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Freakazoid!
File:Freakazoid.jpgSuper-teen extraordinaire.
Created by	Steven Spielberg Bruce Timm Paul Dini
Starring	Paul Rugg Edward Asner David Kaufman John P. McCann Tress MacNeille Googy Gress Tracy Rowe Craig Ferguson Jonathan Harris Frank Welker Jeff Glen Bennett Ricardo Montalban David Warner Maurice LaMarche Stephen Furst Stan Freberg Larry Cedar Corey Burton Joe Leahy
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	24 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	approx. 0:30 (per episode)
Original release
Network	Kids' WB!
Release	September 9, 1995 – June 1, 1997

Steven Spielberg presents Freakazoid! is an American animated television series, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation that aired for two seasons from September 9, 1995 to June 1 1997. Then, after cancellation, reruns aired on Cartoon Network until March 8, 2003. 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.

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.

Background

Premise

The show's title character is the superhero alter ego of geeky teenager Dexter Douglas. Gaining his abilities from a 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 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 aversion to "poo gas."

Dexter can change into and out of Freakazoid at will with the words "Freak out!" and "Freak in!" When not in Freakazoid mode, Dexter looks and acts completely normal, and his family is unaware that anything has happened to him.

The "secret key sequence" that must be typed for the computer bug to become active begins with: "@\&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.

Creation

Freakazoid! was created by animator Bruce Timm, who had originally intended for the series to be a more serious "adventure show." Timm was called upon by Steven Spielberg, who Timm said "liked" Batman (a series on which Timm and his team worked) to help create a new show. After a meeting with Spielberg, Timm said that Spielberg had "really liked" the idea for Freakazoid!. However, Timm’s initial idea for the series did not come to be, as Timm stated:

I don't mind that it's not on my résumé. I bailed on it really early. It started out as an adventure show, but it ended up turning into more & more of a comedy show; every time we'd have a meeting with Steven, the concept would kinda change, and it kept leaning more & more towards zany comedy. It really started out almost like Spider-Man, on that level of, like, a teenage superhero. And it reached a point where it became a comedy with the Tiny Toons/Animaniacs kind of humor. (...) I don't have anything against that; I just don't have a flair for it, so I bailed — I just hung out here while my staff had to do the show.

Characters

Enemies

Freakazoid! features a number of campy villains and enemies, including:

• The Lobe (voiced by David Warner), a super genius whose entire head appears to be a giant brain. 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 (voiced by Jeff Glen Bennett), a thuggish blue caveman with upper-class diction, education, and taste. 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 (voiced by Tress MacNeille), 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. 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 (voiced by Maurice LaMarche), a trucker and cat litter thief who underwent plastic surgery to make him resemble a longhorn bull. He loves country music and his truck, "Bessie Mae". Longhorn often seems to be angry; his voice resembles that of Johnny Cash.
• Armando Guitierrez (voiced by Ricardo Montalban), the eyepached 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, 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 abducts anyone who says his name before they have a chance to finish their sentence and often parts of words. He often floats around rather than walking.
• 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(voiced by Maurice LaMarche), 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 and we already had a title card made up". 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.

• 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, she shrivels, dies, and becomes a pile of dust. Her name is a play off of the cosmetics giant Mary Kay.
• Janos Ivnovels (voiced by Jim Cummings), the ruthless dictator of Vuka Nova and minister of state security. He is responsible for capturing Freakazoid's family and the mime and imprisoning them in the High-Security Wing of Chesky Beresch Prison, the toughest prison in Europe. His subordinate is Colonel Anton Mohans (voiced by Larry Cedar), a vicious thug who finds it relaxing when Janos tortures his prisoners. Janos and Anton were defeated after Freakazoid and his friends rescued the Douglas Family and the mime. Janos and Anton were forced to be entertained by the mime and his friends until they perished. He is a one-time villain, having appeared in "Mission: Freakazoid!".
• Dr. Mystico (voiced by Tim Curry), who turns orangutauns into human-like beings in parody of H. G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau.

Allies

Aiding Freakazoid in his surrealistic battles are:

• Sgt. Mike Cosgrove (voiced by (and physically resembles) Ed Asner), 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).
• Roddy MacStew (voiced by Craig Ferguson), Freakazoid's mentor, expositionist, and driving instructor; an ill-tempered Scotsman 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 (voiced by Tracy Rowe), Freakazoid's perky blonde girlfriend; 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 (voiced by Jonathan Harris), a snooty, cowardly manservant, 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). Never seen in the show.
• Foamy the Freakadog (voiced by Frank Welker), 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 (voiced by Paul Rugg), 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, D.C.
• 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!"
• Emmitt (pictured), usually shows up once an episode, usually in the background. He stands looking at the camera (as pictured), never saying a word. Sometimes things happen to him directly, like birds pecking his head or lazer beams shooting just above his head.

