PARTY WAGON, an all-new animated feature set in the old west, debuts Feb. 27, 2004. at 8:00 pm on Cartoon Network. The 90-minute made-for-television movie, from HEY ARNOLD! creator Craig Bartlett, follows the adventures of one covered wagon on its way west on the Oregon Trail the mid-1800s.
Teenager Randolph P. McDuff (voiced by Sean Astin) jilts his bride and heads West to seek his fortune, or at least stay a few steps ahead of his ex-fiancé's family. As he reaches the Missouri River, Randy hooks up with fellow vagabonds Romeo Jones and Lewis Clark Jefferson, cranky wagon master Bumpy Schmitts, his spooky, Shakespeare-reading daughter Ornery Sue, rootin', tootin' cowgirl Sumbliminy Jill and her faithful steed, Lariat. They all end up on a rickety ferry crossing the Missouri River.
As the ferry is about to sink, a mysterious little man named Three-Eyed Jack tells them about El Glitterado, a hidden mine rich with rubies, sapphires and diamonds. He produces a map that places the stash of jewels just north of Seattle, near "the Big H." When the ferry sinks, Randy and his crew end up with the map and they all decide to head west together to seek the hidden treasure.
As they head toward El Glitterado, this motley crew joins up with a wagon train of forthright pioneers. They even bring a couple of orphans into the fold as they head on the Oregon Trail. Though he is young and awkward, Randy learns many lessons along the way about surviving on his own - like how to shoot, tame a horse and find a trail. And no one on the "party wagon," ever suspects that they are being trailed by Three-Eyed Jack, who wants his map back.
PARTY WAGON also features the voices of Pamela Hayden, Maurice LaMarche and Carolyn Lawrence, as well as original music by Jim Lang.
Bartlett hopes the extra long pilot will strike cartoon gold and pan out into a weekly series at Carton Network, where he is developing other projects for the toon cabler.
