Dave the Barbarian

Dave the Barbarian
Promotional poster
Format	Animated television series Children's television series
Created by	Doug Langdale
Voices of	Danny Cooksey Estelle Harris Erica Luttrell Tress MacNeille Kevin Michael Richardson Frank Welker
Narrated by	Jeff Bennett
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	21 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Walt Disney Television Animation
Broadcast
Original channel	Disney Channel (2004) Toon Disney (2005)
Picture format	1080i (16:9) (HDTV)
Audio format	Dolby Digital
First shown in	United States
Original run	January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23) – January 22, 2005 (2005-01-22)
External links
Website

Dave the Barbarian is an American animated television series created by Doug Langdale, creator of The Weekenders, that premiered on January 23, 2004 on Disney Channel and ended on January 22, 2005. Continuing to air in other countries after the show ended, the show follows a barbarian named Dave, his sisters, uncle, talking sword, and pet dragon on their daily adventures. The show is a Disney Channel Original Series.

Premise

The series takes place in the Middle Ages (albeit a strangely modernized version), and centers on a powerful yet cowardly barbarian named Dave who lives in the fictitious land of Udrogoth along with his older sister Candy and younger sister Fang. His parents, Throktar and Glimia, are the King and Queen, but are away "fighting evil" across the world (though they sometimes communicate via a magic crystal ball or cauldron), and have left Candy in charge of the kingdom while Dave is supposed to defend the kingdom (since he is the biggest). Together the three siblings, along with their "wizard" uncle Oswidge, are left to run and protect the kingdom.

There is a Narrator, referred to either as "the Narrator" or "the Storyteller." He is able to talk to the characters of the show, and vice versa, which breaks the fourth wall. In fact, he was once captured by The Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy, and was forced to tell the story from his kidnapper's commands.

Production

The show was created and written by Doug Langdale. After premiering on Disney in 2004, it began broadcasting on Toon Disney a year later. In Latin America, the show is broadcast on Jetix.

Much like its predecessors Hagar the Horrible, The Flintstones and the short-lived The Roman Holidays, Dave the Barbarian juxtaposes both the ancient and modern. Candy, for example, shops in the local mall and uses the crystal ball for online shopping sprees. Occasionally, the series even breaks the fourth wall with a character directly addressing the audience or even communicating to the narrator.

Cancellation

Despite critical praise it suffered low ratings^{[citation needed]}, Dave the Barbarian was put on hiatus in 2005,^{[citation needed]} and no new episodes were since produced. It is one of the shortest-run Disney Channel Shows, with 21 episodes produced.

Characters

Main characters

• Dave (voiced by Danny Cooksey) - the middle child and only brother of the three siblings. Dave is a huge, muscular barbarian war-prince who is very sensitive to pain and would rather knit and cook than fight evil. He is also afraid of many things and at least once an episode, he will be frightened somehow and shriek his high-pitched, effeminate scream. He is also allergic to many things. According to Fang, Dave wanted to be a barbarian when he was young, but thought a barbarian was a librarian who cut hair. His deepest desire is for everyone to act more noble and high class while he makes sweaters for poodles. Dave's catchphrases are "Bajabbers" and "Please don't hurt me! Oh, please, please, please!"

• Fang (voiced by Tress MacNeille) - the youngest of the three siblings. Fang is a very rambunctious and uncivilized girl who loves to smash things. She has long orange hair in a ponytail. She resembles a cross between both Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm of The Flintstones. She is the butt of a running joke in which she is often mistaken for a monkey, hence her catchphrase, "Not a monkey!" However, she frequently acts and appears to look like a monkey and during one episode she finds a tribe of monkeys that exactly resemble her. She is too small to fight most of the time and resents Dave (who is very strong) because of his cowardice. Although she aspires to be a tough bararian princess (ala Xena), she secretly likes to play with dolls. In one episode where the castle is being destroyed, she cries "All my dollies are in there!", then quickly tries to cover up what she just said. Fang wields a spear in combat. Fang's other catch phrase is, "Dave!".

