Catscratch

Catscratch
Genre	Adventure Comedy Fantasy Slapstick Surreal comedy
Created by	Doug TenNapel
Directed by	Michael Girard
Voices of	Rob Paulsen Kevin McDonald Wayne Knight Maurice LaMarche Liliana Mumy John DiMaggio
Theme music composer	Terry Scott Taylor
Composer	Terry Scott Taylor
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	20
Production
Executive producers	Doug TenNapel Peter Hastings (co-executive producer)
Producers	Monique Beatty (line) Michael Girard (supervising)
Running time	23 minutes
Production company	Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon
Release	July 9, 2005 (2005-07-09) – February 10, 2007 (2007-02-10)

Catscratch is an American animated television series created by Doug TenNapel (also known for creating the Earthworm Jim series). It aired on Nickelodeon from July 9, 2005 to February 10, 2007. It was a loose adaptation of TenNapel's graphic novel, Gear, which in the series is also the name of the cats' monster truck. The series features music composed by longtime TenNapel collaborator, Terry Scott Taylor.

Description

The series revolves around a trio of anthropomorphic feline brothers. After their wealthy owner Edna Cramdilly died, she left her riches to them, along with a menacing, oversized monster truck named Gear and a dignified butler named Hovis. The program commonly chronicles their wealthy lifestyles and action-packed, sometimes paranormal experiences. Other characters include the sweet young neighbor girl, Kimberly, with whom Gordon is obsessed, and the cats' competitive rivals the Chumpy Chump Brothers.

Characters

Main

• Mr. Blik (voiced by Wayne Knight), the self-appointed Bombay cat leader of the group who's confident, pampered, surly and vain. He often gets himself into major trouble and is prone to near-death injuries. Mr. Blik is proud of his newly inherited riches and spends his money on anything and everything that spells respect and power. Mr. Blik always insults his two brothers. His catchphrases are "Yeah!" and "Suckers!". He is the oldest of the three.
• Gordon Quid (voiced by Rob Paulsen), speaks with a Scottish accent, even though he is not from Scotland, and claims to be a member of the Highland Quid Clan. He has a crush on "Human" Kimberly and loves to sing, which quite regularly angers Mr. Blik. He enjoys cooking Scottish recipes, which many people find to be disgusting. He is likely a Manx cat due to his small tail, and has an orange patch on his right eye. He is the shortest of the three, younger than Mr. Blik and older than Waffle. Gordon's catch phrases are "In the name of the Highland Quid Clan", "Feel my Sting.", "Great gopher", "Cheer", and "Pop a Wheelie!".
• Waffle (voiced by Kevin McDonald), is a dimwitted and happy-go-lucky cat with an affinity for his many pet newts. His catch phrases are "Spleee!" or "Woohoo!", and is easily fascinated by many simplistic, everyday items. Waffle also likes doing flatulent sounds with his underarms. He is a gray American Curl with long, floppy ears and a long tail with dark periwinkle stripes like his right ear. He is the tallest and youngest of the three.

Supporting

• Hovis (voiced by Maurice LaMarche), Mrs. Cramdilly's butler, who looks after the cats and collects her measly paychecks (which Mr. Blik signs). He's not exactly thrilled about his new situation, but he hails from a long line of butlers who have served in the house and he honestly believes he has nowhere else to go. Therefore, Hovis puts up with the fact that the former pets have become his masters. Blik barks out orders constantly, Gordon treats him as an equal and Waffle hasn't quite figured out that he's not a pet anymore (he still asks Hovis to be let out and scratched behind his ears). His birthday is April 14, 1982, as seen in "Love Jackal".
• Kimberly (voiced by Liliana Mumy), an 8-year-old girl with a good-natured personality, a gap in her teeth, and an obsession with unicorns. She is one of the few human friends the cats have. She doesn't think they are greedy, and just accepts her feline neighbors for who they are and sees the good in their hearts. She is also completely unaware of the fact that Gordon has a complete infatuation with her. She has three human friends named Kaitlin, Kaitlyn and Charlotte.
• Randall the Bear (voiced by Frank Welker), an antagonistic brown Grizzly bear who is constantly on the hunt for the three cat brothers. He knows where the cats live and will sometimes be at their door to eat them up as soon as it is opened.

Production

Catscratch went into production in early 2005. Production continued on Catscratch until the final episode, "Spindango Fundulation/Duck and Cover" aired on February 10, 2007. After the initial run concluded, Nicktoons continued to show reruns of the series until January 2, 2009. It was briefly reran again on December 19, 2015 as a part of their "Nicktoons Holladays" marathon.

