Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse
Encyclopedia
Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse is a children's cartoon television show that was produced by Trans-Artists Productions and syndicated
by Tele Features Inc. in 1960. The characters were created by Bob Kane
as a parody of his earlier works Batman
and Robin
and in many ways predict the more campy aspects of the later live action series
. This series and characters are trademarked and copyrighted and is currently owned by Telefeatures, LLC.
Although they fought many miscreants the duo's recurring archenemy who appeared in nearly every episode was known as Chauncey "Flat-Face" Frog.
Due to the five minute length of the cartoons, they were often used as interstitials
or airtime filler, especially to accommodate a movie or show that ends at an unusually early time.
and the Frog's ever-present cigar.
A&E Home Video
released all 130 five minute long episodes on DVD in Region 1 on October 29, 2002.
. It has most notably been performed in concert by the New York Dolls
.
's Weinerville
in the 1990s along with reruns of Batfink
and both segments of The Alvin Show
.
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
by Tele Features Inc. in 1960. The characters were created by Bob Kane
Bob Kane
Bob Kane was an American comic book artist and writer, credited as the creator of the DC Comics superhero Batman...
as a parody of his earlier works Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
and Robin
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
and in many ways predict the more campy aspects of the later live action series
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
. This series and characters are trademarked and copyrighted and is currently owned by Telefeatures, LLC.
Plot
In the animated series, the pair are anthropomorphic animal superheroes without secret identities (the green-eyed caped crimefighter and his squeaky-voiced companion are usually addressed as simply "Courageous" and "Minute") who live in the Cat Cave and, when summoned via the Cat Signal over their television set, race to the scene of the crime in their sleekly feline red Cat Mobile which can convert into both the extendable-winged Cat Plane and submersible Cat Boat and thwart the criminal plots of various villains who threaten Empire CityAlthough they fought many miscreants the duo's recurring archenemy who appeared in nearly every episode was known as Chauncey "Flat-Face" Frog.
Due to the five minute length of the cartoons, they were often used as interstitials
Interstitial program
In television programming, an interstitial program refers to a short program which is often shown between movies or other events, e.g. a cast interview after movies on premium channels...
or airtime filler, especially to accommodate a movie or show that ends at an unusually early time.
Characters
- Courageous CatCatThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
- The protector of Empire City. When fighting bad guys, Courageous Cat would use all-purpose Cat Gun or a vast variety of different deus ex machinaDeus ex machinaA deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.-Linguistic considerations:...
"trick guns" he pulls out of his cape that, like Green ArrowGreen ArrowGreen Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
's trick arrows, fire whatever the situation requires like a rope, some water, a parachuteParachuteA parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
, cages, boxing gloves, lightningLightningLightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
-like magnetic rays, or even more bizarre ammunition and even the occasional actual bullet (in case of emergency Courageous also has extra pre-James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
secret gadgets hidden in his belt buckle and the star emblem on his chest). - Minute MouseMouseA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
- Courageous Cat's rodent sidekick. - The Chief - Canine chief of police who calls in the "furry foes of felony" via the Cat Signal.
- Marilyn Mouse - Minute's movie star girlfriend.
- Sassy Bones - A blond mouse who is a chanteuse at nightclubNightclubA nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
called The Pad who Rodney Rodent is enamored with - Periscope Pete - A living, breathing periscope with a bush for a body.
Villains
- Chauncey "Flatface" FrogFrogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
- Chauncey is a chortling, cigar-smoking, derby-hatted criminal mastermind whose voice was based on Edward G. RobinsonEdward G. RobinsonEdward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
.- Harry GorillaGorillaGorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
- Chauncey "Flatface" Frog's hulking, half-witted henchman.
- Harry Gorilla
- ProfessorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Shaggy DogBearded CollieThe Bearded Collie, or Beardie, is a herding breed of dog once used primarily by Scottish shepherds, but now mostly a popular family companion....
- A mad scientist with an Einsteinian mop of white hair who is tall, thin and bewhiskered in some episodes and short and bespectacled in others. - Big Shot and Little Shot - A burly bulldogBulldogBulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
(talks like James CagneyJames CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
in some episodes) and his short sidekick are a generic gruff gangsterGangsterA gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
who are the Frog's rival in crime. - The Black Cat - A sinister thief. He is a "cat burglar" who is a caricature of Cary GrantCary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
. - Rodney Rodent - A French-accented ratRatRats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
artist gone bad. - Shoo Shoo FlyFlyTrue flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
- A tiny insect whose small size belays its enormous appetite, its name is a reference to Shoofly pieShoofly pieShoofly pie is a fluffy molasses pie considered traditional among the Pennsylvania Dutch and also known in Southern cooking.The term "shoo-fly pie" first appeared in print in 1926...
and the tsetse flyTsetse flyTsetse , sometimes spelled tzetze and also known as tik-tik flies, are large biting flies that inhabit much of mid-continental Africa between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts. They live by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals and are the primary biological vectors of trypanosomes, which...
. - Robber RabbitRabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
- A gravel-voiced thug in a black turtleneck. - Foxy the FoxFoxFox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
- A debonair thief in top hatTop hatA top hat, beaver hat, high hat silk hat, cylinder hat, chimney pot hat or stove pipe hat is a tall, flat-crowned, broad-brimmed hat, predominantly worn from the latter part of the 18th to the middle of the 20th century...
and tuxedoTuxedoA tuxedo is a type of semi-formal dress for men.Tuxedo may also refer to:-Places:Canada* Tuxedo, Winnipeg, Manitoba, a city neighborhood** Tuxedo , a provincial electoral district in Manitoba...
