The Bruce Willis '90s Cartoon You Never Knew Existed
By Daniel Kim
Quick slice of backstory in case you're not familiar: Bruce Willis has, in the past, enjoyed a comparatively quiet career as a blues musician, beginning with his debut album "The Return of Bruno" in 1987. He plays the harmonica and everything. It's a hoot.
Jump forward nearly a decade to 1996, and Willis is producing and providing voice work for an animated series called Bruno the Kid. It's difficult to describe, but the broad strokes go like this: Bruno, the series protagonist voiced by Willis, is an 11-year-old secret agent. He disguises himself using a computer avatar in the shape of Bruce Willis's head. Fellow agents who work with him in person, including an analogue to Q from the James Bond franchise voiced by Mark Hamill, never bother to question the fact that the government is sending a child into the field. The subject apparently just never gets brought up around the office. It's a roller coaster of a pitch — think Spy Kids meets Hannah Montana, or Agent Cody Banks if Franky Muniz had the voice of a 41-year-old man who grew up in New Jersey and disguised himself as a rough CGI rendering of John McClane. Also, he plays the harmonica.
Despite boasting a voice cast featuring names like Tim Curry, René Auberjonois, Ben Stein, and, unavoidably, Frank Welker, Bruno the Kid lasted just 36 episodes, airing from September of 1996 to May of 1997. If there is any shred of justice in the universe, it will be rebooted any day now, ideally with Justin Long on board as Bruno's new sidekick. Also, more harmonica.
