Freakazoid!
Steven Spielberg presents Freakazoid! is an American animated television series, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation that aired for two seasons from 1995 to 1997. Bruce Timm, best known as a major principal of the DC animated universe, originally intended it to be a straightforward superhero action-adventure cartoon with comic overtones, but executive producer Steven Spielberg asked series producer/writer Tom Ruegger and the Animaniacs team to turn Freakazoid! into a flat-out comedy.[1]
The show chronicles the adventures of the title character, Freakazoid, a manic, insane superhero who battles with a vast array of super villains. The show also features mini-episodes of adventures of other bizarre superheros.
Freakazoid! makes frequent use of stock footage which is often gratuitous and nonsensical, including the peaceful scene of a field of flowers ("Relax-O-Vision"), numerous people screaming ("Scream-O-Vision"), traditionally dressed Bavarians dancing and slapping each other, a man being shot in the belly with a cannonball and a man wrestling a bear.
Plot
The show's title character is the superhero alter ego of geeky teenager Dexter Douglas. Gaining his abilities from a rather spectacular computer bug (becoming absorbed into his computer and instantly gaining all the information on the Internet), Freakazoid has enhanced strength and endurance, extraordinary speed, agility, and, unfortunately, negligible amounts of sanity. In one episode he developed telekinetic powers, which he could only use when he was very angry, though this was only used in one episode, and never mentioned or used again. He also has the ability to assume the form of electricity and cover long distances instantaneously, although he just as often simply sticks his arms forward and runs while making swooshing sounds with his mouth, pretending to fly. These changes make him a powerful and fearsome force for upholding freedom and righteousness, unless he gets distracted by something like a bear riding a motorcycle. His greatest weakness, as he once explained to a villain, is that he can be imprisoned in a cage with graphite bars charged with negative ions. He also expresses a great (though understandable) aversion to "poo gas."
Dexter can change into and out of Freakazoid at will with the words "Freak out!" and "Freak in!" (respectively). When not in Freakazoid mode, Dexter looks and acts completely normal, and his family is unaware that anything has happened to him.
Characters
Enemies
Freakazoid! features a number of campy villains and enemies, including:
- The Lobe, a super genius whose entire head appears to be a giant brain, voiced by David Warner. Despite his high intellect, he has very low self-esteem, once even having a scheme foiled by Freakazoid simply insulting the plan. No background information of any kind is given for The Lobe; not even his real name is revealed.
- Cave Guy, a thuggish blue caveman with upper-class diction, education, and taste, voiced by Jeff Glen Bennett. His real name is Royce Mumphries and he subscribes to The New Yorker. His voice is similar to that of Thurston Howell III's.
- Cobra Queen, a former shoplifter named Audrey Manatee whose encounter with an experimental cosmetic left in the sun too long transformed her into a cobra woman, with command over snakes and other reptiles, voiced by Tress MacNeille. In later episodes, Cave Guy and Cobra Queen are a couple. She often complained about the lack of light in her lair until Freakazoid suggested getting Japanese lanterns.
- Longhorn, a trucker and cat litter thief who underwent plastic surgery to make him resemble a longhorn bull, voiced by Maurice LaMarche. He loves country music and his truck, "Bessie Mae". Longhorn often seems to be angry; his voice resembles that of Johnny Cash.
- Armando Guitierrez, the man whose company, Apex Microchips (not to be confused with Apex Digital), designed the faulty Pinnacle chip responsible for Freakazoid's creation. Physically, Guitierrez resembles Ricardo Montalban (with the addition of an eyepatch), who provides the character's voice; at times he shows similarities to Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek -- also played by Montalban. One of his reoccurring jokes is asking others to laugh with him.
- Candle Jack, a supernatural villain, apparently based somewhat on the Boogeyman myth. He often floats, speaks in whispers, is always seen holding a candle, and enjoys scaring people. He abducts anyone who says his name.
