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Courage the Cowardly Dog is one of the greatest cartoons ever

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Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
They May Be Giants - Courage the Cowardly Dog
Brooke Laundy - Courage

Powerpuff Girls thread got me and some others talking about Courage. I had re-watched the whole entire series last year, and wanted to make a thread on it, as I believe it's one of the best cartoons of all time. I say one of the best, because this all gets opinionated and all that, but it is definitely one of my favorites, and I expect a lot of peoples.

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We interrupt this program to bring you, Courage the Cowardly Dog Show!

Courage the Cowardly Dog is Cartoon Network TV series that ran from 1999-2002 for four seasons (52 episodes, and a few shorts, including the pilot and recent CG short that came out). In the series, all episodes but two are split into two 10-minute shorter episodes that tell brief story. In some episodes, a main character (almost always Eustace) would die before the episodes end, but would be alive by the next short. Despite this, the TV series did follow a continuity and some episodes continued loose character threads and plotlines as if they all had happened.

Courage follows the exploits of the pink cowardly dog by the same name, living in the middle of nowhere with his two owners, the elderly Muriel & Eustace Bagge's. Muriel is a kind, sweet, but often oblivious and gullible person, who often either ends up getting kidnapped along with Eustace or over-looking the potential threat of a situation, but often has a wisdom to appreciate the smaller things in life, who also has a fondness for cooking but is known for using too much vinegar in her recipes. Eustace is a grumpy, greedy, and sometimes villainous bald old man who often tries to turn these situations into get-rich quick schemes, but often ends up getting his just desserts at the end of the episodes, though he is sometimes shown that he does actually love his wife and is jealous of his wife's affection towards Courage, but has a stubborn streak of realizing he or is wife are in any danger. Courage in turn almost always has to save the day by himself, and often focuses on saving Muriel, who he deeply loves and feels indebted too after being rescued by her after being abandoned as a pup.

Besides the three mains, a variety of side-characters and villains are also reoccurring throughout the series, a few notable ones being Courage's overall arch-nemesis, Katz, a British cat who hides dark secrets in scam businesses, Le Quack, a French criminal duck, Ma Bagge's, Eustace's mother with a hate for her son and daughter-in-law but a (at first) strange affinity for Courage, General and the Lieutenant, a government duo who try to conduct and hide American secrets in the middle of Nowhere, Computer, a sarcastic English-accent computer that Courage often searches on for solutions to his problems that often gives him a hard time, Dr. Vindaloo, an Indian doctor who is often an inept doctor but a good friend to the family, and many others.

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The whole entire series (san a few shorts outside of the main series) are currently watchable on American Netflix at least. Through the series run, there's a number of fantastic episodes, but for the sake of getting some discussion and interest rolling, I'll post a few popular and notable ones that most Courage fans will probably remember in some capacity.

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A Night at the Katz Motel

The premiere episode of the series outside of the pilot, introduces us to the main cast in their final rendition, the biggest nemesis in Katz, and a disturbing Psycho-esque hotel with an affinity for giant spiders. Was one of the biggest premiere's in Cartoon Network history, and it wasted no time in letting the audience know this was seriously one creepy, yet comedically slapstick, cartoon.

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Freaky Fred

Featuring one of the most memorable one-time villains in the series (though he makes a cameo later), this episode is famous for creeping a lot of children out, a strange chanting music that plays, and a mad rhyming barber with a bit of an extreme interest in shaving hair from the body that alludes grimly on the dangers of child abuse and molestation.

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King Ramses' Curse

Probably the episode many remember the most, The Bagge's family get their hands on a cursed slab, which causes a creepy CG spirit to ask for them to return it, or else they'll suffer his three plagues. Eustace won't give up the slab against Courage and Muriel's pleas, and soon the curses begin to befall them.


Courage in The Big Stinkin' City

Probably featuring one of the most remembered scares in the whole entire series. The Bagge's family go to perform in New York, where a giant cockroach named Schwick offers them a place to stay, if Courage can get an 'evil package' for him before time runs out.

