5 things you didn’t know about your favourite cartoon series Courage the Cowardly Dog
Animation movies and television cartoon shows have been an all-time favourite among kids of all age groups. One animated TV series that have kept them glued to their television sets through decades is Courage the Cowardly Dog. This American comedy-horror show, aired on Cartoon Network from November 12, 1999, to November 22, 2002, revolves around a cute little pink dog named Courage. Ironically, he is scared of the slightest sounds and is anything but brave.
The show, created by American animator and director John R. Dilworth, had four seasons and a total of 52 episodes, each running for 22 minutes. Courage lives in the fictional town of Nowhere, Kansas, with his owners, an elderly farming couple. Courage usually finds himself involved in wild misadventures with supernatural entities and other bad guys. The show is a crazy combination of twists, odds, unsettling humour, comedy, horror, science fiction, and drama that made the show famous. Here are a few fun facts about this show you might have missed out while watching it.
An Ode to the popular series F.R.I.E.N.D.S.!
Ross E. Geller and Chandler M. Bing are well known characters from the show Friends. Their middle initials, ‘E’ and ’M’, stand for the names ‘Eustace’ and ‘Muriel.’ Coincidentally, Eustace and Muriel are the names of the elderly couple who look after the titular dog in the Courage show. The Friends show might have influenced the creator! Yes, that's a possibility, as Courage made its debut five years after Friends premiered.
Howard Hoffman voiced the character of Muriel!
In the first episode of this cartoon TV series, The Chicken from Outer Space male American voice actor Howard Hoffman (1954) voiced Muriel, one of the owners of Courage. Though Muriel's silence throughout the episode makes it hard to notice, it is still fascinating that a famous male voice actor lent his voice for a female character in the very first episode! Muriel, voiced by female American voice actor Thea White later in the series, is the grandmother who adores Courage and relies on him to keep her safe.
Muriel is an accomplished sitar player
Muriel typically engages in stereotypical activities for older women, such as knitting, cooking, gardening, etc. However, one of Muriel's more quirkier skills is her penchant for playing the sitar. In the episode named Courage in the Big Stinkin' City, Muriel played sitar so beautifully, that she was invited to perform at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The audience erupted in rapturous applause as Muriel delivered a stellar performance.
The Blood Group of Muriel is ABXYZ
In the episode named Bad Hair Day, it was revealed that Muriel has a scarce blood type ABXYZ (Obviously, it's fictional). Eustace's mother, Ma Bagge, decided to use this information to kidnap Muriel.