Catscratch
Encyclopedia : C : CA : CAT : Catscratch
Catscratch is an American animated television series created by Doug TenNapel airing on Nickelodeon in 2005. It is a light-hearted adaptation of TenNapel's graphic novel, Gear. The series features music composed by longtime TenNapel collaborator, Terry Scott Taylor. Catscratch's first DVD appearance was on Nick Picks which came out February 7, 2006 (though the DVD featured "Bringin' Down the Mouse").
Description
Mr. Blik, Gordon and Waffle were raised in a mega-mansion by Mrs. Edna Cramdilly who left the three her house and every penny of her fortune when she died. But Mr. Blik, Gordon and Waffle aren't her grandsons, they're cats. The brothers live a life of freedom, adventure and usually total mayhem. Whether they're taking on ferocious bears, mythical sea creatures, zombies, giant robots or aliens, these wealthy felines just can't keep out of trouble.Characters
Mr. Blik - (voiced by Tarzan, Seinfeld and Xiaolin Showdown's Wayne Knight):Mr. Blik is the self-appointed leader of the group and most likely the oldest. He's bossy and brash, but when it comes to brawn, he's a big wuss who's happy to let other people (or felines) fight his battles. Mr. Blik is proud of his newly inherited riches and spends his money on anything and everything that spells respect and power: a bathtub full of root beer, a huge ice sculpture of himself, ear massages, and solid gold sunglasses, to name a few. Is that too much to ask for? Mr. Blik doesn't think so! Blik liked the Human Kimberly, and still likes Katilda. He speaks with a bit of a New York accent.Gordon - (voiced by Animaniacs! Rob Paulsen): Gordon's full of heart, totally honorable and forever loyal. Though he comes across as a tough cookie, Gordon's really a softy, especially when it comes to the girl next door, Kimberly. He speaks with a thick Scottish accent. Gordon's got some interesting eating habits. He's known to get more food on the floor than in his mouth. At the end of the day this cat is just looking to keep his house and keep the peace, especially if it involves a good fight! Don't even give him broccoli or chocolates, because he'll turn into a beast (he's highly allergic to both). Even though he talks as though he were from Scotland, he was born in the mansion's laundry room along with his brothers. He seems to be the middle brother out of the three.
Waffle - (voiced by Lilo & Stitch's Kevin McDonald, also one of the Kids in the Hall and Invader Zim's Almighty Tallest Purple):Waffle isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. He's extremely enthusiastic, goofy and giddy, but he's just about as dumb as they come. Waffle is a free spirit who's overly optimistic and is a bit of a pushover. He gets super-excited about all things silly and comes up with seriously lame lies. Waffle has been wowed by revolving doors, wishes roller coasters were public transportation, would eat donuts straight from donut trees (if there were such a thing) and he'd love to smell the flowers printed on your shirt. Oh, and he really loves his pet newts. If he were to be compared to a Disney character, he would have Goofy's personality. He is considered to be the youngest of the three cat brothers, although this is unconfirmed. When excited he usually yells the name "Spleee!", after hearing Gordon mention "Splee" in a fairy tale about a man, his prize-winning ribs, and a seal woman.
Human Kimberly - (voiced by Lilo & Stitch's Liliana Mumy): Human Kimberly's an 8-year-old with a lot of heart and one of the few human friends the cats have. She doesn't think the guys are greedy, she just accepts her feline neighbors for who they are and sees the good in their fur-covered hearts. But she's completely unaware of the giant crush Gordon has on her.
Hovis - (voiced by Pinky and the Brain's Maurice LaMarche): Hovis was Mrs. Cramdilly's butler and he's stayed on to see after the cats and collect his measly paychecks. He's not exactly thrilled about his new situation, but he hails from a long line of butlers who have served in the house and he honestly believes he's got nowhere else to go. So Hovis puts up the fact that the former pets have become his masters. Blik barks out orders constantly, Gordon treats him as an equal and Waffle hasn't quite figured out he's not a pet anymore (he's still asks to be let out and scratched behind his ears). Hovis (badly) plays the tuba. In one episode, Hovis became tired of the cats bossing him around. He decided to take a day off by dressing up as Mrs. Cramadilly at the picture frame to look like she is a ghost. He tells the cats that he will get everything the cats own like their car, fortune, and bedroom. Hovis almost succeeded when the cats almost kill him at the fireplace, who confesses his plan. In another episode, Hovis had been finding a world for years, and takes up the guise of Dragon Rider. He was defeated by the brothers (mainly Waffle) and he explained he thought it was the only place he was in charge.
Gear - Gear is the cats' Monster Truck. A simple and solid perk of wealth, this massive machine is adored by the brothers for all its audacious guy-ness. Their pride in blasting down the street aboard their beloved Gear is an equal mix of devil-may-care attitude and obliviousness.
Randall (The Bear) - (voiced by The Land Before Time's Rob Paulsen) - A recurring gag involves the cats crossing paths with the bear. These meetings usually end with them being mauled and/or eaten.
Squeakus (the Mouse) - (voiced by MADtv's Phil LaMarr) - An evil rodent and an uncatchable mouse (according to Gordon). He used to be Waffle's friend. He tricked Waffle into thinking that Gordon and Blik are mice by putting a picture of them at the mouse picture in the dictionary. Waffle later finds out that Squeakus is the mice and Waffle defeated him via rancid cat breath.