- Waylon Jeepers, a creepy little man who created the Medusa Watch, which has the power to turn people (and pigeons) into stone. He has also created a similar device that turned beavers into gold, and once summoned "Vorn the Unspeakable," a demon apparently based on Cthulhu, with the help of a book entitled How to Summon Monsters the E-Z Way. His name is a play off of the famous country guitarist Waylon Jennings. In the Spanish-dubbed version he was referred as La Sombra (The Shadow).
- Invisibo, an invisible, smart mouthed pharaoh who is only visible via the staff he carries. Freakazoid gave Invisibo his name because "you're invisible and it's my show". Invisibo protests at this, but Freakazoid counters that they've already made up a title card that says Invisibo. Invisibo accepts the name, saying it has a "somewhat sinister ring to it". An "Invisibo theme song" was sung throughout much of the episode. It consisted mainly of the following lines:
"Where did he go, that Invisibo!"
At least Freakazoid found it catchy. His voice is similar to that of Vincent Price's, and provided by Maurice LaMarche.
- Arms Akimbo, a spoiled teen model turned extortionist after years of posing left his arms frozen in a jaunty pose, hands on hips. When fighting, he strikes with his over sized elbows. His first appearance is in a local shop selling "oops insurance," a form of protection racketeering, which mainly consists of him breaking something of value/causing a building to detonate spectacularly, before comically following it up with a small "oops".
- Milk Man, only shown/mentioned in the episode And Fanboy was his Name. Shown on a news report in a pitched battle with Freakazoid and his then-sidekick, Expendable Lad. Injured during the battle, Expendable Lad was sent to the hospital with a bruised clavicle and was subsequently released from the service of Freakazoid.
- Mary Beth, Cosgrove's former girlfriend, cosmetics executive, and monster. She is short tempered and when angered, turns green and develops a deep raspy voice. Her plan to steal Freakazoid's hero essence to remain immortal is foiled and as a result, shrivels, dies, and becomes a pile of dust. Her name is a play off of the cosmetics giant Mary Kay.
Allies
Aiding Freakazoid in his surrealistic battles are:
- Sgt. Mike Cosgrove, a heavyset, gruff cop with a heart of gold, who is friends with Freakazoid and several other characters. He has the almost supernatural ability to get people to "cut it out" on command, no matter what they may be doing at the time, be it panicking at the sight of a villain, stealing a television, or attempting to capture Cosgrove and Freakazoid (in the Animaniacs comic series, he even once managed to get Yakko, Wakko, and Dot to "cut it out", something many had tried, and failed, to do). Often has nothing better to do than engage in hobbies or visit tourist traps with Freakazoid (such as building a Go-kart or getting a mint). He speaks in a gruff monotone and shows very little enthusiasm for anything. Strangely, he always manages to find Freakazoid with his police car, no matter where he is at the time (he will even catch up with him in different countries, car and all). He is voiced by (and physically resembles) Ed Asner.
- Roddy MacStew, Freakazoid's mentor, expositionist, and driving instructor; an ill-tempered Scotsman (voiced by Craig Ferguson) who once worked for Guitierrez. He first found that the Pinnacle chip was flawed. In the continuation of the first episode he was trapped in the Internet. He was later kicked out of the Internet by Guitierrez and resumed his mentor role. Favorite quote: "Crud!"
- Steff, Freakazoid's perky blonde girlfriend (voiced by Tracy Rowe); her real name is Stephanie. She discovers Freakazoid's secret identity when Cosgrove accidentally points it out aloud in "Mission: Freakazoid".
- Professor Heiney, a scientist, with a lab in the mountains, who Freakazoid often goes to for help. He does research on monsters and is often attacked by them at his lab.
- Ingmar, Freakazoid's mute manservant, in charge of the maintenance of the Freakalair (according to Freakazoid, he constructed it himself from scratch). He quit in "Mission: Freakazoid" to become a rodeo clown and was replaced by Professor Jones. A take-off on Bernardo, the mute manservant of Zorro.
