Cult fave 'toon plays over-the-top violence for laughs.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
All of the characters are subjected to extremely gross, graphic animated violence, including exploding organs, weapons of all sorts, growing extra limbs, turning inside out -- you name it. It's intended to be so over the top that it's funny, but it's still very strong for a cartoon.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
"Courage" apparently has very little, although he always fights his cowardice and comes through for his owner. Another main character regularly tries to harm Courage, and all characters except two are prone to cruel remarks and behavior toward one another (to say the least).
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this show isn't appropriate for any child young enough to believe in the reality of a cartoon character on any level. Every episode begins with Courage's owner's husband behaving in a nasty, abusive way to his wife and dog, and overall the show is about as violent and gross as it's possible for animation to be (and not in the Bugs Bunny way that many parents feel is funny even to young kids). That said, it's all so extreme -- characters grow extra arms, turn inside out, etc. -- that it's next to impossible to take it seriously, even though it's also hard not to wince if you've got a young kid in front of the television when it comes on.
I enjoy long days of being entertained by Courage.
I enjoy long days with my children Christopher and Janice we watch Courage Muriel and Eustace because it is educational displays experience and is funny.
This show promotes marital and animal abuse and abuse in general. Characters are called “stupid” profusely and the violence in it is sick and twisted. There is nothing positive to learn from the show and it would be emotionally and mentally harmful for any child to consume this show, whether or not it manifests obviously in the child. The influences of the show would be internalized. The show desensitizes viewers to and sensationalizes harboring hatred and contempt, treating other sentient beings like worse than trash verbally, emotionally, physical assault and degrading others to make them feel worthless and as if the world is better off with them dead. It promotes murderous feelings and acting upon them. It comes across like watching a parent severely abuse their child (courage the dog). Finding child abuse funny and entertaining. The supernatural and very dark themes will also give your children problems with sleeping and feeling safe in their own home, as it did mine who only saw a couple episodes. It is a show that will promote your child being desensitized to sadistic tendencies, and sadistic youth is the last thing the world needs today. This show came out and somehow I never saw it as a child but only now. It seems as though everyone my age who is fond of the show and promotes it is attached to the show probably for complex reasons and although there’s lots of these positive reviews by these people, it doesn’t seem as though they are parent reviews objectively discerning the appropriateness for children. This is noxious garbage entertainment for children and almost any other cartoon would be neutral or positive compared to this.
What's the Story?
Courage (voiced by Marty Grabstein), a small magenta dog who's afraid of everything, is adopted by Muriel (Thea White), who lives on aTwilight Zone-esque farm with her husband Eustace (Lionel G. Wilson), who loathes and is jealous of Courage. In every episode, the three are beset by various woes (they're sucked up by aliens who want their DNA, tied up, maimed, have all their blood sucked out of them, etc.) that are often brought on by Eustace's plots against Courage. It's up to Courage to save the day, and he always does -- although usually by doing things like screaming so loudly that the house falls on the troublemaker rather than by actually defeating him. In the process, Eustace is often crushed, mauled, and even eaten, although he invariably returns intact for the next episode.
Cynical and over the top, COURAGE THE COWARDLY DOG was pretty cutting edge in 2000, when it was created for the Cartoon Network. And it's still fairly out there in its willingness to take both violence and sheer gross-out gore to extremes in the name of humor. The creators spoof the horror genre in many episodes, and fans of horror movies will undoubtedly find plenty of inside jokes.
But while the show is funny -- and certainly both unique and unpredictable in its storylines -- it's not a particularly kid-friendly cartoon. Younger viewers will do better with Looney Tunes or Tom and Jerry, which have plenty of slapstick 'toon violence without the graphic images.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the level and type of violence in this show. Is it so over the top that it's funny, or is it just outrageous? Why do we find it funny to watch a cartoon dog turn inside out? Is there more to the show than that? Overall, what makes you want to watch -- the gross-out humor or the fact that you can count on Courage winning out in spite of himself?
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
