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DangerMouse is a British animated television series which was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films.
It features the eponymous DangerMouse, a British mouse that 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 eponymous 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 Danger Mouse Hrabri mišek ("brave mouse").
DangerMouse was the first British cartoon to break into the American TV market, being shown on Nickelodeon in the 1980s, 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 Australia, it first aired on ABC TV, then in 1996 it was on Network Ten. It was also the first British cartoon to break into Cheez TV, being shown on the weekdays.
Although rumours of a CGI revivial of the show have persisted in recent years, no official announcements have been made. The original DangerMouse is set to return to terrestrial television after the BBC recently purchased episodes of the series to broadcast in its daytime schedules, although no transmission date has yet been set.
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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. Allen 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. 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 * and Danger Mouse in the Black Forest Chateau * (both in 1984) followed by Danger Mouse in Making Whoopee! * in 1985.
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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. His only apparent flaw is that he has only one eye (How he lost the other one is never explained).
Ernest Penfold (voiced by Terry Scott): A timid hamster, and sidekick to DangerMouse. Once, he won third place in a Penfold look-a-like contest. In one episode, it is mentioned that his codename is "Jigsaw" because he often "goes to pieces".
Professor Heinrich Von Squarkencluck: 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.
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.
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.
B.L.E.E.P: (Building Loation and Emergency Expedition Platoon) This special squadron was called to assist Danger Mouse and Penfold to defeat Hannibal Hogatey when he and his elephants stole a Statley Mansion. Their leader is Mad Major Melvin, who is also an old friend of Danger Mouse.
Texas Jack McGraw McGraw: (voiced by David Jason) This wild loud mouthed but loyal Texan helped Danger Mouse and Penfold when Greenback stole all of the world's famous buildings, including the Statue of Liberty.
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Villains
Stiletto Mafiosa (voiced by Brian Trueman): Greenback's henchman; a crow. He always called Greenback "Baroné". In the original British version, he spoke with an Italian accent; for reasons unknown, possibly to avoid offending Italian-Americans, this was changed to a Cockney accent for US distribution and all references to his surname were removed as well. 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 US VHS and DVD releases and during its Cheez TV run.
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). Non-speaking character, but readily understood by Greenback and 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.
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.
Doctor Frankenstoat: 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: An alien from space 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 Spanish 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 push it into the sea unless he was paid a ransom for it. He was foiled, however, by Danger Mouse and the B.L.E.E.P Squadron.
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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 and often being mistaken for Dangermouse.
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Episodes
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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 Danger Mouse, Fremantle Media are releasing 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).
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United States
A&E Home Video is licensed by FremantleMedia to release DangerMouse in the United States.
Seasons 1 & 2 (May 31, 2005) - Contains the never-aired pilot episode, "The Mystery of the Lost Chord."
Seasons 5 & 6 (March 28, 2006) - Contains the "One Stormy Night" episode of Count Duckula, chosen because Duckula can be seen wearing pajamas with a prominent 'DM' logo.
Seasons 7-10 (September 26, 2006) - 3 DVD release, Danger Mouse: The Final Seasons
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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 pillarbox. 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".
In one episode Penfold was referred to with a first name, Ernest. No "normal" name is ever given for DangerMouse himself.
DangerMouse's headquarters is located in a Mayfair pillarbox on Baker Street in London, near the legendary home of Sherlock Holmes.
In its Nickelodeon run, DangerMouse was usually aired with two short episodes back-to-back in a half-hour timeslot. Even with commercials this was not enough to fill the allotted time, so episodes of the British cartoon Bananaman were aired alongside it to fill the remaining time.
In its Network Ten run, DangerMouse was also aired 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.
DangerMouse was voted third in Channel 4's poll of the hundred greatest children's TV programmes.
In early 1983 the show broke a record for the highest audience it reached a very high 21.6m viewers which beat Superman's 16.8m which was new at the time.
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Credits
Music Production: Ritchie Close
Written by: Brian Trueman
Storylines: Keith Scoble, Nigel Rutter, Angus Allen, Brian Cosgrove
Storyboards: Keith Scoble, Peter See, Chris Randall
Animation: Keith Scoble, George Jackson, Robert Newman, Clinton J. Preist, Brian Cosgrove, Paul Jasper, Dan Whitworth, Gary Hurst, Malcolm McGookin, 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
Paint and Trace: Bob Burrows, Phillip McMylor, Roy Huckerby, Monica McCartney, Lorraine Thomas, Bev Phillips, Peter Kidd, Yasodha Gopal, Andrew Wilson, Barbara Alcock, Judy Ringrose, Joan Storey, Simon White
Special Effects: Roy Huckerby
Camera: Frank Hardie, Wendy Hardie, Peter Kidd, Phil Atack
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
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Airing History
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