Courage the Cowardly Dog
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| Courage the Cowardly Dog | |
|---|---|
 Courage |
|
| Genre | Animated television series |
| Running time | 22 minutes approx. |
| Creator(s) | John R. Dilworth |
| Starring | Marty Grabstein Thea White Lionel Wilson Arthur Anderson Paul Schoeffler Billie Lou Watt Simon Prebble Mary Testa |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original channel | Cartoon Network |
| Original run | November 12, 1999–November 22, 2002 |
| No. of episodes | 52 (List of episodes) |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Courage the Cowardly Dog is an American animated television series about a dog named Courage and his owners Muriel Bagg, a kindly old Scottish woman, and Eustace Bagg, a grumpy old farmer, living together in a farmhouse in the middle of the town of Nowhere, Kansas (often described as The Middle of Nowhere).
Originally, Courage started out as a Canadian, one-episode cartoon, which was featured in the Cartoon Network special "The Fifty Greatest Cartoons of All Time." In the original cartoon, there was no dialogue, except for a line spoken by Courage (who was voiced by a different, authoritative voice in this short). An alien chicken was the villain in this short, and it would come back for its revenge in the American series.
Courage the Cowardly Dog was created by John R. Dilworth, who directed each episode, and is produced and aired by Cartoon Network. The show stopped airing on November 22, 2002, until 2005, when Courage the Cowardly Dog began reruns on Cartoon Network's block, "Cartoon Cartoons". In Britain, the show is currently broadcast on the "Cartoon Cartoons" hour block as well as in half-hour compilations on the UK-only Cartoon Network Too. As of October 2nd, 2006, Courage The Cowardly Dog is currently reairing on Cartoon Network in America.
Notable guest-stars on the show include Ringo Starr, Tim Curry, and Jim Cummings.
The New York based band They Might Be Giants perform a tribute song called Courage the Cowardly Dog on their Podcast 3A.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Courage the Cowardly Dog centers on the exploits of Courage, a small fuchsia dog who is afraid of the most mundane things. However, his fear is usually warranted: Eustace, Muriel, and Courage are constantly attacked by or run into various monsters, aliens, curses, natural disasters, and other forms of evil Courage must face.
In the series, when Courage wants to save his family, he sometimes faces off the villain in a game (instead of typical feats of strength, the methods by which he defeats villains is usually something mundane like dodgeball or a staring contest), convinces the villain to leave the life of crime, or tricks the villain.
The opening of the show documents Courage's past: Abandoned as a puppy, Courage was living in a box until he was found by Muriel, who lives in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas with her husband Eustace. Eustace always resented Courage's presence in the home and continually attempts to scare the living daylights out of Courage by whipping out a giant green mask, screaming "Ooga! Booga! Booga!" Afterwards, Eustace laughs at Courage's expense, until Muriel comically bludgeons Eustace over the head with a rolling pin to which he replies "What did I do?"
[edit] Characters
[edit] Production
There is an obscure Dilworth animated short, Smart Talk with Raisin - Pulling a Malade out of a Hat, that appeared on MTV's Liquid Television in Season 3, episode 1. It features a proto-Courage character named Hamilton as well as what can be considered a proto-Muriel, the titular Raisin, and a proto-Eustace, named Malcolm (who in this case is Raisin's misanthropic brother).
The premise of the short is that a young girl named Raisin has her own primetime show the format of which is unspecified but the implication is that it is a variety show. In the short, Raisin is encouraging her dog Hamilton to perform a magic trick for the show that involves him pulling a Malade from a hat. It is not explained until the end that the term 'Malade' refers to a teacher from Raisin and Malcolm's school whose surname is Malade.
The majority of the short involves Malcolm verbally abusing Hamilton and Raisin. Several stylistic features are seen in this short that mark it as Dilworth's work, and several characteristics of Courage are seen in Hamilton. For example, Hamilton does not speak, and is timid and non-confrontational in the face of Malcolm's overt hostility. Their appearance is also similar although a key difference is that Hamilton's left eye is drawn elongated in a style similar to some secondary characters in the Courage series. This short does not appear on any official Liquid Television DVD, and is not listed in Dilworth's filmography on IMDB. However, it is currently viewable on Dilworth's Stretch Films site.
[edit] Recurring gags
- The show frequently recycles sound bites to an almost ridiculous amount. Such sound bites include the phrase "What's-huh?" by Eustace or "Oh my!" by Muriel.
- Courage often cackles after suffering excruciating pain, such as after crashing into a wall.
- In many episodes, the name "Dilworth", or some variation of it (e.g. The Dil-Vac) appears in the background. Similarly, an apparent cariacature of Dilworth appears in the background, often as a painting in a frame; there have been other variations, such as its appearance on a milk carton's "Have You Seen Me?".
- Courage often mutters phrases such as: "The things I do for love."
- Eustace enjoys startling Courage by pulling out a green Swahili-like mask (or alternatively to a lesser extent, a set of rubber eyes popping out of the sockets, false monster teeth, etc.) and screaming "Ooga booga booga!" This is often followed by Muriel smacking him with a rolling pin, to which he replies, "What did I do?"
- When attempting to explain a situation to someone, Courage tends to babble incoherently while performing amazingly accurate imitations of creatures and objects, a likely reference to Scooby Doo.
- Many episodes end with Muriel in her rocking chair with Courage on her lap with accordion music playing over the radio in their living room and Eustace suffering the consequences of the episode's disgrace.
- Eustace frequently leaves the house when frustrated, stating that he's "going to the picture show." This is typically where Eustace encounters the antagonist of the episode.
- A strange song (similar to the Mission: Impossible theme) can be heard in the background when Courage looks up information on his computer.
- At the end of each episode, a soundbite from that particular episode is played.
- The computer that Courage has (found in the attic) often insults him after he gives him a suggestion (example: If your Mommy is mad at you give her some flowers, you twit) and speaks in a British accent.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official website at Cartoon Network (USA)
- Courage the Cowardly Dog at the Internet Movie Database
- Courage the Cowardly Dog - Unofficial Website (but approved by the creator)
| Cartoon Cartoons |
|---|
| Codename: Kids Next Door • Courage the Cowardly Dog • Cow and Chicken • Dexter's Laboratory • Ed, Edd n Eddy • Evil Con Carne • The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy • Grim and Evil • I Am Weasel • Johnny Bravo • Mike, Lu & Og • The Powerpuff Girls • Sheep in the Big City • Time Squad • What a Cartoon! • Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? |
| Other Cartoon Network original series |
| Camp Lazlo • Class of 3000 • Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends • Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi • The Life and Times of Juniper Lee • My Gym Partner's a Monkey • Squirrel Boy • Chowder • Zoot Rumpus • Phibian Mike |
