Toonstruck 2 (lost build of cancelled PC adventure game sequel; 1996)
Cover for the first game.
Status: Lost
Toonstruck 2 was a sequel to the 1996 video game Toonstruck. Before the release, the game was split into two parts, but due to the commercial flop of the first game, the second part was never released. However, the game's music director Keith Arem stated in 2010 that he's still planning to release the game; as of 2021, however, its status remains unknown. In 2021, the game's animator Laura Janczewski put up some materials from the unreleased second part on YouTube; these materials can be viewed below.
Premise
According to the game's lead designer Richard Hare:
"In the original story, once Drew escaped from Nefarious's castle, he and Flux were supposed to ride a "Train of Thought" up to an island in the sky. Here, Drew explores his own fears and fantasies within a carnival setting (there was a Wild West shootout, an encounter with Drew's artist idol, Van Gogh, and a visit to a maniacal dentist). Finally, Drew needs to kick-start his imagination/creativity (represented by a huge lighthouse) and defeat both Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun and Nefarious in the process.
If the first ToonStruck had been commercially successful, we would have used most of the content that had been cut from the first game and added in additional scenes to pad out the story. Drew Blanc would have been transformed into a "toon" at the outset of the game and would need to undo this by the end of the game. We also wanted to add in more physical-based puzzles, allowing Drew to physically push around objects in the scene and use them together to solve different problems".
In the words of cowriter and designer Jennifer McWilliams:
"Toonstruck was meant to be a funny story about defeating some really weird bad guys, as it was when released, but originally it was also about defeating one’s own creative demons. It was a tribute to creative folks of all types and was meant to offer encouragement to any of them that had lost their way. So, the second part of the game had Drew venturing into his own psyche, facing his fears (like a psychotically overeager dentist), living out his fantasies (like meeting his hero, Vincent Van Gogh), and eventually finding a way to restore his creative spark".
Locations & Music
Keith Arem published a list of music tracks for both Toonstruck and Toonstruck 2, with each music track corresponding to a specific location. It is, therefore, possible to conclude which locations were to be in the second game; some music tracks can also be identified with the use of the APM database. The table below only includes the locations which weren't present in the original game; the full music list can be downloaded using a link in the "Links" section.
Current Status
Since 2010, the game's musical director Keith Arem has been stating that he is interested in releasing the game; however, he needs to resolve the legal obstacles to do so. He is communicating news to the fans via a Toonstruck 2 Facebook group; as of now, the status of the game is unclear.
A lot of Toonstruck promo materials have been released in the 1990s, with some of them containing scenes from Toonstruck 2; from time to time, some of them resurface on the Web. In 2010, an Adventure-Treff user "Hanuka" stated that he had a disk with Toonstruck 2 materials from Toonstruck designer Laura Janczewski; however, there were no news about it since then. There were also reports about a Burst promotional disk which allegedly came with Broken Sword and included scenes like Drew's Wild West showdown with a giant chicken and "Picasso" played by Jeff Bennett, and a Toonstruck VHS cassette which could also contain scenes from the unreleased sequel; unfortunately, none of these materials have been published online so far.
Cultural Impact
The game and its unreleased sequel acquired a cult status among fans of classical point & click adventures. A number of them attempted to create a Toonstruck 2 fangame based on the available materials from the original. Though the fangame itself is currently on hiatus, they published a Toonstruck launcher (a program which allows launching the first Toonstruck on modern PCs), and a Toonstruck extractor; with the use of the latter, they extracted a number of unused materials from the Toonstruck files, including some materials which were to be used in Toonstruck 2.
Gallery
Videos
Screenshots
The crossroads at the island in the sky.
The creepy bedroom in the "evil" section of the island.
The mirror that Drew faces.
The broken version of the mirror.
Drew and Van Gogh.
Drew and Van Gogh 2.
King Hugh's castle.
King Hugh's castle 2.
Drew in the Wild West.
The swamp hen puzzle removed from the final version of the game
Drew's shootout with a Wild West cowboy (low quality).
Drew in the evil dentist's chair (low quality).
The evil dentist in his office.
Sketches of the evil dentist.
The creepy old attic.
Cutopian army knife.
"Mating Habits of the Wild Swamphen" (replaced with the squirrel mating book in the final version of the game).
A portrait of King Hugh among the customers of WACME, holding the WACME Safe and Insane™ item and its combination.
Sketches of the evil cowboy with whom Drew would have a showdown in the Wild West.
Sketches of monsters from the creepy bedroom.
Sketches of Jolly Juice Delivery Hyenas.
Sketches of the swamp hen ("a rather prissy hen who kept to her nest").
Sketches of baby kangaroo.
Rat from the pencil test patrol, the cockroach (original idea for Ms. Fit from the costume shop), two early bartender concepts from the Cutopia tavern (bottom), and the original design for Seedy.
The Timid Cheese-Eating Moose who hides in his moose hole.
Early sketches of Ms. Fortune
Some character from Zanydu
Dialogue Icons
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
|
|
Cutopian army knife |
 |
Glass jar/container? |
 |
A medical cot (possibly from the conversation with the dentist?) |
 |
??? |
   |
From the conversation with Van Gogh |
 |
Drew as a toon |
 |
The lighthouse |
 |
The book "Mating Habits of the Wild Swamphen" |
Inventory Items
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
|
|
A beach ball |
 |
A bow |
 |
A fishing pole |
  |
Cowboy's hats from the Wild West location |
 |
Deputy star |
 |
Gun & holster |
 |
Railroad crosing sign |
 |
"Exceptionally sweet candy" |
 |
"A wad of WACME Super Strength Bubble Putty. Yummy" |
 |
Lugnut's hearing aid (which Drew would have to steal from him and give to Van Gogh to replace his missing ear) |
 |
Feedback's mouthpiece |
 |
Goggles' glasses |
 |
Flux's glasses |
 |
Cutopian army knife |
 |
A burnt-out light bulb (maybe the one which represents Drew's creativity and needs to be replaced?) |
 |
Mailing cartridge |
 |
Reptile treats |
  |
WACME Safe and Insane™ item (with and without the spark-plug inside) |
  |
Spark-plug half |
 |
A bust of Nefarious (Drew would have to give it to Van Gogh as a reference for the portrait of Nefarious) |
 |
A teddy bear from the dark bedroom ("I don't go anywhere without my teddy bear. Especially not to a strange, cartoon world") |
 |
Bunny slippers |
  |
A toaster and a "super-toaster" (the latter is probably the one from the robot shop in Malevolands) |
  |
A rope and a rope+plunger (actually an unused puzzle from the first Toonstruck: originally, Drew had to use it to fly over an abyss to the Malevolator) |
 |
Bleach |
References
- A Space Quest Historian article on Toonstruck 2. Retrieved 18 Apr '19
- An interview with Richard Hare. Retrieved 18 Apr '19
- The music track list for Toonstruck and Toonstruck 2. Retrieved 18 Apr '19
- The Facebook group on Toonstruck. Retrieved 18 Apr '19
- Webpage of Toonstruck designer Laura Janczewski with some unused art. Retrieved 18 Apr '19
- Materials extracted from Toonstruck files. Retrieved 18 Apr '19
- The Cutting Room floor page for Toonstruck. Retrieved 18 Apr '19
- The Cutting Room floor page for Toonstruck demo. Retrieved 9 May '21
- The Toonstruck 2 fanproject. Retrieved 18 Apr '19
- PAK extractor for Toonstruck source files Retrieved 01 May '19
- The music track list for Toonstruck and Toonstruck 2. Retrieved 18 Apr '19