Humor and Horror in Children's Cartoon Show: A study of Courage the Cowardly

Dog

By

Kratika Joshi

1710110185

A Research Paper

Submitted to the Department of English

At SHIV NADAR UNIVERSITY

Supervised by

Dr. Vinayak DasGupta

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts (Research)

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Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................3

METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................................4

ANALYSIS..............................................................................................................................4

CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................21

Works Cited........................................................................................................................22
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INTRODUCTION

Courage the Cowardly Dog is an American cartoon show which aired from1999 to

2002 on Cartoon Network. The show consists of an anthropomorphic dog named “Courage”

who lives with Eustace and Muriel Bagge, an old couple, in a town called “Nowhere”. This

town is literally set in the middle of nowhere. Muriel, as mentioned in the opening sequence

of the show, adopts Courage who was abandoned as a puppy. Each episode is half an hour-

long and is segmented into two independent stories of eleven minutes each. There are only

two episodes that don’t follow this pattern are The Mask and The Tower of Dr. Zalost. These

two continue with the same story for half an hour.

The protagonist of the show is Courage a pink-colored, anthropomorphic dog.

Courage, like any other dog, has a strong affection towards his family, especially Muriel

Bagge. And it’s his job to save them from all the supernatural occurrences that happen in the

town of Nowhere. He has to overcome his cowardice and save his family from the abnormal,

supernatural occurrences.

The show is a mix-match of several elements of sub-genres of horror and comedy.

One can notice elements of sic-fiction, like AI taking over Muriel’s body in the episode

Mega Muriel The Magnificent, while in the episode like The Quilt Club, which has a two-

headed monster-like character who turns Muriel into a part of a quilt.

Figure 1. Eliza and Elisa Stitch, sew Muriel's body onto the quilt
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The comic cowardice of Courage is contrasted against the threats that inevitably find

his family. The show, in turn, combines the genres of comedy and horror. I would like to

study the style of horror and comedy that is represented in that show while keeping children

in mind, and how these genres work together in a children’s cartoon show. 

METHODOLOGY

For my research, I have chosen a few particular episodes for the Courage the Cowardly Dog

show, in which the arguments are best observed. First, I intend to study the genre of

Children’s literature using pre-existing research around it and then look at the show through

that lens. This will help in studying how the cartoon show falls into the criteria of being

children's fiction and how it is separated from adult fiction.

After this, I will look into the horror genre. The show has many elements of horror

fiction, so by studying the horror genre, I will study what properties are followed by the show

and how. In this, we’ll look at the representation of monsters, world-building, representation

of violence. These things will help in recognizing the kind of horror that is being depicted in

the show and if it works or not.

Lastly, I will look at the elements of comedy. Mostly children’s cartoon shows are

filled with visual comic factors so I will aim to identify them and study their role in the show.

I will also try to study how elements of horror and comedy work together in the show by

marking the instances where they merge.

ANALYSIS

What makes a piece of literature specific to children? What are the criteria that are followed

by the narrative that it becomes suitable for children and how is it different from adult

literature? Other than the fact that Courage the Cowardly Dog is a cartoon show, which is a
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form often used for children, there are some other main aspects to locate children’s literature.

According to Carol Lynch Brown and Carl M Tomlison, when they talk about the characters

in children’s fiction, they say, “Because children generally prefer personified animals or

children of their own age, or slightly older, as the main characters of their stories, authors of

children's books often face a dilemma.” (Brown, Tomlison, 3). A few examples are Alice in

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll or Stuart Little, in the book written by E.B White and

later in the movie franchise Stuart Little. For Brown and Tomlison, authors have a dilemma

in creating a character that is fully rounded but also should have the ability to grow as the

story moves ahead. So, one can assume Courage as a counterpart for a child in a children’s

cartoon show. As he is treated as more like a son than a pet by Muriel and due to his

anthropomorphic nature, the idea of him taking a child’s role in the show is emphasized.

In addition, children’s literature is analysed differently than any other literature as it

should be suitable for both adults and children at the same time, as Zohar Shavit in her work

Poetics of Children’s Literature, says, “Society expects the children's writer to be appreciated

by both adults (and especially by "the people in culture") and children.” (Shavit, 36). This

attempt of inclusion for both sides gives rise to censorship. In addition, and quite contrary to

the concept of censorship, inclusions of both adults and children give rise to references to

instances understood only by adults. This can be seen in Courage the Cowardly Dog show

with its instances of popular culture references that adults would mostly be informed of,

which will be discussed later in the paper.