- Professor Jones, a snooty, cowardly manservant (voiced by Jonathan Harris), essentially recreating his role as Doctor Zachary Smith from Lost In Space; every time Jones appears in a scene, someone asks him if he was "on a show with a robot"). Is the replacement to the Freakalair's previous butler, and old friends with him. Does not get along with Cosgrove well.
- Joe Leahy the announcer (playing himself), who sometimes gets a little more involved than the typical narrator.
- Freakazette, only mentioned in the first episode for a brief verse during the "Freakazoid and Friends" theme song (which plays to the same theme as Animaniacs). Since she never was elaborated on in the show, most fans assume her to be Steff, having turned into a Freakazoid with blonde hair and blue outfit.
- Foamy the Freakadog, a vicious, rabid dog which Freakazoid had freed from the pound. Foamy is painted blue, has a Freakazoid costume (complete with hair), and is prone to maul and/or beat Freakazoid to a pulp.
- Handman, Freakazoid's brief "right hand man". He is quite literally just paint on Freakazoid's hand. Fell in love with and married Freakazoid's left hand.
- Expendable Lad, Freakazoid's brief sidekick from the start of And Fanboy was his Name he is taken to the hospital due to injuries sustained from milk.
- Norm Abram, who was kidnapped by The Lobe to make a wooden instrument to destroy Freakazoid but got free and helped turn the tables. Abram supplied his own voice and trademark line for the episode.
- Leonard Maltin, who was kidnapped by Dr. Mystico during the episode Island of Dr. Mystico, while Maltin was giving his opinion of the same episode. Freakazoid points out that Mystico's prisoners all have superpowers, and Mr. Maltin's is that he knows every movie ever made. Maltin provided his own voice for the episode.
Other characters
A few characters fall somewhere in the space between "enemies" and "allies" to land squarely in the category of "nuisances."
- Mo-Ron, a dimwitted alien voiced by Stan Freberg. His name was later changed to Bo-Ron, apparently to appease network censors' concerns that use of the word moron might be offensive. In one episode Lord Bravery refers to him as "Mo-Ron or... Bo-Ron, whatever". Is a parody of Ro-Man, the ridiculous-looking monster from the notoriously bad science fiction film "Robot Monster."
- Fanboy, an obese, acne-stricken, socially awkward fanboy (hence his name) and would-be sidekick to Freakazoid who obsesses about numerous comic books, TV shows and movies, from The Black Hole to Star Wars. Fanboy's age is never specified; he could be anywhere between his late teens to early thirties. Voiced by Stephen Furst.
- Deadpan, a plain-looking (almost blank-faced) woman with an appropriately monotonous voice, provided by Bebe Neuwirth. She is a shapeshifter who once tried to conquer Washington by transforming into Freakazoid, but this plan was quickly foiled when the real Freakazoid appeared immediately after and nonchalantly pointed her out. She had only one appearance in a short segment before the opening credits for episode 1x13, The Wrath of Guiterrez.
- Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Princess Diana make frequent cameos in the show, partly because Dexter Douglas lives in Washington.
- Barbra Streisand also makes a number of appearances, most notably in the episode "Dexter's Date," which features a parody of Hello, Dolly!.
- Hero Boy, the title character from Freakazoid's favorite TV show that is first shown in the episode of the same name. Hero Boy has no powers (save for flying) and his black and white show is a parody of the animated series Astro Boy. Hero Boy has the catchphrase "I must succeed!", though he is invariably shrugged off by the monsters he fights when his pathetic fighting techniques (consisting of weakly pounding on the enemies) fail miserably.
- Steven Spielberg, the show's executive producer.
- Paul Harvey, a loud, obnoxious man who often interrupts the story to give background information on a villain, or to spoil the ending. He is an obvious parody of the famous radio personality, and his scenes in the series frequently feature "The Rest of the Backstory."
- Lonnie Talbot, a werewolf that begs Dexter for help. His name is a combination of that of Lon Chaney, Jr. and Lawrence Talbot, the character Chaney played in the 1941 movie The Wolf Man. He is prone to grabbing people's shirt collars and yelling "You don't understand!"
