The Huntsman (Freakazoid)
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''Freakazoid!'' is an American
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...
created by
Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind '' Batman: ...
and
Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American writer, animator, and comic book artist. He has served as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably ''Batman: The Animated Series' ...
and developed by
Tom Ruegger Tom Ruegger () is an American animator and songwriter. Ruegger is known for his association with Disney Television Animation and Warner Bros. Animation. He also created ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'', '' Pinky and the Brain'', and '' H ...
for the
Kids' WB Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming block that originally aired on The WB from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006, and later on The CW from September 23, 2006, to May 17, 2008. Initially launched as a co ...
programming block of
The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...
. The series chronicles the adventures of the title character, Freakazoid, a crazy teenage
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
who fights crime in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
It also features mini-episodes about the adventures of other superheroes. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation and
Amblin Entertainment Amblin' Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1980. Its headquarters are lo ...
, being the third animated series produced through the collaboration of
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
and Warner Bros. Animation after ''
Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...
'' and ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
''.
Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind '' Batman: ...
, best known as a producer of the
DC Animated Universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU, also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans) is a Shared universe, shared fictional universe based on DC Comics properties and media franchise produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It began with ''Batman ...
, originally intended for the series to be a straightforward superhero action-adventure cartoon with comic overtones, but
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
Steven Spielberg requested it to be a flat-out comedy.Lenburg, p. 638 The show is similar to fellow Ruegger-led programs such as ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
'', having a unique style of humor that includes
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...
,
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
breaking,
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
,
surreal humour Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causality, causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviors that are obviously illogical. Portra ...
, and pop culture references. The series was 1 out of the 5 shows that helped launched the WB's new children's programming block,
Kids' WB Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming block that originally aired on The WB from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006, and later on The CW from September 23, 2006, to May 17, 2008. Initially launched as a co ...
on September 9, 1995, alongside ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
'' (acquired after its cancellation from ''
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
''), ''
The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries ''The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries'' is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation which aired from September 9, 1995 to February 5, 2000 on Kids' WB. The final episode, containing the segments "The Ta ...
'', ''
Pinky and the Brain ''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated sitcom created by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB, as a collaboration of Steven Spielberg with his production company Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Ani ...
'', and ''
Earthworm Jim ''Earthworm Jim'' is a series of platform games featuring an earthworm named Jim who wears a robotic suit and battles the forces of evil. The series is noted for its platforming and shooting gameplay, surreal humor, and edgy art style. Four game ...
''. The series lasted for two seasons across 24 episodes, with the final episode being broadcast on June 1, 1997. Although the series originally struggled in ratings, reruns on
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
and a fan following elevated it to become a
cult hit A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
. Warner Bros. considered renewing the series for a third season, but deemed it to be too expensive. The show also ranked #53 on ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
''s Top 100 Animated Series list.


Background

The show's title character is the superhero
alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...
of
geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...
y 16/17-year-old Dexter Douglas, a student of
Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling ma ...
High School. His name alludes to the alliterative names that superheroes commonly have. Dexter gains his abilities from a
computer bug A software bug is a design defect ( bug) in computer software. A computer program with many or serious bugs may be described as ''buggy''. The effects of a software bug range from minor (such as a misspelled word in the user interface) to sev ...
activated by the secret key sequence ''"''@ g3,8d&fbb=-q]/hk%fg''"'', followed by the "Delete" keysomething which was discovered when the sequence was accidentally typed by Dexter's cat, Mr. Chubbikins, and was then activated when Dexter hits the delete button on his computer to erase it. Freakazoid has enhanced strength, endurance, speed, and agility, as well as access to all of the Internet's knowledge. He cannot fly, but often runs around with his arms extended and making whooshing sounds with his mouth, pretending he is. His base is the Freakalair, a parody of the the Batcave, Batcave built by his mute butler Ingmar, which contains a "Hall of Nifty Things to Know" and a
mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insanity, insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabas ...
lab. His greatest weakness, as he explains to the head of Apex Microchips, Armando Guitierrez, is
graphite Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...
bars charged with
negative ions An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
. He also expresses a great aversion to " poo gas". Freakazoid also has several other abilities; he once developed
telekinesis Telekinesis () (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been cri ...
powered by anger, and once crossed the globe to yell at a Tibetan monk. He also has the ability to assume the form of
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
and cover long distances instantaneously, although he often simply sticks his arms forward and runs while pretending to fly. Dexter can change into and out of Freakazoid at will with the respective phrases "Freak out!" and "Freak in!". Freakazoid spends his inactive time in an area of Dexter's brain called the Freakazone, where he reflects and watches '' Rat Patrol'' reruns. While the show is set around
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, the locale often varies with its humor, taking Freakazoid to locations around the world.