With the addition of the adult in children’s literature, there are also elements of

different sub-genres of horror. There are different types of creatures in the show mostly as

antagonists, that Courage has to defeat to protect his family. The presence of monsters and

other creatures like ghosts and spirits in fiction can only be seen as a threat or an unnatural

entity if the setting allows it. That is if the setting of the world of the fiction is based in a
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mythical land where monsters, etc. are normal, then it won’t induce fear. As Noël Caroll in

his work The Philosophy of Horror: or Paradoxes of the Heart, says, “For monsters inhabit

all sorts of stories—such as fairy tales, myths, and odysseys—that we are not inclined to

identify as horror. If we are to exploit usefully the hint that monsters are central to horror, we

will have to find a way to distinguish the horror story from mere stories with monsters in

them, such as fairy tales.” (Caroll 16). The world of Courage is built in a way that is real but

also fictional at the same time. In the show, the town ‘Nowhere’ is situated in Kansas, which

situates the show in the fictional real world. Hence, the monsters in the show seem out-

worldly. So, following the elements of the horror genre, the show can be identified as trying

to imitate a horror genre.

In addition, Caroll talks about the characteristics of the monsters in the horror genre

and the feelings they induced in the audience and the characters of the show. Caroll says,

“They are not only quite dangerous but they also make one’s skin creep. Characters regard
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them not only with fear but with loathing, with a combination of terror and disgust.” (Caroll

18). For instance, in the episode The Clutching Foot, (episode 7, season1), Eustace’s has a

foot fungus, which slowly takes over his body. Eustace is engulfed by the spreading fungus in

the foot, and then it takes over his body. While this is horrific and disgusting to Courage and

disgusting to the computer, Muriel and Eustace don’t react to it in the same manner. Muriel

regards it as a simple fungal infection and proceeds to use her homemade techniques to help

Eustace. While Eustace on the other hand decides to take a nap, which in his opinion will

solve everything.

But Courage’s reaction is not similar to the other characters' reaction. Caroll in his

work says, “Our responses are supposed to converge (but not exactly duplicate) those of the

characters; like the characters, we assess the monster as a horrifying sort of being (though

unlike the characters, we do not believe in its existence). This mirroring-effect, moreover, is a

key feature of the horror genre.” (Caroll 18). SO it hard for Courage’s disgust to be mirrored

by the audience because Muriel and Eustace don’t react the same way, in turn making

Courage seem paranoid.

Another factor is how both Muriel and Eustace attempts to cure the infection is absurd

and comical. From Muriels trying to cure by dipping Eustace’s foot in a bucket full of

lobsters to Eustace taking a nap only to realize the infection spread to the whole body. Both

Karen Coats, and Joni Schers in their works “Something Called Protective Coloration”: The

Uncanny in Children’s Literature A Case Study of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, respectively,

point out that comedy dilutes the tension developed by the horror. In the text, as Coats says,

“Gaiman uses Gothic conventions to dress up a common childhood fear, and then dresses it

down with humor and Lucy's assertive agency in the face of that fear.” (Coats 83). Similarly,

Schers quotes Coats, “Another difference between the Gothic in adult and children’s

literature, is that most Gothic and uncanny children stories combine horror with a
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considerable amount of humor, which serves to undo the child’s fears.” (Schers 22). So in the

previous example, we see how Muriel and Eustace were able to dilute the problem with the

use of gags and comedy. Also, Even though both Coats and Schers talk precisely about the

Gothic genre, I am inclined to look at this argument in regards to horror as a whole. Each

episode of the show is different from another and attempts to imitate many sub-genres of

horror, like gothic, science fiction, or paranormal horror, etc.

The show starts with an opening sequence. In this, a TV show is “interrupted” for the

narrator to give a brief outline of Courage the Cowardly Dog show. This sequence is watched

both by the viewers and the Bagge family. That turns them into the viewers too. The narrator

says, “We interrupt this program to bring you Courage the Cowardly Dog show, starring

Courage the Cowardly Dog”, introducing the protagonist of the show.

