DVD Corner

Courage The Cowardly Dog Season 2 DVD Review

“Courage The Cowardly Dog” is good in small doses.

In the 13 episode second season of this oddball cartoon series, the weird adventures of the cheery Muriel, the grumpy Eustace, and the panicky, stressed out Courage in Nowhere, Kansas continue. Among the plots you can expect here are: a wishing tree, a robot named Randy (who sounds like Christopher Walken), a Chihuahua (Shirley) cursing Eustace, Courage and the family staying at a cockroach’s (Schwick) place in NY, a burglar, Courage and the Bagges traveling to the future, a mummy, a magical gem that causes invisibility, the villainous Doc Gerbil, Le Quack, phantom, Katz and Dr. Zalost, a sun fixing mission, Courage turning into a fly, a living computer, a gold hat, the growth industry, a cruise gone awry, Eustace turning into a kangaroo monster, Muriel becoming grumpy, the old west, an evil weevil, a spirit, and a sand whale.

From 1999 to its final season in 2002, I had always heard about the Cartoon Network series “Courage the Cowardly Dog,” but had never seen a single episode. Having now viewed an entire series, it’s easy to see why this animated series has become a popular cult classic over the years. The series is both refreshingly unpredictable and routine if that makes any sense. It’s unpredictable in that two of the leads are an elderly couple (Muriel and Eustace Bagge) and it’s unpredictable in that you never know what kind of weird character will appear next, but it’s routine in that there’s a clear storytelling formula to all of this surreal weirdness. Unfortunately, the routine elements make the show feel a bit tiresome at times. After all, there are only so many weird animal villain of the week characters and Courage’s bad luck stories one can take. Truth be told, if ‘Courage’ were made in this day and age, it would work much more strongly as a series of shorts so as to not wear out the premise and characters.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: Fullscreen. How does it look? The interesting animation style (with some live action bits thrown in) looks solid in standard definition.

Audio Track: Dolby Digital Stereo. How does it sound? The sound f/x, music, and voice work are sharp.

No extras have been included.

Overall Thoughts: While perhaps not all that it’s cracked up to be, “Courage The Cowardly Dog” still offers up enough unique elements to warrant a viewing. Where else can you see out there moments like banana people or a sea serpent that sings opera?

November 4, 2014 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Courage The Cowardly Dog Season 2 DVD Review