When it comes to the horror genre, Cartoon Network found some interesting ways to get creepy when it wanted to. On top of series like Scooby Doo, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Over the Garden Wall, the cable network has one series that found ways to blend humor with horror. While Courage the Cowardly Dog hasn’t been animated since 2021’s Scooby-Doo crossover, Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog, the pink canine has returned thanks to one creator revisiting one of the show’s creepiest villains.
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Of the many creepy characters that Courage has faced over the years, a certain barber has still sent chills up the spines of viewers to this day. “Freaky Fred” first arrived on Cartoon Network in the episode of the same name in 1999, introduced as Muriel’s nephew. Clearly having broken free from an asylum, the grinning ghoul proceeds to shave Courage in a scene that would fit right into an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Prop Designer Pilar Newton-Katz recently discussed her involvement in Courage the Cowardly Dog while also breaking down the creation of Fred.
“I was a prop designer on the show Freaky Fred, which was one of my favorite shows to work on because the character, who is like Muriel’s nephew, picks up Courage and is a crazy barber who shaves Courage. What’s really fun is that, as a prop designer who was also responsible for character dress-ups, I had to draw Courage with patches of hair missing. I had to draw Courage with a mohawk, but make it look like a mohawk from Taxi Driver with Robert DeNiro. That was really fun designing that.” You can check out the segment below.
Courage’s Cartoon Future
Following the wild crossover between Mystery Incorporated and Courage in 2021, there has been little news regarding Cartoon Network’s “Nowhere-centric” series making a return to the airwaves. Luckily, there is some Courage the Cowardly Dog news on the horizon. Many animated shows from the cable network are arriving on Tubi beginning on March 1st, including the likes of Dexter’s Laboratory, Ben 10, Powerpuff Girls, and Teen Titans. Amongst the fan-favorites, Courage the Cowardly Dog will be amongst them, arriving on the streaming service that shares its library to fans for free.
Ironically enough, Courage the Cowardly Dog almost had a prequel series, though unfortunately for Cartoon Network fans, the project never took off. Originally titled “Before Courage,” the prequel was in the works in 2018 and would have focused on a younger iteration of the titular character before he was adopted by Muriel and Eustace. Not only would the prequel have introduced plenty of new characters, but it would have also revisited some of the creepier villains that became noteworthy in the original show. Fingers crossed that this series might one day be revisited since Courage the Cowardly Dog is set to garner plenty of attention on Tubi starting March 1st.
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Image Courtesy of A-1 Pictures
