Danger Mouse
What are the key ingredients for the perfect secret agent? Cool gadgets? Fast car? Afraid of nothing and laughs in the face of danger? James Bond’s not the only British secret agent with all of these. Danger Mouse has them all too.
A product of the brilliant Cosgrove Hall animation studio during their golden period in the 1980s, Danger Mouse was an absolutely delightful parody of British Spy tropes and the James Bond films that showed them up so very well.
It centred on the world’s greatest rodent secret agent, the eye patch wearing Danger Mouse. Living in a pillar box, cunning disguised as a red letter box, Danger Mouse and his cowardly but brainy sidekick Penfold must continually try and stop the efforts of a rogue’s gallery of villains.
A simple, if surreal start, it gave the animators the ability to do just about anything and be able to get away with it with barely a passing glance. Be it a revolution by household appliances or the repeated attempts for a fame obsessed vampire duck to get his own TV show despite having no talent (as if that stops anyone getting a reality show now), Danger Mouse was game to take on just about anything for Queen and country.
These adventures were always very short, but packed in more jokes than you would really think possible. From the opening and closing narration to the constant one-liners and zingers, nearly every piece of dialogue is used as an opportunity for a giggle. With the vocal talents of the always fantastic David Jason and ex-Python member on board, the delivery was also spot on.
It’s not just the audio either, as there are more than enough visual gags to warrant it being more than just a radio play.
The sparkling wit throughout made Danger Mouse an absolute hit, with millions tuning in to see the antics of the diminutive spy, hitting an absolutely preposterous peak of over 21 million viewers. The show’s comedic stylings also made it a hit overseas, with the show being eventually exported to over 70 countries, making the show a worldwide smash.
With a cynical adult mind though, the production levels of Danger Mouse begin to hold the show back. The cost cutting exercises are beyond obvious, with the recycling of animation loops, the overuse of ‘blackout’ rooms and the repetition of backgrounds all put in to save time and money.
Despite the cheap animation dating the show quite horribly, these 10 minute chunks of comedy are still good enough to raise a whole heap of chuckles, with their slices of quintessential British humour absolute cat-nip for any fans of classic British comedies like Monty Python and Only Fools and Horses.
You can buy Danger Mouse on DVD here.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith
Tagged in TV Sir David Jason After School Club