CatDog
CatDog is an American animated television series which premiered on April 4, 1998, and ended with an unaired episode on September 22, 2004. The series was created for Nickelodeon by Peter Hannan. It was also shown as a sneak peek in theaters with The Rugrats Movie. The series depicts the life of conjoined brothers, with one half being a cat and the other a dog. Nickelodeon at first ordered 40 episodes and planned to debut it in spring 1998. Nick produced the series from Burbank, California, United States.[1]
The series had average ratings, but it managed to maintain a moderate yet loyal fan base. Towards the end of the series run, a made-for-TV film was released, titled CatDog: The Great Parent Mystery. Reruns are played on Nicktoons.
The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Peter Hannan Productions. Its distributor is Nickelodeon.
Premise
The series follows the adventures of CatDog, a conjoined twin hybrid of a cat and dog with two heads (one at either end of its single body) and no tail or hind legs. Because of their strange condition, CatDog are seen as outcasts in the city of Nearburg and are often harassed by their neighbor, Winslow, a devious blue mouse, and the Greaser Dogs, a gang of tough dogs. However, this is not so uncommon, as everyone else in their family are conjoined hybrids as well.
The series depicts them as being as different as cats and dogs - Dog loves rock n' roll, Cat does not. Dog loves to chase garbage trucks, Cat does not. However, they are best friends.[2]
The series, created by Peter Hannan, was developed as the next Nicktoons production and produced from Nickelodeon animation studio in Burbank, California. Hannan served as executive producer. This was part of Nickelodeon's $350 million investment in original animation over the next five years after the series' inception.[1]
Albie Hecht, Nickelodeon's senior vice president of worldwide productions, said that the creators planned for the series to "really play off of kids' sympathies" by portraying the characters as experiencing "the worst of both worlds".[1]
Hannan said he was inspired by CatDog by watching neighborhood cats and dogs occasionally fight each other, and thought that it would be great to make conjoined twinned Cat and Dog to see how both of the animals would fare against other things.[1] The idea of them being conjoined twins came from Hannan watching several news stories on TV about conjoined twins living a normal life conjoined together.[1] Both aspects he claimed, initially developed the idea of CatDog.[1]
The series revolves around Cat and Dog, who share the same body, and although they are best friends and brothers, they have very different personalities, similar to The Odd Couple mixed with elements of Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello. Cat is very cultured while Dog is very fun-loving and enjoys chasing garbage trucks, chasing cars, and exploring many things in which Cat does not want to take part. Dog enjoys eating at fast food restaurants (such as Taco Depot),where as cat does not.
The series was followed by the television film "The Great Parent Mystery," which premiered in 2001.
The series premiered in the United States on April 4, 1998. CatDog is known as "Gatoskylo" in Greece and "Kattehund" in Norway.
Broadcast History
US
UK
India
Canada
Australia
Malaysia
Voice Cast
Characters
Main characters
- Cat
- Cat (voiced by Jim Cummings) is the smarter, more clever and more cunning of the two. He's an American Bobtail. He often devises plans to trick Dog into getting what he wants, such as making Dog smarter in an attempt to have more in common with him, or having him win a dog sledding contest by training him in a very hard and militaristic manner, and usually, as a result of his greediness and selfishness, these schemes all blow up in his face. He is the "underdog" of the two. Life has been hard for the both of them, as they have been shunned by society due to their awkward appearance, but Cat always seems to get the short end of the stick in the situations, especially faced with the Greaser Dogs. With his brains and constant ridiculing from the rest of the characters, he is the more defensive and short tempered of the two. Despite his quirks and spats with Dog, he loves his brother with his whole heart. He cares so deeply that he ends up helping Dog in the end once his guilty conscience gets to him. Cat has a "Crush" on Shriek. In one episode, Cat admits his love for Shriek and kisses her after Shriek kisses Dog and tells him she loves him (Only to wind up getting pounded by the aggressive poodle). Cat desires fame and fortune and tends to go to excessive lengths in order to gain them. He is intelligent and enjoys reading, gardening, and listening to classical music. Cat is somewhat uptight and believes strongly in being polite and neat. He is a stickler for cleanliness and, like most cats, is aquaphobic. He is also obsessed with jet skis, once stating that he would sell his soul for one. Cat is 26 years old. Despite his sophisticated personality, Cat also has a dark side. Whenever he snaps, Cat becomes a ruthless, psychopathic maniac who even the Greasers are scared of once they see what he is capable of doing (especially his stress-induced, superhuman strength, evident when he destroy the Greasers' monster truck with a single punch). Cat's catchphrase is "TERRIFIC," said in a negative tone. He usually says this when something bad happens.
