Catscratch
Catscratch is an American animated television series created by Doug TenNapel (also known for creating the Earthworm Jim series). It aired on Nickelodeon from July 9, 2005 to February 10, 2007.[1] It was a loose adaptation of TenNapel's graphic novel, Gear, which in the series is also the name of the cats' monster truck. The series features music composed by longtime TenNapel collaborator, Terry Scott Taylor.
| Catscratch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Adventure Comedy Fantasy Slapstick Surreal comedy |
| Created by | Doug TenNapel |
| Directed by | Michael Girard |
| Voices of | Rob Paulsen Kevin McDonald Wayne Knight Maurice LaMarche Liliana Mumy John DiMaggio |
| Theme music composer | Terry Scott Taylor |
| Composer | Terry Scott Taylor |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Doug TenNapel Peter Hastings (co-executive producer) |
| Producers | Monique Beatty (line) Michael Girard (supervising) |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Production company | Nickelodeon Animation Studio |
| Distributor | MTV Networks |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nickelodeon |
| Original release | July 9, 2005 – February 10, 2007 |
Description
The series revolves around a trio of anthropomorphic feline brothers. After their wealthy owner Edna Cramdilly died, she left her riches to them, along with a menacing, oversized monster truck named Gear and a dignified butler named Hovis. The program commonly chronicles their wealthy lifestyles and action-packed, sometimes paranormal experiences. Other characters include the sweet young neighbor girl, Kimberly, with whom Gordon is obsessed, and the cats' competitive rivals the Chumpy Chump Brothers.
Characters
Main
- Gordon Quid (voiced by Rob Paulsen), an outspoken member of the Highland Quid clan and acts like he's from Scotland despite the fact that he is not. However, he speaks with a thick stereotypical Scottish accent. He is kind-hearted, has a soft spot for "Human" Kimberly and loves to sing, which quite regularly angers his older brother, Mr. Blik. He is also an excellent cook, usually cooking Scottish recipes, which a lot of people don't find edible. He has an orange patch on his right eye. The episode "Lovesick" shows he is allergic to both broccoli and chocolate, which cause disastrous effects upon contact. At first, the reaction seems to consist of typical allergic symptoms, such as sneezing, but he eventually turns into a Mr. Hyde-like monster, similar to a monster in a horror film he and his brothers were watching. Gordon's catch phrases are, "In the name of the Highland Quid Clan", "Feel my sting.", "Great gopher", "Cheer", and sometimes "Pop a Wheelie!". He is the shortest of the three, younger than Mr. Blik and older than Waffle.
- Waffle (voiced by Kevin McDonald), a dimwitted, yet enthusiastic cat who has an affinity for newts and can speak their language of "Newtuguese" (as he calls it) as if he were a newt himself. Waffle is a lover of life who is overly optimistic. His catch phrases are "Spleee!" or "Woohoo!" when he's happy and gets super-excited about all things silly. Waffle has been wowed by revolving doors, fingers, bubble wrap and newts. He also wishes roller coasters were public transportation, would eat donuts straight from "donut trees", loves zero gravity basketball and smelling the pictures of flowers on shirts. Waffle also likes doing flatulent sounds with his underarms. He is a gray American Curl with long, floppy ears and a long tail with dark periwinkle stripes like his right ear. He is the tallest but the youngest of the three.
- Mr. Blik (voiced by Wayne Knight), the self-appointed Bombay cat leader of the group who's confident, pampered, surly and vain. He often gets himself into major trouble and is prone to near-death injuries. Mr. Blik is proud of his newly inherited riches and spends his money on anything and everything that spells respect and power. Mr. Blik always insults his two brothers. His catchphrases are "Yeah!" and "Suckers!". He is the oldest of the three.
Supporting
- Hovis (voiced by Maurice LaMarche), Mrs. Cramdilly's butler, who looks after the cats and collects her measly paychecks (which Mr. Blik signs). He's not exactly thrilled about his new situation, but he hails from a long line of butlers who have served in the house and he honestly believes he has nowhere else to go. Therefore, Hovis puts up with the fact that the former pets have become his masters. Blik barks out orders constantly, Gordon treats him as an equal and Waffle hasn't quite figured out that he's not a pet anymore (he still asks Hovis to be let out and scratched behind his ears). His birthday is April 14, 1982, as seen in "Love Jackal".