Episodes


Characters

* Freakazoid (voiced by
Paul Rugg Paul Kevin Rugg is an American screenwriter, producer, voice actor, and puppeteer. He is best known for his starring roles in shows like ''Freakazoid!'', ''Pig Goat Banana Cricket'', and ''Earth to Ned''. Biography Rugg has worked extensively ...
) – The protagonist of the series. He is the alter ego of
geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...
y 16-year-old computer ace Dexter Douglas (voiced by David Kaufman), a student of
Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling ma ...
High School who became Freakazoid after the Pinnacle Chip inside his computer was activated. To transform and detransform, Dexter says "Freak out!" and "Freak in!" respectively. Dexter and Freakazoid are sometimes considered to be separate identities, and other times are considered the same person.


The Douglas family

* Debbie Douglas (voiced by
Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire "Tress" MacNeille (; born June 20, 1951) >https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macneille-tress-1951 is an American voice actress, who has contributed to voice-over work with credits including vo ...
) – Dexter's mother, who is unaware he is Freakazoid and is generally blithe and clueless. * Douglas Douglas (voiced by
John P. McCann John P. McCann is an American writer, actor and producer who has mostly focused on writing/producing animation and family-friendly scripts in the past. He is best known for his work on television cartoons, for which he has received numerous award ...
) – Dexter's father, who is incompetent but still attempts to keep his family in line. * Duncan Douglas (voiced by Googy Gress) – Dexter's older brother. He is a stereotypical jock who often bullies Dexter, but is frequently tormented by Freakazoid. * Mr. Chubbikins (vocal effects provided by
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...
) – The Douglas' cat, who caused Dexter's transformation into Freakazoid after accidentally typing in the key sequence that activated the Pinnacle Chip's flaw.


Allies

* Sgt. Mike Cosgrove (voiced by
Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor. He is most notable for portraying Lou Grant on the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977) and drama '' Lou Grant'' (1977–1982), making him one of the few ...
) – A gruff yet kind-hearted police sergeant who is friends with Freakazoid and several other characters. He has the ability to get people to stop what they are doing by pointing at something and saying "Cut it out". He can also find Freakazoid no matter where he is, and often interrupts him to ask him to visit various entertainments, which Freakazoid always agrees to. During this visit, Cosgrove reveals important information about the plot of the episode, resulting in Freakazoid leaving to foil the villain's scheme. Additionally, Freakazoid entrusted Cosgrove with his secret identity, and is upset when he accidentally reveals it to Steff and Professor Jones. * Roddy MacStew (voiced by
Craig Ferguson Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-American actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for having hosted the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014). He is the winner of ...
) – Freakazoid's mentor and expositionist. He is an ill-tempered Scotsman who once worked for Guitierrez and was the first to discover the Pinnacle Chip's flaw. Using the Chip, MacStew can travel to and from
cyberspace Cyberspace is an interconnected digital environment. It is a type of virtual world popularized with the rise of the Internet. The term entered popular culture from science fiction and the arts but is now used by technology strategists, security ...
. * Steff (voiced by Tracy Rowe) – Freakazoid's kind yet cynical and sarcastic girlfriend, whose real name is Stephanie. She discovers Freakazoid's secret identity after Cosgrove accidentally reveals it in "Mission: Freakazoid". * Hans (voiced by
Larry Cedar Larry Frank Cedar (born March 6, 1955) is an American voice, film and television actor, best known as one of the players of the Children's Television Workshop mathematics show '' Square One TV'' on PBS from 1987 to 1994. He played Max, Alex the ...
) – A mysterious European agent who takes Freakazoid to Professor Heiney's lab. * Professor Heiney (voiced by
Ed Gilbert Ed Gilbert (born Edmund Francis Giesbert, June 29, 1931 – May 8, 1999) was an American actor, with extensive credits in both live-action roles and voice work in animation, although he was better known for the latter. He is also credited, under ...
) – A scientist with a lab in the mountains, where he researches and kills monsters. * Ingmar – Freakazoid's mute butler, who built and maintains the Freakalair. In the episode "Mission: Freakazoid", Ingmar quits to become a
rodeo clown A rodeo clown, bullfighter or rodeo protection athlete, is a rodeo performer who works in bull riding competitions. Originally, the rodeo clown was a single job combining "bullfighting" — the protection of riders thrust from the bull — as wel ...
and is replaced with Professor Jones. * Professor Jones (voiced by
Jonathan Harris Jonathan Daniel Harris ( Charasuchin; November 6, 1914 – November 3, 2002) was an American character actor whose career included more than 500 television and film appearances, as well as Voice-over, voiceovers. Two of his best-known roles we ...
) – A snooty and cowardly man who is a parody of Dr. Zachary Smith, Jonathan Harris' character from ''
Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. Lightly dramatic, sometimes comedic in tone, the series was inspired by the 1812 J ...
''. He is Ingmar's replacement and is old friends with him. He does not get along well with Cosgrove and gets little respect from others. * Joe Leahy (voiced by himself) – The show's vocal narrator and announcer. * Freakazette – A female counterpart to Freakazoid, who appears in the segment "Freakazoid and Friends". * Foamy the Freakadog (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) – A vicious,
rabid Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abn ...
dog who Freakazoid frees from a dogcatcher's van and briefly adopts as his sidekick. * Handman (voiced by Paul Rugg) – Freakazoid's brief "right hand man", who is a painted face on his right hand. He falls in love with and marries Handgirl, a painted face on Freakazoid's left hand. * Expendable Lad (voiced by
Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American writer, animator, and comic book artist. He has served as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably ''Batman: The Animated Series' ...
) – Freakazoid's sidekick in "And Fanboy Is His Name". He is hospitalized after Milk Man bruises his clavicle and released from Freakazoid's service. *
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
(voiced by himself) – A film critic and historian who Dr. Mystico kidnaps to gain his knowledge. *
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...
(voiced by Paul Rugg) – A politician and the former Secretary of State who Dr. Mystico kidnaps in the episode "Island of Dr. Mystico". * Norm Abram (voiced by himself) – A carpenter who the Lobe kidnaps to build a deadly wood weapon.