• Candy (voiced by Erica Luttrell) - the oldest sister and sibling of the three siblings. Left in charge while the king and queen are away, Candy has a contemporary "valley girl" attitude and would rather shop and hang out than rule a kingdom. Candy's main ability is her martial arts skills.She is the kingdom's most beautiful girl and she's rather selfish, but gets over that in a small way while helping Hamwise and his wife defeat the nefarious Invisigoths. Candy is voiced by Erica Luttrell, she has used the quote "Don't mess with the princess" on a number of occasions and has referred to herself also as a Barbarian. She has displayed the most strength out of the family often when it comes to monsters destroying a shop or so; whether or not she is stronger than Dave remains unseen but out of the two, she is the one willing to use it. Her deepest desire is for everyone to act more cool and a better looking crown. She is the tritagonist.

• Oswidge (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) - Dave, Fang and Candy's uncle, likely on Glimia's side of the family, though this is based solely on appearance^{[original research?]}. A rather clumsy sorcerer who usually wreaks havoc with his spells rather than being useful. It was revealed in the episode Sorceror Material that he never really went to sorcerer school, he just worked in the cafeteria. Uncle Oswidge loves to eat and presents a rather unkempt appearance. Like his niece Fang, he secretly likes to play with dolls. His favorite food is ham and he cannot resist it. He also cannot resist something called "Nut Logs". His most powerful spell is "Benzoyl Peroxide!". But his knowledge of magical items, and most other things surpasses the rest of the family. His deepest desires are to be more thin, able to eat all he wants without gaining a pound, having a head full of hair and being a powerful wizard. Oswidge has many ingrown toenails, one of which got almost as high as his knee.

• Faffy (voiced by Frank Welker) - the family's dumb pig-shaped pet dragon. Unlike most dragons, he breathes lightning and is domesticated, plus he does not have a tail. He does possess a wild streak that can be revealed when around other dragons, particularly evil ones with rebel attitudes. Faffy's name might be a parody of Fafnir's, a legendary dragon of Norse mythology. Voice legend Frank Welker provides the "voice" (mostly squeaks and snorts) of Faffy. It is mentioned in the show that Faffy has a one digit IQ. In the episode "Bad Food", in which it is revealed that he can talk, he is playing go-fish with friends. He says, "And the big chump [Dave, most likely] still thinks I can't talk!"

• Lula (voiced by Estelle Harris) - the shrill, impatient, sarcastic enchanted sword in Dave's scabbard is his weapon that speaks with a brooklyn accent and also has an autrocious habit of offending Dave and the other characters when she sees fit. Her main ability is shooting a lightning discharge from the tip of her blade. She was once the sword of Argon the Ageless, but was used by Argon as the nose of a snowman, and left there for centuries. She is age 20,000 and is related to many other magical weaponry, including mighty Mjolnir, hammer of Thor, and the trident of the water god Poseidon.

Secondary characters

• King Throktar and Queen Glimia (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson and Erica Luttrell) - they are the proper rulers of Udrogoth, the parents of Dave, Candy and Fang. They are away fighting evil around the world, though they can communicate to their children via Oswidge's crystal ball, which seems to operate like a phone. Occasionally are called while in a terrible situation.

• The Narrator (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - the narrator of the series. He has never been seen in an episode.

• Dinky and Cheezette (voiced by Erica Luttrell and Tress MacNeille) - they are Princess Candy's best friends, who are sometimes unsupportive - and wisely so - towards her actions. They are as obsessive about fashion, clothes, and social lives as is Candy.

• Mrs. Gert Bogmelon (voiced by Lisa Kaplan) - a witch-like shopkeeper who loves money and loves to rip off her customers. She can be cowed by Fang and other aggressive people but takes advantage of meek people like Dave. She sells evil weasels, mystical swords, and other plot-related paraphernalia, such as used T-shirts for sporting events.