So even though the world of Courage maybe familiar to us in a fictional reality. They

are still in a fictional world, but this fictional world is presented to us in a news story form.

the show is introduced to us as a reportage, placing it as a world within a fictional

world. The way something is “interrupted” to present the Courage the Cowardly Show

suggests that it’s a breaking news report. A news report is a sort of story-telling of the current

occurrences of the world. Hence Courage’s story is being told as a news report within the

fictional world. Eustace’s dialogue at the end of the opening “Stupid dog, you make me look

bad”, also brings the question of representation. It shows that the characters might not be like

they are portrayed in the story that is told to the audience watching the news channel and

hence, should be taken with a grain of salt. Hence, Noël Caroll’s argument of setting for

horror to work doesn’t work for Courage the Cowardly Dog show, as it is created as fiction

inside fiction.

Courage is the protagonist of the show but also the fictional audience watching the

way he and his family is represented at the beginning of the show. The Bagge family hence
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are the actors inside and outside the show. The show is created in a story-telling format that

distances it from reality. The audience is made aware that the characters are represented in a

certain way, that is, what Eustace points out at the start. Since it is in the format of a story

within a story for the audience, it separates it from the real world and reinforces the fictional

universe of the work. This news report format also strengthens as we notice that every season

the clips of “creepy stuff happens in the Nowhere” in the opening changes. For instance, in

the first season, we see clips of antagonists like the weasel delivery man from the Demon in

the Mattress, (Episode7, Season 1), etc. While in the second season it changes, as we see a

clip of the harvest moon spirit from the episode The House of Discontent,(episode 12,

season2),  hence all the events keep on changing rather than repeating like daily news

occurrences.

In the episode Mega Muriel the Magnificent, (episode 7, season 2), we are shown

Courage writing memoirs on his computer. These may be the memoirs we are shown as

reportage in the show because these memoirs are written from Courage’s perspective. The

supercomputer makes fun of the things that scared Courage and laughs, as he says, “Getting

chased by a she-demon underwater got you rattled? Snowflake.” (Episode 7 Season 2, 11:44-

11:46). So, we can easily assume the show is presented in a story format to represent what is

scary to Courage. This separates the show from the real-world leaves it to be just an imitation

of horror.

This brings me back to Schers who talks about children’s horror literature being

placed in a certain format, that is when Schers quotes Gaiman, “children do like to be scared

in a safe context” and continues with the idea mentioning Jackson et al. as she adds the

concept of “safe fear”. It is a kind of fear that is experienced while being in a safe space,

“safe confinements of their homes.” She continues, as she quotes Jackson et al, “The child

will most identify with the hero or heroine of the story and develop a sense of strength and
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bravery, while the story simultaneously serves as a “cautionary tale” (Jackson et al 12)”

(Schers 23). So by detaching the show from the real world, it enables the child to perceive it

in a positive light. The safe fear will reassure the child that there will always be a happy

ending.

So, what is the purpose of the horror elements in the show? Once the show distances

itself from reality, it loses the horror and the elements become either comic or mere aesthetics

for the show

For instance, we’ll look at the episode The Demon in the Mattress, which is inspired

by the popular horror movie The Exorcist. The tropes of demon possession, levitating in the

air and turning the head to three-sixty degrees, etc., are famous scenes from the film used in

this episode. This storytelling format is using an already famous story but in a completely

different way. Hence, the audience is already well aware of the pretext of the story and its

fictional setting. 

The 12-year old Regan who is possessed by the Demon is replaced in the show by

Muriel possessed by the blanket demon. They both live in the upper part of the house, and

when Muriel is sleeping the demon takes over her body. The room is chilled when Courage

comes in to check on Muriel, similar to the freezing cold due to the demon’s presence in the

movie. Similar to the movie there are two exorcists in the show too. Merrin and Karras are

replaced by Eustace and Courage. Like Merrin, Eustace also fails to exorcise Muriel the first

time, and Courage successfully exorcizes the demon from Muriel, like Karras. But Courage

can’t be possessed by the demon, so instead Eustace does. Courage has to stay safe because

then it will be Muriel and Eustace’s job to protect Courage. So, the demon then takes over

Eustace’s body, like Karras this time. But unlike in the movie how Karras dies, Eustace can’t

be killed. So, Eustace has to be sent away with the demon still possessing the body, and in the

next episode, he appears normal again.

