Freakazoid! is an American superhero comedy animated television series created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and developed by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB. The series chronicles the adventures of the title character, Freakazoid, a crazy teenage superhero who fights crime in Washington, D.C. It also features mini-episodes about the adventures of other superheroes. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation and Amblin Entertainment, being the third animated series produced through the collaboration of Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Animation after Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs.
Bruce Timm, best known as a producer of the DC Animated Universe, originally intended for the series to be a straightforward superhero action-adventure cartoon with comic overtones, but executive producer 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, having a unique style of humor that includes slapstick, fourth wall breaking, parody, surreal humour, and pop culture references.
The series was among the five cartoons that helped launch The WB's children's programming block, Kids' WB on September 9, 1995, alongside Animaniacs (acquired after its cancellation by Fox), The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, Pinky and the Brain, and Earthworm Jim. The series lasted for two seasons across 24 episodes, with the final episode airing on June 1, 1997. Although the series originally struggled in the ratings, reruns on Cartoon Network and a fan following elevated it to become a cult hit. Warner Bros. considered renewing the series for a third season, but deemed it to be too expensive. The show also ranked #53 on IGNs Top 100 Animated Series list.
Background The show's title character is the superhero alter ego of geeky 16/17-year-old Dexter Douglas, a student of Harry Connick Jr. High School. His name alludes to the alliterative names that superheroes commonly have. Dexter gains his abilities from a computer bug activated by a secret key sequence accidentally typed by Dexter's cat, Mr. Chubbikins. 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 Batcave built by his mute butler Ingmar, which contains a "Hall of Nifty Things to Know" and a mad scientist lab. His greatest weakness, as he explains to the head of Apex Microchips, Armando Guitierrez, is graphite bars charged with negative ions. He also expresses a great aversion to "poo gas".
Freakazoid also has several other abilities; he once developed telekinesis 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 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., the locale often varies with its humor, taking Freakazoid to locations around the world.
Episodes
Characters Freakazoid (voiced by Paul Rugg) is the protagonist of the series. He is the alter ego of geeky 16-year-old computer ace Dexter Douglas (voiced by David Kaufman), a student of Harry Connick Jr. 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) is Dexter's mother. She is unaware he is Freakazoid and is generally blithe and clueless. Douglas Douglas (voiced by John P. McCann) is Dexter's father. He is incompetent but still attempts to keep his family in line. Duncan Douglas (voiced by Googy Gress) is 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) is the Douglas family's 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) is 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) is 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. Steff (voiced by Tracy Rowe) is 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) is a mysterious European agent who takes Freakazoid to Professor Heiney's lab. Professor Heiney (voiced by Ed Gilbert) is a scientist with a lab in the mountains, where he researches and kills monsters. Ingmar is Freakazoid's mute butler, who built and maintains the Freakalair. In the episode "Mission: Freakazoid", Ingmar quits to become a rodeo clown and is replaced with Professor Jones. Professor Jones (voiced by Jonathan Harris) is a snooty and cowardly man, who replaces his old friend Ingmar as Freakazoid's butler. Jones does not get along well with Cosgrove and gets little respect from others. He is a parody of Dr. Zachary Smith, Harris' character from Lost in Space, acknowledged by several characters asking him if he was in a TV show with a robot. Joe Leahy (voiced by himself) is the show's vocal narrator and announcer. Freakazette is a female counterpart to Freakazoid who only appears in the segment "Freakazoid and Friends". Foamy the Freakadog (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) is a vicious, rabid dog who Freakazoid frees from a dogcatcher's van and briefly adopts as his sidekick. Handman (voiced by Paul Rugg) is 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) is Freakazoid's sidekick in "And Fanboy Is His Name". He is hospitalized after Milk Man bruises his clavicle and is released from Freakazoid's service.
Enemies Freakazoid! features several campy villains in his rogues gallery:
The Lobe (voiced by David Warner) is 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 to turn the world into clowns, despite being impressed by it after he leaves. Medulla (voiced by Jeff Bennett in "Dexter's Date", Maurice LaMarche in "Normadeus") and Oblongata (voiced by Larry Cedar) are the Lobe's henchmen. Cobra Queen (voiced by Tress MacNeille), real name Audrey Manatee, is a former shoplifter who was transformed into a humanoid with reptile-like features after stealing an experimental expired cosmetic. In later episodes, she and Cave Guy are shown to be dating. The Giant Snakes (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) are three giant-size snakes that are the pets of Cobra Queen and assist her in her criminal activity. Cave Guy (voiced by Jeff Bennett), real name Royce Mumphry, is a thuggish blue-skinned caveman with upper-class diction and taste. He speaks in a stereotypical WASP tone based on Jim Backus. Later episodes have Cave Guy in a relationship with Cobra Queen. Longhorn (voiced by Maurice LaMarche), real name Jubal "Bull" Nixon, is a former employee of the Johnny Cat cat litter company who turned to crime and later transformed himself into a humanoid Texas Longhorn 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) is Longhorn's henchman. Armando Guitierrez (voiced by Ricardo Montalbán) is 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) is Guitierrez's inarticulate henchman. Candle Jack (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a supernatural villain with a burlap sack covering his head who abducts anyone who says his name aloud. Waylon Jeepers (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a man from Venice Beach who created the Medusa Watch, which can turn people and pigeons into stone. He is obsessed with the supernatural and is well acquainted with several monsters, including Count Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Loch Ness Monster. His voice is an impersonation of Vincent Price. Invisibo (voiced by Corey Burton) is an ancient Egyptian pharaoh originally known as Ahmon Kor-Unch, 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) is a slimy monster who attacks Steff in the cold opening of episode 9. The Nerdator (voiced by Aron Kincaid) is a man who plans to kidnap all of the nerds 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. Arms Akimbo (voiced by John Schuck) is a spoiled model turned extortionist 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 racketeering which mainly consists of him breaking valuable things. His voice is an impersonation of Edward G. Robinson. The Milk Man is a milk-themed villain with a milk bottle-shaped cannon attached to a backpack. Freakazoid and Expendable Lad fight Milk Man in "And Fanboy Is His Name". He injures Expendable Lad's clavicle, resulting in him retiring. Deadpan (voiced by Bebe Neuwirth) is a plain-looking, shapeshifting supervillainess with a monotonous voice. She appears in the cold opening of "The Wrath of Guitierrez", where she plans to pose as Freakazoid, but is immediately exposed when Freakazoid walks by.