Episodes

Note: All episodes were directed by Michael Girard, with only two episodes being co-directed by:

• Doug TenNapel in "A Line in the Litterbox"
• Christine Kolosov-Pitt in "King of Clubs"

No.	Title	Written by	Storyboard by	Original release date
1a	"To the Moon"	Peter Hastings	Luther McLaurin	July 9, 2005 (2005-07-09)
Mr. Blik tries to win a barbecue contest by going to the moon for moon rocks after Gordon tells him a story about Duke Eark Splee.
1b	"Bringin' Down the Mouse"	Peter Hastings	Luther McLaurin and Guy Vasilovich	July 9, 2005 (2005-07-09)
Mr. Blik won't let Waffle join him and Gordon on the Mouse Hunters' Ball, simply because he never caught a mouse. Then an evil blue mouse named Squeakus tricks Waffle into thinking that his brothers are mice.
2a	"Unicorn Club"	Peter Hastings	John Nevarez and Andy Schuhler	July 9, 2005 (2005-07-09)
Gordon tells a lie to Human Kimberly by telling her that he possesses a unicorn. The unicorn, however, is really his brothers in a suit, and they try to keep Kimberly from discovering the truth.
2b	"Go Gomez! Go!"	Peter Hastings	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	July 9, 2005 (2005-07-09)
The cats and the Chumpy Chump Brothers engage in a car race. The problem is that Waffle is the only one tall enough to drive.
3a	"Lovesick"	Peter Hastings	Michael Girard, Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	July 15, 2005 (2005-07-15)
Gordon has an allergic reaction to a piece of broccoli that Human Kimberly gives him, making Mr. Blik and Waffle believe that he is a monster.
3b	"King of All Root Beer"	Peter Hastings	Lane Lueras, Michael Girard and Doug TenNapel	July 15, 2005 (2005-07-15)
During a game show, Mr. Blik cheats to become the king of root beer, making Waffle angry.
4a	"Tale of the Tail"	Mitch Watson	Lane Lueras and Tom Owens	July 22, 2005 (2005-07-22)
Gordon must defeat the kraken in order to wish for a long normal tail.
4b	"Mr. Pickles"	Mitch Watson	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	July 22, 2005 (2005-07-22)
After being dumped in Gordon's pickle juice, Mr. Blik turns green and no one listens to him anymore. As a result, he becomes a hobo.
5a	"Off the Leash"	Mitch Watson	Lane Lueras, Luther McLaurin and Tom Owens	July 29, 2005 (2005-07-29)
Waffle runs away from home when no one cares that he has a dog personality. He becomes friends with the dog Barkmeat, but they get caught by a dogcatcher.
5b	"Slumber Party"	Doug TenNapel	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	July 29, 2005 (2005-07-29)
Human Kimberly buys all of the root beer in the store for a girls-only sleepover party. However, the cats have a plan to get root beer for themselves at any cost: by disguising themselves as girls in order to attend the party.
6a	"The Ghost of Cramdilly"	Peter Hastings	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	September 23, 2005 (2005-09-23)
When Hovis disguises as Mrs. Cramdilly, and says that the fortune will be given to Hovis and the cats will be the servants, the cats try to defeat the "ghost" so that they can defend their fortune.
6b	"A Line in the Litterbox"	Mitch Watson	Sean Charmatz and Luther McLaurin	September 23, 2005 (2005-09-23)
The cats divide the house in three parts; later, they engage in a war using various items from their "kingdoms".
7a	"Love Cats"	Mitch Watson	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	September 30, 2005 (2005-09-30)
Mr. Blik falls in love with Kimberly when she insults him. Then he and Gordon fight for the love of Kimberly. When Blik gets hurt, Gordon thinks Kimberly has chosen Blik, and subsequently becomes depressed and wants to escape to the stars.
7b	"Zombie Party a Go-Go!"	Mitch Watson	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	September 30, 2005 (2005-09-30)
When zombies arise from the graveyard of the dip that Waffle made, Mr. Blik mistakes the undead for a group of fancy people he invited for dinner.
8a	"Gordon's Lucky Claw"	Mitch Watson	Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann	October 14, 2005 (2005-10-14)
Gordon gets a lucky claw when he says that he's going on a trip to China. Determined to win the trip to China, Mr. Blik steals it. After having a fight with Waffle, Mr. Blik flushes the claw away when he says that the claw does not work for anyone. Then, however, bad luck happens to them.
8b	"Big-Eyed Bunny"	Mitch Watson	Michael Girard and Octavio Rodriguez	October 14, 2005 (2005-10-14)
When Kimberly gets a new best friend, Gordon becomes jealous and Mr. Blik accidentally torments Kimberly's pet rabbit, or at least thinks that he does.
9a	"Requiem for a Cat"	Scott Kreamer	Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann	November 18, 2005 (2005-11-18)
Mr. Blik gets 24 hours to live and Gordon and Waffle try to run away from Mr. Blik, but they find out the truth.
9b	"Scaredy Cat"	Ken Segall	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	October 28, 2005 (2005-10-28)
Gordon refuses to celebrate Halloween as the aliens mistake the cats' redecorated house for a mothership.
10a	"Hi Ho Kraken"	Mitch Watson	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	February 3, 2006 (2006-02-03)
The cats and the Kraken head to the Kraken Planet to regain Kraken's honor at any cost.
10b	"King of Clubs"	Peter Hastings	Heiko Drengenberg and Tron Mai	February 3, 2006 (2006-02-03)
Mr. Blik tries to join a high society club, but is dismayed when Gordon and Waffle are accepted instead.
11a	"Livesavers"	Scott Kreamer	Garrett Ho, Michael Mullen and Jim Schumann	February 17, 2006 (2006-02-17)
Mr. Blik saves Gordon's life, making him to serve him.
11b	"Mecha-Kitties"	Peter Begler, Pennel Bird and Mitch Watson	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	February 17, 2006 (2006-02-17)
Mr. Blik, Waffle, and Gordon make robots of themselves but things go unexpectedly wrong.
12a	"My Bodyguards"	Ving Pingerly	Wayne Carlisi, Sean Charmatz, Luther McLaurin and Michael Mullen	March 3, 2006 (2006-03-03)
In order to not get into a fight with the alley cat, Blik gets the Chumpy Chumps' help. They end up being too helpful, however.
12b	"Charge!"	John McCann	Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann	March 3, 2006 (2006-03-03)
When sliding down from the slide, Blik becomes charged with static electricity. He doesn't know that the static electricity attracts to anything metal, however, and so he gets stuck to it.
13a	"A Wooly Adventure"	Mitch Watson	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	March 24, 2006 (2006-03-24)
After a heatwave, an iceberg thaws, and a wooly mammoth springs forth and starts hanging out with Mr. Blik, thinking that he's is his father.