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Another important factor due to which the show remains an imitation and not horror

because according to Chris Dumas in his work Horror and Psychoanalysis, he mentions that

there are certain tropes on which horror films are usually made, he says, “Please forgive this

burst of clichés; I have chosen to begin this way to point out that horror films seem to be built

on a set of recurring themes: parents and children, sex and blood, secrets from the past, loss,

repetition, trauma, death.” (Dumas 21). Children’s cartoon shows can’t have all these themes

as they stick close to reality and will annihilate the concept of safe fear.

Also, the show even though imitates many horrific scenes from the movie but is

unable to evoke the same feeling. While, the demon that is possessing Muriel’s body wrestled

with Courage, who eventually loses. But that is all. Courage lost the thumb wrestling match

and fled to his supercomputer for help. Even to get rid of the demon, Courage and Eustace

wear a dress with a shower cap on their head and chant completely irrelevant rhymes. And

unlike in the movie when the priests encounter the demon and try to exorcise him they are

met with violent outcomes. The exorcism act, which should be the most suspenseful, is

rendered into a simple comedy with Courage cheering behind him, the demon laughs at

Eustace’s failed attempt. Hence, the tropes that were supposed to be used to insight fear are

nullified with the help of distinction between the real and the fictional.

Similarly, the show repeatedly uses games like thumb wrestling to deal with the

confrontment of the antagonist and the protagonist. The episode 'A Night at the Katz Motel',

which has allusions to the famous movie 'The Psycho'.  With similar tropes of an abandoned

motel at the side of the highway as the Bates Motel. Katz, the antagonist, even peeks through

the eyes in a painting into Eustace’s room while he’s asleep like Norman Bates does. Also,

there is Muriel’s bath scene where she gets attacked by the huge spider that is similar to the

famous shower scene of the movie. 

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Even in this episode, when Courage finally comes face to face with Katz, the audience

witnesses a dramatic squash match that Courage loses again. Katz strangles Courage and

brings the spider closer to him, but before anything could happen, he is whacked by Muriel

on the head. 

The two movies that work as inspiration for the two episodes have one thing in

common, that is, the idea of sexual desire attached to it. Dumas talks about the presence of a

sexual body in horror films, as he says, “Whether you are watching a film about human

monsters or non-human ones, about vengeful spirits from the past or psychotic madness in

the present, horror cinema always trades on irrationality, and irrationality, in psychoanalytic

terms, is always sexual in origin.” (Dumas 22). The absence of any kind of sexual desire in

the two episodes, even though heavily inspired by the movies reinforces the show to be an

imitation and not actual horror.

In addition to sexual desire, there also the absence of death of any character, like it

takes place in the movie. In the preface of the book A Companion to the Horror Film, edited

by Harry M. Benshoff, he says, “Cultural texts such as horror films tell us facts about the

cultures in which they reside: details about gender, about sex, about race and class, about the

body, about death, about pain, about being human, ultimately.” (Benshoff xiv). No one can

die in the show because death is attached to the real world. And once the attachment is made

to the real world, the show’s imitation will fall apart, and it will become real.

In the episode, Mega Muriel The Magnificent, Courage’s computer takes over

Eustace’s body but breaks it easily then moves over to Muriel’s body and makes her do

dangerous stunts. There’s no trace of blood when Eustace’s body breaks into pieces, it goes
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as far as Eustace being able to stay alive as a severed head without needing his body parts

back. In the work The Representation and Aestheticization of Violence, Allan Campbell

Thompson says, “Making a scene more attractive than it would be in real life is very much

part of the technique of portraying the violence in compelling images that mask the reality of

that violence. This involves various methods such as the slow-motion effect mentioned

above, the immunity of the protagonist to any lasting damage, as well as the removal of any

after-effects of the violence such as blood, facial damage and cries of distress (cartoons, for

example, are notorious for acts of extreme violence in which nobody actually gets hurt.”

(Thompson 37).

Courage in this episode tries to protect Mega Muriel from doing dangerous stunts and

ends up getting hurt, but comes back to his original state every time he goes to save Muriel.

Next is the episode which is inspired by the popular culture villain Sweeney Todd,

who first starred in The Sting of Pearls in the Victorian Penny Dreadful. In the episode

named Freaky  Fred, (episode 4, season 1), unlike the previous episode, there’s a use of an

antagonist voice-over. This episode mimics the tropes of psychological horror, as there are

not any monsters or spirits or demons but a normal human as the antagonist. 