• Twinkle The Marvel Horse (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - A parody of Christopher Walken. He is a magic pony with a rainbow tail, but inside he is an overly depressed and psychotic mind. This is apparently because he gets left on his own in the stable all the time. He often talks about his dreams, which are very disturbing. He is capable of flight, though he has no wings.

Antagonists

• The Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy (voiced by Paul Rugg) - an evil pig with a high-collared cape (and equally high voice) bent on ruling Udrogoth. He is the main antagonist of the show. Chuckles lives in a castle on the outskirts of the kingdom. He possesses the Mystic Amulet of Hogswineboar (named so because hogs, swine, and boars are all synonyms for the word 'pig'). This grants him amazing mystical powers such as telekinesis, shape-shifting, blasting magic to rival Lula's, and conjuration. He is also a whiz with technology, as evidenced by the Mecha-Dave. His schemes usually rely on a particular gimmick (like giant clams, giant ducks, evil pastries, or evil furniture). Catchphrase: (whenever he gets hurt) "Ooh, my little piggy [insert body part]". It was also revealed in one episode that he has a nephew named Knuckles the Silly Piggy, who wanted to be the Harvest Hog instead of a dark lord of evil.

• Malsquando (voiced by Rob Paulsen) - an evil sorcerer and Oswidge's rival. He has an obsession with taking over the world and getting a lot of money. He was revealed to be a member of the Evil Socerer's union. He also runs a shop that cures hiccats (magical hiccups that produce cats from one's mouth). Unlike Oswidge, he actually went to wizard's school.

• Quosmir (voiced by Michael McShane) - the god of freshly laundered trousers, overused punctuation and possibly other random and ridiculous things. He has mommy issues and carries a security blanket known as his "ni-ni lankie". He often experiences short-term memory loss and attention deficit disorder. He is a green skinned naga-like giant with the lower half of a snake instead of legs; he is always wearing a blue cape and a combover. He has a severe inferiority complex that is only exacerbated in the presence of his mother. He has immense magical powers including flight, super-speed, and flaming loogies.

• Princess Irmoplotz and Queen Zonthara (voiced by Melissa Rivers and Joan Rivers) - the evil sorceress princess of Hyrogoth that is trying to destroy Dave (or more likely she just wants to make Dave's life miserable). Her mother Zonthara is the ruler of Hyrogoth, and keeps on trying to teach Irmaplotz to be more evil. Her father is good, making her half-evil. Earlier in the show, Dave and Irmaplotz fell in love, but Dave decided that they were too different, and ended up dumping her, where she is now seeking revenge. She still may have feelings for him though; she once got the chance to destroy Dave, but she chose not to do so. She is similar to Dave in that they both have the same odd hobbies and interests (she and Dave both love "bad Poetry" for example). She also has the same allergies as Dave. She is very beautiful and an intellectual; she would be a great match for Dave, only if she were not an evil princess. She occasionally wears glasses (she has stated that she does not like to wear them as she feels they make her look bookish, even though she cannot see things from far away without them), due to her being nearsighted.

• Ned Frischman (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz) - a nerd who works at a pants factory in the year 1994. He gains a radioactive zipper which he uses to travel back into time to attempt conquering the world by using the advanced technology of the future, such as the Game Guy (a parody of a Game Boy), and a joke book from the 1940s, both plans of which were thwarted by Dave and his family (Though he is defeated by Faffy, Lula and Twinkle the marvel horse because they do not have thumbs to play on the Game Guys).

Historical errors

This series has many historical issues that may or may not be intended by the show's producers. Although the series is theoretically set during the time of the Germanic invasions, many episodes include twenty-first century items or ideas or otherwise include other outside-the-current-era items/ideas. For example, one episode includes several New World birds, such as parrots and parakeets, more than 1000 years before the America's were discovered. In the same episode, various people throughout the kingdom are listening to rock 'n' roll, which wasn't invented until the 1950's. Another episode includes pirates, when the term would not be widely used until the 17th century.

