is about babies. They are just babies, so they know nothing about drugs or anything related to them. Sorry, kids; wait until you're seven before you can join the team.


Batman
I know that "Batman: The Animated Series" may have been the most memorable cartoon from the Silver Age, but I can't really put Batman in the cast, and I have some good reasons. First of all, the special is supposed to take place during the day, and as we all know, Batman only comes out at night. Also, knowing Batman, he probably has some more important things to do in Gotham City than try to tell kids to stay off of drugs, like try to keep the Joker in jail.


Beavis and Butthead
Same as the Simpsons. It may have been a popular cartoon of the 90's, and a lot of kids may have watched it, but it wasn't made for kids. I never watched "Beavis and Butthead", but from a glance, it's probably what "Doug" would look like to me if I started taking drugs.


Ickis
I was thinking of putting Ickis from "Aaahh! Real Monsters" in the cast, but after a while I thought of how well it might not work. While it was a popular show in the mid 90's, by 2000, it wasn't as well-recognized as some of the other Nicktoons, so I decided to drop him.


Cow and Chicken
Same reason I said "no" to Ren and Stimpy. Their show was made for kids, but it wasn't all the time kid-friendly. It probably would have made sense to put them in the cast since the message of the show's pilot episode was "don't smoke", but I still think they're a little too gross for kids.


The kids from South Park
Need I say more?


CatDog
This is another duo of characters I was thinking of putting in the cast, but I later decided to remove them. I thought that there could only be so many characters in this special, and I think having CatDog in the cast would look a little weird. Also, since a lot of retrojunkies seem to hate CatDog, putting them in the cast seems a bit excessive.


The cast of Futurama
I don't know why this show has such a huge fanbase, but it does, apparantley. Like most of the honorable nods I listed, "Futurama" was not a made-for-kids show. Plus, this show was too new, so I don't think it would sound right to put any of the characters in this special.


Spongebob Squarepants
Spongebob should remain off of the cast because, well...he's the reason why kids should stay off of drugs in the first place!

That's pretty much all I've got to say about my assumptions. Now, as a special bonus, my buddy, TreyVore, offered to illustrate a poster of my made up special for this article. Here it is!


So there you go. That's just my little assumption of "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, Part 2" would have been like, if they made a 90's edition in 2000. I hope you all enjoyed this, and I look forward to your responses.