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The House of Discontent

The Spirit of the Harvest Moon appears and demands the Bagge's family leave their property, as Eustace, a supposed 'farmer', can't grow a thing on their land, and they have until midnight to either grow something or leave. Featuring a creepy recorded head.

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Angry Nasty People

A director named Benton Tarantella, who may in fact be a Zombie, asks Eustace and Muriel to feature in a new TV sitcom he's making, 'Angry Nasty People'.

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The Mask

Maybe the most adult episode in the series, and one of only two episodes in the series to last 20 minutes as opposed to 10. An almost David Lynch-esque look (Blue Velvet comes to mind in particular) about spousal abuse, discriminating a whole group of people for one's actions, and more than slightly under-toned lesbian themes. Also maybe the episode with the cutest Muriel/Eustace dynamic.

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The Last of the Starmakers

Space Squids make stars, but there's only two more space squids left, a pair of lovers. One of them is pregnant, and in a last ditch effort to save the its lover and unborn children from a predator, the other partner sacrifices itself to save them. The pregnant mother crashes into Earth near the Bagge's family home, but soon gets scooped up for experimentation by the government. Known as one of the most feels-y episodes.

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There's a lot more, and a few I thought I should right about, but decided not to write about the final few episodes for spoilers. In lesser TV series, these episodes listed may be the only good ones, but they're less than half, maybe even fourth, of the best episodes of Courage, and many others are worth noting.

I'll leave it at this, but definitely want to discuss more and more about some episodes and Courage-related things, but what say you GAF on Courage the Cowardly Dog? One of the greatest cartoons ever?
 
One of the creepiest cartoons ever. Good, but... fucked up. I can't argue it does a good job of getting kiddos thinking about shit, though.

The bug lady is one of my fave eps (can't remember quite what episode it is, just something I recall)?

The setting is excellent.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Loved this show. Courage was a pretty awesome character in how he's always fighting the coward within and when possible always resorts to talking things out.
 

Stat Flow

He gonna cry in the car
It was creepy and eerie as fuck. Shows that claim to be weird today don't really have shit on Courage.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
I remember watching it, thinking "well this isn't very funny," and then never watching it again.

While I loved it as a kid, the series does have an offbeat sense of humor. It did surprisingly well in ratings though. However, I think it's a gem.

One of the creepiest cartoons ever. Good, but... fucked up. I can't argue it does a good job of getting kiddos thinking about shit, though.

The bug lady is one of my fave eps (can't remember quite what episode it is, just something I recall)?

The setting is excellent.

This scared the shit out of me as a kid, and I've never gone back to it. I think it's finally time.

Shit was scary

So good, so disturbing. Adventure Time pales in comparison.

It was creepy and eerie as fuck. Shows that claim to be weird today don't really have shit on Courage.

It definitely is notable as being of the of the scariest kid cartoons, a number of episodes are creepy. Often they have a humor element to them as well, and not all episodes fall into a horror-feeling (generally, I say there's six types of Courage episodes, 'horror' episodes [episodes about a horror-esque aspect], 'touching' episodes [episodes telling a story of some form of understanding or journey of an outside character], 'adventure' episodes [episodes where they go on adventures away from the house], 'villain' episodes [episodes about the series villain characters], 'character' episodes [episodes that expand and focus more on the main cast and their backgrounds more], and 'strange occurrence' episodes [episodes where something strange or mystical happens]), but I can't think of an on-going kids cartoon that was as creepy as Courage, for certain.

I feel the setting and characters also really helped add to this, the setting works well for the series and allows so much to happen, but being a house just literally in the middle of nowhere near nother but an old road is by itself a bit unsettling. They go other places in the series, but most of the episodes take place at the house.
 

ViviOggi

Member
I remember watching a few minutes of this on vacation as a kid, creeped me the hell out and I quickly changed the channel

Never saw it on German tv, maybe I'll give it a shot
 

Zenithean

Banned
Ack! I just came from the Powerpuff Girls thread. I know this show has a huge following, but it really scared me as a child. Every night it was on I thought I could be brave enough to watch it, but I don't think I actually made it through any episodes. The one with the spaghetti-armed man or whatever traumatized me, I'm pretty sure lol.
 
