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Dave the Barbarian

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 74.112.127.139 (talk) at 20:01, 13 April 2007 (→Characters: 'only' martial arts seems dimunitve both of girls and martial arts. Possibly if she has no skill with weapons warfare that could be said. Any info on what school of martial arts?). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Dave the Barbarian
File:800x600 dave wp01.jpg
The main characters of Dave the Barbarian.
Created byDoug Langdale
StarringJeff Bennett
Danny Cooksey
Estelle Harris
Erica Luttrell
Tress MacNeille
Kevin Michael Richardson
Frank Welker
Country of origin United States
Canada Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes22 (list of episodes)
Production
Running timeapprox. 22 minutes
(per episode)
Original release
NetworkDisney Channel
ReleaseJanuary 23, 2003 –
January 22, 2004

Dave the Barbarian is a Disney animated television series, created and written by Doug Langdale, that premiered in January of 2004 on The Disney Channel. A year later, it began broadcasting on Toon Disney as well. The series takes place in the Middle Ages and centers on a powerful yet cowardly barbarian named Dave. Together with his sisters Fang and Candy and their Uncle Oswidge, the family is in temporary rule of the fictitious land of Udrogoth. The real king and queen (their parents), Throktar and Glimia, are away "fighting evil" (though they make occasional appearances via crystal ball) and have left Candy in charge.

Much like its predecessors 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 drops the so-called "fourth wall" with a character directly addressing the audience.

There is a narrator, known as the Storyteller -- sometimes referred to as the Narrator. He is voiced by Jeff Bennett. He plays a big part in the show, as he controls what happens in the story. He is able to talk to the characters of the show, and vice versa. In fact, he was once captured by Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy, and was forced to read narration where Dave loses to him.

This show is a favorite amongst celebrities, those who are known to be fans of it include actor Jim Carrey, actor Johnny Depp, absurdist John Cleese, actor Steve Martin and professional wrestler John Cena. It was heavily rumoured Christy Carlson Romano was a huge fan of the show but she said in a 2006 chatroom interview that she has never seen the show. Before his death Gregory Peck accidentally got an unfinished black and white copy of the pilot episode and sent it back, congratulating them for finding the next Mickey Mouse. The children of absurdist Spike Milligan have praised the show in interviews and have said that their father would have been a huge fan of the show if he'd been alive when it aired.

Characters

Main article: List of Dave the Barbarian characters
  • Dave The Barbarian (voiced by Danny Cooksey - A huge, muscular barbarian war-prince who would rather knit and cook than fight evil. A gentle giant, Dave is afraid of many things, and at least once an episode he will be frightened somehow and shriek his high-pitched, effeminate scream. He is allergic to many things.
  • Fang (voiced by Tress MacNeille) - The youngest of the three siblings, Fang is a very rambunctious and uncivilized girl who loves to smash things. Fang acts as a foil for Dave; while Dave is strong but gentle, Fang is aggressive but diminuitive. She resembles a cross between Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm of The Flintstones and is the victim of a running gag where she is often mistaken for a monkey. She is too small to fight most of the time and resents Dave's cowardice.
  • Candy (voiced by Erica Luttrell) - 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 combat ability is skill in some form of martial arts. She is rather selfish, but gets over that in a small way while helping Hamwise and his wife defeat the nefarious Invisigoths.
  • Uncle Oswidge (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) - The siblings' uncle, likely on Glimia's side of the family, and an incompetent sorcerer who usually wreaks havoc with his spells rather than being useful. Far from the stereotypical sorcerer, Uncle Oswidge loves to eat and presents a rather unkempt appearance.

Cast

Cancellation?

Dave the Barbarian, though surprisingly praised by critics, and having a line of celebrities wanting to do lend their voices for guest roles, was mysteriously put on hiatus. It is unknown what Disney Channel plans to do with the series. While the show continues to air on the Disney Channel and while IMDB [1] still lists the show as being in active production, there is good reason to believe that the show may actually have been cancelled. Only one season, composed of 22 episodes, was produced, unusually short for a Disney show, where the norm is usually around 65 episodes.


See Also

List of Dave the Barbarian Episodes

Wikiquote has quotations related to Dave the Barbarian.


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