'''DangerMouse''' is a
British animated television series which was produced by
Cosgrove Hall Films.
It features the eponymous DangerMouse, a British mouse who works as a
secret agent. The show is a loose
parody of British spy fiction, particularly
James Bond and the ''
Danger Man'' series starring
Patrick McGoohan. The hero wears a
rakish eyepatch and his chest is prominently emblazoned with the initials "DM". This causes problems for those translating the series into other languages, where a literal translation of the words "Danger" and "Mouse" do not share those initials; the
Scots Gaelic version, for example, calls the series (and the lead) "Donnie Murdo" (two given names unconnected either with mice or danger). The Slovenian translation omitted the DM initials entirely, however, dubbing DangerMouse ''Hrabri mišek'' ("brave mouse").
''DangerMouse'' was the first British cartoon to break into the
American TV market, being shown in
syndication on
June 4,
1984, where it garnered a tremendous fan following that still exists. Since it went off air it has been periodically repeated and been released on
DVD. In the United States it was broadcast on
Nickelodeon in the early evenings as a segue into prime-time hours as
Nick-At-Nite in the 1980s as the series appealed to both pre-teens and adults with its quick-witted British humour.
In
Australia, it was first broadcast on
ABC TV, then in
1996 it was on
Network Ten. It is still best remembered as a
Classic ABC program. It was also the first British cartoon to break into
Cheez TV, being shown on the weekdays. In Channel 4's
100 Greatest Kids' TV shows DangerMouse came third, beaten only by
The Muppet Show and
The Simpsons.
[1]
Although rumours of a
CGI revival of the show have persisted in recent years, no official announcements have been made.
[2] The original ''DangerMouse'' has returned to terrestrial television after the
BBC purchased episodes of the series to broadcast in its daytime schedules with its first broadcast on 12th February 2007.
[3]
Other adaptations
A long-running
comic strip adaptation, written by
Angus P. Allan and illustrated by
Arthur Ranson, ran in ''
Look-In'' magazine and was
syndicated in various other magazines. Ranson also provided some backdrops for the TV series. Allan and Ranson's work was highly appreciated by Cosgrove Hall, and the pair were awarded an "Oh Goodness Oh Crikey" award in appreciation of their services. Some of Allan's stories were adapted for the television series, although Allan's name was mis-spelled "Angus Allen". Artist Ranson later went on to illustrate
Judge Anderson in the UK
comic ''
2000 AD''.
A series of
video games based on the character also appeared. The first was ''
DangerMouse in Double Trouble''
[1] and ''
Danger Mouse in the Black Forest Chateau''
[2] (both in 1984) followed by ''
Danger Mouse in Making Whoopee!''
[3] in
1985.
Characters
Heroes
★ 'DangerMouse' (voiced by
David Jason): The greatest secret agent in the world. He speaks 34 languages fluently, including some extra-terrestrial ones. He regularly balances himself on his index finger and bounces up and down on it (something that
Remo Williams has also been known to do; DangerMouse refers to this as "going into a 7th level
Yoga-Hopping Trance"). Though he wears an eye patch it is not actually needed and, as DangerMouse points out is worn 'because it's part of the suit.' This is shown in one episode when DangerMouse wears the eye patch on the wrong eye, and swaps it over part way through the episode. Referred to as the "White Wonder" and "Wretched Rodent" by Baron Greenback. Catchphrases: "Good grief!", "Penfold, shush!"
★ '
Ernest Penfold' (voiced by
Terry Scott): A timid, bespectacled
hamster, and
sidekick to DangerMouse. Once, he won third place in a Penfold look-a-like contest (possibly a reference to a
Charlie Chaplin legend which states Charlie Chaplin once came third in a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest). In the first episode, it is mentioned that his codename is "Jigsaw" because he often "goes to pieces". Sometimes referred to as the "Hopeless Hamster" by the enemy. Catchphrase: "Ooh crumbs!"