- Dog
- Dog (voiced by Tom Kenny) is the more happy-go-lucky and more naïve of the two. He is also the source of clumsiness. He is a American Foxhound. He is extremely ambitious when Cat or any other character convinces him to take on a task, diving right into it with full force and energy. Dog is the typical loyal dog and is easily convinced. He will believe everything he is told. His attention span is very short and he is easily distracted by balls, garbage trucks, bones, food, and his overactive imagination. Because of his dysfunctional brain, Dog usually is the one who gets the pair into trouble. Not paying attention to Cat's warnings, his actions almost always end up with some severe consequences. Despite this, in many of the episodes, it is shown that Dog is usually the one that is more popular and athletic of the two, such as the episode when Cat and Dog both went back to school to complete Cat's last day of High School. Like Cat, Dog adores his brother and looks up to him no matter how many times Cat steers him into danger. Dog is the typical animal. He is often distracted with chasing shadows and chasing after tennis balls, and loves eating garbage. Much to Cat's dismay, he leaves a mess everywhere he goes. According to the series finale, Dog remembers what their parents were like (ex.: "Mom's four eyes; Dad's slimy green skin.") He is also 26. Dog's catchphrase is "HI HO DIGGETY," and he usually says this when he is excited about something.
- Winslow
- Winslow (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) lives in CatDog's house in the hole in the wall. Despite his rat-like appearance and behavior, he is actually a (very humanoid) mouse. Winslow speaks with a typical Brooklyn accent. Winslow is always full of wisecracks about anything and everything. He's very sneaky and underhanded with CatDog, especially with Cat. Winslow and Cat do not get along at all, because he's always getting Cat in trouble. However, it was eventually revealed that Winslow may be afraid of Cat, because of Cat trying to eat him once. Dog, however, does not mind Winslow and is friendly with him. Deep down, he has a very big heart and loves CatDog and at some point act as CatDog's conscience and guidance of living in society, but acts out against them because he is jealous of how close they are. When he laughs, he goes "Heh Heh". His catchphrase is "Whatta you, nuts?"
Recurring characters
- The Greaser Dogs
- The Greaser Dogs are a street gang consisting of three tough dogs named Cliff, Shriek, and Lube. They serve as the main antagonists of the series, next to Rancid Rabbit. They act no differently than school playground bullies, picking on anyone either weaker or different than them. They pick on CatDog (mostly Cat), and their only reason seems to be "CatDog's a FREAK!" Their usual nickname for them is "Catbutt," because Dog has Cat for a butt. Dog sometimes gets along with them because he's a canine, as well. They initiated him in the gang in "Full Moon Fever", after he had proven his worth as a "real" dog. The Greaser Dogs also have a fear of ticks, which usually renders them helpless in almost any situation. The name Greasers is a slight reference to the novel The Outsiders.
-
- Cliff
- Cliff (voiced by Tom Kenny) The leader of the Greasers. He wears a black leather jacket with a picture of a dead cat on it. He is very short tempered and speaks similarly to Winslow with a Brooklyn accent only not as high. In "Squirrel Dog," he got a taste of his own medicine when Eddie was accidentally glued to his jacket, which turned them into "SquirrelDog". Once this happened, Shriek and Lube kicked him out of the Greasers because now he was a "two-headed freak". Cliff learned the pain of being an outcast and what CatDog go through. However, once he was free of Eddie, he returned to his old bullying ways and rejoined the Greasers. In another episode, when he is trapped under a massive weight for several days, he made a solemn vow to never bully anyone (especially CatDog) again should he escape this fate, though it did not last very long. Later episodes reveal softer sides of Cliff, such as his love for ballet and cashmere. One episode says that he was not an only child; the proof is a niece.
- Shriek
- Shriek (voiced by Maria Bamford) The only girl in the Greasers. She is a tiny white Poodle, with a high pitched, squeaky voice with a slight raspy quality to it. Though she's as tough and loyal as the other two, she's very emotional romantically and has a secret crush on Dog—though he never appears to notice. Shriek will not hit Dog, she'll only hit Cat. She came from a rich family, but she did not like the posh life, and so she left home and became a Greaser. Shriek is the only Greaser with a visible tail.