Enemies

''Freakazoid!'' features several campy villains in his rogues gallery. * The Lobe (voiced by David Warner) – Freakazoid's archenemy, an evil genius with a giant brain for a head. Despite his high intellect, he has very low self-esteem, once even having a scheme foiled after Freakazoid insults his plan, despite being impressed by it after he leaves. * Cobra Queen (voiced by Tress MacNeille) – Real name Audrey Manatee, she is a former
shoplifter Shoplifting (also known as shop theft, shop fraud, retail theft, or retail fraud) is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours. The terms ''shoplifting'' and ''shoplifter'' are not usually defined in law, and genera ...
who was transformed into a humanoid reptile after stealing an experimental expired cosmetic. In later episodes, she and Cave Guy are shown to be dating. * Cave Guy (voiced by
Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor. He voiced the titular character of ''Johnny Bravo'', Dexter and Dee Dee's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', List of The Powerpuff Girls characters#Ace, Ace, List of The Powerpuff Gi ...
impersonating
Jim Backus James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom ''Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in '' Rebel Without a Cause, ...
) – Real name Royce Mumphry, he is a thuggish blue-skinned
caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin B ...
with upper-class diction and taste who speaks in a stereotypical
WASP A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...
tone. He is also in a relationship with Cobra Queen. * Longhorn (voiced by
Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor. Across a career spanning more than four decades he has voiced Chief Quimby on Inspector Gadget, Egon Spengler on ''The Real Ghostbusters'', The Brain on ''Animaniacs'' and its spi ...
) – Real name Jubal "Bull" Nixon, he is a criminal and former employee of the Johnny Cat cat litter company who transformed himself into a humanoid
Texas Longhorn The Texas Longhorn is an American breed of beef cattle, characterized by its long horns, which can span more than from tip to tip. It derives from cattle brought from the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas by Spanish conquistadors from the ti ...
via plastic surgery to avoid detection. He is additionally an aspiring musician and owns a high-tech truck nicknamed "Bessie Mae". ** Turk (voiced by Matt Landers) – Longhorn's henchman. * Armando Guitierrez (voiced by
Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG ( ; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became widely known for performances ...
) – The head of Apex Microchips, who designed the faulty Pinnacle Chip responsible for Freakazoid's creation. In the first-season finale "The Wrath of Guitierrez", Guitierrez uses the Chip to gain powers similar to Freakazoid, but is defeated and lost in the Internet. In the second season, Guitierrez escapes, becomes a fugitive, and begins wearing a hooded robe to cover the right side of his face, which has become cybernetic. ** Jocko (voiced by Paul Rugg) – Guitierrez's inarticulate henchman. * Candle Jack (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – A supernatural villain with a burlap sack covering his head who abducts anyone who says his name aloud. * Waylon Jeepers (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – A man from Venice Beach who created the
Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...
Watch, which can turn people and pigeons into stone. He is obsessed with the supernatural and is well acquainted with several monsters, including
Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
, the Wolf Man, and the
Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster (), known affectionately as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protrud ...
. * Invisibo (voiced by
Corey Burton Corey Burton is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transformers'', Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, Count Dooku and Cad Bane in ...
impersonating
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...
) – Originally known as Ahmon Kor-Unch, he is an ancient Egyptian
pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...
who wields a staff that enables him to become invisible. He was previously sealed inside a sarcophagus, which was later unearthed and placed in a museum. Kor-Unch escapes after Dexter and Duncan accidentally break the sarcophagus while visiting the museum and assumes the alias Invisibo. * Booger Beast (voiced by Frank Welker) – A slimy monster who attacks Steff in the cold opening of episode 9. * The Nerdator (voiced by