Mini-Segments
Freakazoid! also features several mini-segments, primarily during the first season. Each of these have their own theme songs, title cards and cast, and only rarely "cross over" into the continuity of the main show. These segments include:
- Lord Bravery, a John Cleese-esque superhero from the United Kingdom in an outfit slightly resembling that of a Roman soldier. He doesn't do much in the way of superheroism; in fact, he's very snooty and cynical. Likewise, he gets little respect and recognition as a superhero from the general public and even his wife and mother-in-law, with whom he lives. At one point he loses his name due to a trademark dispute with a bakery of the same name, after which he changes his name to Lord Smoked Meats and Fishes. Jeff Bennett provided the voice, a very close imitation of Cleese's.<br><br>His theme song, delivered in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan, is as follows:
He feels no pain / He can fly quite fast
In feats of strength / He is unsurpassed
His grip is firm / Never quavery
Britannia's superhero / He's Lord Bravery.
Lord Bravery!/Lord Bravery! / Lord Bra - ver - y!!!
- The Huntsman, a good guess at what Robin Hood would be like if portrayed by Charlton Heston; he can never find enough crime to fight and secretly suspects that the police are hiding crimes from him because they don't trust him. Possibly a parody of comic character Green Arrow. His trademark phrase is "Darn, the luck, darn!".
- The Lawn Gnomes, a group of lawn statuary that come to life at night in a parody of the Gargoyles animated series. Infamous for their mischief, they were cursed to become stone by day by a powerful wizard after they played a prank on him. They would revert at night, during which time they were given the opportunity to mend their ways to fight evil alongside mankind, after which the curse would be lifted. They have yet to do so to this day.
- Toby Danger, a (somewhat) loving parody of Jonny Quest, featuring the voices of Scott Menville, Don Messick (in his last role before he died) and Granville Van Dusen (all of whom provided voices for JQ). This was originally made for Animaniacs, but slotted into Freakazoid! when that series was green-lighted.
- Fatman and Boy Blubber, the misadventures of two morbidly obese superheroes, in a parody of the Batman TV series.
Episodes
Season 1: (1995-1996)
- "Five Day Forecast"/"Dance of Doom"/"Hand Man"
- "Candle Jack"/"Toby Danger in Doomsday Bet"/"The Lobe"
- "Mo-Ron"/"The Sewer Rescue"/"The Big Question"/"The Legends Who Lunch"
- "And Fan Boy Is His Name"/"Lawn Gnomes: Chapter IV - Fun in the Sun"/"Freak's French Lesson"
- "Foamy the Freakadog"/"Office Visit"/"Ode to Leonard Nimoy"/"Emergency Broadcast System"
- "The Chip (Acts I – III)"
- "The Chip (Act IV)"/"Freakazoid is History"
- "Hot Rods From Heck"/"A Time For Evil"
- "Relax-O-Vision"/"Fatman and Boy Blubber"/"Limbo Lock-Up"/"Terror Palace"
- "In Arms Way"/"The Cloud"
- "Next Time, Phone Ahead"/"Nerdator"
- "House of Freakazoid"/"Sewer or Later"
- "The Wrath of Guitierrez"
Season 2: (1996-1997)
- "Dexter's Date"
- "The Freakazoid"
- "Mission: Freakazoid"
- "Virtual Freak"
- "Hero Boy"
- "A Matter of Love"
- "Statuesque"
- "Island of Dr. Mystico"
- "Two Against Freak"
- "Freak-A-Panel"/"Tomb of Invisibo"
- "Normadeus"
Total Episodes: 24
Controversy
Mike Allred's ''Madman''
- This show and its lead character have been criticized as being plagiarism of the comic book Madman by Mike Allred. Both titular characters do seem to share several personality traits. Furthermore, they wear similar costumes of opposite colors, both featuring a chest emblem of an exclamation mark (though Freakazoid's logo adds his initial F before the exclamation mark). During the short run of the show, Allred remained relatively silent on the subject. However, in 2003, he responded [1] to a question about the show on the messageboard of his official website:[2]
Trivia
- The humor of the show relies heavily on slapstick, parody, and obscure cultural references. Due to the lack of a proper fourth wall, much of it is self-aware humor -- for instance, after the first appearance of the Freakmobile, the show goes immediately into an impromptu commercial for a toy version; later in the episode, Freakazoid addresses an audience, congratulating the staff on how hard they have worked to make the show toyetic. A typically strange running gag involves a repeated credit for "Weena Mercator as the Hopping Woman", though no such character appears in any episode. Her credit is usually preceded by a number of other fictional names and followed by a fictional director.
