Courage the Cowardly Dog follows the story of the life of a little pink cowardly dog who was named Courage when he was found by Muriel. When he was a baby, one of his vet appointments ended being the last time he saw his dog parents. During that day, while the yet made baby Courage wait in the waiting room, he sent his parents up into space. Then Courage ended up on the streets. Afterwards, a lady named Muriel found Courage and took him home to her home in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas, with her mean, rude, and cranky husband, Eustace Bagge. Courage is always on the watch since creepy, scary, and paranormal events happen in Nowhere, but Courage is always ready to save Muriel and kick some villain, monster, alien, or zombie butts! GO COURAGE!
PLOT
Main article: List of Courage the Cowardly Dog Episodes
Courage the Cowardly Dog centers on the exploits of Courage, a small fuchsia dog who is afraid of the most mundane things. However, his fear is usually warranted: Eustace, Muriel and Courage are constantly attacked or run into various monsters, aliens, curses, natural disasters, and other forms of evil Courage must face.
In the series, when Courage wants to save his family, he sometimes faces off the villain in a game (such as dodgeball or a staring contest), convinces the villain to leave the life of crime, or tricks the villain.
The opening of the show documents Courage's past: Abandoned as a puppy, Courage was living in a box until he was found by Muriel, who lives in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas with her husband Eustace. Eustace always resented Courage's presence in the home and continually attempts to scare the living daylights out of Courage by whipping out a giant green mask, screaming "Ooga! Booga! Booga!" Afterwards, Eustace laughs at Courage's expense, until Muriel comically bludgeons him over the head with a rolling pin. This changes with the chapters in different variations (i.e. jumping eyeballs, giant teeth etc).
The characters include Courage, his owners Muriel Bagge and Eustace Bagge, and his large assortment of friends and foes. Courage is the main character of the show. He was abandoned as a puppy, left in the cold, and found by Muriel Bagge, who took him in and gave him affection. His origins and the fate of his parents are further detailed in the final episode "Remembrance of Courage Past".
Though he is tagged as a "cowardly dog" he lives up to his name in each episode acting as the reluctant hero at great risk to himself. He overcomes his fear of the evil presented in each episode unenthusiastically sighing and saying, "The things I do for love." His signature is his scream of complete and utter terror in the face of a monster. The scream actually saved his life once. One of Courage's best qualities is that he never gives up. Courage also has a compassionate side, often showing understanding and friendship to monsters and creatures shunned by most other people.
Courage speaks in regular English to the viewer, but when he wants to convey a message to the other characters on the show, usually he acts out the message while blabbering high-pitched incomprehensible gibberish. For example, to tell the Bagges that they are in danger of running into a given monster, he will himself temporarily morph into the monster and roar like it. This may possibly be a reference to the Scooby Doo cartoons, where Scooby would act like the monster or apparition he has just seen. (Actually, Courage may have spoken in English to Muriel a few times-- but this is almost always how he communicates.) Courage is not the most attractive of dogs. Among other physical flaws, he has an odd laugh and a tooth with a significant cavity (i.e. a hole completely through it). Courage first appeared on the What a Cartoon! show in an animated short named "The Chicken from Outer Space".
CHARACTERS
Muriel Bagge is Courage's sweet, innocent Scottish-accented grandmother-like owner. She loves to be hospitable, cook and clean, and to sit in her rocking chair, but the one thing she loves the most is Courage, and the feeling is very mutual. She's so sweet and unassuming she has a difficult time telling when danger is approaching, and occasionally invites evil into the house, even as Courage frantically warns her. Muriel is also a good cook, whose secret ingredient is vinegar. When anything goes wrong, she settles it down with a cup of tea.
In nearly every episode Muriel is captured or threatened in some way, and Courage is the only one who can save her. Once saved, she is usually always none-the-wiser of the risks Courage took. In the episode "Freaky Fred", Muriel was visited by her nephew Fred, a character based on Edgar Allen Poe's poems, who turned out to be an freak hair cutter. Before being caught by medicals, he managed to cut off Courage's hair with an exception, the phrase "With Love, Fred" located on his back. Muriel also plays the sitar.
EustaceEustace Harold "Horace" Bagge is Muriel's husband, the farmer. Eustace doesn't like Courage much at all, and for the most part calls him a "stupid dog," and enjoys constantly teasing him and kicking him when he's down. He only shows concern for his money and his property, and greed drives many of his actions. This results in many of the problems Courage must resolve in the show.
In some episodes Eustace plays the part of the antagonist. Usually at the end of an episode something bad happens to Eustace, such as being blasted to the moon, eaten, zapped, mummified, transformed, possessed, and other misfortunes. While these things would usually kill him, he appears fine by the next episode. Lionel Wilson, the original voice of Eustace, died in a transition from the show's seasons. Lionel had retired from the show after a lengthy illness, and was replaced as Eustace's voice by Arthur Anderson. He seems to say stupid and then a person/place/thing frequently. He also tends to grumble in every situation, unless money is given to him.
Eustace is also extremely embarrassed by his baldness. During a name-calling game, repeatedly calling him "bald" will win the argument. Part of his shame comes from the fact his mother is bald as well (and hides it with a wig.) For some reason, Eustace seems immune to anything that alter the person's emotions. He was unaffected by the Curtain of Cruelty (and his clothes were not treated by the fabric softener that protected Murial and Courage) nor he was affected by the Curtain of Kindness that was released later on. He also took multiple shots from Zalost's Unhappy cannonballs, without changing (Though later one thrown at him by Zalost turned him into dust)