Penfold in "The Odd Ball Runaround" DangerMouse last broadcast on
Boomerang★ 'Colonel K' (voiced by
Edward Kelsey): DangerMouse's boss; often mistaken for a
walrus, it was revealed in an issue of "Look-In" magazine that he is, in fact, a
chinchilla. He previously worked for
Special Branch, where he was known as
Special K. He is a champion
piano-thrower,
decorated judo expert and the first to climb
Mount Everest on a
pogo stick. During the last two seasons, he became more absent-minded, tending to frustrate both DM and Penfold with his tendency to ramble nonsense.
★ 'Professor Heinrich Von Squawkencluck':
Mad scientist/
inventor/
boffin. Inventor of the Mark III, DM's
flying car and the
Space Hopper, DM's personal
spacecraft. A
mole, despite his
avian name. (He owes the latter to the fact that, on his first appearance on the show, he was engaged in
hormone experiments to grow
chickens to enormous sizes.) Speaks in a broken
German accent.
★ 'Agent 57': Initially a master of disguise, Agent
57 later gained the ability to alter his own
molecular structure to transform into any appearance he wished. This ability went temporarily out of control in one episode when he contracted a
cold, causing him to involuntarily
change shape whenever he
sneezed. As a result of changing his appearance so many times, he can no longer remember what he originally looked like. Although his name derives principally from Heinz 57, it is an interesting coincidence that
Nayland Smith in the
Fu Manchu books was "Agent 56".
Although the viewer does not know what he looks like, in the episode where Agent 57 had sneezing fits, Dangermouse asked him if he could transform himself into what he was originally. Agent 57 obliged and Dangermouse looked down in the floorboard of the Mark III and was horrified by the sight (Agent 57 was not on camera, he was in his true form though but only visible to Dangermouse). Dangermouse, after gathering himself from the shock asked Agent 57 to please transform into something heavier, to which he transformed into a hippo and the excess weight dropped the Mark III like a stone.
★ '
Flying Officer Buggles
Pigeon' (voiced by David Jason): Another of Colonel K's agents who came to the aid of DangerMouse and Penfold in the episode, "Chicken Run," and appeared in several episodes afterward. His name is a reference to
James Bigglesworth.
★ 'B.L.E.E.P:' ''(Building Location and Emergency Expedition
Platoon)'' This special squadron was called to assist DangerMouse and Penfold to defeat
Hannibal Hogatey when he and his
elephants stole a stately mansion. Their leader is Mad
Major Melvin, who is also an old friend of DangerMouse.
★ 'Texas Jack McGraw McGraw': (voiced by David Jason) This wild, loud-mouthed but loyal
Texan helped DangerMouse and Penfold when Baron Greenback stole all of the world's famous buildings, including the
Statue of Liberty.
Villains
★ '
Baron Silas Greenback' (voiced by Edward Kelsey): The recurring
villain and DangerMouse's
archenemy; a
toad, although sometimes he was referred to as a
frog. Known as Baron Greenteeth in the unbroadcast pilot episode. Commonly known as the "Terrible Toad".
★ 'Stiletto Mafiosa' (voiced by
Brian Trueman): Greenback's henchman; a
crow. He always called Greenback "Barone",
Italian for "Baron". In the original British version, he spoke with an Italian accent; to avoid offending Italian-Americans, this was changed to a
Cockney accent for
U.S. distribution and all references to his
surname were removed as well, although the Italian word "Barone" was retained. In several episodes, a short silence after his first name is said and the next word is quite obvious. The original voicing has been restored on all U.S. VHS and DVD releases and during its Cheez TV run. Catchphrase: "Si, Barone!"
★ 'Leatherhead' (voiced by Terry Scott): Greenback's other crow henchman. Even less intelligent than Stiletto, he only appeared in several of the early episodes, where he spent most of his time reading comic books.
★ 'Nero': Greenback's pet. A fluffy white
caterpillar (equivalent to the stereotypical white
cat frequently associated with arch villains, particularly
Ernst Stavro Blofeld). Non-speaking character although his noises and laugh are voiced by David Jason, but readily understood by Greenback and, less frequently, by Stiletto.