Episodes

This is a list of episodes and is listed in order of their airing in the United States.

#	Title	US Air Date	Production Code
1	"The Maddening Sprite of the Stump / Shrink Rap"	January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23)	108
The Maddening Sprite of the Stump Lula gets stuck in a tree stump during Dave's attempt to guard the Enchanted Forest against a giant man-eating muffin. When the royal family is unable to free Lula, a tiny, winged sprite establishes himself as the ruler of Udrogoth. Shrink Rap Dave believes helping others is his whole purpose in life and starts giving out advice as a "psychofloobicologist."
2	"Pet Threat / Lula's First Barbarian"	January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23)	103
Pet Threat Faffy is sad because the family forgot to get him anything during Dragon Appreciation Week, so Dave buys Faffy a diseased weasel for a pet. The diseased weasel gets all of Dave's attention, so Faffy runs away. The weasel turns out to be Chuckles The Silly Piggy, who wants to steal a magical fruit hidden in Faffy's room. Lula's First Barbarian Lula's old owner, Argon The Ageless, comes to town and Lula wants to find some way of getting him to come back to her.
3	"Girlfriend / Ned Frischman: Man of Tomorrow"	January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23)	111
Girlfriend Dave begins dating Princess Irmaplotz, but breaks up with her when he learns that she is evil. Irmaplotz is upset about the breakup and sends an army of filthy pixies to attack Udrogoth. Ned Frischman: Man of Tomorrow A nerd named Ned Frischman travels back in time and tries to take over the ancient world using video games. When everyone is hooked on the video games, Faffy, Lula, and Twinkle The Marble Horse (being the only ones without thumbs) must face off against Ned. (" Ned Frischman: Man of Tomorrow" was nominated for an Annie Award for Writing in an Animated Television Production.[1])
4	"Beef! / Rite of Pillage"	January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23)	109
Beef! Candy seeks instant muscle gratification, but the magic broccoli she eats to strengthen her muscles makes her dumber and wanting to eat more. Rite of Pillage Dave faces a dilemma, where he'll lose his barbarian title and disgrace his family if he cannot pass a pillaging test.
5	"King for a Day or Two / Slay What?"	January 23, 2004 (2004-01-23)	105
King for a Day or Two Dave in his capacity as temporary ruler of Udrogoth forces the citizenry to attend his musical production, "Oh, Pastry!" Slay What? Fang's barbarian idol arrives in town to slay an unsuspecting Faffy, so the barbarians must do whatever it takes to keep Faffy safe.
6	"Civilization / The Terror of Mecha-Dave"	January 30, 2004 (2004-01-30)	104
Civilization Candy sets her sights on making Fang presentable in high society. The Terror of Mecha-Dave Dave fears he has been brainwashed to act like a bully by Chuckles the Silly Piggy.
7	"The Way of the Dave / Beauty and the Zit"	February 6, 2004 (2004-02-06)	101
The Way of the Dave Candy's quest for an ultra-trendy antler hat takes her outside of the kingdom and in direct conflict with Chuckles the Silly Piggy. Beauty and the Zit Candy demands Oswidge come up with a magic spell to remove a pimple from her face on the night of the Barbarian Ball, but the zit turns into a zit monster bent on taking her back.
8	"Band / Web"	February 13, 2004 (2004-02-13)	110
Band The teen protectors of Udrogoth spend their downtime jamming in a popular rock band. Web Candy has difficulty paying off an expensive spending spree.
9	"Sorcerer Material / Sweep Dreams"	February 20, 2004 (2004-02-20)	102
Sorcerer Material Uncle Oswidge has the "Hicats" and need to go to Malsquando's, only to realize that Malsquando knew Oswidge back in the past and tells Dave and Fang that Uncle Oswidge worked in a cafeteria and never went to sorcery school in order to break Oswidge's confidence and get him out of Malsquando's path to way to world domination. Sweep Dreams Well, it's the beginning of spring and that means only 1 thing for Dave...SPRING CLEANING!! The rest of the family run away from the castle to avoid cleaning. Dave uses Dusty, the magical cleaning broom and sweeps the castle. After months of cleaning, Dave is in need of one more thing, Castle Polish.