- Lube
- Lube (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) A Hound dog, and the slowest and sweetest one of the group. He'll forget what he's saying and slur his speech. He's the most loyal of the three Greasers. Despite his dull wit, like his parents, Lube has lots of musical talent and can sing very well. It is important to note a character design modification that occurred after the first episode; in "Dog Gone," Lube appeared with black dot eyes and long brown hair that extended down to his nose. In subsequent episodes, his appearance was changed and remained that way until the end of the series. In one episode he rolls up his right trouser and takes off a wooden leg. He also works part-time as a mechanic. His parents, a cat mother and a dog father, appeared in the series finale and said that Lube got separated from them a long time ago. Also in the series finale, Lube is shown to have had a sister, who tries to marry Cat. When the Greaser Dogs usually agree on something lube usually says "Yeah, what they said!"
- Rancid Rabbit
- Rancid Rabbit (voiced by Billy West) is the stereotypical authority figure and one of the series' primary antagonists. He had his job titles like police officer, life guard, prison guard, Firefighter, boss of various businesses, principal, president, mayor, Egyptian Pharaoh, doctor, TV host, contest judge, store and Taco Depot manager, etc; in one episode, he appears as a principal at a school and, at the end, as a police officer. When Cat asks him about this, he never receives an answer. Rancid hates CatDog and will go out of his way to punish them or force them to work for him, abusing his power to the fullest degree. Rancid takes advantage of CatDog as much as he can by deceiving them into buying his products or pushing them to do his bidding in a job. He does whatever it takes to take their money or benefit himself in any way. He constantly says "Leaping Lumbago" and "What, What, What." Rancid owns a mall called the Mall of Malls (a parody of the Mall Of America), and has a spoiled niece named Rancy. Rancid also has a cousin named Rotten, who lives in Farburg.
- Eddie the Squirrel
- Eddie the Squirrel (voiced by Dwight Schultz) is a Greaser wannabe with little red pieces of paper taped to the side of his head to look like red sideburns in hopes to be more like Cliff. He is always bruised up from getting punched, and from being used as a birdie in badminton, or a football. He wants to be an official Greaser very badly, but sadly lacks their number one requirement: being a dog. In "New Cat in Town," he became the main antagonist. The same episode shows that he is talented at impersonating voices (or at least Cliff's).
- Randolph
- Randolph (voiced by Billy West impersonating Cary Grant) is a trendy, suave cat who has an accent like Cary Grant. He first appears in "CatDog's End." He'll try anything once, as long as it's terribly exciting and attention-getting. Randolph appears to be like a celebrity in his lifestyle. In "All About Cat," Randolph was hosting the musical awards banquet. In "The Lady is a Shriek," Randolph is the proud owner of "Randolph's Charm School and House of Beauty," to help turn girls into beautiful women with poise and etiquette. That's Randolph; a trend setting, rich and famous cat. He constantly says, "And I LOVE it!"
- Tallulah
- Tallulah (voiced by Maria Bamford) is an actress on whom Cat has an enormous crush. CatDog first met Tallulah during the musical "Abe Lincoln Superstar". Since then, she has become a major celebrity and good friend of Randolph's. Tallulah is forever searching for her soul mate that's "as loyal as a dog and as clever as a cat, who will take [her] in his arms and say 'Baby, you're the one!'"
- Mean Bob
- Mean Bob (voiced by Billy West) is a fictional super hero and is Dog's ultimate hero. Having watched Mean Bob movies, playing the video games and with the toys, Dog is quite an expert on Mean Bob and how to do certain things like dodge meteors, fly and shoot at enemy ships, and battle "Salivians". Mean Bob has made appearances as an action figure, or actor, in "The Collector," "Spaced Out," "Dog Show," the Golden Hydrant Game, and Saving Mean Bob game.
- Lola
- Lola (voiced by Nika Frost) is a female Mexican Yellow-Bellied Whip-poor-will introduced in the third season. She is a zoologist, and CatDog's next-door neighbor. She gained a love of zoology while wrangling bulls on her family's ranch. CatDog found her annoying until they saw her drive off the Greaser Dogs single-handedly (although Cat is still upset when she eats his doughnuts). Her catchphrase is "Unbelievable!," said in her Mexican accent whenever observing something she finds fascinating (often CatDog during private moments).
- The Ingrid Twins
- The Ingrid Twins (voiced by Laraine Newman) are two female swedish twin cat sisters whom Cat also has a crush. Light blue is the color of one of the twins fur and grey is the color of the other. In "Armed and Dangerous", one of the twins was Cat's pen pals. Cat tries to impress the twins so that they can go on a date with him but they seem more interested in Dog (to cats dismay). The light blue fured twin seems to be more optimistic then the grey one. They also have a interest in dating TV stars and movie stars. They have been shown in only "Armed and Dangerous," "Dead Weight," and "Dog Ate It."