- Kimberly (voiced by Liliana Mumy), an 8-year-old girl with a good-natured personality, a gap in her teeth, and an obsession with unicorns. She is one of the few human friends the cats have. She doesn't think they are greedy, and just accepts her feline neighbors for who they are and sees the good in their hearts. She is also completely unaware of the fact that Gordon has a complete infatuation with her. She has three human friends named Kaitlin, Kaitlyn and Charlotte.
- Randall the Bear (voiced by Frank Welker), an antagonistic brown Grizzly bear who is constantly on the hunt for the three cat brothers. He knows where the cats live and will sometimes be at their door to eat them up as soon as it is opened.
Production
Catscratch went into production in early 2005. Production continued on Catscratch until the final episode, "Spindango Fundulation/Duck and Cover" aired on February 10, 2007. After the initial run concluded, Nicktoons continued to show reruns of the series until January 2, 2009. It was briefly reran again on December 19, 2015 as a part of their "Nicktoons Holladays" marathon.
Episodes
Note: All episodes were directed by Michael Girard, with only two episodes being co-directed by:
- Doug TenNapel in "A Line in the Litterbox"
- Christine Kolosov-Pitt in "King of Clubs"
| No. | Title | Written by | Storyboard by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | "To the Moon" | Peter Hastings | Luther McLaurin | July 9, 2005[2] | |
| Mr. Blik tries to win a barbecue contest by going to the moon for moon rocks after Gordon tells him a story about Duke Eark Splee. | |||||
| 1b | "Bringin' Down the Mouse" | Peter Hastings | Luther McLaurin and Guy Vasilovich | July 9, 2005 | |
| Mr. Blik won't let Waffle join him and Gordon on the Mouse Hunters' Ball, simply because he never caught a mouse. Then an evil blue mouse named Squeakus tricks Waffle into thinking that his brothers are mice. | |||||
| 2a | "Unicorn Club" | Peter Hastings | John Nevarez and Andy Schuhler | July 9, 2005 | |
| Gordon tells a lie to Human Kimberly by telling her that he possesses a unicorn. The unicorn, however, is really his brothers in a suit, and they try to keep Kimberly from discovering the truth. | |||||
| 2b | "Go Gomez! Go!" | Peter Hastings | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | July 9, 2005 | |
| The cats and the Chumpy Chump Brothers engage in a car race. The problem is that Waffle is the only one tall enough to drive. | |||||
| 3a | "Lovesick" | Peter Hastings | Michael Girard, Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | July 15, 2005 | |
| Gordon has an allergic reaction to a piece of broccoli that Human Kimberly gives him, making Mr. Blik and Waffle believe that he is a monster. | |||||
| 3b | "King of All Root Beer" | Peter Hastings | Lane Lueras, Michael Girard and Doug TenNapel | July 15, 2005 | |
| During a game show, Mr. Blik cheats to become the king of root beer, making Waffle angry. | |||||
| 4a | "Tale of the Tail" | Mitch Watson | Lane Lueras and Tom Owens | July 22, 2005 | |
| Gordon must defeat the kraken in order to wish for a long normal tail. | |||||
| 4b | "Mr. Pickles" | Mitch Watson | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | July 22, 2005 | |
| After being dumped in Gordon's pickle juice, Mr. Blik turns green and no one listens to him anymore. As a result, he becomes a hobo. | |||||
| 5a | "Off the Leash" | Mitch Watson | Lane Lueras, Luther McLaurin and Tom Owens | July 29, 2005 | |
| Waffle runs away from home when no one cares that he has a dog personality. He becomes friends with the dog Barkmeat, but they get caught by a dogcatcher. | |||||
| 5b | "Slumber Party" | Doug TenNapel | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | July 29, 2005 | |
| Human Kimberly buys all of the root beer in the store for a girls-only sleepover party. However, the cats have a plan to get root beer for themselves at any cost: by disguising themselves as girls in order to attend the party. | |||||
| 6a | "The Ghost of Cramdilly" | Peter Hastings | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | September 23, 2005 | |
| When Hovis disguises as Mrs. Cramdilly, and says that the fortune will be given to Hovis and the cats will be the servants, the cats try to defeat the "ghost" so that they can defend their fortune. | |||||