Seeing the episodes from a dogs perspective helped with processing it. The "wtf is this" reaction and "hmm, well there're things about this show that I'm not sure of, but since it's from Courage's view..."

Beginner's creepy shit. Important. But still fuckin' weird as shit.
 
The action music, his babbling, screams, and impersonations are another great part of the show that often gets overlooked, but certainly made it just silly enough as to not be constantly over-bearing for the viewer. At least, it definitely helped make it one of my favorite shows as a kid, even though I wasn't allowed to watch horror films (or anything remotely scary) and was a bit "delicate".
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
There were episodes that creeped me out as a kid, though I didn't find it scary re-watching it last year, though some delicious horror-esque moments. I think it might be a bit sillier than some remember it. I do find it interesting many remember the show but being creeped out by it when younger, and a few seem interested in trying it again, while others resent it for this fact.

"The things i do for love..."

I never thought it was creepy though, just had a twisted sense of humour.

I agree, but some of the stuff definitely might be more frightening for a child, even though a lot of its elements are played in a tongue-in-cheek way, and many references and nods to old sci-fi/horror black and white films from the 50s - 70s.

The action music, his babbling, screams, and impersonations are another great part of the show that often gets overlooked, but certainly made it just silly enough as to not be constantly over-bearing for the viewer. At least, it definitely helped make it one of my favorite shows as a kid, even though I wasn't allowed to watch horror films (or anything remotely scary) and was a bit "delicate".

I'm happy you said this, I think for those who take the time to watch the series there's a lot more here than many remember. There's a lot of small touches the show does, and a surprising tenderness and slight development between the characters, along with a lot of episodes that have surprisingly well-portrayed messages, ranging from not to judge from appearances, it's okay to be a coward as long as you don't let that cowardliness control you, no one's perfect and that's okay, be weary of suspicious people and strangers that may approach you, among many other themes, and there's some episodes that more play up the comedy factor, or the characters, and a lot of personality surges through quite a few of the episodes.

The show isn't grimly dark or just trying to scare kids, and a lot of these aspects are met with certain silliness and familiarity through the episodes, along with surprising moments and endearing character traits.
 

Nikodemos

Member
No "The Magic Tree of Nowhere?" 15-year old me genuinely teared up.

"What would cutting me down bring? Would it make you feel better? More... important?"

"Err... YES!"

Fuck you, Eustace.



P.S.: You're not perfect.
 
Definetly one of my favorites as akid. I remember watching it at 10 pm and creeped me put.
Glad it has reruns on cartoon network. Both of my little brothers like the show.

His screams is the best.
 

ZeroX03

Banned
It's on my list of shows on Netflix to catch up on. I remember it being very good, and legitimately creepy for a kid who was never too bothered by horror.
 

Tizoc

Member
Allow me to be the first to say
"Stupid dog! You made me look bad!"

Also I should've known Dusk Golem would be the OP, I've only watched a scarce number of Courage episodes, but this thread got me interested in watching the entire show.
 

Pop

Member
It was a little creepy and still one of the best. 90s cartoons had a different tone. I could name quite a few great cartoons from the 90s. But this and Rocko's Modern Life are my favorites.
 

Haroon

Member
I watched quite a bit of it when I was a child, and a bit more recently on Netflix. It's a pretty awesome show with a lot of weird inside it.

Samurai Jack was cool too!
 

Moaradin

Member
I loved the way the show used so many different visual styles. CG, stop motion, live action, etc. Definitely one of the things that made it so eerie at times.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller

The music in the Tower of Dr. Zalost definitely is memorable. There's so many good themes through the series, but hardly any clean rips of any of the music. The composer has apparently pushed to release a soundtrack multiple times, but some dispute between Warner Brothers and Cartoon Network has made it not happen so far.

No love for this?

