REVIEW BY JOHN CARTER JR
In 1996 Cartoon Network introduced a brand known as the Cartoon Cartoons. 15 programs would end up being slated underneath this brand. One of those 15 was the 1999 horror-comedy, Courage the Cowardly Dog. Courage’s first appearance on screen was in the 1996 Oscar-nominated short film, The Chicken From Outer Space and helped make Courage the lovable and remembered character who starred in his titular show for four seasons. Courage the Cowardly Dog is one of those shows as a young child that gave me enough exhilarating thrill and comedic catharsis to keep me watching and made me genuinely hope that there would be another episode after the one I was watching ended.
This show, while relying on classic Looney Tune-esque gags, had a load of substance delivered to its young audiences through different metaphors and its symbolism. Characters like the Magic Tree of Nowhere, Dr. Zalost, and even Courage himself represent a type of symbolism that young audiences could pick up on.
Through its characters, music, and use of mixed media, the world of the middle of nowhere (Nowhere, Kansas) is one that is colorful, mysterious, and weird even in it’s dry aesthetic. Each episode had an interesting take on the villain of the week traditional formula for cartoons. It didn’t have to always explicitly explain what it was trying to get across, for the viewer it was just Courage taking on whatever mysterious force was at work. A lot of the times I would come to watch this show just for the unique antagonists that Courage and his family (the elderly Eustace and Muriel) would have to take on. To express the uniqueness and diversity in themes across the run of this series let’s look at a few examples of the series’ best and most exciting episodes/characters:
A Night At the Katz Motel
(“Welcome to the Katz Motel. I’m Katz”)
The first formal episode of the franchise and the first in a series of episodes to feature the character, Katz. This episode set up the standard for storylines in the series and went on to establish the crazy and weird aesthetic this series is known for. Katz, a red and purple anthropomorphic cat, is the owner of many establishments across the town of Nowhere. From motels to cruise liners, Katz was a recurring antagonist throughout all four seasons of the show.
In the Katz Motel, Katz lures his victims into his Motel that is infested with his pet spider experiments. Courage has to save his beloved Muriel from attacks against these mutant spiders; however, like in every installment of Katz’ episodes, Katz’ rule of “no dogs allowed” acts as the plot device that keeps the tension going. In this episode, it prevents Courage from entering the hotel and put him in a situation where he is directly confronted with one of the mutant spiders.
“There’s no place to run and no place to hide,” Katz says as he comes out of the shadows. This scene is excellently crafted through its art direction and its excellent voice work. “How ‘bout a bit of sport before dying, dear boy?”
This famous line by Katz is spoken right before he engages with Courage in a competition of sorts. This sequence is continued in every episode featuring Katz versus Courage. In a “Night at the Katz Motel” Courage and Katz engage in a game of racquetball in which Katz is ultimately defeated by Muriel hitting him in the head with a tennis racket. This episode had some of the best cinematography in terms of amplifying the previous factor from the frames of Katz throughout the episode or Courage and the spiders.
Freaky Fred
(“Hello new friend my name is Fred, the words you hear are in my head. I say I said my name is Fred, and I’ve been very NAUGHTY”- Fred)
Freaky Fred was developed out of the desire to create an episode that used rhyme and was said to have been inspired by Dr. Seuss books. The episode is highly remembered by fans of the show for its iconic character and his favorite word — naughty– that is often followed in a deep, strange, long voice. Fred comes to visit his aunt Muriel for what he refers to as a holiday. Eustace, who is seemingly facetious at first, refers to Fred as the “freaky Barber with his freaky barber shop.”
The episode has strong connections to Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Fred is not only memorable for his rhyming words or links to famous Broadway musicals, but is particularly famous for the freaky nature his creepy acts. Throughout his monologue, he recounts different instances where he has shaved someone completely bald. From his pet hamster to his girlfriend, Fred leaves no loved one unscathed. In the final act of the episode, Fred begins to shave Courage from head to toe, leaving only his tail covered in hair as he comments, “Dear pooch afraid of shaving your tail, why now that would be….weird”.
Shirley The Medium
(“The stupid one.”- Shirley, in reference to Eustace)
This episode is more impactful in one particular way than anything else in that it introduces an important reoccurring character, Shirley The Medium. Shirly is a great sarcastic psychic who often acts as an anti-heroine or support character for Courage. She has a great disdain for Eustace and goes as far as using her magic in other episodes to teach him lessons. In this episode, Eustace attempts to contact his dead brother to find the key to a box he left behind. Going against his brother’s warnings, Eustace uses the key and unlocks the box. Courage eventually seeks out Shirley again to help him contain the monster that was released from the box. This is usually how episodes involving Shirley go, with Courage going to ask her for advice on some mystical happening. In fact, it’s why most of his tertiary companions are important such as the Computer, Shirley, and Dr. Vindaloo. In this episode however, Shirley simply comes in, insults Eustace, and shuts the box.
Mega Muriel The Magnificent
(“You call being shaved by a barber scary? You twit.”- The Computer )
The star of this episode is fan favorite character the Computer. Often making Jabs at Courage, the Computer proves to be an important asset and confidant to Courage when it comes to many of his adventures. Appearing in varying roles from support character, the main antagonist of the episode, to simple cameo appearances, this character appears many times throughout the series. The Computer is one of seven characters who appear in all 4 seasons of Courage the Cowardly Dog (The others being Katz, Muriel, Eustace, Shirley, Dr. Vindaloo, and of course Courage).
In this episode, the Computer takes the role of the antagonist for the first and only time in the series, showing an interesting type of character that is not often seen and children’s cartoon. Just because a character is an antagonist does not mean they are necessarily a bad guy. In the beginning of the episode, Courage is typing his memoirs of previous adventures against characters like Fred, the Queen of the Black Puddle, and the Snowman. This prompts the computer to insult Courage and eventually wants to prove that he has no fear. The Computer eventually possesses Muriel’s body to attempt Daredevil performances.