13b	"EVIL!"	Scott Kreamer	Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann	March 24, 2006 (2006-03-24)
Waffle becomes convinced that he's an evil genius and makes plans to take over the world.
14a	"Clan Destiny"	Peter Hastings	Michael Mullen and John Nevarez	April 7, 2006 (2006-04-07)
Mr. Blik and Waffle are dragged to Scotland in Gear by Gordon to prove that he is from The Highland Quid Clan. However, they find no evidence that he was once one of them, so Gordon is left in sadness. However, Waffle and Mr. Blik learn a Banshee haunts the Highland Quid Clan. Unless Gordon can somehow get rid of the Banshee, this might be the end for him, the cats, and the Highland Quid Clan.
14b	"Mall Adjusted"	Thomas Krajewski	Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann	April 7, 2006 (2006-04-07)
Waffle bankrupts the cats after purchasing his favorite new toy, which is all of the bubble-wrap in the world. The cats are kicked out of the mansion while Hovis and the newts are repossessed. With no money, the cats are forced to endure degradation in its worst of forms, which is working at the mall. To make things even worse, every time they go work at many of the stores in the mall, they always get fired. When they finally find another job that involves making root beer, the brothers take their energy into making root beer. A string of gigs leads to a series of destruction, chaos, and of course, firings. The cats may have no skills, but maybe it's time for them to learn the true meaning of a hard day's work in order to get out of debt.
15a	"Two of A Kind"	Scott Kreamer	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	May 5, 2006 (2006-05-05)
As their families prepare for battle, Waffle befriends the Chumpy Chump brother known as Lunk. The two have a blast together, but when their kin find out, Waffle and Lunk’s friendship is banned. The two buddies decide they must run away, but when a disaster strikes their beloved brothers, these two like-minded pals must attempt to set things right.
15b	"Core-uption"	Jeff Lewis	Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann	May 5, 2006 (2006-05-05)
Kimberly’s teacher fails her on her project: a model of the earth’s core, made of glitter, cotton candy, rainbows, and other feminine stuff. Seeing Kimberly saddened, Gordon travels to the center of the earth, and tosses her project into the core, which causes the earth to transform. Clouds turn into cotton candy, unicorns roam freely, and it rains glitter, among other unusual changes. It may seem like Kimberly's dream has come true, but as the cats soon learn, too much of a good thing can actually be a bad thing.
16a	"Katilda"	Mitch Watson	Heiko Drengenberg and Tron Mai	June 2, 2006 (2006-06-02)
Katilda (voiced by Hynden Walch) is the new cat in town, and Blik finds her fascinating, although he doesn't want to admit it. With her charismatic leadership skills, Katilda soon has the cats following her into the woods to fight a terrifying monster. However, when it appears that Katilda’s imagination may be a bit too active, it probably won't be easy for any of the cats to fight by her side.
16b	"The Secret Door"	Scott Kreamer	Kurt Anderson, Sean Charmatz and Michael Mullen	June 2, 2006 (2006-06-02)
Blik and Gordon can’t figure out why Waffle keeps disappearing, until they find out that Waffle has discovered a secret world hidden inside the mansion, and in this world, he’s become king. Unfortunately, Waffle finds out that being king has its price when the Dragon Rider forces Waffle into battle. Now, it’s King Waffle’s duty to defeat this evil menace and save his subjects. Near the end, however, they find out that the Dragon Rider is really Hovis.
17a	"Major Pepperidge"	Mitch Watson	Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann	September 22, 2006 (2006-09-22)
While preparing for his own “Blik parade,” Blik suddenly grows a second head, and unlike Blik himself, the new head is much nicer. Blik loathes him, but everyone else loves the new head and his sage advice. If Blik doesn’t want to be upstaged at his parade, he’ll have to rid himself of the pest - known as Major Pepperidge growing out of his neck.
17b	"Magic Staff"	Mitch Watson	Heiko Drengenberg and Tron Mai	September 22, 2006 (2006-09-22)
After finding a staff that transforms the bearer into a hulking superhero, the cats get selfish. They each want the powers of a hero, even if they don’t want to act like one. Later, when the guardian of the staff shows up to reclaim it, the cats must battle him to prove their worth, but they eventually realize that they may not deserve such power.
18a	"Free Hovis"	Reid Harrison	Heiko Drengenberg and Tron Mai	September 29, 2006 (2006-09-29)
Through Waffle's own ignorance, Hovis is accidentally transformed into a giant, talking fish and washed out to sea. Soon enough, a traveling aquarium captures the poor butler and puts him on display. Blik, Waffle, and Gordon must track down the fishy side show and free their flippered butler.
18b	"Three Against Nature"	Thomas Krajewski	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	September 29, 2006 (2006-09-29)
Getting lost in the woods, an argument sends the cats down three different paths without one another. Luckily for Waffle, he becomes part of a fun hillbilly family. However, when they capture Blik and plan to cook him for dinner, the cats will have to put their differences aside and work together to escape.
19a	"Blikmail"	Nicole Dubuc	Garrett Ho and Jim Schumann	October 13, 2006 (2006-10-13)
After Blik is blackmailed by Katilda, who threatens to tell Gordon and Waffle about his doll, he tries to get it back; his brothers think it's a Scottish mind-controlling figure however.
19b	"Love Jackal"	Scott Kreamer	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	October 13, 2006 (2006-10-13)
The cats have forgotten about Hovis' birthday again, but they find out he was part of a band called Love Jackal. Soon, Hovis regroups the band together and he decides that he does not need the cats any longer.
20a	"Spindango Fundulation"	Scott Kreamer	Sean Charmatz, Heiko Drengenberg and Luther McLaurin	February 10, 2007 (2007-02-10)
When Mr. Blik beats the nearly-impossible videogame Spindango Fundulation, the cats are transported to an alien planet, where Mr. Blik must fight off evil invaders. The only problem, however, is that the conniving feline has rigged the game so he would win. Even though the stakes are high, Mr. Blik is determined to stop the aliens.
20b	"Duck and Cover"	Nicole Dubuc	Lane Lueras and Luther McLaurin	February 10, 2007 (2007-02-10)
Gordon is afraid of ducks, so Mr. Blik and Waffle set up a wrestling match to help him conquer his fear.