- Mervis & Dunglap
- Mervis (a pig) and Dunglap (a weasel) (voiced by John Kassir) are CatDog's best friends and are often used as background characters. They are rarely if ever seen apart, and have been shown with various jobs, such as working at Taco Depot, the Kavity Krunch cereal factory, and Mervis even had a temporary run as a mailman trying to deliver CatDog's mail (and failing, due to Dog's inability to hold himself back long enough for any mailman to deliver their mail before getting all shredded up, much to Cat's dismay). Dunglap appears to be the luckier of the two due to his fortunes, like getting a promotion at a job, in contrast to Mervis' misfortunes, such as getting into an accident because of the Greasers. A running gag throughout the series is that Mervis and Dunglap can sometimes be seen fighting. They both have nerdy personalities and often feel uncomfortable and nervous around the "cooler" characters, especially the Greasers.
- Mr. Sunshine
- Mr. Sunshine (voiced by Billy West) is a green-skinned, shirtless humanoid creature with a thin, once-coiled tail and no apparent emotions, who has a monotone voice and demeanor very similar to the actor Ben Stein. His name is ironically the very opposite of his personality, and he often nods off and falls asleep in the middle of doing things, such as performing a (very unengaging) magic act. It's suggested that his sardonic and pessimistic personality may be Dog's fault, since that Sunshine experience stress of being hunted was a dustman by Dog since from his early years in the job. Very little is known about him and the ambiguity of his species is touched upon in one episode when Rancid Rabbit starts arresting everyone for not having licenses: Dog does not have a dog license, Lola does not have a bird license, and so on; but when Rancid captures Sunshine, he says, "You're under arrest for not having a...not having a...not having a license!" Thus it is apparent that not even the characters in the show know what he is. Mr. Sunshine's first name is Cornelius.[3]
DVD and digital download releases
Seasons 1 - 3 are currently available in the iTunes Store. Amazon.com's Create Space DVDs are no longer available for sale with the announcement that Shout Factory will begin releasing their own DVD sets, the episodes are still available for Amazon's Instant Video downloading service though
Shout Factory recently acquired the rights to CatDog. It was revealed in the packaging for The Wild Thornberrys DVD release. Part 1 of Season 1 was released on October 18, 2011. Part 2 of Season 1 will be released on March 27, 2012.
| CreateSpace Releases |
Release date |
Discs |
Episodes |
| Season 1 |
June 7, 2010 |
4 |
20 |
| Season 2 |
February 7, 2011 |
7 |
34 |
| Season 3 |
December 1, 2010 |
3 |
13 |
| Shout! Factory Releases |
Release date |
Discs |
Episodes |
| Season 1: Part 1 |
October 18, 2011 |
2 |
10 |
| Season 1: Part 2 |
March 27, 2012[4] |
2 |
10 |
| Season 2 |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
| Season 3 |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
Awards
In 1998, the show was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television Production, for "Dog Gone". The recipients would have been Derek Drymon, Robert Porter, and Peter Hannan.
At the Kids' Choice Awards, USA, the show was nominated for a Blimp Award for Favorite Cartoon in 1999 and 2000.[5]
Critical reception
On the site TV.com, CatDog was given a rating of 8.1 (Great) based on 613 votes.[6]
CatDog was reviewed at commonsensemedia. It was advised for children aged 7 and up, and was given a score of 2/5 stars. It was described as "iffy", one of the reasons cited as being due to "some bad role models". The review continues; "Parents need to know that kids will probably laugh their heads off at the silliness of a creature with a cat at one end of its body and a dog at the other. But parents may find they're not in on the joke. While there's no harm done here, the amount of cartoon mayhem and absurdity leaves little reason for parents to have kids tune in regularly...The series makes some attempts at injecting a moral here or there, but they fall flat. The focus is on looniness, silliness, and out-of-control antics, with very little in the way of redeeming qualities. This can be just the ticket for some kids, although the bizarreness of the concept is enough to leave most parents shaking their heads."[7]
External links
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Nick leashes 'CatDog' to 40 episodes." Variety.
- ^ "CatDag at ABC". http://www.abc.net.au/abckids/shows/prog42.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- ^ "Trivia for "CatDog" at IMBd". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154061/trivia. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Awards for "CatDog" at IMDb". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154061/awards. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- ^ "CatDog at TV.com". http://www.tv.com/catdog/show/755/summary.html. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- ^ "CatDog at commonsensemedia". http://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/CatDog.html. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
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