Danger Mouse (TV Series) - Popularity

Popularity

The hero wears an eyepatch and his chest is prominently emblazoned with the initials 'DM'. This causes problems for those translating the series into other languages, where a literal translation of the words 'Danger' and 'Mouse' do not have those initials; the Scots Gaelic version, for example, calls the series (and the lead) Donnie Murdo (two given names unconnected either with mice or danger). He was Dzielna Mysz (brave mouse) in Polish, Dundermusen (Thundermouse) in Swedish, and Dare Dare Motus in French, "Dare Dare" being French slang for "as fast as possible". The Slovene translation omitted the DM initials entirely, however, dubbing Danger Mouse Hrabri mišek ('Brave Mouse').

By 1983, Danger Mouse viewing figures hit all-time high of 21.59 million viewers. In the same week, the movie Superman III only managed to have 16.76 million viewing figures. Danger Mouse was the first British cartoon to break into the American TV market (since the animated shorts Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, Ludwig, and Paddington Bear being shown in the 1970s) following syndication on 4 June 1984, where, it garnered a tremendous fan following that still exists. Since it went off air, it has been periodically repeated and been released on DVD. In the United States, it was broadcast on Nickelodeon in the 1980s in the late afternoons and in the early evenings as a segue into prime-time hours (as the A&E Network and later Nick-at-Nite) as the series appealed to both pre-teens and adults with its quick-witted English humour.

Although all the characters in the series are animals, the adventures of Danger Mouse appear to be taking place alongside the human world; there are various examples of a mouse-sized Danger Mouse walking through human-scale sets, standing on table-football tables and, not least, living inside a normal size pillar box. This becomes less consistent as the series goes on, as many later episodes show the characters as being human size. There are also times when the cast attempts to deliberately interact with humans (such as Duckula mind-controlling human Members of Parliament to be as showbiz-mad as he is, as well as the episode, "Trip to America" where, Danger Mouse and Penfold are seen to interact with a Texan).

In Australia, it was first broadcast on ABC TV, then in 1996, it was on Network Ten. It is still best remembered as a Classic ABC programme. It was also the first British cartoon to break into Cheez TV, being shown on the weekdays. In Britain's Channel 4's 100 Greatest Kids' TV Shows, Danger Mouse came third, beaten only by The Muppet Show and The Simpsons.

Because a ten-minute episode needed 2,000 drawings, as a cost-cutting measure, the cartoons made frequent use of repeated footage and "in the dark" sequences (black with eyeballs visible only, or, in Danger Mouse's case, simply one eyeball). A recurring setting for episodes was "The North Pole" - so chosen because the white, snow-covered backgrounds would require minimal painting and colouring.

Although rumours of a CGI revival of the show have persisted in recent years, no official announcements have been made. The original Danger Mouse returned to terrestrial television after the BBC purchased episodes of the series to broadcast in its daytime schedules with its first broadcast on 12 February 2007.