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It was very disturbing for me at the time (and now still)

Definitely love for this, but I decided not to mention it as it comes from the final episode of Courage. Same reason I didn't mention the first half of the episode, which talks about Courage's back-story, which is ridiculous but also touching and fits the weirdness of the show.

I watched quite a bit of it when I was a child, and a bit more recently on Netflix. It's a pretty awesome show with a lot of weird inside it.

Samurai Jack was cool too!

Netflix availability right now is nice. And yes, I need to rewatch Samurai Jack at some point.

I loved the way the show used so many different visual styles. CG, stop motion, live action, etc. Definitely one of the things that made it so eerie at times.

The contrast, yet consistent theme between the styles, certainly was appreciated, and I think they had a great understanding of the uncanny valley, as they used differing animation styles for great effect in a number of episodes for creepiness. Yet nothing ever looked visually inconsistent, which is impressive.
 

PillarEN

Member
Yes!

The episode where Eustace tries to chop down the tree and the hair factory episode are great.
I also felt bad for that ugly hunchback looking fellow that Eustace made fun of.

No "The Magic Tree of Nowhere?" 15-year old me genuinely teared up.

"Would cutting me down make you feel better? More... important?"

"Err... YES!"

Fuck you, Eustace.



P.S.: You're not perfect.

High five
 

Nikodemos

Member
High five
Courage the Cowardly Dog is my number one cartoon show of the forever. Sure, there are others I like a lot, but it was the first time absurdist humour resonated with me (and I had watched Two Stupid Dogs, Cow and Chicken and several episodes of What A Cartoon before it).

It is also quite rare in not having a single truly weak episode. From Human Habitrail ("It's Doc Gerbil's World!"), through Car Broke; Phone, Yes?, or House Calls, or Journey to the Center of Nowhere, or 3000 Years of Courage, or the Windmill Vandals, or Carmen, the opera-singing cyclopean river monster, or Katz's many schemes, or Cajun Granny Stew, to the later episodes like The Mask, Remembrance of Courage Past and Perfect!, the show consistently displayed high quality.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Courage the Cowardly Dog is my number one cartoon show of the forever. Sure, there are others I like a lot, but it was the first time absurdist humour resonated with me (and I had watched Two Stupid Dogs, Cow and Chicken and several episodes of What A Cartoon before it).

It is also quite rare in not having a single truly weak episode. From Human Habitrail ("It's Doc Gerbil's World!", through Car Broke; Phone, Yes?, or House Calls, or Journey to the Center of Nowhere, or 3000 Years of Courage, or the Windmill Vandals, or Carmen, the opera-singing cyclopean river monster, or Katz's many schemes, or Cajun Granny Stew, to the later episoded like The Mask, Remembrance of Courage Past and Perfect! the show consistently displayed high quality.

Some of the episodes were definitely weaker than others, and I think Season 3 is the weakest overall, but I do also agree even the worst courage episodes aren't bad, and every season has sprinkled in it a number of great episodes. I would say in my opinion the best season is probably the fourth season, in my opinion. I think some of the series highs happen during the last season. Which his a bit unusual as for many shows usually the beginning is the best and the end is the worst, but I felt the last season was the overall strongest. I wonder how others who remember the show well enough agree with that sentiment or not.
 
Katz still has the best voice and theme song on the show.

I love how surreal and juat plain weird the show got, but also quite dark in some episodes. I'm pretty sure Eustace was killed on a few occasions, most noticeable in the episode 'Courage in the Big Stinkin' City' and that episode was freaky enough.
I also liked how it handled some more mature subject matters, such as domestic abuse, depression, childhood abandonment, and the obsession of perfection for example.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Katz still has the best voice and theme song on the show.

I love how surreal and juat plain weird the show got, but also quite dark in some episodes. I'm pretty sure Eustace was killed on a few occasions, most noticeable in the episode 'Courage in the Big Stinkin' City' and that episode was freaky enough.
I also liked how it handled some more mature subject matters, such as domestic abuse, depression, childhood abandonment, and the obsession of perfection for example.

"I wish you hadn't done that."

