Dangermouse
- For an alternate meaning see: DJ Danger Mouse
Dangermouse is a British animated series which was produced by Cosgrove Hall and illustrated by Arthur Ranson.
It features the eponymous Dangermouse, a British secret agent who happens to be a mouse. The show is a loose parody of British spy fiction, particularly James Bond and the Danger Man series starring Patrick McGoohan. The eponymous hero wears a rakish eyepatch and his chest is prominently emblazoned with the initials DM. This causes problems for those translating the series into other languages, where a literal translation of the words "Danger" and "Mouse" do not share those initials; the Scots Gaelic version, for example, calls the series (and the lead) "Donnie Murdo" (two given names unconnected either with mice or danger).
It ran for 10 series, from 1981 to 1992, originally broadcast on ITV. Eighty-nine episodes were made in total. It was the first British cartoon to break the American TV market, being shown on Nickelodeon in the 1980s. Since it went off air it has been periodicially repeated, has been released on DVD, and rumours are circulating about a revival, possibly using CGI.
Artist Ranson later went on to illustrate Judge Anderson in the UK comic 2000AD.
Characters
- Dangermouse - the greatest secret agent in the world. Voiced by David Jason.
- Penfold - a timid hamster, the sidekick character. Voiced by Terry Scott.
- Colonel K - Dangermouse's boss; a walrus. He is a champion piano-thrower, decorated judo expert and the first to climb Mount Everest on a pogo stick. Voiced by Edward Kelsey.
- Baron Silas Greenback - the recurring villain; a frog. Voiced by Edward Kelsey.
- Stiletto Mafiosi - Greenback's henchman; a crow. Voiced by Brian Trueman. In the original British version, he spoke with an Italian accent; this was changed to a Cockney accent for US distribution.
- Nero - Greenback's pet. A fluffy white caterpillar (equivalent to the stereotypical white cat frequently associated with arch villains). Non-speaking character, but readily understood by Greenback and Stiletto.
- Doctor Augustus P. Crumhorn III - a mad scientist. He recurred as Dangermouse's adversary less frequently than did Baron Greenback, in one episode attempting to undermine Dangermouse by metamorphosing into a Shirley Temple lookalike.
- Count Duckula - a showbiz-obsessed vampire duck who inspired a later Cosgrove Hall series featuring a similar character, titled Count Duckula.
- Professor Squarkencluck - mad scientist/inventor/boffin. Inventor of the Mark III, DM's flying car. A chicken.
- Agent 57 - an ally of Dangermouse who is always undercover and appears as something different. He (Agent 57) doesn't even know what he originally looks like.
- Isambard Sinclair - the unseen narrator, but occasionally interacts with the characters (in one episode he accidentally sends DM back in time). Voiced by David Jason.