Bonkers (cartoon)
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Bonkers was a Disney cartoon series that aired from 1993 to 1996.
A conceptual spin-off of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Bonkers told the story of a world where "toons" and humans co-exist in the same universe. Unlike Roger Rabbit, however, Bonkers was 100% animated and featured no live action.
The premise of the series was that Bonkers D. Bobcat, a popular toon movie star (he appeared in shorts in the Disney Raw Toonage series) had decided to retire from show business and become a cop. Unfortunately, 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, California region. Bonkers repeatedly tried to win Piquel's praise, but usually just ended up screwing things up with his antics.
After several years of working together, Piquel was given an FBI job in Washington, DC, and with great glee was finally able to leave Bonkers. Bonkers was given a new partner, the attractive Sergeant Miranda Wright, who although also human, was far more patient and tolerant of his antics than Piquel.
The series had 65 episodes in all, and was part of The Disney Afternoon.
Interestingly, the actual episodes of Bonkers were not created in chronological order. The "Miranda" episodes were actually produced first, excluding the two-part series premire, which featured Piquel and Bonkers meeting for the first time.
The series also occasionally featured episodes that were just "cartoons" in which Bonkers was an actor, prior his police career. These were all lifted from the Raw Toonage series.
Characters
- Bonkers T. Bobcat - The bob-cat cop
- Toots - Bonkers' pet horn
- Chief Leonard Kanifsky - the absent-minded Chief of Police.
- Sergeant Francis Q. Grating - boss of Bonkers and Miranda.
- Fall-a-Part Rabbit - a clumsy friend of Bonkers.
- Fawn Deer - Bonkers' girlfriend. Also appeared in Raw Toonage.
- Jitters A. Dog - was Bonkers' sidekick in Raw Toonage, now Bonker's "best friend", though Jitters himself would disagree
- Grumbles Grizzly - was Bonkers' boss in Raw Toonage, appears occasionally in Bonkers.
- Al Vermin - Bonkers' arch nemesis from the second and third seasons.
- The Collector - another villain, who likes to collect toons.
- Mr. Doodles - The Collector's evil henchman.
- Lilith Duprave - a villain.
Many Disney characters created prior to the show made cameo appearances including Goofy, Donald Duck, Darkwing Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Marsupilami.
Video games
Two Bonkers-themed video games were produced, one for the Super Nintendo and one for the Sega Genesis. Both were called simply "Bonkers."
- Bonkers (Sega Genesis), released December 15, 1994. Bonkers is on his first case, and must retrieve the Toontown treasure of the Sorcerer's Hat, the Mermaid's Voice, and the Magic Lamp.
- Bonkers (SNES), released October 1, 1995.
