Bonkers

''Bonkers'' is an animated American television series that aired from February 28, 1993, to February 23, 1994, in first-run syndication, following a preview airing on Disney Channel. The syndicated run was available both separately and as part of The Disney Afternoon, and reruns continued on the syndicated block until mid-fall 1996. The show was last seen in the United States on Toon Disney, before being removed from the schedule in late 2004.
The premise of the series revolves around Bonkers D. Bobcat, an anthropomorphic bobcat inspired by Roger Rabbit. Bonkers, voiced by Jim Cummings, transitions from a popular cartoon star to a cop in the Toon Division of the Hollywood P.D. The series initially pairs him with Detective Lucky Piquel, voiced by Jim Cummings, a grim and ill-tempered human cop who dislikes Toons. The duo works together to solve crimes in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, California region. Bonkers frequently seeks Piquel's approval but often disrupts missions with his antics.
After several years, Piquel is promoted to an F.B.I. job in Washington, D.C., much to his delight, although he eventually realizes he has grown fond of Bonkers. Bonkers is then assigned a new partner, Sergeant Miranda Wright, voiced by Karla DeVito. Miranda is more patient and tolerant of Bonkers' antics than Piquel. The series occasionally features episodes of cartoons from Bonkers' pre-police actor days, taken from the Raw Toonage series.
''Bonkers'' was not originally conceived as a series based on ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' but was inspired by that film's world. It is considered one of the last cartoon series dedicated to the popularity of Disney characters. The series comprises 65 episodes, produced out of chronological order. The "Miranda" episodes were produced first, with the exception of the two-part series premiere, which featured Piquel and Bonkers meeting for the first time. This is evident in the character's appearance: in the Raw Toonage shorts, Bonkers is orange with one brown spot, golf-club-like ears, and an undone tail. The Lucky Piquel episodes feature a redesigned character with skinnier ears, two black spots on each tuft, black Tigger-like stripes on his tail, and a different uniform. The Miranda Wright-era episodes revert to Bonkers' original look from Raw Toonage.
During the series' pre-production, the Raw Toonage team, headed by Larry Latham, produced 12 "He's Bonkers" shorts, which were presented as shorts Bonkers made at Wackytoons Studios before being fired. The animated short ''Petal to the Metal'' was shown in theaters in 1992 before the movie ''3 Ninjas'', with the rest shown on Raw Toonage. In syndication, these shorts were collected into four full episodes with new material in between.
Duane Capizzi, making his producing debut, teamed with animation veteran Robert Hathcock to create 65 episodes featuring Bonkers with Wright as his partner. However, the episodes received poorly from overseas animation studios, leading to concern at Disney. The original team was replaced by a new team headed by Robert Taylor. Only 19 of the original shows were aired, known as the "Miranda Wright episodes." Nine of these episodes aired on the Disney Channel in the first half of 1993 as a preview before the syndicated premiere in the fall. These episodes are shown toward the end of the series in the official continuity.
Greg Weisman, co-creator of Disney's ''Gargoyles'', worked on the "Miranda Episodes," and Bonkers' relationship with Miranda inspired Goliath's relationship with Elisa Maza. Taylor revised the show's premise, replacing it with the Lucky Piquel scenario. 42 episodes of the "Piquel Era" were made, including "New Partners on the Block," which attempted to bridge the gap between the two storylines. The syndicated version of the series, which omits several original episodes, was last seen on Toon Disney and has not been aired in the US since. It has since been reinstated on Disney+.
The episode "New Partners on the Block" shows Bonkers transitioning from Lucky Piquel to Miranda Wright as his partner. The episode features characters associated with Bonkers, such as Fawn Deer, Jitters A. Dog, and Grumbles Grizzly. At the end of the episode, Bonkers, Miranda, and Lucky capture the bomber Fireball Frank, making Bonkers and Miranda a team and giving Lucky a job as an FBI Agent in Washington, D.C. Piquel's family, Fall-Apart Rabbit, Toots, and Broderick the Toon radio also relocate to Washington, D.C., allowing them to be written out of the show. This episode was removed from the rotation in the United States after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing due to its bombing plot but has since been reinstated on Disney+.
Other main characters include Fall-Apart Rabbit, voiced by Frank Welker, Bonkers' clumsy friend and stunt-double during his Hollywood days; Chief Leonard Kanifky, voiced by Earl Boen, the absent-minded Chief of Police; and supporting characters like Toots, voiced by Frank Welker, Bonkers' pet horn; Jitters A. Dog, voiced by Jeff Bennett, Bonkers' sidekick; Fawn Deer, voiced by Nancy Cartwright, Bonkers' main love interest; and Grumbles Grizzly, voiced by Rodger Bumpass, Bonkers' strict boss.
Villains in the series include The Collector, voiced by Michael Bell, a Toon who collects other Toons in suspended animation; Ma Parker, voiced by June Foray, a Toon tow truck who is a criminal; Z-Bot, voiced by Robert Ridgely, an evil mechanical Toon robot; and The Rat, voiced by Brad Garrett, a Toon rat who is a wannabe human star.
''Bonkers'' was released on three VHS tapes in 1995 by Walt Disney Home Video, each containing two episodes. All 65 episodes of Bonkers were released on the Disney+ streaming service on November 12, 2019.
''Bonkers'' has inspired three video games. The first, released for Super NES, titled ''Bonkers'' (ボンカーズ ハリウッド大作戦!, ''Bonkers: Hollywood Big Operations!'' in Japan), was released on October 1, 1994, in North America and on January 3, 1995, in Japan. In the game, Bonkers is on his first case alone and must retrieve the Toontown treasure of the Sorcerer's Hat (from ''Fantasia''), the Mermaid's Voice (''The Little Mermaid''), and the Magic Lamp (''Aladdin''). The second game, for the Mega Drive/Genesis on December 15, 1994, was also titled ''Bonkers''. In the game, Bonkers notices that an Employee of the Month award will be given to a cop who captures 4 criminals: Ma Tow Truck, The Rat, Mr. Big, and Harry the Handbag. The third game, for the Game Gear and Master System (Brazil only), was titled ''Bonkers: Wax Up!''. In this game, Bonkers has to escape from Madame Who-Said's Wax Museum and rescue Lucky in time.
Compared with previous Disney Afternoon shows, ''Bonkers'' received average reviews. Bonkers' voice, supplied by Jim Cummings, was considered annoying by some audiences. Despite this, the series holds a 6.9 rating on IMDb.com.