- According to a recent online chat with Warner Home Video, the studio is "evaluating a Freakazoid release" on DVD. [2]
- In the pilot episode, Ricardo Montalbán's character, Guitierrez, threatens to torture Freakazoid using worms that will enter through the ear, recalling his character of Khan from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
- The computer bug that gives Freakazoid his powers is a reference to the Pentium FDIV bug.
- Cameo appearances are a noteworthy feature of the show. At various times, Freakazoid! hosted appearances by characters from other Warner Bros. cartoons such as Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs and even an insinuation appearance of the Batman from Bruce Timm's animated version (which has a similar drawing style), as well as portrayals of many celebrities (including producer Steven Spielberg) and guest appearances by such figures as Jack Valenti, Leonard Maltin, and Mark Hamill as themselves. Norm Abram had an entire episode, "Normadeus", built around him. One original character, a bizarre-looking man named Emmitt Nervend, plays no role whatsoever other than enabling a Where's Waldo-esque hunt for his constant cameos (complete with the number of his appearances announced in the closing credits). Another original character, only mentioned in the opening credits of several episodes but never actually seen is "Weena Mercator as The Hopping Woman."
- Made the noteworthy accomplishment of having Wakko (From Animaniacs) & Brain (From Pinky and the Brain) appear in a scene where they argue with Freakazoid over which of their shows is Steven Spielberg's favorite. (Tiny Toon Adventures was not represented in the discussion as it was on Nickelodeon at the time, whilst the others were on Kids' WB.) However, when the trio confronts Steven over the issue, he simply replies "Who are you people?"
- Dexter's delivery of his transformation phrase, "Ohhhh, freak out!", is a direct reference to the main lyrics of the song "Le Freak" on Chic's 1978 album, C'est Chic.
- The "secret key sequence" that must be typed for the computer bug to become active begins with: "@[=g3,8d]\&fbb=-q]/hk%fg" (the quotes are included) as seen when Roddy MacStew types the combination in "The Chip (Act IV)". The bug manifests when the user presses Delete after entering the string.
- Dexter, Roddy and Guitierrez were all forced into the Internet as a result of the bug, but Roddy was never transformed or granted any superpowers as a result. He did, however, have lightning in his hair in "Wrath of Guitierrez." In "House of Freakazoid", a werewolf who somehow knows about Dexter's secret identity visits his home to ask his assistance for a cure. Freakazoid sends him into the internet by exploiting the flaw. The werewolf is cured, but he did not change in any other way.
- In "Handman", the argument between Freakazoid and the Lobe over whether or not Handman is an actual sidekick (he is actually Freakazoid's right hand with a face drawn on it) is based on the argument clinic sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus.
- Freakazoid never had his own comic book, but he did make a special guest crossover in issue #35 of the Animaniacs comic published by DC Comics. Sergeant Cosgrove appeared as well, and his trademark "Cut it out" instantly silenced the Warners - something nobody else ever succeeded in doing.
External links
Citations
- [1] Lenburg, Jeff, Steven Spielberg Presents Freakazoid [Television Series], pp. 520, Checkmark Books, New York, New York, 1999, The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons, Second, No. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
- [2] http://www.comicscommunity.com/boards/allred/?noframes;read=9834, Allred, Mike, Re: Freakazoid, Mike Allred Message Board, 2003-11-07.