The episode had a running cycle of events in which Courage tried to protect Muriel’s body from being hurt during any of these acts. In the end, however, the Computer needs to be saved by Courage but shrugs it off saying people are boring. The computer does have a form of development with Courage, validating his Memoirs at the end of the episode.
Le Quack, Amnesia Specialist
(“They have not seen the last of Le Quack.“- Le Quack)
Le Quack is one of the major reoccurring antagonists throughout the series, appearing in just as many episodes as Katz; however, he only appears in three of the four seasons. He is a sophisticated and intelligent con artist who through many different attempts tricks Courage’s family into his crooked schemes.
In this episode, Muriel loses her memory due to a plank of wood hitting her in the head from the top of her roof. Courage quickly uses the computer to look for an amnesia specialist. Le Quack is quick to exploit the situation, taking the inquiry and showing up at the farm in quick fashion. He attempts to exploit Murial weakened state and tries to find valuable items through her, pretending that it is some kind of therapy to help her remember. He attempts in different ways to try to trigger memories of where the valuables could be. In the end his plans are thwarted and he is arrested by the police. This will not last for long though, as in the end of the episode we see Le Quack escaping. This episode is important and is interesting because every episode of the show seems to reset the status quo, but this instance sets up a storyline that continues throughout the series.
Ball Of Revenge
(“Yes, set a trap. Something Cunning, Elaborate, Over the top.- Katz”)
For the 100th episode of the series, the Courage the Cowardly Dog team had to go all out when it comes to fanservice and excitement to do justice for the series. “Ball of Revenge” is filled to the brim with returning villain characters. The episode has Eustace feeling angry and done with Courage for the last time. He formulates a plan to get numerous amount of nefarious former foes of Courage to fare against in a game of dangerous dodgeball. This episode is an especially interesting highlight because it brought back so many famous villains from throughout the history of the show. Katz, The Weremole, The Queen of the Black Puddle, Cajun Fox, Le Quack, and the Clutching Foot (with Fred, Schwick, and the Duck Brothers also making an appearance). Every cartoon needs a great character collage episode and this was that for Courage the Cowardly Dog. It also brings together or wraps up the plot lines for some of these villains. By the end of the episode, Courage is on the ground being defeated by the villains but uses his one special power and that is screaming so loud that the ground underneath them fissures. The villains, wearing dodgeball uniforms, fall to their doom.
The Mask
(“Dogs are evil”- Kitty)
This episode has more than enough substance for multiple essays dedicated specifically for its content. The episode has themes and symbolism surrounding concepts relating to but not limited to: misandry, misogyny, homosexuality, domestic violence, and most interestingly love. This episode was ahead of its time in terms of the types of themes that it tried to tackle. It showed themes that were generally hard to get across in programming intended for youth.
It showed an execution that was just and appropriate for that age by never explicitly mentioning by name the aforementioned topics. The show used symbolism to express the topics without making it too graphic.
The episode features Kitty, a character who wears a mask when first meeting Courage and his family saying that all dogs are evil, in this particular phrase the word dog is to represent men. This theme is later be touched upon as we meet the man that hurts the person that Kitty loves the most, Bunny. This character, Mad Dog, is bent on making Bunny subordinate.
Throughout her stay at the farm, Kitty violently attacks Courage seeing him as an evil threat that she must protect herself against. Courage eventually finds more information about Kitty and goes looking for Bunny trying to save her. Through the sequence of the events that follow, Courage defeats Mad Dog and saves Bunny. This later proves to Kitty that not all dogs are evil and that she’s finally allowed to be with the person that she loves. This episode deviated from the standard 10-minute segment and took 20 minutes instead. It was definitely worth it to see the development of this story play out.
Perfect
(You’re Not Perfect….)
The finale of the show would be one of the most heartfelt and interesting introspective pieces on Cartoon Network’s Channel at the time. The final fear was Courage himself, the fear that he was not good enough or that he was not perfect. The horror in this episode was psychological and deeply entrenched in the protagonist’s mind. Courage went through multiple nightmare sequences concerning his imperfection and these sequences are often cited as some of the scariest or at least creepiest scenes in the show. This is where the use of mixed media came in and it’s most rememberable fashion. We see this CGI character that repeats to Courage “you’re not perfect,” and throughout the episode, Courage is confronted by a manifestation of his internal insecurities.
This is the perfectionist, she is constantly trying to get Courage to act according to her perception of perfection. By the end, however, Courage looks at himself in the mirror and talks with a fish in his bathtub, referenced earlier in the episode. The fish says something that is important to the protagonist and is a commentary on what the character Courage is all about. The fish says “There is no such thing as perfect. You’re beautiful as you are, Courage. With all of your imperfections, you can do anything.”
In conclusion, Courage the Cowardly Dog has covered many different themes, creative character designs, symbolism, and many other facets that amalgamate into what a good piece of media is to be. Characters like all of the aforementioned villains, symbolic delivery of themes to the youth like in the episode “The Mask”, and teaching lessons that will directly impact the viewer like in the episode “Perfect” are these fused facets. There are plenty of other episodes that cover even more topics and creative elements in this series and should be watched. The show is a canvas of color and craziness that allows for great stories to have been developed. It will go on as one of the most remembered and loved Cartoon Network programs of all time.
(“The things I do for love”- Courage the Cowardly Dog.)
I give Courage the Cowardly Dog a 10 out of 10 before it’s impressive execution of character design, its implementation of symbolism, and the beautiful lessons that it teaches to its audiences.
If you’d like more Courage the Cowardly Dog check out our interview with the creator of the show John R Dilworth.