Aron Kincaid Aron Kincaid (born Norman Neale Williams II; June 15, 1940 – January 6, 2011) was an American actor, known for voicing Killer Croc on '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and Sky Lynx on '' The Transformers''. He also voiced characters for ' ...
) – A man who plans to kidnap all of the
nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...
s in the world and absorb their knowledge to become a "Super-Nerd". However, Freakazoid convinces him of the downsides of being a nerd, after which he discontinues his plot and instead begins kidnapping "good-looking, but vapid airheads". His design is a parody of the
Predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
. * Arms Akimbo (voiced by
John Schuck Conrad John Schuck Jr. (born February 4, 1940) is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for his role as Sergeant Charles Enright in the 1970s crime drama ''McMillan & Wife''. He also played Herman Munster in the late- ...
impersonating Edward G. Robinson) – A spoiled
model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...
turned
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
ist who, after years of posing, was left with his arms frozen in a pose with his hands on his hips. He sells "oops insurance", a form of
protection racket A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from vio ...
eering which mainly consists of him breaking valuable things. * The Milk Man – A milk-themed villain whom Freakazoid and Expendable Lad fight in "And Fanboy Is His Name". He injures Expendable Lad's clavicle, resulting in him retiring. * Deadpan (voiced by
Bebe Neuwirth Beatrice "Bebe" Jane Neuwirth ( ; born December 31, 1958) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her roles on stage and screen, she has received two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and two Drama Desk Awards. ...
) – A plain-looking, shapeshifting supervillainess with a monotonous voice. * Mary Beth (voiced by Tress MacNeille) – An ancient, fire-breathing monster who disguises herself as a human and operates as an esteemed cosmetics executive. She maintains her youth by absorbing the life force of superheroes and plans to do so to Freakazoid, but he prevents her from doing so, causing her to age into dust. * Janos Ivnovels (voiced by
Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...
) – The dictator of Vuka Nova and its Minister of State Security. He captures Freakazoid's family on false charges of espionage before he frees them and leaves Ivnovels to be tortured by the Mime from ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
''. ** Colonel Anton Mohans (voiced by Larry Cedar) – A vicious thug and Ivnovels' servant. * Vorn the Unspeakable (voiced by
Richard Moll Charles Richard Moll (January 13, 1943 – October 26, 2023) was an American actor known for playing Aristotle Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon, a bailiff on the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' from 1984 to 1992. Moll also voiced Harvey Dent/Two-Face in t ...
) – A
Cthulhu Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pantheon ...
-like demon and ally of Waylon Jeepers. * Dr. Mystico (voiced by
Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London, 1974 L ...
) – A mad scientist with aspirations of world domination. He was kicked out of university for his mad science and set up a laboratory on a remote island to continue his experiments. Furthermore, he is assisted by his cat Sparkles and orangutan-human hybrids named Orangu-Men (vocal effects provided by
Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...
). * Kid Carrion (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – A zombie cowboy who was among the characters created during the original development of the show. * Major Danger – A villain who was part of Bruce Timm's original development of the show. He makes a cameo in "The Lobe" as one of several villains who watch the Lobe attempt to lobotomize Freakazoid. * Bombshell – A villain who was part of Bruce Timm's original development of this show. She makes a cameo in "The Lobe" as one of several villains who watch the Lobe attempt to lobotomize Freakazoid. * Eye-of-Newt – A one-eyed creature who resembles
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
.


