Having already gone retro by bringing Nightmare on Elm Street series Freddy’s Nightmares to streaming, Bloody Disgusting’s Screambox has now become the home of Toxic Avenger cartoon spin-off Toxic Crusaders. When many fans of the likes of The Witcher are scratching their heads about how an animated spin-off for children can work, Troma fans have already seen the results of such a venture when the gory, comedy-horror series of movies became the stuff of Saturday morning cartoon in the early 1990s.
It has been a number of years since the Toxic Avenger movies became the true meaning of cult classics, with super cheap special effects and over the top, blood splattered action, but this year fans of the franchise seem to be getting a lot smile about, with a reboot staring Peter Dinklage in production and now the spin-off cartoon series finding a streaming home for those looking for a less mature nostalgic hit. The Toxic Crusaders series is described as:
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“A complete and hopeless nerd, Melvin, falls into toxic waste and becomes Toxie, a hideously deformed mutant of superhuman size and strength. Teaming with other mutants, No-Zone (whose power comes from radioactive sneezes), Major Disaster (he can control plants), Head-banger (Fender, a singing telegram delivery surfer-type, and Dr. Bender, a stereotype mad scientist, fused together - a hybrid character based on the Siamese twins in Troma’s War) and Junkyard, a dog/hobo hybrid, to become The Toxic Crusaders! Together they fight crime in every sense of the word and finally turn their attention on the Apocalypse Inc. of the movies Toxic Avenger Parts II & III, although in the series the chairman is an alien as opposed to Satan. The series follows the attempts of the crusaders to fight crime and be environmentally safe.”
The Toxic Avenger Is About To Return To The Big Screen
Troma Entertainment
While the original Toxic Avenger movies were everything that Troma movies stood for, with gratuitous amounts of sex, violence and stomach-churning blood-letting throughout, the Toxic Crusaders cartoon was hugely toned down for kids TV, and turned the story into an environmental story about pollution and destruction of the Earth. However, those wanting a bit of the original Toxie back in their lives will be eagerly awaiting the reboot movie that along with Peter Dinklage also stars Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood and Taylour Paige.
Having been in development for over a decade, the new movie was said to not be a remake by Dinklage, but it does follow a similar storyline, with “stereotypical weakling” Winston (Dinklage) finding himself falling into a vat of toxic waste and becoming a super-strong but hideously deformed superhero who decides to take a gory revenge on all those who have wronged him. So far there has been very few reveals about the movie, although it is still slated to be released sometime later this year. With the promise of plenty of practical gore effects being used, and Troma legend Lloyd Kaufman on board as producer, there is a lot to look forward to with the Toxic Avenger remake that isn’t a remake.