★ 'Doctor Augustus P.
Crumhorn III' (voiced by
Jimmy Hibbert): A mad scientist, he recurred as DangerMouse's adversary less frequently than Baron Greenback. In one episode he attempted to undermine DangerMouse by metamorphosing into a
Shirley Temple lookalike.
★ 'Count Duckula' (voiced by David Jason): A showbiz-obsessed
vampire duck who inspired a later Cosgrove Hall
spin-off series, titled ''
Count Duckula''.
★ 'Copper-Conk Cassidy': A memorable one-shot villain who had the distinctive characteristic of causing everyone who encountered him to literally fall to pieces in sheer terror. He was done in when Penfold, missing his glasses thanks to the villain, accidentally knocked him down a wishing well and then accidentally wished the well out of existence.
★ 'Doctor Franken
stoat': Another one-shot villain who formed a temporary alliance with Count Duckula. Unlike his namesake, Frankenstoat built machines to aid a bid for world domination rather than attempting to create life.
★ 'J. J. Quark': A short, helmet-wearing, snout-nosed space alien who speaks with a Scottish accent. He plans to take over the world with a robot named Grovel. (Who literally does so whenever his name is mentioned) Both of these characters only appeared in a few episodes.
★ 'El Loco': A violent
Mexican criminal who packs a few pistols. He was so named when he "went off the rails at the age of three". He only appeared in two episodes, however.
★ 'Mac The Fork': A sneaky, Scottish snake who is most likely a parody of
Mack the Knife. He was a one shot villain who planned to build an Earth shattering device with the help of Dudley Poyson (see below). He also has a half-witted brother named Mac the Spoon, who is far from dangerous.
★ 'Dudley Poyson': A mad owl scientist, who paired up with Mac the Fork to create an Earth shattering device. Also a one shot villain.
★ 'Hannibal Hogatey': A one shot villain. With his herd of highly trained elephants, he stole a stately house and threatened to send it back a brick at a time unless he was paid a ransom for it. He was foiled, however, by Danger Mouse and the B.L.E.E.P Squadron.
★ 'Wufgang': Another one-shot villain, a canine with frazzeled hair who was patterned after
Ludwig van Beethoven and named (apparently) after
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was guilty of destroying the world's music, and DM proceeded to blow his castle up.
★ 'The Gremlin': Yet another one-shot villain, an anti-logical being who beamed darkness down upon the earth via a spaceship. DM defeated him by engaging him in conversation upon which he proceeded to confuse himself out of existence.
Other
★ 'Isambard Sinclair' (voiced by David Jason): The unseen narrator, but occasionally interacts with the characters (in one episode he accidentally sends DM back in time). Often voices his disdain for the show and his job.
★ 'Miss Boathook' -The colonel's secretary, only referred to by the colonel and never seen (though sometimes heard). In some versions the Colonel's secretary is referred to as 'Miss Prentergast' or 'Miss Hackett'.
★ 'Fifi': Fifi is an unseen character mentioned occasionally throughout the show, but DangerMouse is reluctant to discuss her. According to Cosgrove Hall, she was a (french) ex-girlfriend of DM's, however Penfold seems to remember her more than DM does.
Episodes
Main articles: List of DangerMouse episodes
DVD releases
United Kingdom
FremantleMedia is licensed to release ''DangerMouse'' in the United Kingdom. They released six
Region 2 DVDs in 2001-02, featuring 6-8 episodes in each set.
In September 2006, to celebrate 25 years of ''DangerMouse'', Fremantle Media released a further 6 DVDs and a 12 DVD Boxset with Special Features. They have also licensed rights to a number of companies to produce a range of new anniversary merchandise including Blues Clothing (women’s and girls’ underwear and sleepwear) and Concept 2 Creation (collectable figurines).