10	"Here There Be Dragons / Pipe Down!"	February 27, 2004 (2004-02-27)	106
Here There Be Dragons Faffy's allegiance to his dragon brethren makes it tougher for Dave to reverse an unnatural heat wave that has struck Udrogoth. Pipe Down! Dave's horrendous playing of a bagpipe-like instrument 'The Garglepipes' is enough to stir Quozmir from his subterranean resting place.
11	"Termites of Endearment / Thor, Loser"	March 19, 2004 (2004-03-19)	107
Termites of Endearment Vermites destroy Dave's boutique only to find out that they are controlled by The Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy. Thor, Loser Lula tries to impress her sister.
12	"The Princess and the Peabrains / Horders & Sorcery"	March 26, 2004 (2004-03-26)	112
The Princess and the Peabrains Candy makes her friends princess while she haves fun and all. Meanwhile, Chuckles and his silly nephew are planning to take over Udrogoth (not to mention that his nephew really wants to be a Harvest Hog). Horders & Sorcery Fang tricks Dave into thinking he's going to a hat show, only to realize that he's really in warrior boot camp! Fang wants to be a warrior, but she's too small. She fails tests like sword fights and amoeba wrestling, which makes her lure Malsquando to the Mongrel Hordes Boot Camp.
13	"The Brutish Are Coming / The Lost Race of Reeber"	April 30, 2004 (2004-04-30)	113
The Brutish Are Coming Dave and Fang try to protect Udrogoth from invading monsters. The Lost Race of Reeber Princess Candy must help the Lost Race of Reeber reclaim its land.
14	"That Darn Ghost! / The Cow Says Moon"	October 2, 2004 (2004-10-02)	114
That Darn Ghost! Candy discovers that she is the only person in Udrogoth who does not have a ghost haunting her house. Caring for their sister, Dave and Fang go down to the local ghost shop, and hire a ghost. The ghost throws a huge ghost party, and everyone's ghost attends. After Candy tries to kick them all out, the ghosts get angry, and chase the gang around Udrogoth. The Cow Says Moon Evil Princess Irmaplotz summons forth a cow like something milky to bite Dave after he swims in the milk, thus in a month later when the moon is full, making Dave a Were-Cow.
15	"Night of the Living Plush / I Love Neddy"	December 27, 2004 (2004-12-27)	116
Night of the Living Plush Candy has bought too many plush animals. When her room explodes from being stuffed with too much fluff, she finally realizes that she needs to buy more. Chuckles discovers that Candy needs plush toys, and disguises himself as a piggy doll. After Candy buys him and takes him home, she immediately leaves and buys more. Meanwhile Chuckles, using his amulet, creates an army of plush animals, in an attempt to conquer Udrogoth. I Love Neddy Ned Frischman returns to the past attempting to conquer the world using Jokes. He becomes the most loved man in the world, and creates a sitcom called "I Love Neddy". Dave and the gang create the world's first reality program, "Real Life Barbarians", which soon becomes more popular than "I Love Neddy". Ned comes to stop Dave and the gang with his jokes. All seems lost, when Dave grabs "Convenient Feathers", and tickles Ned back to the future.
16	"Shake, Rattle, & Roll Over / Bad Food"	December 28, 2004 (2004-12-28)	118
Shake, Rattle, & Roll Over While retrieving the magical Combat Rattle from an ancient temple, Faffy causing a statue to come to life and attack Dave and the others. Dave decides to get Faffy trained, so Chuckles disguises himself as a dragon trainer in order to steal the Combat Rattle. Bad Food Dave gets an ingrown toenail, so he quits being a barbarian and starts a restaurant. When the rest of family tries to ruin Dave's restaurant by stealing his cookbook, Dave starts making recipes from an evil cookbook, causing all of his cooking to come to life and attack.
17	"Red Sweater Of Courage / Dog Of Titans"	December 29, 2004 (2004-12-29)	119
