Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Series, 1990, The early '90s, Set in San Zucchini
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is #4 of 22 in release order and #4 of 22 in chronological order in the Fox Kids Classics.
The story
A group of people thwart a mad scientist trying to take over the world with evil mutated tomatoes that he can change into people.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes recap
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1990) is a cartoon sequel to the cult films, with a scientist breeding mutant tomatoes in the town of San Zucchini. It ran on Fox Kids for two seasons and 21 episodes, from September 8, 1990, to November 23, 1991, developed by Richard Mueller from characters created by John DeBello, J. Stephen Peace and Costa Dillon. The story picks up five years after the Great Tomato War, with tomatoes banned. Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen (John Astin), an "angry" rather than mad scientist, keeps experimenting with his dim assistant Igor Smith (Cam Clarke) and his tomato commander Zoltan (Maurice LaMarche). Ten-year-old Chad Finletter (Christian Guzek) delivers pizzas for his uncle Wilbur (Thom Bray), a war veteran who leads the Killer Tomato Task Force, and befriends Tara Boumdeay (Kath Soucie), one of Gangreen's experiments: a tomato in the form of a teenage girl who turns back into a tomato when touched by salt. Her fuzzy, harmless "brother" F.T. passes as an ugly dog. The humour leans on film and TV spoofs and on jokes about the franchise's low-budget origins. In the second season Gangreen conquers the world in the opening episode, only for Zoltan's upgraded Gang of Six to overthrow him and split the continents between them, forcing Gangreen to join Chad, Tara and Wilbur's resistance.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes ending explained
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes ends with "The Great Tomato Wars," aired November 23, 1991, as humanity slowly takes the Earth back from the tomatoes. Fang stages an uprising and ousts Zoltan from the Gang of Six, so Zoltan allies with Gangreen once more, and Gangreen creates five new caveman-themed tomatoes to fight Fang's crew in a story that turns on F.T. No third season was made, and repeats ran on Fox and then Fox Family until 2000. A documentary on the franchise, including the cartoon's cast and crew, was released on YouTube in 2023.
Ratings
IMDb 6.1/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Tom & Jerry Kids Show, before Taz-Mania.
- Chronological order: after Tom & Jerry Kids Show, before Taz-Mania.
Cast
- Kath Soucie as Tara (voice)
- Christian Guzek as Chad Finletter (voice)
- John Astin as Dr. Gangreen (voice)
- Cam Clarke as Igor (voice)
- S. Scott Bullock as F.T. (voice)
- Thom Bray as Wilbur Finletter (voice)
- Maurice LaMarche as Zoltan (voice)
- Neil Ross as Whitney White (voice)