 Fred is a tall, lean man with yellow hair and green eyes, always carrying a briefcase

that has an electric shaver. He looks like any other character in the show. But the only

unnerving characteristic is his constant grin. Fred in the shadow grins maliciously on his ride

to the Bagge house that marks his introduction to the audience.

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Figure 6 Fred grinning in the shadow

Courage finds a band on Fred’s hand that reads, “Home for Freaky Barbers Call 555-

1234”. This is a reference to Sweeney Todd being famously known as the ‘Demon Barber’.

The real problem begins when Courage is trapped alone with Fred inside the bathroom.
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Fred shaves Courage’s fur, and as the background music, the cheerful humming of

children starts to play. The visible fear of Courage’s face is the complete opposite of the

background music. Later Fred gags Courage with pancakes that Muriel brought them and

makes Courage unable to yell or call for help.

Figure 7.
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Even though the colour scheme in this episode had warm tones, and everything

happened in broad daylight, the actions of the scenes are in contrast. Brown and Tomlison in

their work talk about the effect of colour in children’s literature, they say, “The pre dominant

colors maybe from cool end of the spectrum (the blue, greens, and gray-violets) or from the

warm end of the color chart (the reds, oranges, and yellows).” (Brown, Tomlison 33). They

then give examples of the usage of the tones, as they say, “For example, if the mood of the

story is that of calm and contentment, the illustrator may choose soft, warm tones that

strengthen the emotional warmth of the story.” (Brown, Tomlison 33). Hence, the color tones

in this episode are the opposite of what the actions imply. This episode made use of smiling

and politeness to make the episode eerier. It is because the episode is trying to mimic a

typical psychological horror by creating an unsettling environment with changes in

narratorial voice, the difference in action, and the representation of that action.

Coming back to Shavit’s argument about children’s literature being made according

to the suitability of both children and adults might help us understand the popular culture

references that the children might not be familiar with. Perry Nodelman in his work The

Hidden Adult talks about how there are always references present in children’s literature

which only adults can understand, as he says,

“David Rudd draws on Derrida’s concept of différance to explain how this dichotomy

affects children’s literature: ‘‘Without a recognition of what it is different from, differences

cannot be sustained. Hence difference is always tainted by ‘the other,’ and must always be

dependent

upon it. . . . Children’s literature is different, certainly, yet intimately bound to its parent

literature, hence the constant slippage.’’177

That slippage allows the hidden adult. What texts of children’s literature might
 Joshi 17

understood to sublimate or keep present but leave unsaid is a variety of forms of knowledge

—sexual, cultural, historical—theoretically only available to and only understandable by

adults.” (Nodelman 206)

Children’s literature is constructed by adults so the concepts that only adults are

familiar with are slipped in. Courage the Cowardly Dog show has consciously used this

slippage that gives the show more layers and more audience approach.

Figure 8. Still from A Night in the Katz Motel Figure 9. Still from Psycho
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Figure 10. Still from The Exorcist Figure 11. Still from Demon in the

Mattress

Now I’ll look at the adults inside the show. We see in nearly every episode Courage

trying to protect Muriel. So, it’s safe to say that after Courage, Muriel is the most important

character of the show, as Courage’s every action is motivated by his strong need to protect

Muriel. Courage isn’t as close to Eustace, and on some occasions, we even see find him not

bothering to help Eustace at all. This can be linked to the Oedipal Complex, which is a

psychoanalytical concept coined by Sigmund Freud in his work A Special Type of Choice of

Object made by Men. In this a child has sexual desires towards the opposite sex parent and

considers the same-sex parent as their rival, According, to this theory, Muriel will play the

role of the mother figure, who is saved by her son Courage. Courage’s attempts to always

protect Muriel might be due to the complex of wanting to compete with the father figure

Eustace.

Muriel mostly works as the damsel in distress, in every next episode. For instance, So

in Louvre are We Two, (episode 8, season 3), in which Muriel turns into a painting, or The

Night of the Scarecrow, (episode 8, season 3), in which Muriel needs to be protected from a

scarecrow who turns bad. In Gothic literature, the damsel in distress is a staple character who

needs protection. This character is more or less in the center of the plotline of the story. We

see most episodes revolve around Courage trying to save Muriel, who was too oblivious to

notice the problem.

