Toonstruck

Infobox VG |title= Toonstruck


developer= Burst Studios
publisher= Virgin Interactive
designer= Richard Hare
engine=
released= 1996
genre= Adventure game
modes= Single player
ratings= ESRB: T (Teen)
USK: 6+
ELSPA: 15+
platforms= Microsoft Windows, DOS
media= 2 CD-ROMs
requirements= 486/66 or equivalent CPU, 8 MB RAM, 34 MB available hard disk space, 2X CD-ROM drive, Sound Card
input= Keyboard, mouse

"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.

Game Features

tory

In "Toonstruck", Christopher Lloyd plays Drew Blanc, a cartoon animator and the original creator of the "Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show". This show has been an unprecedented success for his company, but in reality the many cute talking rabbits that star in the show sicken him. His self-revered creation, Flux Wildly, a wise-talking and sarcastic purple animal, 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 coming up with an idea of a new character to 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 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. He soon befriends Flux Wildly and Fluffy, and discovers that this fictional paradise is being ravaged by a ruthless new character with a devastating weapon of evil, a ray beam that mutates the pleasant, childish landscape and its inhabitants into dark, twisted and adult 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.

Characters

Drew Blanc (Christopher Lloyd) - Drew Blanc is 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 Castellaneta) - Flux is 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 Curry) - Count Nefarious is 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 Stiers) - King Hugh is 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 Stein) - Schmaltz is 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 MacNeille) - Fluffy is 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 - Ms. Fortune is a psychic feline who assists Count Nefarious in his evil schemes, informing him of any possible meddler in his plan and looking into the future to see what is to come.

Marge - The sweet cow who makes butter for Cutopia in the barn.

Polly - A kindly sheep who hangs around with Marge in the barn.

Elmer - A 'special' horse who lives in the barn with Marge and Polly, never saying a word.

The Carecrow - A camp scarecrow who looks after the crows in the fields and yearns for the perfect outfit.

Ms. Fit - A beautiful woman who works in the costumarama in Cutopia and loves to read.

Fingers - The slimy zanian who left for Cutopia to con the gullible Cutopians in his arcade.

Dough, Ray and Mee - The singing frogs who works in the bakery, making day young, fresh, and day old bread respectively.

Jim - The muscled bull dog who owns his own gym in Zanydu.

Woof and Warp - The owners of Wacme, who provide Zanydu with the finest abuse gadgets for causing one another pain.

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 - The dedicated security guard at the Zanydu outhouse, who's not left his post for years.

Barman - The big lump of Irish / Scottish cheese who owns the pub in Cutopia.

Feedback, Goggles and Lugnut - Nefarious' henchman, with loss of speech, sight and hearing respectively.

Footman - King Hugh's butler, who cares about his master more than he'll openly admit.

Seedy - The owner of the sleazy bowling alley in the Malevolands, the only one to ever score a strike with his special 'technique'.

Bouncer - The gritty bouncer at Seedy's who stop anyone from getting in without the proper attire.

Bricabrac - King Hugh's engineer who creates the blueprints for and builds the cutifier.

Robot Maker - The mechanical man who creates machines for Nefarious and dreams of machines ruling the world.

Snout the Pig - Drew's allergy-prone guard at Nefarious' dungeon.

Spike - A demented clown who's brain is frazzled and driven to insanity for Nefarious' amusement.

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 an arcade in the town center. 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, a outhouse (purely for fish-flushing), Wacme (a shop selling abuse technology like that of Acme in the loony toons) and the way outback.

Malevolands - The dark and adult part of the cartoon world, with Nefarious' castle looming in the distance. Here you can find a bowling alley, a robotics shop and a prison.

Game play

"Toonstruck" is a point-and-click adventure game where the player controls Christopher Lloyd's digitised likeness. The game uses extensive minimalism 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.

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.

equel

The released version of "Toonstruck" was only half of what the full game was originally intended to be. Just before the beta was released the game was cut in half. A sequel, using leftover footage and animations from the first game, was planned but never released. A few of the unused backgrounds, animations and pictures from the original game can be found at an [http://www.lauraj.net/portfolio/GameArt/Toonstruck/Toonstruck.htm EX-ARTISTS SITE] .

Other information

Credits

*Drew Blanc - Acted and voiced by Christopher Lloyd
*Flux Wildly - Voiced by Dan Castellaneta
*Count Nefarious - Voiced by Tim Curry
*King Hugh - Voiced by David Ogden Stiers
*Sam Schmaltz - Acted and voiced by Ben Stein
*Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun - Voiced by Tress MacNeille

References

*moby game|id=/dos/toonstruck
*GameFAQs|type=/computer/doswin|num=199065
* [http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=6109&highlight=toonstruck Toonstruck configuration for DOSBox]
* [http://home.earthlink.net/~infernofilecabinet4/XpSetupsP_T/Toonstruck_Setup.htm Windows XP setup procedure for Toonstruck]