Katz is probably the most 'evil' of Courage's villains, which makes him a good main villain for Courage (and he is the most reoccurring villain character and the villain in the first episode of the series sans the pilot). All of his episodes have to do with some really disturbing scheme where he's after money at the death of others, very sly and doesn't flinch at the horrible things he puts others through. but his downfall is his sadistic side, as every time he almost kills Courage, Muriel, and (sometimes actually kills) Eustice, he always stops himself and follows-up with the catch-phrase, "Before I kill you, dog, I'd like to play a little game" (not Saw-inspired, this was before Saw). And his downfall always comes from focusing to inflict as much torture on Courage as possible while Courage does something that unravels out on Katz.

Eustace was definitely killed in a few episodes, and there's some other character deaths through the series. Eustace always comes back, but I don't think most people catch on that one of the final episodes of Courage,
the one where a number of Courage's villains return to get revenge on him in a game of dodge ball.
that a number
of the villains die in that episode, according to the show creators the fallout of that episode leads to all of those villains death at once, though it happens off-screen after Courage figures out his 'strength' against all of them... Being a coward.

I mentioned tonal stuff, but do agree, and I think it handles them all very well, which surprised me re-watching the series recently.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Now I feel like watching some episodes.

I will always love that computer.
latest

Computer was such a lovable asshole. He creeped me out in the episode where he came to life and started terrorizing them, though. It was unexpected.
 

Nikodemos

Member
Some of the episodes were definitely weaker than others, and I think Season 3 is the weakest overall, but I do also agree even the worst courage episodes aren't bad, and every season has sprinkled in it a number of great episodes.
Season 3 has Courage versus Mecha-Courage ("
You'll never ever beat me! Even if you were gladiator! In Colloseum! In Rome!
"), Ride of the Valkyries, Stormy Weather (amazing showcase of atmospheric music), Katz Under the Sea, Angry Nasty People and Swindlin' Wind (one of the rare cases when Eustace isn't an enormous arsehole). While seasons 2 and 4 have heavy hitters like The Tower of Doctor Zalost and The Mask (incidentally both of them double-length), I wouldn't say 3 is the weakest of all.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Now I feel like watching some episodes.

I will always love that computer.
latest

Computer was one of my favorite side characters, while I know not completely intentional as the internet was just blooming and not fully formed at the time the show was made, I love how much the computer fits into a troll-esque persona and always gives Courage a hard time. Though, as I am going to mention while quoting this post...

Computer was such a lovable asshole. He creeped me out in the episode where he came to life and started terrorizing them, though. It was unexpected.

The episode where he came alive was a bit creepy in the first few parts, though the later parts where he makes Muriel a stunt daredevil to try and feel alive the most was a bit amusing and he does show some sympathy to Courage's plights seeing it in motion towards the end of the episode. I think only that episode and the episode where Computer gets a virus are the episodes Computer features in heavily though, unfortunately.

If we're talking best episodes, how about Ball of Revenge? AKA the episode with arguably the most awesome moment in the entire series (spoilers, of course).

I had JUST mentioned in the post I made above, another good one but I decided to no mention as its a later-series spoiler episode that ties up a few loose villain arcs, and
most of the series main villains die in that episode.

Season 3 has Courage versus Mecha-Courage ("
You'll never ever beat me! Even if you were gladiator! In Colloseum! In Rome!
"), Ride of the Valkyries, Stormy Weather (amazing showcase of atmospheric music), Katz Under the Sea, Angry Nasty People and Swindlin' Wind (one of the rare cases when Eustace isn't an enormous arsehole). While seasons 2 and 4 have heavy hitters like The Tower of Doctor Zalost and The Mask (incidentally both of them double-length), I wouldn't say 3 is the weakest of all.

Season 3 has a lot of great episodes, as do all the seasons, I guess the reason I feel like it's my least favorite season is because I recall watching recently some of my least favorite episodes also happen in Season 3. However, that's not to say it's not worth watching, as you point out there's still a lot of winners in the season, and gets to the point Courage had a surprising consistency for quality through its whole run.
 
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