Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Origin

The original film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was released by Four Square Productions in 1978. A parody of the giant menace movies of the 1950s, it became a cult hit and predated the movie-spoofing disaster film Airplane! by two years.

The Killer Tomatoes might have remained in that genre had it not been for an unlikely intervention from an equally unlikely source. During the 1986–1987 season of Muppet Babies, there was a segment in the episode "The Weirdo Zone" upon which Baby Fozzie deals with how he once faced an 'Attack of the Silly Tomatoes'. The segment used clips from the movie and concluded with Baby Fozzie using a giant-sized ketchup bottle to capture the Silly Tomatoes (he told bad jokes and the large tomatoes launched themselves at him, only to be caught inside the bottle when he ducked out of the way). It became one of the higher-rated episodes of the season, so much that New World Pictures (the owner of Marvel Productions, which made Muppet Babies) approached Four Square about making a sequel to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

Four Square had never intended to make a sequel but when New World approached them with a two-million dollar budget towards filming a potential sequel, John De Bello, Costa Dillon and Stephen Peace got to work on crafting a script. The resulting film, Return of the Killer Tomatoes, was a surprise success.

New World was pleased with the results, and the company decided to duplicate the results of the film with an animated series aimed at a younger audience. Tweaking various characters and ideas from both Attack and Return, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Series was born and debuted as one of the first Saturday morning cartoons on the Fox Children's Network in the fall of 1990.

There were many inside jokes to popular television series and movies that played out during the series' run. It often poked fun at itself or its low-budget film origins.

Plot

The series picks up five years after The Great Tomato War (much as the film Return of the Killer Tomatoes did), where tomatoes are banned. However that has not stopped Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen from engaging in his experiments. Gangreen's ultimate goal is world domination and he will not let anyone stop him. But his most successful experiment may very well be his undoing. Tara Boumdeay, a tomato turned human, runs away from Gangreen, taking along her "Brother", the fur-covered F.T., whom she passes off as a dog. They befriend Chad Finletter (nephew of the Great Tomato War veteran, Wilbur Finletter) who, after saving the pair from a tomato attack, gets Tara a job at his uncle Wilbur's Tomatoless Pizza Parlor. She shares their secret with Chad regarding the two of them being tomatoes and Chad vows to help them against whatever Gangreen has planned. That is where everyone stands at the start of the first episode, "Give A Little Whistle", where the evil Doctor sets his new plans into motion (and would continue through the first season).

Season Two would center on Gangreen actually conquering the world in the debut episode. However, he is overthrown by Zoltan and his gang of twice-mutated tomatoes and is forced to join up with Chad, Tara, Wilbur and the rest of the Killer Tomato Task Force (other vets of the Great Tomato War).

Characters

Main characters

Chad Finletter (voiced by Christian Guzek) – Chad is a bright ten-year-old boy living with his Uncle Wilbur, working as a pizza delivery boy for Wilbur's Pizza Palace. Chad is one of the few people to know the truth about Tara and F.T. really being tomatoes, but as an act of friendship promised to keep their secret. Chad is the real guiding force behind stopping Gangreen, but because he is a kid, nobody takes him seriously. By the end of the first season, Gangreen puts a bounty on Chad to stop his constant interference. During the second season, Chad becomes a leader, convincing the others to free Gangreen to help their cause.

Tara Boumdeay (voiced by Kath Soucie) – Tara is one of Dr. Gangreen's failed experiments, a tomato who took on a teenage humanoid form. She abandoned his evil plans with F.T. and escaped to the Finletter's where she is Chad's best friend and waitress at Wilbur's Pizza Palace. Tara reverts to tomato form when exposed to salt, which can be cured with pepper. She is also shown to have telepathic and telekinetic powers.

Wilbur Finletter (voiced by Thom Bray) – A Great Tomato War veteran, leader of the Killer Tomato Taskforce, and owner of Wilbur's Pizza Palace. He is frequently trying new recipes for tomato-less pizzas, most of the time failing. Wilbur is still slightly delusional from the war and believes that tomatoes are only good squashed. During the second season, Wilbur becomes a rebel leader when the killer tomatoes conquer Earth.