Other characters

* Mo-Ron/Bo-Ron (voiced by
Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, puppeteer, radio personality and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...
) – An obese and dimwitted alien from the planet Barone's, a reference to the restaurant of the same name. His name was changed to Bo-Ron to appease network censors' concerns that use of the word moron could be offensive. * Fanboy (voiced by
Stephen Furst Stephen Furst (born Stephen Nelson Feuerstein; May 8, 1954 – June 16, 2017) was an American actor, director and producer. After gaining attention with his featured role as Kent "Flounder" Dorfman in the comedy film '' National Lampoon's A ...
) – An obese, socially awkward fanboy and would-be sidekick to Freakazoid. *
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
and
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
(voiced by Frank Welker and Tress MacNeille respectively) make several cameos in the show, partly because of its setting of
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
*
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
(voiced by Tress MacNeille) also makes several appearances, most notably in the episode "Dexter's Date", which features a parody of '' Hello, Dolly!''. * Hero Boy (voiced by John P. McCann) – The title character of Freakazoid's favorite TV show, which is a parody of ''
Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 volumes by Akita Shoten. Da ...
''. He has no powers except for flight and his fighting techniques always fail. *
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
(voiced by Frank Welker) – The series' executive producer. *
Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...
(voiced by Paul Rugg) – A caricature of the real-life radio personality. * Lonnie Tallbutt (voiced by
Mitch Schauer Mitchell Lee Schauer (pronounced "shower") (born December 18, 1955) is an American animation professional who has been involved television programs and feature films since 1978. He is perhaps best known as the creator of the Nickelodeon series '' ...
in human form, vocal effects provided by
Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...
in werewolf form) – A
werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
who Freakazoid cures by sending him into the Internet. His name is a reference to actor
Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dracula ...
and Lawrence Talbot, his character in '' The Wolf Man''. * Emmitt Nervend – A short, hunchbacked man who only appears in the background. The end credits often contain a credit counting how many times Emmitt appears in an episode. * Weena Mercator – A person acknowledged whenever credits are used in an episode. * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner (voiced by
Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Pro ...
,
Jess Harnell Jess Harnell (born December 23, 1963) is an American voice actor. His roles include Wakko Warner in ''Animaniacs'', Captain Hero in '' Drawn Together'', Jerry in the first two seasons of '' Totally Spies!'', Ironhide in the first three ''Tr ...
, and
Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire "Tress" MacNeille (; born June 20, 1951) >https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macneille-tress-1951 is an American voice actress, who has contributed to voice-over work with credits including vo ...
) – A trio of cartoon characters who star in ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
''. * The Brain (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) – A megalomaniacal genius lab mouse.


Mini-segments

''Freakazoid!'' also features several mini-segments, primarily in the first season. Each of these have their own theme songs and title cards, and only occasionally appear in the main show. These segments include: * Lord Bravery – Nigel Skunkthorpe (voiced by Jeff Bennett impersonating
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
) is a superhero from the United Kingdom who resembles a
Roman soldier This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats. *'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army. *''Actuarius'' – A soldier charged with distributing pay and provisions ...
. He does not do much in the way of superheroics, as he is snooty, cynical and unwilling to do unpleasant tasks. Likewise, he gets little respect and recognition from the public and his family. * The Huntsman – Marty Feeb (voiced by Jeff Bennett impersonating
Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...
) is a
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
-like hero who lives in the woods and gained his powers from corn that an elf gave him for saving his life. To his dismay, he rarely finds crime to fight. * The Lawn Gnomes – Baffeardin (voiced by
Clive Revill Clive Selsby Revill (18 April 1930 – 11 March 2025) was a New Zealand actor, best known for his performances in musical theatre and the London stage. A veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he also starred in numerous films and television ...
), Huska (voiced by Carl Ballantine), Honna (voiced by
Rose Marie Rose Marie (born Rose Marie Mazzetta; August 15, 1923 – December 28, 2017) was an American actress, singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer with a career spanning nine decades, which included film, radio, records, theater, night clubs and ...
), and Quist (voiced by Larry Gelman) are a group of trickster
gnome A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...
s who come to life at night in a parody of '' Gargoyles''. The wizard Rathgar (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) placed a curse on the gnomes that transforms them into inanimate
garden gnomes Garden gnomes () are lawn ornament figurines of small humanoid creatures based on the mythological creature and diminutive spirit which occur in Renaissance magic and alchemy, known as gnomes. They also draw on the German folklore of the dwarf. ...
during the day and will only be lifted if they reform and do good for the people. * Toby Danger – A parody of ''
Jonny Quest ''Jonny Quest'' is a science fiction–adventure media franchise created by Doug Wildey for Hanna-Barbera. It follows the character Jonny Quest, a young boy who joins his scientist father on various extraordinary adventures. The franchise sta ...
'' that was originally written as a standalone short for ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
'', but slotted into ''Freakazoid!'' to fill time. It features the adventures of Toby Danger (voiced by
Scott Menville Scott David Menville (born February 12, 1971) is an American actor and musician who is known for his voice work in animated films, television series and video games. He voices Robin in Cartoon Network's ''Teen Titans'' (2003–2006) and ''Teen ...
), his scientist father Vernon Danger (voiced by
Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor, known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered voice roles include Scooby-Doo; Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ''The Flintsto ...
, who was the original voice of
Dr. Benton Quest ''Jonny Quest'' (also known as ''The Adventures of Jonny Quest'') is an American animated science fiction adventure television series about a boy who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera, ...
), his adoptive sister Sandra Danger (voiced by
Mary Scheer Mary Scheer (born March 19, 1963) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer, best known for her work in television. She had recurring roles as Marissa Benson on the Nickelodeon sitcom ''iCarly'' and as Gladys on the Disney C ...
), and Vernon's bodyguard Dash O'Pepper (voiced by
Granville Van Dusen Granville Van Dusen (born March 16, 1944, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota) is an American stage, screen, and voice actor who portrayed Race Bannon in the 1986 television series '' The New Adventures of Jonny Quest'', '' Jonny's Golden Quest'', '' Jon ...
, who voiced Race Bannon in the 1986 version of ''Jonny Quest''). * Fatman and Boy Blubber – The misadventures of two overweight superheroes (voiced by Marc Drotman and Paul Rugg, respectively), in a parody of ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
''. Their only segment involves them coming to the aid of Louis (voiced by
Scott McAfee Scott Cody McAfee (born September 29, 1981) is an American actor known as the second voice of Littlefoot in ''The Land Before Time'' franchise. He is the younger brother of Anndi McAfee, who is the current voice of ''The Land Before Time'' charac ...
), an overweight boy who loves sweet buns and is being tormented by bullies.