| 6b | "A Line in the Litterbox" | Mitch Watson | Sean Charmatz and Luther McLaurin | September 23, 2005 | |
| The cats divide the house in three parts; later, they engage in a war using various items from their "kingdoms". | |||||
| 7a | "Love Cats" | Mitch Watson | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | September 30, 2005 | |
| Mr. Blik falls in love with Kimberly when she insults him. Then he and Gordon fight for the love of Kimberly. When Blik gets hurt, Gordon thinks Kimberly has chosen Blik, and subsequently becomes depressed and wants to escape to the stars. | |||||
| 7b | "Zombie Party a Go-Go!" | Mitch Watson | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | September 30, 2005 | |
| When zombies arise from the graveyard of the dip that Waffle made, Mr. Blik mistakes the undead for a group of fancy people he invited for dinner. | |||||
| 8a | "Gordon's Lucky Claw" | Mitch Watson | Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann | October 14, 2005 | |
| Gordon gets a lucky claw when he says that he's going on a trip to China. Determined to win the trip to China, Mr. Blik steals it. After having a fight with Waffle, Mr. Blik flushes the claw away when he says that the claw does not work for anyone. Then, however, bad luck happens to them. | |||||
| 8b | "Big-Eyed Bunny" | Mitch Watson | Michael Girard and Octavio Rodriguez | October 14, 2005 | |
| When Kimberly gets a new best friend, Gordon becomes jealous and Mr. Blik accidentally torments Kimberly's pet rabbit, or at least thinks that he does. | |||||
| 9a | "Requiem for a Cat" | Scott Kreamer | Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann | November 18, 2005[3] | |
| Mr. Blik gets 24 hours to live and Gordon and Waffle try to run away from Mr. Blik, but they find out the truth. | |||||
| 9b | "Scaredy Cat" | Ken Segall | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | October 28, 2005 | |
| Gordon refuses to celebrate Halloween as the aliens mistake the cats' redecorated house for a mothership. | |||||
| 10a | "Hi Ho Kraken" | Mitch Watson | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | February 3, 2006 | |
| The cats and the Kraken head to the Kraken Planet to regain Kraken's honor at any cost. | |||||
| 10b | "King of Clubs" | Peter Hastings | Heiko Drengenberg and Tron Mai | February 3, 2006 | |
| Mr. Blik tries to join a high society club, but is dismayed when Gordon and Waffle are accepted instead. | |||||
| 11a | "Livesavers" | Scott Kreamer | Garrett Ho, Michael Mullen and Jim Schumann | February 17, 2006 | |
| Mr. Blik saves Gordon's life, making him to serve him. | |||||
| 11b | "Mecha-Kitties" | Peter Begler, Pennel Bird and Mitch Watson | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | February 17, 2006 | |
| Mr. Blik, Waffle, and Gordon make robots of themselves but things go unexpectedly wrong. | |||||
| 12a | "My Bodyguards" | Ving Pingerly | Wayne Carlisi, Sean Charmatz, Luther McLaurin and Michael Mullen | March 3, 2006 | |
| In order to not get into a fight with the alley cat, Blik gets the Chumpy Chumps' help. They end up being too helpful, however. | |||||
| 12b | "Charge!" | John McCann | Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann | March 3, 2006 | |
| When sliding down from the slide, Blik becomes charged with static electricity. He doesn't know that the static electricity attracts to anything metal, however, and so he gets stuck to it. | |||||
| 13a | "A Wooly Adventure" | Mitch Watson | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | March 24, 2006 | |
| After a heatwave, an iceberg thaws, and a wooly mammoth springs forth and starts hanging out with Mr. Blik, thinking that he's is his father. | |||||
| 13b | "EVIL!" | Scott Kreamer | Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann | March 24, 2006 | |
| Waffle becomes convinced that he's an evil genius and makes plans to take over the world. | |||||
| 14a | "Clan Destiny" | Peter Hastings | Michael Mullen and John Nevarez | April 7, 2006 | |
| Mr. Blik and Waffle are dragged to Scotland in Gear by Gordon to prove that he is from The Highland Quid Clan. However, they find no evidence that he was once one of them, so Gordon is left in sadness. However, Waffle and Mr. Blik learn a Banshee haunts the Highland Quid Clan. Unless Gordon can somehow get rid of the Banshee, this might be the end for him, the cats, and the Highland Quid Clan. | |||||