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. His theme song is delivered in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan.
• 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. Their only segment involves them saving a boy being bullied about his weight, only to bully him themselves when he won't give up his lunchbox. Fatman also makes an appearance at the end of an episode, where it is revealed the entire episode is a story book being read by Fatman to children.

Production

Voicing

The voice actors of the show Freakazoid! included various actors from other television series and films. Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Jeff Glen Bennett, and Frank Welker, who all provided voices in the series Animaniacs, were on Freakazoid!. Actors Edward Asner, Ricardo Montalbán, Larry Cedar, Jonathan Harris, and Stephen Furst also provided voices for the series. Also, writers John McCann and Paul Rugg (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 and he said 'Yep! Fine, sure, great,' and then I panicked ... and I had to do it." Rugg had played the role of Freakazoid though the entire series run.

Controversy with Mike Allred's Madman

• 

  This show and its lead character have been criticized as being plagiarism of the comic book Madman by the creator of Madman, Mike Allred. Both titular characters share several personality traits, and, according to Allred, wear similar costumes, 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 to a question about the show on the messageboard of his official website:

Bruce Timm was kind enough to tell me that Madman was a direct inspiration for the show--with comics open and referred to when developing the show.

Stupidly, I was flattered--happy to inspire anything. But when the show came out--with no aknowledgement or credit or any kind of compensation--I slowly became annoyed as everyone and their uncle confronted me with "there's this cartoon that's ripping off Madman" and "you outtah sue".

I simply wrote a friendly letter to Steven Spielberg telling him his production was a direct lift of my creation, I had no intention of creating ripples--I just wanted him to know that I knew. No one replied--which is fine. And to be honest, Madman is an amalgam of a half a dozen other influences. So who am I to complain (the exclamation mark on the chest still kindah urks me a little though. A little too close for comfort).

Humor

The humor in Freakazoid! relied heavily on slapstick, parody, and obscure cultural references. Due to the lack of a proper fourth wall, much of the series was self-aware humor; 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. 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.

Cameo appearances were also a large source of the show's humor. 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).

One of the show's longest cameo appearances was when Wakko (From Animaniacs) & Brain (From Pinky and the Brain) appeared in a scene with in which 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?"

Merchandise

Print

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.

DVD

Although no DVD has been officially announced, according to a recent online chat with Warner Home Video, the studio is "evaluating a Freakazoid release" on DVD.

Media information

Freakazoid! premiered on Kids' WB Saturday lineup on September 9, 1995. The series ran on Kids' WB until November 29, 1996, when it was cancelled due to low ratings, lasting one complete season and part of a second season. However, the show was later picked up by Cartoon Network and was rebroadcast from January 31, 1997 until March 8, 2003. The series had a total number of 24 episodes. Recently, Freakazoid!, among other shows, was scheduled to be broadcast on the AOL broadband channel, In2TV. However, Freakazoid! is no longer a featured series on the site.

References

1. ^ Lenburg, p. 520
2. ^ Lamken, Saner (2000), "The Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Timm! Bruce Timm Interviewed by Brian Saner Lamken", Comicology, no. 1, TwoMorrows {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |accesdate= (help)
3. ^ Rogers, Brett (1996), "Freaking Out With Paul Rugg", Animato!, no. 36 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |accesdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
4. Allred, Mike (2003-11-07). "Re: Freakazoid". Mike Allred Message Board. Retrieved 2007-05-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Moore, Jennifer; Sean Carolan (w), Batic, Leonardo (p), McRae, Scott (i). "Tour DeFreak" Animaniacs!, no. 35, p. 1-19 (March, 1998). DC Comics.
6. Lacey, Gord (2006-06-07). "Site News - Home Theater Forum Warner Bros. Transcript - Part 1". TVShowsonDVD.com. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. "AOL to Launch New Video Portal". TimeWarner Newsroom. TimeWarner. 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2007-06-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Further reading

• Lenburg, Jeff (1999). "Steven Spielberg Presents Freakazoid! ". The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. New York, New York: Checkmark Books. p. 520. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter |Edition= ignored (|edition= suggested) (help)

External links

• Messageboard of comic creator Mike Allred in which he responds to questions of whether Freakazoid! is plagiarism of his comic Madman.
• Jaime J. Weinman's article on Freakazoid and its development
• Interview with character designer Bruce Timm
• Brett D. Rogers's article on Paul Rugg
• Freakazoid Fan Site with a few rare downloads

• Animated television series
• 1990s American television series
• 1995 television program debuts
• Kids WB shows
• Warner Bros. Cartoons
• Fictional characters from Washington, D.C.
• Television shows set in Washington, D.C.
• Television series by Warner Bros. Television
• Digital Archive Project