Toonstruck

About Toonstruck

Toonstruck (1996) is Burst Studios' $8 million cartoon adventure in which Christopher Lloyd, filmed in live action, is pulled into the animated world he created, with a voice cast including Tim Curry and Dan Castellaneta.

Toonstruck in Depth

Animator Drew Blanc created the hit Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show, though its cute talking rabbits sicken him, while his favourite creation, the wisecracking purple Flux Wildly, has never had his own show. Ordered to design more bunnies overnight, Drew falls asleep with artist's block, then is drawn through his television into a cartoon world full of his creations. There he befriends Flux and learns that Count Nefarious is ravaging the land with the Malevolator, a flying saucer that turns everything dark and twisted. King Hugh of Cutopia promises Drew passage home if he stops Nefarious, so Drew and Flux hunt across Cutopia, Zanydu and the Malevolands for the parts of the Cutifier, a counter-weapon, before a betrayal leaves Drew imprisoned in Nefarious's castle.

The point-and-click interface uses a "Bottomless Bag" inventory, a context-sensitive white-gloved hand cursor and dialogue topics shown as icons, including an ice cube for "breaking the ice" that melts as options run out. Flux can be selected and used like an item for his cartoon abilities. The first part is non-linear, with objects carried back and forth between the lands, while the second takes place entirely in the castle without Flux. As in LucasArts games, the player cannot die or reach a dead end. Joystick counted 52 characters, 80 puzzles and 120 objects.

Making Toonstruck

Burst, Virgin's internal studio in Irvine led by Westwood veteran Chris Yates and Neil Young, developed it from October 1993 to November 1996, inspired by The 7th Guest to make it "as cinematic as possible"; 230 people worked on it. Executive producer David Bishop's concept was reworked by writer Jennifer McWilliams into something more adult, with comic violence, parody and cynicism, and the final script was credited to McWilliams, Richard Hare and Mark Drop, with Hare directing the live-action shoot against green screen. Its influences were classic Warner Bros., Tex Avery, Hanna-Barbera and Disney cartoons. Costs passed $8 million, swollen by 18 months of debugging. The cast included Dom DeLuise and David Ogden Stiers, with Curry's character written for him and Castellaneta replacing the first choice for Flux. Critics mostly praised its animation and puzzle design, but it was a financial disappointment for Virgin, and it has since appeared on several lists of the best adventure games.