United States
A&E Home Video is licensed by FremantleMedia to release ''DangerMouse'' in the United States.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|
| Seasons 1 & 2 | 20 | May 31, 2005 |
★ The Lost and Never-Broadcast Pilot Episode "The Mystery of the Lost Chord "
★ Character Descriptions |
| Seasons 3 & 4 | 14 | October 25, 2005 |
★ Theme Song Sing-Along
★ Character Descriptions |
| Seasons 5 & 6 | 37 | March 28, 2006 |
★ "One Stormy Night" Episode from Count Duckula |
| Seasons 7 - 10 | 21 | September 26, 2006 |
★ "Town Hall Terrors" Episode of Count Duckula
★ Alternative Danger Mouse Theme Song Options
★ Danger Mouse Theme Song Karaoke
★ Character Descriptions |
| Danger Mouse: The Complete Series | 89 | August 28, 2007 [4] | |
Trivia
★ Although all the characters in the series are animals, the adventures of ''DangerMouse'' appear to be taking place ''alongside'' the human world; there are various examples of a mouse-sized DangerMouse walking through human-scale sets, standing on table-football tables and, not least, living inside a normal size
pillar box. This becomes less consistent as the series goes on, as many later episodes show the characters as being human size. There are also times when the cast attempts to deliberately interact with humans (such as Duckula mind-controlling human
Members of Parliament to be as showbiz-mad as he is.)
★ In two different episodes, DangerMouse and Penfold encountered a
longcase clock that was capable of time travel. The reference to the cult series ''
Doctor Who'' was so obvious that even Penfold noticed it. A similar reference occurs in "Custard", when the duo find themselves in what DM describes as "a time-traveller's potting shed".
★ No "normal" name is ever given for DangerMouse.
★ In one episode Crumhorn is given the completely different name "Alloycious Julian Illibert Elfinstone Eugene Dionysus Barry-Manillow Crumhorn".
★ DangerMouse's headquarters are located in a
Mayfair pillar box on
Baker Street in London, near the legendary home of
Sherlock Holmes, although in reality Baker Street is located in
Marylebone, not Mayfair.
★ When the series was repeated on Nickelodeon, ''DangerMouse'' was usually broadcast with two short episodes back-to-back in a half-hour timeslot. Even with advertisements this was not enough to fill the allotted time, so episodes of the British cartoon ''
Bananaman'' (among other animated short films) were broadcast alongside it to fill the remaining time.
★ In its Network Ten run, ''DangerMouse'' was also broadcast with two 11-minute episodes and three 5-minute ones back-to-back in a half-hour timeslot, even though none of the episode's titles were at the beginning of each episode.
★ Musician ''
John Squire'' was among the cartoonists that worked on DangerMouse
★ US animated series ''The Simpsons'' paid homage in an episode featuring a character called ''DangerDog''. Instead of living in a post box the character lived in a giant fire hydrant.
Credits
Seasons 1-8
★ Music:
Mike Harding
★ Music Production: Ritchie Close
★ Sung by:
Myfanwy Talog
★ Written by: Brian Trueman
★ Storylines: Keith Scoble, Nigel Rutter, Angus Allen (actually
Angus Allan), Brian Cosgrove
★ Storyboards: Keith Scoble, Peter See, Chris Randall
★ Animation: Keith Scoble, George Jackson, Robert Newman, Clinton J. Priest, Brian Cosgrove, Paul Jasper, Dan Whitworth, Gary Hurst, Malcolm McGookin, Kevin Baldwin, Neil Salmon, Garry Owen, Tony Garth, Stephen Thomas, Dave Bowers, Les Brooksbank, Jean Flynn, Meryl Edge, Denise Heywood, Phil Morris, John Offord, Dave Livesey, Denise McAllister, Phillip McMylor