Production


Voicing

The voice actors of the show ''Freakazoid!'' included various actors from other television series and films.
Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire "Tress" MacNeille (; born June 20, 1951) >https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macneille-tress-1951 is an American voice actress, who has contributed to voice-over work with credits including vo ...
,
Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor. Across a career spanning more than four decades he has voiced Chief Quimby on Inspector Gadget, Egon Spengler on ''The Real Ghostbusters'', The Brain on ''Animaniacs'' and its spi ...
,
Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor. He voiced the titular character of ''Johnny Bravo'', Dexter and Dee Dee's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', List of The Powerpuff Girls characters#Ace, Ace, List of The Powerpuff Gi ...
, and
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...
, who all provided voices in the series ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
'', were on ''Freakazoid!''. Actors
Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor. He is most notable for portraying Lou Grant on the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977) and drama '' Lou Grant'' (1977–1982), making him one of the few ...
,
Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG ( ; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became widely known for performances ...
,
Larry Cedar Larry Frank Cedar (born March 6, 1955) is an American voice, film and television actor, best known as one of the players of the Children's Television Workshop mathematics show '' Square One TV'' on PBS from 1987 to 1994. He played Max, Alex the ...
,
Jonathan Harris Jonathan Daniel Harris ( Charasuchin; November 6, 1914 – November 3, 2002) was an American character actor whose career included more than 500 television and film appearances, as well as Voice-over, voiceovers. Two of his best-known roles we ...
, and
Stephen Furst Stephen Furst (born Stephen Nelson Feuerstein; May 8, 1954 – June 16, 2017) was an American actor, director and producer. After gaining attention with his featured role as Kent "Flounder" Dorfman in the comedy film '' National Lampoon's A ...
also provided voices for the series. Also, writers
John P. McCann John P. McCann is an American writer, actor and producer who has mostly focused on writing/producing animation and family-friendly scripts in the past. He is best known for his work on television cartoons, for which he has received numerous award ...
and
Paul Rugg Paul Kevin Rugg is an American screenwriter, producer, voice actor, and puppeteer. He is best known for his starring roles in shows like ''Freakazoid!'', ''Pig Goat Banana Cricket'', and ''Earth to Ned''. Biography Rugg has worked extensively ...
(who played Freakazoid) added voices themselves. Casting for the show had been difficult for the ''Freakazoid!'' staff, as no lead character had been found even after extensive auditions. Eventually, when writer Paul Rugg was brought to demonstrate the voice in a recording session, he ended up filling the role, as he said: "I went in there and did it. Then they played it for
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
and he said 'Yep! Fine, sure, great,' and then I panicked ... and I had to do it." Rugg played the role of Freakazoid through the entire series run.


Animation

The animation was outsourced to Animal-ya, Studio Junio, and Tama Production in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, Seoul Movie, Dong Yang Animation, and Koko Enterprises Ltd. in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
.


Music

The music for ''Freakazoid!'' was written by
Richard Stone Sir John Richard Nicholas Stone (30 August 1913 – 6 December 1991) was an eminent British economist. He was educated at Gonville and Caius College and King's College at the University of Cambridge. In 1984, he was awarded the Nobel Memori ...
, Steve Bernstein, Julie Bernstein,
Gordon Goodwin Gordon L. Goodwin (born December 30, 1954) is an American pianist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is the leader of Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. He has won three Daytime Emmy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and 25 Grammy nomina ...
, and Tim Kelly. Stone won a Daytime Emmy with lyricist (and senior producer)
Tom Ruegger Tom Ruegger () is an American animator and songwriter. Ruegger is known for his association with Disney Television Animation and Warner Bros. Animation. He also created ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'', '' Pinky and the Brain'', and '' H ...
for the main title song in 1996. Julie Bernstein was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Original Song in 1998 for the song "Invisibo" from the episode "Freak-a-Panel".