Red Sweater Of Courage To make Dave brave, Fang makes him wear the Red Sweat er of Courage. Unfortunately, Dave becomes so brave that he insults Chuckles, Malsquando, and Quasmire, so the three villains team up to destroy Udragoth. Dog Of The Titans Dave feels unappreciated at home, so he goes to Titan Meadows where he becomes the pet of a giant. Dave likes being a pet, so Fang competes against Dave in a pet show so the family can get him back.
18	"Fiends & Family / Plunderball"	December 30, 2004 (2004-12-30)	121
Fiends & Family When her parents announce that they have to start their quest all over again, Fang is crushed and cheering her up is a Herculean task. Plunderball Dave finds himself coaching Udrogoth's Plunderball team in the big annual game, a job he knows nothing about. Things gets worse when the opposing team's coach is Dave's ex-girlfriend, Irmoplotz.
19	"A Pig's Story"	January 17, 2005 (2005-01-17)	120
Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy has a plan that can't fail; he kidnaps the Storyteller and forces him to read narration in which Dave loses! Chuckles soon finds himself not only Master of the World, but also the new star of "Dave the Barbarian", which has been renamed "The Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy Will Destroy You All Variety Hour." But when the Storyteller gets laryngitis, it looks like the winner will be whoever can find the best new narrator. Note: This is the real final episode.
20	"Lederhosen of Doom / Floral Derangement"	January 21, 2005 (2005-01-21)	115
Lederhosen of Doom Fang gets some pants sent by her parents and doesn't bother to read the note that came with them. This is problematic, because the note explains that the pants are the evil trouser beast and will take control of anyone who wears them. Fang loves the pants at first because they give her fantastic strength — at last she's as strong as Dave! But soon the pants take her over, using her as a tool to get revenge on their hated foe... Oswidge. Floral Derangement When Fang messes with Dave's life, Dave threatens to send her to Ms. Bluelung's School for Really Cute Little Girls, an educationally evil punishment which Princess Candy suggested. In order to avoid being sent to Ms. Bluelung's, Fang must promise to stop messing with Dave's life, but she breaks her promise. She swipes some of Oswidge's magic and makes some of Dave's flowers—his prized Purple Winkies—grow huge. Surprisingly, gigantic ravenous flowers cause a few minor problems, which Fang struggles to conceal from Dave.
21	"Not a Monkey / Happy Glasses"	January 22, 2005 (2005-01-22)	117
Not a Monkey Fang gets an illness, so Uncle Oswidge and Dave take her to the doctor. The doctor says that Fang gets the illness that only monkeys get. Fang can only get the cure from the island far far away. The cure is berries. After a long cruise, they reached the island. Fang sets out to find the berries but she is taken away by a pack of monkeys that coincidentally look just like her, and Fang begins to wonder if she actually IS a monkey. They accept her at first but when she eats the berries and isn't cured, Fang realizes she is not a monkey. But she is in trouble when she gets chased by monkeys, Dave is chased by gorillas, and Faffy is chased by lemons. Lula, meanwhile, stays at the hotel. Happy Glasses In the series finale, when Chuckles sets to defeat Dave once again, he invents glasses that make whoever is wearing it see the world the way they really want it to be like. Chaos is started when the glasses are worn by Fang, Oswidge, Candy, Faffy, and Dave.

Awards and Nominations

• Annie Awards

2005 - Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production - Wendy Grieb for episode "The Maddening Sprite of the Stump" (Won)

2005 - Writing in an Animated Television Production - Evan Gore & Heather Lombard for episode "Ned Frischman: Man of Tomorrow" (Nominated)

International Broadcast

• Chile
  • Canal 13

References

1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386176/awards

External links

• Official website
• Dave the Barbarian at the Internet Movie Database
• Dave the Barbarian at TV.com