The success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) demonstrated that splashy cartoon crossovers would grab a great deal of attention. One of the more odd and timely results of this fact was Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, an anti-drug PSA where Bugs Bunny, Papa Smurf, Garfield, Alf, Winnie the Pooh, and Michelangelo team up to stop an adolescent boy from getting addicted to crack.

Spurred through production by Roy Disney and financed by McDonald's, Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue was broadcast on every major TV network in numerous countries and, as such, was very widely seen (75% of American televisions tuned in to the special). It got a VHS release in 1990, but the complex licensing issues have kept it from reissue on physical media or streaming in the decades since. It is, however, pretty easy to find on unofficial channels; Ryan, Sylvan, and Cheryl had no trouble locating a watchable upload.

As one can readily surmise, Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue is loaded to the brim with subtext. Discussion topics for this one include the shortcomings of the Reagan-era "Just Say No" initiative, how the War on Drugs accomplishes the opposite of its stated agenda, the ways that the prison industrial complex perpetuates unjust persecution of drug use, and why provably effective means of harm reduction are still struggling to attain mainstream acceptance in the United States.