Secret Squirrel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Secret Squirrel (disambiguation).
Secret Squirrel is a cartoon squirrel created by Hanna-Barbera, and was voiced by legendary animation voice artist Mel Blanc. Secret Squirrel was one of two costars of The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, which debuted in 1965; he was given his own show in 1966, but was reunited with Atom Ant for one more season in 1967. Secret first appeared in a primetime animated special called The World of Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel, which aired on NBC on September 12, 1965.
Secret Squirrel's shorts were a parody of the then-popular spy genre, with most of his shorts' elements satirizing those of the James Bond films.
Secret Squirrel served as a secret agent (his designation was "Agent 000"), taking orders from his superior "Double-Q." Secret was assisted in his adventures by fez-wearing side-kick Morocco Mole, a mole who in many ways resembled Peter Lorre's performance as Ugarte in Casablanca. Morocco was voiced by Paul Frees. The pair fought crime and evil enemy agents using cunning and a variety of spy gadgets, including a machine gun cane, a collection of guns kept inside Secret's coat, and a variety of devices concealed in his hat (which he almost never removed). Secret Squirrel's arch enemy was Yellow Pinkie.
After his original series ran its course, Secret and Morocco appeared again as part of the cast of the 1970s series Yogi's Gang, Wake, Rattle and Roll and teenagers on Yo Yogi in 1991. On the latter show, due to the deaths of Blanc and Frees, Secret was voiced by Lennie Weinrib and Morocco was voiced by Neil Ross.
Years later, Secret and Morocco were revived in 1993 for back-up segments of TBS Superstation's 2 Stupid Dogs entitled Super-Secret Secret Squirrel. These segments featured very different art work compared to the original 1960s cartoons; all the characters inhabiting the world were now animals. In fact, Double-Q (now just called simply the 'Chief' in these shorts) was now a waterbuffalo instead of a man with a balding hairline. The new shorts also introduced Penny, a female squirrel assistant to the chief who was also a love interest for Secret. Morocco was given a new color scheme, and now also wore sunglasses. Secret's art design remained relatively intact, but with a more modern design than the previous animated series' version of the character. He also styles a slightly different hat in the new version. Secret, in the shorts, was voiced by Jess Harnell, and Morocco was voiced by Jim Cummings.
Since then, Secret and Morocco have made a few appearances. One of them being Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. In one episode, Secret's accused of flashing when he tries to rescue someone (his gadgets are in his coat) and in another, Morocco Mole is suspected of being a terrorist.
Their shorts air from time to time on Cartoon Network's sister cable television station Boomerang.
The shows have never come to DVD.
"Secret Squirrel" is the title of a song based off the TV series on Marcy Playground's 1999 album, Shapeshifter. "Secret Squirrel" is also a track title on an album by The Orb "Auntie Aubrey's voyage beyond the call of duty part one" Morocco Mole is a title on Part 2 of "Auntie Aubrey's voyage beyond the call of duty" by the same artist.
[edit] Theme song lyrics
What an agent, what a squirrel
He's got the country in a whirl.
What's his name?
Shhh...Secret Squirrel.
He's got tricks, up his sleeve,
Most bad guys, won't believe.
A bullet-proof coat, a cannon hat,
A machine gun cane with a rat tat tat tat tat.
Fights foreign spies
His disguise,
Takes him many places,
He's a squirrel of many faces,
Who's that? (Ugh!)
Who's that? (Hoot, mon!)
Who's that? (Olé!)
Shhh...Secret Squirrel.
[edit] Secret Squirrel in other languages
- Brazilian Portuguese: Esquilo sem Grilo
- Dutch: Geheimagent Eekhoorn ("Secret Agent Squirrel")
- French: L´Agent sans Secret ("Secret-less Agent")
- German: Siegfried Squirrel
- Italian: Super Segretissimo Agente Scoiattolo ("Super Very Secret Agent Squirrel")
- Spanish: El Inspector Ardilla ("Inspector Squirrel")
