STORY BY JOHN CARTER JR
(John R. Dilworth)
When one thinks of the late 90s and early 2000s era of Cartoon Network, there are many things that come to mind. Cartoon branding campaigns like the Cartoon Cartoon Fridays and Cartoon City themes were definitely prevalent throughout Cartoon Network’s commercial schema. Many different brands were established and upheld during that period, including many different cartoons Cartoon Network became home to. Besides the regular slate of Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera cartoons that could be broadcasted, there was also plenty of other stellar shows that have truly stood the test of time in terms of their commitment to their fanbase and the messages that they sent individually in very unique ways.
Shows like the Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends by Craig McCracken, Evil Con Carne and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy by Maxwell Atoms, Codename Kids Next Door by Tom Warburton and Ed Edd N’Eddy by Danny Antonucci are shows that represented this era of great cartoons. One cartoon in particular stands above the rest in terms of its uniqueness and its excellent execution of its specific style was 1999’s Courage the Cowardly Dog. The show starred Courage, the cowardly pink dog who appeared originally in the Oscar Nominated short, “The Chicken From Outer Space.”
Now, twenty-three years later Tiger Media Network was able to reach out to John R. Dilworth, the creator of Courage, for some questions concerning the famed horror comedy, current projects by Stretch Films, and what is yet to come from our loveable pink pooch.
(Title Card for “The Chicken From Outer Space”)
John Carter Jr, Tiger Media Network Content Creator- How did the idea for the original short the “Chicken from Outer Space” Come about?
John R. Dilworth, Creator Of Courage the Cowardly Dog- I often say, “With a pencil”. I was traveling out west visiting a farm the family of my girlfriend lived and worked on. One late afternoon, we were sitting on the porch having a refreshment. The wheat was rippling from the hot wind. It was like being on the sea. Fireflies turned the grass festive. Admiring the monstrous clouds that dominate the sky out there, an intense ball of light suddenly appeared and I was startled by the feeling it was staring at us. And as suddenly, it disappeared. I asked my hostess, “What was that?!” She replied grinning, “Who knows!” I started writing the story of the alien chicken the next day.
(John Dilworth in his Spacesuit)
JCJ- How did Cartoon Network pick up Courage the Cowardly Dog?
JRD- I went to Hollywood and pitched the storyboard wearing full spaceman gear. I found this awesome silver one piece, jazzed it up with alien decals, spray painted boots silver and found a helmet I rigged a propellor on top. I was also juggling. The room was full of executives. They all loved it. Also, the short [The Chicken From Outer Space] was nominated for an Oscar. That could have helped the acquisition.
(Title Card For “Last of the Starmakers”)
JCJ- What is your favorite episode of the show and why?
JRD- Surprisingly I’m moving away from “The Tower of Dr. Zalost” and favoring “Last of the Starmakers”. In that episode, I explore themes of personal sacrifice for others more deeply, and the celebration of death, that from death comes birth. My short film, “Life in Transition” presents this theme with the appropriate honor it deserves.
(The Spirit of the Harvest Moon Featured in the episode “The House of Discontent”)
JCJ- There was a mesh of different media in the show (Strange Music, CGI, Traditional Animation, etc) this made the show stand out, was there any particular reason for wanting to deviate from traditional drawing?
JRD- I have been attracted to mixed media out of the box. For me, I made it a personal challenge to achieve integration among the varying mediums and have believability, to show illusion is multi-disciplinary.
(CGI model of King Ramses from the episode “King Ramses’ Curse”)
JCJ- Like in the case of King Ramses Curse for example.
JRD- Ramses was designed by my brother JP. He did the sketches that inspired me wanting to retain his genius. I was curious about this music video that had a dog rapper… I forget the name, but when the dog turned around he was flat! That’s where I got the idea on how to move Ramses.
(Popular Courage the Cowardly Dog villains in the episode “Ball of Revenge”)
JCJ- How did the design for villains like Le Quack and Katz Come about?
JRD- I sit down and turn on. I drew immediately whatever forms came out. Lightning strike drawing. I feel the stress of production created untapped resources of creating. My natural instinct is to deform. Weird is beautiful.
(Title Card for Series Finale “Perfect”)
JCJ- Do you believe “Perfect” was a just or satisfactory Series Finale?
JRD- I was satisfied. The episode revealed the origins of Courage, or at least the point when Muriel rescued him. The theme of perfection was an essential issue to make a statement after 104 cartoons, none were “perfect”, yet we’re proud of the good we did.
(Bunny and Kitty Featured in the episode “The Mask”)
JCJ- I love the episode “The Mask”, fans believe there is a reference to LGBTQ themes in the episode. Was this intentional?
JRD- Just between you and I, absolutely. However this admission will only upset the “status quo”, and perhaps rebound back on me. We still live in a dominating narrow world cosmos and tolerance is not tolerated…
(Mad Dog Featured in the episode “The Mask”)
JCJ- What other themes did you try to tackle with the show?
JRD- Where’s the ‘#movement’? Big theme in that cartoon. Loss of self. The industry of slavery. Domestic violence or the threat of it. Animal cruelty. Personal freedoms. I could go on, but audiences are turned on to the material and could offer up the good juices.
(Courage and supporting Character, The Computer)
JCJ- How did the design for supporting characters like the Computer and Shirley come about?
JRD- Intuitively. I drew from the gutz I would make super fast drawings, refine them and pass them on to my design supervisor to mature the stuff. Often I would edit a script on paper and make designs on the script for the designers.
(Muriel and Courage in the special “Fog of Courage”)
JCJ- Will we ever see a Courage Remake/Sequel/Prequel?
JRD- Stretch is developing a prequel. I noticed so many reboots, I thought, “Why not Courage?” We’re under a confidentiality agreement, unfortunately. Stay tuned for more later.
JCJ- Are there any new projects you are working on now?
JRD- Yes, I very excited about a new short, “Howl if you love me”. It’s a hand-animated romantic horror comedy. I returned to schooling myself on how to write a good story. Each day I post process vlogs on my YouTube channel Stretch Films. I will record the entire production until the completion of the film, however long that takes, and whatever comes in the way! The film is independently produced, and with no big studio funding, we’re happy to accept donations.
(A Shot from “Life in Transition” a Stretch Films short)
Tiger Media Network would love to thank John R. Dilworth and Stretch Films for this great opportunity. Courage the Cowardly Dog is one of the greatest cartoons of its era in its ability to scare and entertain. Its characters are certainly colorful and vibrant, allowing great stories to evolve from his little farm in Nowhere, Kansas. The show will definitely be remembered many a thing more than this.
With a prequel in development and new projects such as “Howl if you love me” we have exciting ventures to see in store from Stretch Films. Thank you again to John R. Dilworth and stay tuned to our retrospective review of Courage the Cowardly Dog, here at Tiger Media Network.
You can find all the Vlog updates for Stretch films current project “Howl if you Love me” and more at Stretch Film’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYuF_XkLhGOAdnAGDh6q3ig
You can also support this project you can donate at: http://stretchfilms.com/