"Freakazoid!" (1995) TV series 1995-1997

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

9 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Comedy

Plot:

Washington, D.C. has a new defender: Freakazoid. The comedy (and sanity) never stops when he's around and he's only one of the weird heroes of the series! It's better than a nice tub of good things!

Plot Keywords:

Cult TV | Teen | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Surrealism | Self Referential

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Paul Rugg	...	Freakazoid / ... (24 episodes, 1995-1997)
Joe Leahy	...	Our Narrator / ... (20 episodes, 1995-1997)
Tress MacNeille	...	Debbie Douglas / ... (19 episodes, 1995-1997)
Edward Asner	...	Sgt. Mike Cosgrove (16 episodes, 1995-1997)
Jeff Bennett	...	Additional Voices / ... (16 episodes, 1995-1997)
Frank Welker	...	Additional Voices / ... (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
John P. McCann	...	Douglas Douglas / ... (12 episodes, 1995-1997)
Maurice LaMarche	...	Longhorn / ... (10 episodes, 1995-1997)

Series Directed by
Peter Shin		(3 episodes, 1996-1997)
Dan Riba		(2 episodes, 1995)
Rich Arons		(2 episodes, 1996-1997)

Series Writing credits
John P. McCann		(8 episodes, 1995-1997)
Paul Dini		(4 episodes, 1995-1996)
Paul Rugg		(4 episodes, 1995-1996)
Tom Ruegger		(2 episodes, 1995)

Series Produced by
Tom Ruegger	....	senior producer (14 episodes, 1995-1997)
Steven Spielberg	....	executive producer (14 episodes, 1995-1997)
Haven Alexander	....	associate producer (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
Laura V. Perrotta	....	associate producer (10 episodes, 1996-1997)
Mitch Schauer	....	producer (9 episodes, 1996)
Rich Arons	....	producer (5 episodes, 1996-1997)
Jean MacCurdy	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Richard Stone		(10 episodes, 1996-1997)
Julie Bernstein		(7 episodes, 1996-1997)
Gordon Goodwin		(5 episodes, 1996-1997)
Steven Bernstein		(3 episodes, 1996-1997)
Tim Kelly		(2 episodes, 1997)

Series Film Editing by
Bradford Keatts		(1 episode, 1997)

Series Casting by
Leslie Lamers		(1 episode, 1997)

Series Production Management
Joey Franks	....	production supervisor (24 episodes, 1995-1997)

Series Art Department
Bruce W. Timm	....	character designer (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
Thomas A. Nelson	....	storyboard artist (5 episodes, 1995-1996)
Allison P. Brown	....	production coordinator (2 episodes, 1996-1997)
Don Shump	....	painter (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Robert Hargreaves	....	sound effects / supervising sound editor (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
Sean Keegan	....	foley mixer (unknown episodes)
Otis Van Osten	....	sound effects editor (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
Alan G. Brown	....	digital production: Animated F/X, Inc. (1 episode, 1997)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Sung-Il Choi	....	head of camera (1 episode, 1997)

Series Animation Department
Todd White	....	character clean-up artist (23 episodes, 1995-1997)
Joe Denton	....	storyboard artist (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
Robert Lizarraga	....	character designer (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
Terry Pike	....	overseas animation supervisor (12 episodes, 1995-1996)
Diane Kredensor	....	storyboard artist (4 episodes, 1995-1996)
Peter Shin	....	animation director (2 episodes, 1996)
Don Shump	....	ink and paint artist (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Al Breitenbach	....	supervising editor (1 episode, 1997)
Bonnie Buckner	....	post-production coordinator (1 episode, 1997)
Bill Fiala	....	post-production assistant (1 episode, 1997)
Pamela MacLaren	....	videotape supervisor (1 episode, 1997)
Mary Nelson-Duerrstein	....	negative cutter (1 episode, 1997)
Bruce Ochmanek	....	on-line editor (1 episode, 1997)
Steve Siracusa	....	assistant editor (1 episode, 1997)
Jay Weinman	....	videotape supervisor (1 episode, 1997)
Denise Whitfield	....	assistant editor (1 episode, 1997)
Mike Williams	....	colorist (1 episode, 1997)

Series Music Department
Bryan Pezzone	....	musician: piano (24 episodes, 1995-1997)
Julie Bernstein	....	orchestrator (unknown episodes)
Tim Boyle	....	score mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Jann A. Adachi	....	client services: post-production (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
Lisa M. Beckwith	....	client services: post-production (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
Jon Fisher	....	client services: post-production (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
Melissa J.L. Smith	....	client services manager (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
Randy Yamanouye	....	client services: post-production (13 episodes, 1995-1996)
Scott Challgren	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Steve Kindernay	....	production coordinator (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Animation
• Amblin Entertainment

Distributors

• CanWest Global Communications
• Kids' WB
• WB Television Network, The (1995-1997) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD) (season 1)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (season 2)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

30 min (24 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | USA:TV-G

Company:

Warner Bros. Animation

Trivia:

The bug Dexter's computer exhibits is a parody of the FDIV bug that plagued the first run of the Intel Pentium CPUs in the early 1990s, which made headlines when technical users complained about it (and eventually got their CPUs replaced under warranty).

Quotes:

[Left alone at a "Gulliver" show]
Professor Jones:Freakazoid? Where are you?
[pause]
Professor Jones:Oh, the pain, the pain.
[c.f. "Lost in Space" (1965)]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews: Megamind (#3.10)" (2010)

"I must succeed!"

Freakazoid! is not as well known as Tiny Toons or Animaniacs, but was at least their equal in laughs and creativity. It was a great show with hilarious characters, a mix of sly, self-referential humor and utter absurdity. The quality of the animation varied wildly from episode to episode, possibly the latter shows were created more cheaply to stretch the budget when they found out they were not being renewed. Whereas the animation did fluctuate, the writing was never less than inspired. Highlights include the Johnny Quest parody, the running "poo gas" joke, and any episode with the Lobe. My favorite is a short piece featuring Freakazoid's new sidekick, a sock puppet. This episode is laugh out loud funny with innuendo I'm amazed got past the censor. Try and catch any episodes if Cartoon Network again reruns them, or if, miraculously, a DVD is released. They are well worth it.