Controversy with Mike Allred's ''Madman''

The show and its lead character was criticized for
plagiarizing Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of anothe ...
the superhero
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
''
Madman Madman or Mad Man may refer to: Film and television * ''The Madman'' (film), a 1911 silent film * ''Madman'' (film), a 1982 horror film * Madman Entertainment, an Australian media distributor In print * The Madman, an essay in Friedrich Nietzsc ...
'' by
Mike Allred Michael Dalton "Mike" Allred (born 1962) is an American Comics artist, comic book artist and writer. He is most well known for his Alternative comics, independent comics creation Madman (Mike Allred character), Madman and for co-creating and dra ...
, asserting that the title characters share several personality traits, they both have blue skin and wear similar costumes featuring a chest emblem including an exclamation mark. During the short run of the show, Allred remained relatively silent on the subject, but in 2003, he responded to a question about the show on the message board of his official website:


Humor

The humor in ''Freakazoid!'' relied heavily on
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...
,
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
, and pop culture references. Due to the series being
metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that inherently reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...
, much of the series was self-aware humor (i.e.
breaking the fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th centu ...
); for instance, after the first appearance of the Freakmobile, the show goes immediately into an impromptu commercial for a toy version, and later in the episode, Freakazoid addresses an audience, congratulating the staff on how hard they have worked to make the show
toyetic ''Toyetic'' is a term referring to the suitability of a media property, such as a cartoon or movie, for merchandising tie-in lines of licensed toys, games, and novelties. The term is attributed to Bernard Loomis, a toy-development executive fo ...
. A running gag involves a repeated credit for "Weena Mercator as the Hopping Woman", though no such character appears in any episode. The show also incorporated humor aimed at the
WB Network The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on b ...
, such as questioning the meaning of the initials "WB". ''Freakazoid!'' made frequent use of
stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...
, including a peaceful scene of a field of flowers ("Relax-O-Vision"), numerous people screaming and traditionally dressed
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
ns dancing and slapping each other ("Candle Jack"), and a man being shot in the belly with a cannonball and a man wrestling a bear ("The Chip").
Cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
s were also a major element of the show's humor. At various times, ''Freakazoid!'' hosted appearances by characters from other Warner Bros. shows such as ''
Pinky and the Brain ''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated sitcom created by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB, as a collaboration of Steven Spielberg with his production company Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Ani ...
'', ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
'' and even an insinuation appearance of
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
from Bruce Timm's animated version. Portrayals of many celebrities (including producer
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
) and guest appearances by such figures as
Jack Valenti Jack Joseph Valenti (September 5, 1921 – April 26, 2007) was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also the longtime president of the Motion Picture Association ...
,
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
and
Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, and the Joker (character), Joker in various animated DC Comics projects, starting with ''Batm ...
as themselves were also commonplace. 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 ''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicting dozens ...
''-esque hunt for his cameos (complete with the number of his appearances announced in the closing credits). One of the show's longest cameo appearances was in the episode "The Freakazoid", where Freakazoid, Wakko from ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
'', and the Brain from ''
Pinky and the Brain ''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated sitcom created by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB, as a collaboration of Steven Spielberg with his production company Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Ani ...
'' argue over which of their shows is
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
's favorite, with Freakazoid arguing that his show was the favorite (''
Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...
'' was not represented in the discussion as it was on
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
at the time, while the others were on
Kids' WB Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming block that originally aired on The WB from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006, and later on The CW from September 23, 2006, to May 17, 2008. Initially launched as a co ...
). When the trio confront Spielberg over the issue, he admits to having no idea who they are.