★ Backgrounds: Malcolm Turner, Andy Roper, Diane Wren, Maggie Riley, Barbara Alcock, Bev Bush, Michelle Graney, Peter Hillier, Phil Jackson
★ Special Effects: Roy Huckerby
★ Paint and Trace: Bob Burrows, Phillip McMylor, Roy Huckerby, Monica McCartney, Lorraine Thomas, Bev Phillips, Peter Kidd, Yasodha Gopal, Ceri Matthews, Andrew Wilson, Barbara Alcock, Judy Ringrose, Joan Storey, Simon White
★ Dubbing: Magmasters London Ltd
★ Dubbing Mixer: Ted Spooner
★ Camera: Frank Hardie, Wendy Hardie, Peter Kidd, Phil Attack
★ Editing: Nigel Rutter, Nibs Senior, Stephen Perry, John McManus
★ Production Supervisor: Bob Burrows
★ Assistant Director: Jean Flynn
★ Executive Producer: John Hambley
★ Produced by: Brian Cosgrove, Mark Hall
★ Directed by: Brian Cosgrove
Season 9-10
★ Original Music: Mike Harding
★ Music Production: Ritchie Close
★ Sung by: Myfanwy Talog
★ Story/line: Keith Scoble, Jonathan Trueman
★ Written by: Brian Trueman, Jimmy Hibbert, Trevor Hyatt
★ Storyboards: Keith Scoble, Bruce McNally, Marty Murphy, Andy Roper, John Stevenson, Athol Henry, Dan Whitworth, Chris Randall, Nick Pratt, John Martin, Peter See, Jean Flynn, John Offord
★ Layout: Dept. Head, Ben Turner, Andy Roper, Paul Salmon, Jon Doyle, Steve Simpson
★ Animation Director: Willard Kitchen
★ Assistant Animation Director: John Offord
★ Animators: Dave Livesey, Meryl Edge, Dan Whitworth, Denise Heywood, Alastair Fell, Andy Wilson, Clair Grey, Malcolm McGookin, Paul Greenall, Adrian Bell, Les Brooksbank, Mair Thomas, Judy Pilsbury, Jennie Langley, Bob Sparks, Karen Heywood, Helen Michael, Craig Whittle, Helen Smith, Michael Whaite, Bill Tapp, Steve Horrocks, Steve Pleydell Pearce
★ Backgrounds: Dept. Head, Ben Turner, Beverly Bush, Maggie Riley, Weston Samuels, Philip Jackson, Pete Hillier, Michelle Graney
★ Special Effects: Garry Owen, Jackie Mitchell, Roy Huckerby, David Birkinshaw
★ Xerox: Tony McAleese, Joan Simmons
★ Paint and Trace: Dept. Head, Philip McMylor, Joan Jones, Andrea Hough, Beverley James, Gloria Vassilou, Yasodha Huckerby, Karl Scoble, Katie Nuttel, Laura Cosgrove, Stefania Giani, Marie Dembinski, Lynn Hardie, Mark Fulton
★ Camera: Peter Kidd, Frank Hardie, Wendy Senior, Mark Sutton
★ Video Line Test: Phil Attack, Lesley White
★ Editing: Hilary Wyatt, Jane Hicks
★ Dubbing Mixer: John Wood
★ Production Control: Simon White, Phil McMylor, Andrew Bax, Sian Thomas
★ Assistant to Director: Ed Williams
★ Post Production: Chris Phillips
★ Executive Producer: John Hambley
★ Produced by: Brian Cosgrove, Mark Hall
★ Directed by: Keith Scoble
Broadcast history
★ United Kingdom
★
★
ITV1
★
★ Channel 4 - as part of the 1989-1992 morning programme Channel 4 Daily.
★
★
The Children's Channel
★
★ Boomerang (2000-2006)
★
★
BBC Two (2007-)
★ United States
★
★ syndication (1984-2006)
★
★ Nickelodeon (1984-1993)
★
★
Cartoon Network (1995-present)
References
1. http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/kidstv/results.html
2. "Dangermouse (1981-92)". British Film Institute.
3. "Dangermouse back on 25th birthday". BBC News. 5 September, 2006.
External links
★
★
DangerMouse.org - Contains many DangerMouse images soundbites and facts.
★
DangerMouse facts from Cosgrove Hall Films
★
A comprehensive listing of every DangerMouse episode, with original transmission dates and episode descriptions
★
ClubDM - The unofficial DangerMouse fan club
★
Dangermouse theme song
★
Dangermouse intro video
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