. - The Great Hambone - An egotistical canine actor and master of disguise.
- Iron SharkSharkSharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
- A fish-shaped submarineSubmarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
. - ProfessorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Von Noodle Stroudel/Strudel - German-accented scientist who is not so much a villain as unconcerned about the effects of his experiments on the world around him. - Comrade and Commissar - Russian-accented, trench coatTrench coatA trench coat or trenchcoat is a raincoat made of waterproof heavy-duty cotton drill or poplin, wool gabardine, or leather. It generally has a removable insulated lining; and it is usually knee-length.-History:...
-clad foreign dogs spiesEspionageEspionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
who couldn't be touched due to their "diplomatic immunityDiplomatic immunityDiplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws...
" – true Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
villains. - The Unmentionables and The Unthinkables - Rival gangs headed by Chauncey "Flatface" Frog and Big Shot. Their names a parody of The UntouchablesThe Untouchables (1959 TV series)The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...
) - Outrageous Cat - Courageous Cat's Wild West outlawOutlawIn historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
-style cousin who talks like Yosemite SamYosemite SamYosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...
.
Episodes
- Disguise the Limit
- Monster from Outer Space
- The Case of the Cousin Outrageous
- The Case of the Abandoned Movie Sets
- The Case of the Auto Tycoons
- The Case of the Backward Clock
- The Case of the Bank Robbery
- The Case of the Big Ball Game
- The Case of the Big Movie Star
- The Case of the Big Party
- The Case of the Big Pipe Line
- The Case of the Big Race
- The Case of the Big Squeeze
- The Case of the Big Trail
- The Case of the Blinking Planet
- The Case of the Boxing Champ
- The Case of the Carnival Capers
- The Case of the Cat Cave Treasure
- The Case of the Construction Caper
- The Case Of The Counterfeiters
- The Case Of The Creatures From Down Under
- The Case Of The Crime Kits
- The Case Of The Crime Lab
- The Case Of The Diamond Smugglers
- The Case Of The Draggy Dragster
- The Case Of The Embassy Stake Out
- The Case Of The Fabulous Diamond
- The Case Of The Flying Eye
- The Case Of The Flying Saucer
- The Case Of The Fortune Teller
- The Case Of The Frogmen
- The Case Of The Fugitive at Large
- The Case Of The Gasoline War
- The Case Of The Golden Statue
- The Case Of The Great Circus Mystery
- The Case Of The Gun Mixup
- The Case Of The Haunted Ship
- The Case Of The Haunted House
- The Case Of The Hawaiian Holiday
- The Case Of The Hermit Of Creepy Hollow
- The Case Of The Invisible Robbers
- The Case Of The Iron Shark
- The Case Of The King-Size Caper
- The Case Of The Mad Cowboys
- The Case of the Mad Painter
- The Case of the Mad Scientist
- The Case of the Magic Wand
- The Case of the Mail of Train Robbery
- The Case Of The Masked Raiders
- The Case Of The Minced Spies
- The Case of the Minded Reader
- The Case Of The Missing Masterpiece
- The Case Of The Missing Partner
- The Case Of The Monster Vine
- The Case Of The Movie Rays
- The Case Of The Museum
- The Case Of The Mysterious Submarine
- The Case Of The Mysterious Weather
- The Case Of The Nine Lives
- The Case Of The Northwoods Caper
- The Case Of The Opera Singer
- The Case Of The Peace Pipe
- The Case Of The Perfect Alibi
- The Case Of The Professor's Machine
- The Case Of The Rescue Squad
- The Case Of The Robber Rabbit
- The Case Of The Robot
- The Case Of The Saggin' Dragon
- The Case Of The Scheming Cleaners
- The Case Of The Secret Weapon
- The Case Of The Shoo Shoo Fly
- The Case Of The Sleepy Chief
- The Case Of The Sniffer Machine
- The Case Of The Spies' Return
- The Case Of The Stolen Cheese
- The Case Of The Stolen Pyramid
- The Case Of The Thinking Cap
- The Case Of The Tin Can Caper
- The Case Of The Trampoline Performers
- The Case Of The TV Director
- The Case Of The TV Mystery
- The Case Of The Undercover Agents
- The Case Of The Unmentionables
- The Case Of The Unthinkables
- The Case Of The Visiting Patient
- The Case Of The Waterfront Caper
- The Return Of The Shoo Shoo Fly
Criticism & Home video releases
This cartoon was not seen for many years due to complaints over the hero's continued reliance on a firearmFirearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
and the Frog's ever-present cigar.
A&E Home Video
A&E Television Networks
A&E Television Networks is a U.S. media company that owns a group of television channels available via cable & satellite in the US and abroad...
released all 130 five minute long episodes on DVD in Region 1 on October 29, 2002.
Music
The memorable theme music by Johnny Holiday features a walking bass line and is fashioned after the theme for Peter GunnPeter Gunn
Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards...
. It has most notably been performed in concert by the New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
.
Later appearances
Reruns of Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse were shown on NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
's Weinerville
Weinerville
Nickelodeon Weinerville is an American television program on Nickelodeon that was produced in 1993 and 1994, aired in re-runs until 1997. The show was based around a giant puppet stage which was designed to look like a city, called Weinerville...
in the 1990s along with reruns of Batfink
Batfink
Batfink is an animated television series, consisting of five-minute shorts, that first aired in September 1967. The 100-episode series was quickly created by Hal Seeger, starting in 1966, to parody the popular Batman and The Green Hornet television series which had premiered the same...
and both segments of The Alvin Show
The Alvin Show
The Alvin Show is an American animated television series. It was the first to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier...
.