F.T. (vocal effects provided by S. Scott Bullock) – Short for Fuzzy Tomato, F.T. is a failed experiment who turned out cute, fuzzy, and incapable of evil. He would have been destroyed by Gangreen, but was rescued by Tara, who disguises him as an ugly dog.

Whitley White (voiced by Neil Ross) – A news reporter for the San Zucchini news station.

Recurring characters

The Killer Tomato Taskforce - (KTTF for short) is a task force that opposes the Killer Tomatoes.

Sam "The Sham" Smith (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) – A member of the Killer Tomato Taskforce. Sam is a master of disguise, but yet his most recognizable outfit is that of the Lone Ranger.

Floyd Bridgework (voiced by Thom Bray) – A member of the Killer Tomato Taskforce. Floyd is an underwater expert and is never seen without his scuba gear on, even when trying on a disguise or something like skating.

Mary Jo Nagamininashy (voiced by Kath Soucie) – A member of the Killer Tomato Taskforce. Mary Jo is the only female on the team besides Tara. She is a German athlete that is always into exercise, even when battling tomatoes.

Tomato Guy (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) – A character who appeared in every episode of the show. He would shout "Tomato" only to cause anybody in the area to panic, and additionally appears as a speaking extra in various episodes. It was later revealed in the Season Two episode "Stemming The Tide" that he makes fun of tomatoes because as a kid, he was served cold tomato soup at a family get-together. The soup was alive and pestering Tomato Guy until he captured it by covering his soup bowl with a saucer. The character's voice and design were modelled upon the "Man in Library" character played by Costa Dillon in the original film.

The Censor Lady (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) – An old woman who appears and tries to stop a character if they are doing some violence-related or imitable behavior. It was revealed in the episode 'Streets of Ketchup' that she is a being similar to Tara, turning into a prune when squirted with salt water.

Mayor Leonard Earwax (voiced by Cam Clarke) – The mayor of San Zucchini. Earwax is an airhead who somehow lucked into his job.

Villains

Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen (voiced by John Astin) – The main villain of the series who is loosely based on Professor Mortimer Gangreen from the film series. An "angry" scientist (as opposed to a "mad" one), Dr. Gangreen created the killer tomatoes with the goal of global domination. Along with his dull-witted assistant Igor Smith and army of tomatoes led by his head tomato Zoltan, he is always trying to destroy San Zucchini and conquer the world. During the second season, Gangreen succeeds in conquering Earth, only to be overthrown by Zoltan and imprisoned when it became apparent that conquering the world had an oddly calming effect on Gangreen. Gangreen is busted out of jail by the Killer Tomato Taskforce and works with them to defeat Zoltan and the killer tomatoes once and for all.

Igor Smith (voiced by Cam Clarke) – Igor Smith is an air-headed young man from Malibu who dreams of becoming a TV reporter. He is not really evil, but more of a man that fell into the wrong crowd. Still, he will do his master's bidding without question if it means that he will be rewarded for helping conquer the planet by being made a reporter.

Gang of Six - A group of six elite tomatoes.

Zoltan (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) – Dr. Gangreen's tomato commander and leader of the Gang of Six. At first, Zoltan was a failed experiment originating from when Igor accidentally had placed old movies into their programming stage instead of training videos, causing him and his gang to be lazy and to imitate old movie characters occasionally. During the second season, Zoltan and his gang undergo a transformation, becoming larger, smarter, and deadlier. Zoltan and his gang conquer Earth and are each issued a continent to rule, with Zoltan controlling North America. Soon after that, Zoltan realizes that he no longer needs Gangreen and overthrows him.

Tomacho (voiced by Cam Clarke) – One of Zoltan's Gang of Six. Tomacho rules over South America and is known as being very calm and chill but also dimwitted. Tomacho speaks like John Travolta and with a surfer accent.

Beefsteak (voiced by Chuck McCann) – One of Zoltan's Gang of Six. Beefsteak rules over Europe, and is known for his short temper. Beefsteak has bull horns on his head and wears a nose ring, which only helps his image of charging at enemies like a bull.

Episodes

Crew

Stu Rosen - Voice Director

Documentary

Screaming Soup! Presents the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Retrospective, a documentary film focusing on the history of the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes franchise with interviews including cast and crew from Attack of the Killer Tomatoes TV Series, was released in February 2023 on YouTube.