Toon Jam! (found Cartoon Network PC game; 1995)

Title screen.

Status: Found

Date found: 20 Feb 2021 (Game) / 19 Jan 2024 (VHS tape)

Found by: KillaFloyd67 (Game) MustacheDuctTape (VHS tape)

Toon Jam! is a PC game published by Turner Interactive in partnership with Cartoon Network in 1995. The software also came with a bonus Jammin' Video VHS tape featuring excerpts from the network's vast library of cartoons. Both the game and the video were notably hosted by Moxy of The Moxy Show fame. Music videos created within the software could be seen during commercials on Cartoon Network around the time the game came out.

Overview

The game is itself a multimedia video creator, similar to games like Microsoft 3D Movie Maker and Nickelodeon Director's Lab. Players can create music videos with music, backgrounds, and characters from iconic Cartoon Network shows like The Jetsons and Yogi Bear. Once done, the music video could be saved to a floppy disk. The CD-ROM also doubles as an audio CD, with 25 tracks based on Hanna Barbera cartoon theme songs.^[1]

The game came packaged with a tape entitled Jammin' Video featuring musical and dance-themed episodes from cartoons like The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry and Droopy, as well as instructions telling you to call your cable provider if Cartoon Network was not available.

Availability

While the game and the tape were sold in retail stores for $35 back when it came out, copies are hard to come across in the present day, especially if it's complete in box. A known retailer that sold the game and the tape was CompUSA. It's also possible that the game's rarity comes from negative reviews, especially from CNET.^[1]

Before rediscovery, the only other in-game footage outside of the CNET review was a commercial for the game uploaded in 2013 on YouTube by Retro CCN.

On February 20th, 2021, YouTuber KillaFloyd67 uploaded the game's ISO to Archive.org after obtaining the game from an eBay listing.^[2] Later, on January 19th, 2024, Internet Archive user MustacheDuctTape unearthed and uploaded the full bonus Jammin' Video VHS tape to Archive.org.^[3]