History


Creation

''Freakazoid!'' was created by animators
Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind '' Batman: ...
, who had previously produced '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and his writing partner
Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American writer, animator, and comic book artist. He has served as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably ''Batman: The Animated Series' ...
, who was also a story editor for ''
Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...
''. Timm was called upon by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
, who Timm said "liked" Timm's ''Batman'' series, to help create a new superhero show. After a meeting with Spielberg, Timm said that Spielberg had "really liked" the idea for the series, after which Timm and Dini created the character Freakazoid, an edgy superhero with a manic personality. Timm came up with the name for the character naturally, as he recalled, "The name 'Freakazoid' just kind of jumped out of me, I don't even know where from. I said 'Oh, yeah, 'Freakazoid', that might be an interesting name.'" Dini and Timm have also discussed their desire to create a TV show about the Creeper, another comic character. Timm originally created ''Freakazoid!'' to be a serious "adventure show" with some comedic undertones. However, his initial idea for the series did not come to be, as he stated: After Timm left the series,
Tom Ruegger Tom Ruegger () is an American animator and songwriter. Ruegger is known for his association with Disney Television Animation and Warner Bros. Animation. He also created ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'', '' Pinky and the Brain'', and '' H ...
, who developed the other Spielberg series ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and ''Animaniacs'', was brought in to re-develop the series Timm had created "from the ground up". Ruegger's version of the series used some of Timm's designs and concepts, but Timm said that the series was "radically altered" to become the comedy series that was more to Spielberg's liking. Ruegger then began writing stories for the series, and came up with a pile of very short segments. Spielberg liked what Ruegger had written, but wanted longer stories for the series as well. Ruegger then asked writers John McCann and
Paul Rugg Paul Kevin Rugg is an American screenwriter, producer, voice actor, and puppeteer. He is best known for his starring roles in shows like ''Freakazoid!'', ''Pig Goat Banana Cricket'', and ''Earth to Ned''. Biography Rugg has worked extensively ...
to come onto the series to write longer, more elaborate stories for the series and, according to Rugg, "(...) figure out what this 'Freakazoid!''was going to be, and the answer was like, 'We didn't know', and still don't".


Premiere, cancellation, and syndication

''Freakazoid!'' premiered on
Kids' WB Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming block that originally aired on The WB from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006, and later on The CW from September 23, 2006, to May 17, 2008. Initially launched as a co ...
's Saturday lineup on September 9, 1995. During its run, ''Freakazoid!'' came across problems of appealing to its target demographic, young children.
Tom Ruegger Tom Ruegger () is an American animator and songwriter. Ruegger is known for his association with Disney Television Animation and Warner Bros. Animation. He also created ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'', '' Pinky and the Brain'', and '' H ...
said that ''Freakazoid!'' had done poorly in ratings because the audience that the series gathered was older than the target audience. Also, ''Freakazoid'' ran into timeslot problems. Writer John McCann said that the time slot of the series changed frequently: "They put it at eight o' clock in the morning, 3:30 in the afternoon, they shifted it all around; we couldn't even find it, and we wrote the thing". The series ran on
Kids' WB Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming block that originally aired on The WB from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006, and later on The CW from September 23, 2006, to May 17, 2008. Initially launched as a co ...
until February 14, 1997, when it was canceled due to poor ratings, airing only one complete season and part of a second season. Rugg said the series' demise was the result of a combination of people not understanding the series, time slot changes, appealing to the wrong demographics, and that "(...) there aren't a lot of Nielsen boxes in federal prisons. Had there been, I'm telling you, we'd still be on the air today". However, the show was later picked up by
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
and was rebroadcast from April 5, 1997, until March 29, 2003. The series had a total number of 24 episodes. In 2006, ''Freakazoid!'' was one of the shows scheduled to be broadcast on the AOL broadband channel,
In2TV In2TV was a website offering ad-supported streaming video of classic TV shows in the United States. It was operated by AOL Time Warner as an outlet for the company's archival television programming. History In2TV was announced in November 20 ...
. The show is currently available to stream for free on
Tubi Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...
. In Italy, ''Freakazoid!'' along with ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'' and ''Pinky and the Brain'', was shown on
RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...
and later
Mediaset Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...
. In Japan, ''Freakazoid!'' along with ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' was shown on
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...
. As of 2016, the show also currently airs on Tooncast. Starting on June 25, 2024, the show aired on
MeTV Toons MeTV Toons is an American broadcast television network owned and operated by Weigel Broadcasting in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on June 25, 2024, as a spin-off of MeTV, the network's programming mainly consists of classic an ...
.


Reception

The series won a
Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...
for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program.
Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind '' Batman: ...
said that the series still has a cult following of fans who ask him questions about the series whenever they meet him. According to Timm, the character's co-creator, he actually has a preference for the second season:


Merchandise


Print

Freakazoid never had his own comic book, but he did make a special guest crossover in issue #35 of the ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
'' comic book published by
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
.


Home video

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
has released the entire series on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in Region 1.


Legacy

The sixth season episode of ''
Teen Titans Go! ''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013, and is based on DC Comics' fictional superhero team the Teen Titans. The series ...
'', "Huggbees", aired on November 14, 2020, and features Freakazoid helping the
Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...
defeat the Lobe and
Brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...
when they join forces. It was mentioned by Freakazoid that Steven Spielberg would have to approve the crossover which led to Robin sending a message to Steven who approves of the crossover. According to Rugg, the production team for the show had sent him a script involving Freakazoid in December 2019 which he approved. The episode has Rugg, David Warner, Ed Asner, and Joe Leahy reprising their respective roles.


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
''Freakazoid!''
at
Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

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