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Looking back on the main cartoon shows of the 1980s, many critics of that era dismiss most of them as being 30 minute toy commercials. Despite any opinions for or against this claim, one major show was not a part of this promotional frenzy, presumably due to it being produced outside of America. This unmistakably British cartoon was Danger Mouse.

Toy-based cartoons of the day were focused primarily on action and adventure (with some moral lesson forced into the story) but Dangermouse moved more in the direction of classic cartoons like Bugs Bunny, with amusing absurdity. The show was a mockery of the secret agent genre of films served with brilliantly droll British humor reminiscent of the great Monty Python.

Though the series featured a relatively small cast of regular characters, each carried themselves in providing the comedy. Isenbard, the narrator, was consistently funny in frequently expressing his contempt for the show in his narrative. Penfold was the perfect foil as a cowardly sidekick with a knack for terrible puns. Colonel K was hilariously inept at being Dangermouse’s commander. On the side of evil, Baron Silas Greenback is the perfect villain: a pretentious megalomaniac with consistently insane plots to rule the world. His noisy, twitchy pet Nero, with his silky white coat of fur, looks like an expensive caterpillar of high breeding – a perfect companion for Greenback.

Stiletto, Greenback’s henchman, was as funny as any character on the show in both his incarnations; he was portrayed as a mafia menace for audiences east of the Atlantic but was given a Cockney accent to appease the American audiences who might take offense at a possible Italian stereotype. Then there was Greenback’s rival, the kooky scientist/inventor Doctor Crumhorn (full name: Aloisius Julian Philibert Elphinstone Eugene Dionysis Barry Manilow Crumhorn) voiced by Jimmy Hibbert, who was a welcome addition to the later seasons.

Though the series stands out among its contemporaries, it stands up well in its own right.

Top Ten Episode List

1. The Great Bone Idol – Duckula steals the show in this one. Unlike the good natured, well spoken protagonist of his own series, the vampire duck in this show is a madcap villain with  Looney Tunes-inspired speech impairments – tongue razzing and stuttering.  He’s more often a nuisance than an actual villain here, as he’s only doing Greenback’s dirty work.

A memorably hilarious scene involves a locked box with a sign warning that the item in the box is guarded by six fierce crocodiles. DM rationalizes that there’s no way even one crocodile could fit in the box, yet when he springs the lock, six crocodile heads emerge from the box, all roaring and viciously snapping their toothy jaws at him. DM, not even remotely disturbed by this, asks politely if one of them may be sitting on the item in the box. They continue snapping at him, prompting DM to tie all their mouths shut. Duckula is outraged that his minions were so easily defeated. Hopping mad, he chastises them: “This week, henchmen! – Next week, handbags!”

2. The Return of Count Duckula – Yes, another Duckula episode – and this time he’s got the villain spotlight all to himself  – no Baron Greenback giving him orders. This is the episode where he hypnotizes people into being showmen and performers against their will. Duckula insists he will not relent until he get his own TV show. Though at the end of the episode, he was duped by Agent 57 disguised as a Hollywood agent, we all know the real life outcome. He was, in fact, given his own show!

3. Tiptoe through the Penfolds – This is a quick, one-parter with a simple plot. Greenback has invented a device capable of producing an infinite number of Penfolds. His intention is to keep Dangermouse confused as he commits crimes. His machine goes haywire and mass-produces Penfold clones at an alarming rate.

4. Multiplication Fable – Alien creatures reminiscent of Star Trek’s tribbles multiply like mad amidst DM’s and Penfold’s struggle to capture them all and keep them contained. It’s only penfold’s ability to tapdance that saves the day!

5. Quark! Quark! – This episode is worthy of mention because it brought two memorable ancillary characters to the series – the Alien J.J. Quark and his robot henchman, Grovel. It’s a pity there weren’t more episodes made with these two in them.

6. Penfold Transformed – Professor Crumhorn creates a robotic penfold, indistinguishable from the real Penfold, apart from his intelligence, and helpfulness. He plans to transform the robot into a powerful weapon. Greenback becomes aware of Crumhorn’s plot, and sends Stiletto, disguised as Penfold to spy on DM and Crumhorn’s robot. Meanwhile, the real penfold remains locked up in Crumhorn’s headquarters, where his only hope is to escape.

7. Don Coyote and Sancho Penfold – A trip to Spain results in Penfold being kidnapped by a Don Quixote figure in canine form. His enlists Penfold as his sidekick to fight against a windmill that is actually a cover for Greenbacks invention to siphon crops from local farms.

8. Custard – One of many outer space adventures begins as Greenback threatens to flood the world with Custard. Off-the-wall humor and Monty Python style animation make this early episode a gem.

9. The Oddball Run Around – In this one, DM and Penfold struggle to their wit’s ends to retrieve a rugby ball that supposedly contains within it top secret plans. Watching the cartoonish abuse they go through is a riot.

10. The Mystery of The Lost Chord – the pilot episode which was later redone as “Who Stole the Bagpipes?” Greenback steals all the bagpipes in Scotland to create a machine that uses sheer volume as a destructive device. Subtle music jokes contained in this episode were left out of the remakes.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tribute to the one-eyed white wonder of the world.

If humorous adventures are your style, check out the Rocky and Bullwinkle show!