| 14b | "Mall Adjusted" | Thomas Krajewski | Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann | April 7, 2006 | |
| Waffle bankrupts the cats after purchasing his favorite new toy, which is all of the bubble-wrap in the world. The cats are kicked out of the mansion while Hovis and the newts are repossessed. With no money, the cats are forced to endure degradation in its worst of forms, which is working at the mall. To make things even worse, every time they go work at many of the stores in the mall, they always get fired. When they finally find another job that involves making root beer, the brothers take their energy into making root beer. A string of gigs leads to a series of destruction, chaos, and of course, firings. The cats may have no skills, but maybe it's time for them to learn the true meaning of a hard day's work in order to get out of debt. | |||||
| 15a | "Two of A Kind" | Scott Kreamer | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | May 5, 2006 | |
| As their families prepare for battle, Waffle befriends the Chumpy Chump brother known as Lunk. The two have a blast together, but when their kin find out, Waffle and Lunk’s friendship is banned. The two buddies decide they must run away, but when a disaster strikes their beloved brothers, these two like-minded pals must attempt to set things right. | |||||
| 15b | "Core-uption" | Jeff Lewis | Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann | May 5, 2006 | |
| Kimberly’s teacher fails her on her project: a model of the earth’s core, made of glitter, cotton candy, rainbows, and other feminine stuff. Seeing Kimberly saddened, Gordon travels to the center of the earth, and tosses her project into the core, which causes the earth to transform. Clouds turn into cotton candy, unicorns roam freely, and it rains glitter, among other unusual changes. It may seem like Kimberly's dream has come true, but as the cats soon learn, too much of a good thing can actually be a bad thing. | |||||
| 16a | "Katilda" | Mitch Watson | Heiko Drengenberg and Tron Mai | June 2, 2006 | |
| Katilda (voiced by Hynden Walch) is the new cat in town, and Blik finds her fascinating, although he doesn't want to admit it. With her charismatic leadership skills, Katilda soon has the cats following her into the woods to fight a terrifying monster. However, when it appears that Katilda’s imagination may be a bit too active, it probably won't be easy for any of the cats to fight by her side. | |||||
| 16b | "The Secret Door" | Scott Kreamer | Kurt Anderson, Sean Charmatz and Michael Mullen | June 2, 2006 | |
| Blik and Gordon can’t figure out why Waffle keeps disappearing, until they find out that Waffle has discovered a secret world hidden inside the mansion, and in this world, he’s become king. Unfortunately, Waffle finds out that being king has its price when the Dragon Rider forces Waffle into battle. Now, it’s King Waffle’s duty to defeat this evil menace and save his subjects. Near the end, however, they find out that the Dragon Rider is really Hovis. | |||||
| 17a | "Major Pepperidge" | Mitch Watson | Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann | September 22, 2006 | |
| While preparing for his own “Blik parade,” Blik suddenly grows a second head, and unlike Blik himself, the new head is much nicer. Blik loathes him, but everyone else loves the new head and his sage advice. If Blik doesn’t want to be upstaged at his parade, he’ll have to rid himself of the pest - known as Major Pepperidge growing out of his neck. | |||||
| 17b | "Magic Staff" | Mitch Watson | Heiko Drengenberg and Tron Mai | September 22, 2006 | |
| After finding a staff that transforms the bearer into a hulking superhero, the cats get selfish. They each want the powers of a hero, even if they don’t want to act like one. Later, when the guardian of the staff shows up to reclaim it, the cats must battle him to prove their worth, but they eventually realize that they may not deserve such power. | |||||
| 18a | "Free Hovis" | Reid Harrison | Heiko Drengenberg and Tron Mai | September 29, 2006 | |
| Through Waffle's own ignorance, Hovis is accidentally transformed into a giant, talking fish and washed out to sea. Soon enough, a traveling aquarium captures the poor butler and puts him on display. Blik, Waffle, and Gordon must track down the fishy side show and free their flippered butler. | |||||