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Every different episode tries to mimic a different kind of sub-genre of the horror

genre using various features of the form.

The imitation in the show doesn’t just work for the horror genre, but it also adds

elements to the humor of the show too. Since it’s a cartoon show, the exaggeration of actions

is a common technique used for humor. For instance, in Tom and Jerry or from Looney

Toons, “The Road Runner Show”, one would find several exaggerations used for the comic

factor.

Figure 12. Tom flattened into a table after being hit Figure 13. Coyote using a firework rocket to catch

Road Runner
 Joshi 20

Similar exaggerations are used in Courage the Cowardly Show, especially when

Courage is trying to communicate with his family or when he’s scared.

Figure 14. Courage imitating the weasel from Demon in the Mattress Figure 15. Surprised Courage

According to Rod A. Martin, in his work The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative

Approach, we use humor to relieve the tension, as he says, “Thus, by laughing at the

fundamental incongruities of life and diminishing threats by turning them into objects of

nonserious play, humor is a way of refusing to be overcome by the people and situations,

both large and small, that threaten our well-being.” (Martin 19). Similarly, in the show, the

characters used comedy in the case to relieve the tension. Even the way violence is

represented in the show turns comic, because of the sound effects used and because this

violence doesn’t lead to any prolonged harm to any character. In his work Taking Humour

Seriously, Jerry Palmer talks about the comic effect due to the use of exaggeration and lack of

death in cartoons, as he says, “For example, Tom the cat is exploded by the stick of dynamite

he intended for Jerry the mouse, but survives—albeit in an attenuated form! The concept
 Joshi 21

‘explosion’ includes the expectation of death, therefore Tom’s survival is incongruous.”

(Palmer 95). This incongruity here refers to when something is expected in a situation, for

example, in the episode The Mask, (epsiode7, season 4). Courage is repeatedly beaten up by

the masked creature. This should result in him dead, but nothing of that sort happens and

Courage is completely fine in the scenes after. This unexpected result as a replacement of

what’s should have happened as the situation asked for incites humour.

Figure 16. Beaten up Courage from the episode The Mask

Another common type of comic effect commonly used in cartoon shows is slapstick

comedy. According to Louise Peacock, in her work Slapstick and Comic Performance:

Comedy and Pain, she talks about the structure of slapstick comedy and says, “For Larry

Langman, slapstick ‘implies both the use of physical gags aimed against someone for laughs
 Joshi 22

and a sense of unreality as a result of the broad gags and the improbability of the stunts’

(1987, p. 548); so, just as it was for live slapstick, unreality is a key element of film comedy.”

(Peacock 29). So, slapstick comedy in combination with animation takes the show further

from reality because animation gives slapstick comedy a more unrealistic, and absurd effect.

Because the show is fictional and animated it reassures the viewers that no harm or

actual pain was dealt with by the character and there’s no sense of remorse felt by the

viewers. As Peacock says, “We laugh at the silliness of the victim but as the victim is

fictional and the comedy is deliberately performed, the laughter has very little consequence.”

(Peacock 64). The show uses exaggeration, slapstick comedy, and animation to bring out the

humour while separating itself from the real world.

CONCLUSION

This thesis has looked into contemporary forms of children’s fiction, in particular, the show

named Courage the Cowardly Dog Show. With the use of studies around children’s literature,

forms of fiction, and study of the genre the paper looks at the show’s characteristics and what

makes it a children’s cartoon show. The key features of a children’s cartoon show are, the

setting and world-building, safe fear and imitation of horror, the representation of fear and

pain, aestheticization of violence, and comic violence. Through these topics, I was able to

study the mechanics of the show and how it makes itself suitable for children. There are

elements of comedy and horror genre embedded in the show, but comedy overpowers the

other because of its separation from reality. Using a story-like setting, the show was able to

change horror into a part of the comic and an aesthetic for the animation. The artistic choices

in every episode vary a lot giving every episode more agency to stand-alone without having

to be remembered every detail. It also enhances the idea of the show is a string of stories told

to the audience. Also, like most children’s cartoon shows, or literature, the show has a moral
 Joshi 23

ending, that one has to overcome fear to protect what they love. This moral lesson is

embedded in every episode reminding the viewer that it’s a children’s show.

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Anon., The Clutching Foot. Digital Image. Google. Web.

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Anon., Courage’s Computer. Digital Image, Google. Web.

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