Home media

DVD name	Release date	Ep#	Title
Nick Picks Vol. 3	February 7, 2006	1x01b	Bringin' Down the Mouse
Nick Picks Vol. 5	March 13, 2007	1x07a	Love Cats

Reception

Critical

Sarah Wenk of Common Sense Media gave the series 3 out of 5 stars; saying that, “Catscratch is a generic cartoon show that involves oddly drawn characters who don't really look like anything, very loud voices, very bright colors, and many instances of people and creatures and things being bashed, broken, and bonked. The show is a by-the-book program, but that doesn't mean it's not sometimes funny or even touching. Many kids will get a kick out of it, although you may not be as tolerant. There's nothing terribly wrong with it, but nothing terribly right, either.”

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
2006	33rd Annie Awards	Outstanding Directing in an Animated Television Production	Luther Mclaurin for Catscratch	Nominated
	Golden Reel Awards	Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated	"Love Cats/Zombie Party A Go-Go"	Nominated
2008	Golden Reel Awards	Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated	"Spindango Fundulation/Duck and Cover"	Nominated

Comics

Confirmed by an e-mail from Doug TenNapel, there were a few 2-page Catscratch comics in the works for Nickelodeon Magazine. The first one came out in the December/January 2005 issue. The second one came out in the March 2006 issue. The third and last one was in the February 2007 issue.

See also

• Earthworm Jim
• Doug TenNapel
• Nickelodeon

External links

• Catscratch at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Catscratch at NickAnimationStudio.com (archive)