| 18b | "Three Against Nature" | Thomas Krajewski | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | September 29, 2006 | |
| Getting lost in the woods, an argument sends the cats down three different paths without one another. Luckily for Waffle, he becomes part of a fun hillbilly family. However, when they capture Blik and plan to cook him for dinner, the cats will have to put their differences aside and work together to escape. | |||||
| 19a | "Blikmail" | Nicole Dubuc | Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann | October 13, 2006 | |
| After Blik is blackmailed by Katilda, who threatens to tell Gordon and Waffle about his doll, he tries to get it back; his brothers think it's a Scottish mind-controlling figure however. | |||||
| 19b | "Love Jackal" | Scott Kreamer | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | October 13, 2006 | |
| The cats have forgotten about Hovis' birthday again, but they find out he was part of a band called Love Jackal. Soon, Hovis regroups the band together and he decides that he does not need the cats any longer. | |||||
| 20a | "Spindango Fundulation" | Scott Kreamer | Sean Charmatz, Heiko Drengenberg and Luther McLaurin | February 10, 2007 | |
| When Mr. Blik beats the nearly-impossible videogame Spindango Fundulation, the cats are transported to an alien planet, where Mr. Blik must fight off evil invaders. The only problem, however, is that the conniving feline has rigged the game so he would win. Even though the stakes are high, Mr. Blik is determined to stop the aliens. | |||||
| 20b | "Duck and Cover" | Nicole Dubuc | Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin | February 10, 2007 | |
| Gordon is afraid of ducks, so Mr. Blik and Waffle set up a wrestling match to help him conquer his fear. | |||||
Home media
| DVD name | Release date | Ep# | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Picks Vol. 3 | February 7, 2006 | 1x01b | Bringin' Down the Mouse |
| Nick Picks Vol. 5 | March 13, 2007 | 1x07a | Love Cats |
Reception
Critical
Sarah Wenk of Common Sense Media gave the series 3 out of 5 stars; saying that, “Catscratch is a generic cartoon show that involves oddly drawn characters who don't really look like anything, very loud voices, very bright colors, and many instances of people and creatures and things being bashed, broken, and bonked. The show is a by-the-book program, but that doesn't mean it's not sometimes funny or even touching. Many kids will get a kick out of it, although you may not be as tolerant. There's nothing terribly wrong with it, but nothing terribly right, either.”[4]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 33rd Annie Awards | Outstanding Directing in an Animated Television Production | Luther Mclaurin for Catscratch | Nominated | [5] |
| Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated | "Love Cats/Zombie Party A Go-Go" | Nominated | [6] | |
| 2008 | Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated | "Spindango Fundulation/Duck and Cover" | Nominated | [7] |
Comics
Confirmed by an e-mail from Doug TenNapel, there were a few 2-page Catscratch comics in the works for Nickelodeon Magazine. The first one came out in the December/January 2005 issue. The second one came out in the March 2006 issue. The third and last one was in the February 2007 issue.
See also
References
- Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 117. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- "Catscratch – Episode Guide". TV.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- "Catscratch – Episode List". Nickandmore. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- Wenk, Sarah (July 9, 2005). "Catscratch review". Common Sense Media.
- "33rd Annie Awards". annieawards.org. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- "2006 Golden Reel Awards: Television". Motion Picture Sound Editors. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- "2008 Golden Reel Awards: Television". Motion Picture Sound Editors. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
External links
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: Catscratch |
- Catscratch at IMDb
- Catscratch at TV.com
- Catscratch at NickAnimationStudio.com (archive)
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