Return of the Killer Tomatoes
Encyclopedia
Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988) was the first sequel to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is a 1978 comedy film directed by John De Bello and starring David Miller. The film is a spoof of B movies. Made on a budget of less than US$100,000, the story involves tomatoes becoming sentient by unknown means and revolting against humanity. Writing credits were...

.

Synopsis

Set twenty five years after the events of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (referred to as the Great Tomato War in the movie), the basic plotline is that after the events of the first film (where the tomatoes were stopped by the worst song ever composed called "Puberty Love") the misanthropic villain, Professor Mortimer Gangreen (played by John Astin
John Astin
John Allen Astin is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.-Early years:...

), has created a tomato transformation chamber by which he can turn ordinary tomatoes into humans. By dipping ordinary tomatoes into vats of toxic waste and then placing them into the chamber, Gangreen uses music to his advantage, as the juke box that is hooked up to the chamber syncs up with the tomato transformation chamber, allowing him to create virtually anything by the use of whatever song he has picked. With these, he plans to conquer the world. Though the veterans of the Great Tomato War have something to say about that.

This film marks the appearance of FT, the Fuzzy Tomato. Other notable characters are Chad Finletter (Anthony Starke
Anthony Starke
Anthony Starke is an American actor. Starke is well known for his one episode role in Seinfeld, playing the 3rd person-speaking character Jimmy in "The Jimmy", as well as playing Jack on The George Carlin Show, on Fox.-Biography:...

), nephew of Wilbur Finletter (the semi-main, but more popular, character of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!) and his girlfriend Tara (Karen Mistal), who is actually a female Killer Tomato turned into an attractive girl by the device. Tara turns back into a tomato when she hears the opening musical notes of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...

's Fifth Symphony
Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and best-known compositions in all of classical music, and one of the most often played symphonies. It comprises four movements: an opening sonata, an andante, and a fast...

; however, the musical notes of the theme to Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...

restores her to human form.

The characters and timeline of this film were recycled for the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Animated Series
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Animated Series
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is an animated television series based on the movies Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Return of the Killer Tomatoes. It aired on Fox Kids from September 8, 1990 to November 23, 1991. Repeats continued to air until September 5, 1992. Three years later, repeats were...

(with some changes, such as Professor Gangreen's first name being changed to Putrid and his title being changed from 'Professor' to 'Doctor' and Tara having an 'allergy' to salt which changes her back into a tomato with pepper changing her back to human form).

Return of the Killer Tomatoes! also has the distinction of being one of George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...

's earliest movies.

This was shot in National City
National City, California
National City is a city in San Diego County, California. The population was 58,582 at the 2010 census, up from 54,260 at the 2000 census. National City is the second oldest city in San Diego County and has a historic past.-History:...

. It was also filmed on 3rd Avenue in Chula Vista
Chula Vista, California
Chula Vista is the second largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fourteenth largest city in the State of California, and the seventy seventh largest city in the U.S....

 in what is now known as Don Pedro's Taco Shop.

Reception

This film was generally panned by critics: it currently holds a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes, though a 42% score from the RT community.

Art

The art for the poster, shown above, was created by then illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

, now Encinitas, CA fine artist, David R. Darrow. The original designhttp://www.darrowart.com/paintings/illust/source/ret-killer-tomatoes.html, as assigned by designer Kevin Eaton and completed by Darrow, used the design of a Campbell's Soup can, using the face of actor John Astin
John Astin
John Allen Astin is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.-Early years:...

 in the center seal. The idea was sidelined over copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

 / branding
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

 concerns, and a "patch" was created to alter the work. High-end digital compositing
Compositing
Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously called "chroma key", "blue screen", "green screen" and other names. Today,...

was too expensive at the time, so Darrow was further commissioned to create the new replacement label which was physically glued over the original illustration, preserving the original background and tomato characters. Darrow still retains the original, 2-layer artwork.
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