CatDog is an American animated television series created by Peter Hannan for Nickelodeon. The series depicts the life of conjoined brothers, with one half being a cat and the other a dog. Nickelodeon produced the series from Burbank, California. The first episode aired on April 4, 1998 (following the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards), before the show officially premiered in October that year.
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The series aired on Nickelodeon from April 4, 1998, to June 15, 2005, for four seasons and 68 episodes. The series was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Peter Hannan Productions and has been released on DVD.
Plot
Conjoined siblings - one a dog, the other a cat - deal with the unique challenges of their existence. Cat, the more clever of the two, frequently has a plan or a scheme in the works, and more often than not, that scheme goes awry. Together, the brothers face constant ridicule from the Greaser Dogs, as well as from Winslow, a mouse that lives in the wall of their house. Cat longs for fame and fortune, while Dog is happy chasing garbage trucks - a pursuit that always ends with Cat being towed helplessly along as Dog runs headlong after the next truck.
Hi-Ho-Diggity Qualities
- The idea of a conjoined cat and dog, while very weird, is interesting.
- Many memorable characters:
- Cat
- Dog
- Winslow (despite being unlikeable at times)
- The Greaser Dogs (Cliff, Lube, and Shriek)
- Rancid Rabbit
- Lola Caricola
- Mervis
- Dunglop
- Randolf Grant
- Mr. Sunshine
- Eddie the Squirrel
- Cat and Dog are both likable characters that have opposite personalities and work off each other very well.
- Unlike many sadist shows, it decently manages to pull off sadistic humor pretty well.
- Amusing slapstick.
- A catchy bluegrass theme song as well as amazing music.
- Very smooth animation by Rough Draft Studios with a neat artstyle.
- The voice acting is very good, as it utilizes the talents of Tom Kenny, Jim Cummings, and many more.
- Decent episode plots, such as Cat and Dog trying to sneak back into a taco restaurant they were banned from.
- It even had a movie called CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery, which reveals Cat and Dog's tragic backstory: they were separated from their foster parents when they were babies.
- There were many great and action packed episodes of the series:
- "All You Can't Eat" (Episode 3)
- "The Island" (Episode 6)
- "Fishing for Trouble" (Episode 43)
- "Adventures In Greaser Sitting" (Episode 49)
- "Dog Ate It" (Episode 57)
- "Showdown At Hole 18" (Episode 64)
- "A Very CatDog Christmas" (Episode 78)
- "Sweet and Lola" (Episode 89)
- "CatDog 3001" (Episode 97)
- "Cloudbursting" (Episode 98)
- "Kooky Prank Day" (Episode 109)
- "New Cat In Town" (Episode 121)
- "CatDog: The Great Parent Mystery" (Episodes 123-125) which served as the real series finale, had the show not gone on past that.
- The Season 2 episode "Fetch" was also shown in theaters with The Rugrats Movie before airing on TV. Because of its higher budget, it is animated in a much more detailed manner, and has brighter colors and lightings for its suited theatrical audience. For audiences awaiting to see The Rugrats Movie that were unfamiliar with the show at the time, its visuals and slapstick would be considered an awesome first look into the series.
Terr-ific (Sarcasm) Qualities
- As HHDQ #4 said, considering that this is usually a sadist show, the show is often very mean-spirited with that fact and the duo almost never win at pretty much anything (e.g Cat suffering from the irredeemable mistakes of others, such as Dog's obstinate ignorance for example).
- Some gross-out imagery, like one scene where Cat turns inside out when emerging from Dog's mouth.
- Winslow, the Greaser Dogs, and Rancid Rabbit can be very unlikable. CatDog themselves can also be very unlikable. Especially with Cat's arrogant, selfish, and petty behavior (for example in "Cloud Bursting", he sabotaged Lola's RainMaster 3000 just because it won over his tanning blaster, and caused a drought in Nearburg with it), and for how Dog's stupidity can get annoying and predictable in an irritating way.
- Cat & Dog's personalities are very cliché, especially for 1998.
- Some bad episodes such as:
- "War of the CatDog" (Episode 23)
- "Trespassing" (Episode 41)
- "Teeth for Two" (Episode 88)
- "Back to School" (Episode 110)
- "Meat, Dog's Friends" (Episode 135) while it did have a good/decent ending, it was an awful way to end the show.