{{Short description|1992 film by Fred Olen Ray}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Evil Toons | image = Evil Toons poster.jpg | alt = | caption = Laserdisc cover | director = Fred Olen Ray | producer = Fred Olen Ray<br>Victoria Till | writer = Fred Olen Ray | starring = David Carradine<br />Monique Gabrielle<br />Madison Stone<br />Barbara Dare<br>Dick Miller | music = Chuck Cirino | cinematography = Gary Graver | editing = Greg Shorer | studio = American Independent Productions<br />Curb/Esquire Films | distributor = Prism Entertainment Corporation | released = {{Film date|1991|10|21|American Film Market|1992|01|08|United States}} | runtime = 90 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $140,000 }} '''''Evil Toons''''' is a 1992 American live-action/adult animated comedy horror B movie written and directed by Fred Olen Ray.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gruselseite.com/reviews/Evil_Toons/review.html |title=Evil Toons DVD Review Kritik {{!}} GruselSeite.com |access-date=2010-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017233510/http://gruselseite.com/reviews/Evil_Toons/review.html |archive-date=2010-10-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This film is a light spoof of traditional haunted house films.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barton |first=Steve |date=2012-09-24 |title=New Trailer and Full Synopsis for BBC America's Bedlam Season 2 |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37752/new-trailer-and-full-synopsis-for-bbc-america-s-bedlam-season-2/ |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=Dread Central |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Plot== In the early 1930s, a man by the name of Gideon Fisk hangs himself in the basement of his suburban mansion home, seemingly to spite a possessed book made of human skin. In the present day, a quartet of beautiful female college students are hired to clean the now-vacant mansion over the weekend. Upon arrival, they clean the basement and find a strange dagger hidden in a chest. That night, Gideon's cursed spirit delivers the book to them at his front door. The quartet then examine the book, finding it full of sketches of bizarre monsters, some engaged in depraved sex acts.
When an incantation in the book is read, one of the drawings emerges from the book and becomes a sentient cartoon. This thing stalks and attacks the sexually liberated Roxanne, taking on her physical form after murdering her, before doing the same to her arriving football player boyfriend, Biff Bullock. The demon then plans to collect the souls of everyone in the mansion so it can be freed from its imprisonment in the book, alongside its fellow demons. After finding Biff's corpse, the remaining women call their boss, Burt, but before he can help upon his arrival, he is lured away and murdered by the demon. The women eventually discover the demon, who then murders all of them except for the sexually inexperienced Megan.
Gideon returns and aids Megan in defeating the demon, stabbing it with the strange dagger. Before the demon can return to the safety of the book, Megan throws the book into the fireplace, incinerating it and erasing the demon from existence. After explaining that he had needed another mortal's corporeal strength to destroy the book and end his decades-long curse, Gideon ascends to the afterlife. All of the demon's victims are revived the next morning, only remembering their encounters with it as nightmares. Megan then becomes horrified when the neighbor, Mr. Hinchlow, comes over with his portable television set so that the group can watch Saturday-morning cartoons.
==Cast== *David Carradine as Gideon Fisk *Monique Gabrielle as Megan *Madison Stone as Roxanne *Barbara Dare (credited as Stacey Nix) as Jan *Arte Johnson as Mr. Hinchlow *Dick Miller as Burt *Suzanne Ager as Terry *Don Dowe as Biff Bullock *Michelle Bauer as Burt's unnamed wife *Fred Olen Ray as the voice of the traditionally animated demon
==Production== The film was shot in an octet of days.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.craveonline.com/site/780405-midnight-fred-olen-ray-strip-clubs-chainsaw-hookers|title=After Midnight: Fred Olen Ray on Strip Clubs & Chainsaw Hookers|first=Fred|last=Topel|date=27 October 2014|website=Crave Online|access-date=1 January 2017}}</ref> Due to the low budget of the film, combined with the high cost of animation, the animated demon is only on screen for approximately 90 seconds in the film.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=McInally |first=Mike |date=January 17, 1992 |title=Video Report: A Weekly Look at what's New on Tape |work=The Missoulian |location=Missoula, Montana |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112196936/b-movie-report-movie-reviews-evil/}}</ref> Director Fred Olen Ray says that mainstream Hollywood executives would not finance the film, citing risk due to the premise. He was quoted saying "Even Roger Corman turned us down" and "He said it was too risky... so we did it ourselves."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Liebenson |first=Donald |date=January 28, 1992 |title=Buried Pleasures |work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
The film has subtle connections to the universe of H.P. Lovecraft. Roxanne mentions Miskatonic University and the book which summons the demon into the mortal world resembles the Necronomicon.
==Release== On May 4, 2010, Infinity Entertainment Group released the 20th Anniversary Edition on DVD.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Evil-Toons-Anniversary-David-Carradine/dp/B00JRSK6E6/ |title=Evil Toons - 20th Anniversary Edition |website=Amazon |access-date=2017-03-04 |archive-date=2017-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305193026/https://www.amazon.com/Evil-Toons-Anniversary-David-Carradine/dp/B00JRSK6E6 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Reception== The film had received a number of negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reports a score of 33% based on six reviews, with an average rating of 3.29/10.<ref>{{rotten-tomatoes|evil_toons|Evil Toons}}</ref> Critics were negative about the acting and dialogue in the film, as well as the animation quality in addition to how sparsely it appears throughout.<ref name=":0" />
The 2000 book, horror film encyclopedia ''Creature Feature'', gave the film two out of five stars, stating that it was a sorry excuse for a film in regards to wasting the talents of Carradine and Miller.<ref>Stanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature: 3rd Edition</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|0099524|Evil Toons}} *{{TCMDb title|518701|Evil Toons}} *{{rotten-tomatoes|evil_toons|Evil Toons}}
{{Fred Olen Ray}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Evil Toons}} Category:1992 American animated films Category:1992 comedy horror films Category:1992 LGBTQ-related films Category:1990s monster movies Category:1990s ghost films Category:American comedy horror films Category:American fantasy films Category:American films with live action and animation Category:American LGBTQ-related films Category:American satirical films Category:1991 English-language films Category:Erotic fantasy films Category:Films directed by Fred Olen Ray Category:American independent films Category:Lesbian-related films Category:LGBTQ-related comedy horror films Category:LGBTQ-related animated films Category:American sex comedy films Category:American monster movies Category:American sexploitation films Category:American supernatural horror films Category:Supernatural comedy films Category:Supernatural fantasy films Category:American erotic horror films Category:1990s sex comedy films Category:1991 films Category:Films set in country houses Category:Demons in film Category:1991 science fiction films Category:English-language comedy horror films Category:English-language science fiction horror films Category:English-language sex comedy films