The Kraken (the Squid) - (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - A giant squid who was defeated by Gordon. Gordon was to have a new tail but he wished for Blik to have a new tail instead. However, because of Gordon, he was exiled from his homeworld and later, he regained his honor.
Barkmeat (the dog) - (voiced by Clancy Brown) - A dog that Waffle runs across when he ran away from the other cats. He promised the cats that he would return one day.
Bootsy - (voiced by Ben 10's Richard McGonagle) - An alley cat who bullied Mr. Blik. He turned out to be the Chumpy Chumps cat in the end of "My Bodyguards".
Chumpy Chumps - (Tad and Lunk are voiced by Futurama's John DiMaggio and Luther is voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - The cats' rivals. They have a cat named Bootsy. Tad is the one with the red jacket, Lunk is the one with the grey shirt and Luther is the one with the white shirt.
Mitchell the Mammoth - (voiced by Scooby Doo's Frank Welker and Totally Spies' Jess Harnell) - A mammoth who was frozen in an iceberg until it thawed because of the sun. The mammoth thought Blik is his mother. He resembles Manny the Mammoth from Ice Age.
Mrs. Edna Cramdilly - (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - The owner of Blik, Gordon and Waffle until she died. Hovis was her butler until she died, at which his employment shifted to the cats.
Katilda - (voiced by ChalkZone's Hynden Walch) - The cats' new neighbor who loves adventures. It has been confirmed by Doug TenNapel that she will have more appearances in the future. Mr.Blik has a huge crush on her, Katilda knows this and teases him for it.
Comics
Confirmed by an e-mail from Doug Tennapel, there are a few 2 page Catscratch comics in the works for Nick Magazine. The first one appeared in the December/January 2005 issue. The second appeared in the March 2006 issue.All people that guest starred in Catscratch episodes
- Phil LaMarr
- Maurice LaMarche
- Rob Paulsen
- Wayne Knight
- John DiMaggio
- Tress MacNeille
- Tom Kenny
- Clancy Brown
- Andrea Libman
- Frank Welker
- Candi Milo
- Jim Ward
- Andy Dick
- S. Scott Bullock
- Kevin McDonald
- Tia Carrere
- Jeff Bennett
- Richard McGonagle
- Daveigh Chase
- Kevin Michael Richardson
- Jess Harnell
- Jennifer Elise Cox
- Jim Cummings
- Pearce Bunting
- Christie Mellor
- Hynden Walch
Episode Trivia
Bringin' Down the Mouse- This episode's title is a pun on "Bringin' Down the House."
- A running gag in this episode: Mr.Blik and Waffle will occasionally get their heads stuck in a tree.
- When Blik gets back his unicorn mask, before he wears it, he looks like a centaur.
- A lot of the racing scenes are from Speed Racer, which once aired on Nickeledeon.
- The stadium the cats go to resembles The NASCAR Races Stadium.
- The race was called "The Bakersfield 500", suggesting the show could take place in Bakersfield, California.
- "Paging Doctor Girard. Paging Doctor Girard." This is said over the loud speaker in the hospital in this episode. This is a reference to Michael Girard, the director of the show.
- The two Ambulence medics have the appearance of Don Knots
- The hangar the cats run into to inflate themselves is Hanger 18. It is a reference to the film of the same name, and thusly they song of the same title by the band Megadeth.
- The parade music is the same as the theme song, without the lyrics.
- When it shows the commercial for Burpo's, the root beer company, the curtain with the two children and the root beer bottle in the middle, slightly resembles the sign from the "Log" commercial from the cartoon The Ren and Stimpy Show.
- Catscratch should be set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since the tower Randall goes to the top is similar to the One Liberty Place building. Also, the city bears a resemblance to Philadelphia.
- The scooter in this episode says Pizza King. This is a reference to Pizza Hut and Burger King.
- Bill Champsley is either voiced by Dwight Schultz, Corey Burton, Jim Ward, S. Scott Bullock, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Jon Stewart, Tim Russert or Al Gore.
- When Waffle says Blik is a killing Machine from the Future, it could be a reference from the Terminator movie.
- Several scenes where Gordon and Waffle drive their car to get away from Blik spoof the American 1998 film Godzilla.
- Bootsy seems to be voiced by Richard McGonagle. Bootsy and Fourarms of Ben 10 both have the same voice. Also, Bootsy possibly has Fourarms's strength.
- This episode probably confirms that Catscratch is set in Philadelphia.
- The Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower are featured.
- Catscratch was supposed to take place in New York, but is now set in Philadelphia, as the Statue of Liberty appeared.
- The giant robot that Mr. Blik, Gordon and Waffle use to fight the three robots looks just like the robot from the comic "Gear".
- The music that plays while Mr. Blik, Gordon and Waffle are employees at the ice cream shop is reminiscent of the music from the computer game "The Neverhood", also created by Doug TenNapel.
- The music that plays whi�A�Aaffle is playing Hide-And-Seek is reminiscent of the music from the computer game "The Neverhood", also created by Doug TenNapel.
- When Katilda calls the car a monster, it is a possible reference to Warriors, which calls cars monsters. This can be further supported by the fact they are cats.
- The Dragon Rider Hovis disguises as could be a reference to the book Dragon Rider or Eragon.
- At King Waffle's castle, the clouds are more like Tetris pieces
Episodes
Other trivia
- The creator of Catscratch, Doug TenNapel, is credited for being the creator of Earthworm Jim.
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.