Top 10 Most Iconic Episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog

courage the cowardly dog is a classic show that in my opinion completely embodies the nostalgic feeling of late 90s to early 2000s cartoon network drawing inspiration from a large collection of various popular horror media courage is one of the first cartoons i remember watching that incorporated a spooky twist on the modern children's cartoon having originally ran from november 1999 through november of 2002 courage the cowardly dog remains in my opinion one of the best cartoons to air on cartoon network to date the show's creator john r dilworth originally pitched the show with a short clip that premiered in 1996 on what a cartoon a showcase of short cartoons that was presented by hannah barbera where typically the most popular shorts would be greenlit for a series on cartoon network the academy award nominated short was enough to springboard dilworth's creation into the series that we know and love grab some popcorn and get comfy because today we're gonna take a look at what i would consider to be the top 10 most iconic episodes of courage the cowardly dog now what makes an episode iconic by my definition simply put when i think of courage the cowardly dog these are the first episodes that come to mind the most classic episodes that i feel embody the entire essence of the show now before i get started please keep in mind that this list is completely opinion based and your list is probably going to be different from mine if that is the case though leave me a comment down below and let me know where you think that i messed up with my list if you enjoy this video please click that like button and make sure you're subscribed to my channel so you can stay up to date with my content i post videos every wednesday and friday and by subscribing you're not only helping me out but you're also making sure that you're not going to miss any of my videos going forward now that that's out of the way let's get right into it number 10 cajun granny stew this episode is one of my personal favorites right off the bat the song that plays throughout this episode slaps it is a certified banger if i've ever heard one as for the episode itself it begins with a fox who's making a bizarre stew for what seems to be a cooking contest the only problem is that he is missing one key ingredient one cute little granny because what would cajun granny stew be without the granny of course cut to courage and muriel sitting in the park on a beautiful day feeding some pigeons that are antagonizing courage the fox stumbles upon them noticing that muriel is indeed a little old granny after falling asleep on a bench in the park she is kidnapped by the fox to be used in his stew hilarity ensues as courage in the fox fight over muriel in the end courage wins and the fox is turned into cajun fox stew this episode is iconic in my eyes for a multitude of reasons but one thing that really stands out to me is how the entirety of the episode takes place in a lush green area instead of the dry barren farmhouse in the middle of nowhere as most episodes usually do you'll probably see me point this out in multiple episodes on this list but courage has this habit of asking someone for help and instead of words he just transforms into a likeness of what it is that's terrifying him at the time that aspect of the show is one of the funniest to me as it's usually an extremely hyperbolized version of what it is that's scaring courage i also find it hilarious how oblivious muriel is throughout this entire episode even when she wakes up flying high through the air she just assumes that she's having a floating dream and goes back to sleep i can go on and on honestly about what makes this episode iconic in my eyes but one thing's for sure the entirety of this episode is a testament to how courage would do anything for muriel including crashing a plane into the side of a cliff falling off of a cliff and getting ran over by a steamroller not once but twice number 9 the snowman cometh this episode begins with eustis muriel and courage freezing cold inside of an igloo with eustis complaining that the details of his silver springs timeshare didn't specify that the destination was in the arctic courage gets sent out of the igloo to find firewood at eustis's behest he stumbles upon a snowman near the igloo and courage again still looking for firewood takes one of the snowman's arms at that point the snowman comes to life and gets angry at courage for taking his arm which begs the question couldn't courage have just taken both of the snowman's arms that would have both a gotten him two pieces of firewood and b completely disarmed the snowman no pun intended but of course if that was the case this iconic episode would have only been about a minute and a half long courage does that thing where he tells his owners about the snowman hilariously transforming himself into an ice monster to get his point across and the way eustis and muriel are initially taken back by this but quickly dismiss it always made me chuckle as a kid as courage is sent out yet again to find firewood we cut to the snowman traversing through a hall with portraits of his fellow snowmen who he explains he used to roam the land with him back in the old days when ice and snow were everywhere and snowmen ruled the world specifically he gets caught up on one snow girl named irvana that he was madly in love with through a peculiar chain of events courage ends up crashing into the snowman slayer and he does this thing where after getting badly hurt he looks at the camera all bruised up with broken teeth and lets out a hilarious laugh again another quirky gag that commonly appears throughout the show that i absolutely love courage discovers that due to global warming all the snowmen melted and now the only living snowman left plans to extract the anti-melting gene from humans using a spigot that he attaches to their foreheads to stop himself from melting and raise his other snowmen back from the grave one thing leads to another and courage defeats the snowman and by the end of the episode everyone is at home safe and sound with the exception of eustis who had his anti-melting gene extracted and now exists as a jug of water with glasses on this episode proved to us that a children's cartoon wasn't afraid to tackle modern issues such as global warming tackling the idea of a species that once thrived now being on the brink of total extinction due to their climate not being livable for them anymore we would also see the snowman appear in a later episode as well with this being the initial episode that introduces us to the character also the snowman's voice is very reminiscent of sean connery and the way he introduces himself as man snowman may not be obvious to some but it's actually a reference to james bond aka 007 who famously introduced himself in a similar manner number eight surely the medium this iconic episode would introduce another character that would be seen intermittently throughout the rest of the series surely the medium who is a small green chihuahua that is a mystical fortune teller she also casts curses on those deserving until they change their ways and reverse their sins the episode begins with courage digging in the yard looking for a yo-yo that is assumed to be buried in the yard with all of courage's other precious belongings while digging courage finds a mysterious box which he brings inside cut to eustace and muriel inside the house having a discussion about eustis's late brother horst whom eustis holds a grudge for a multitude of reasons the biggest at this point being that horst died without telling eustis where he hid his box full of money courage brings eustis the box that he found buried outside which of course just so happens to be the box full of money that eustace is so salty about after failing to open it by unconventional means due to lack of the key the family sees a commercial on the channeling channel about surely the medium muriel offers up the idea of having shirley channel horsed so that he and eustis can settle their differences once and for all eustis on the other hand has other ideas planning only to channel him so that he could find the key that he needs all the meanwhile courage is very opposed to opening the box having heard evil noises coming from inside of it later shirley shows up to channel horst and the first thing that comes out of her mouth is one thing if you contact the dead for personal gain there will be tragic consequences shirley is successful at using her crystal ball to find the yo-yo that courage has been searching for which was hiding under the sofa all along but she struggles to get a hold of horst who isn't accepting calls right now shirley warns again that the dead should not be contacted for personal gain and courage warns of the dangers within the box by doing that thing where he transforms into what he believes the danger to be eustis ignores all warnings and insists on contacting horse eventually we learn that the key was in the lining of eustis's hat all along after opening the box an evil pair of arms that lives inside of the box ends up endangering the family courage goes to shirley for help who does so begrudgingly but even after being attacked eustace still hasn't learned his lesson and opens the box again only to be pulled inside and remain in the box for all of eternity or at least until courage decides to give him the key whichever comes first this episode rings iconic to me for a plethora of reasons but the biggest one is the introduction of shirley throughout the entirety of the show we would see shirley appear again multiple times but this episode was the initial moment where the family meets her for the first time number seven heads of beef it's hard for me to explain the feeling i get from this episode the episode itself is pretty intense and the writers and animators do a great job of really building suspense in this one for me one thing that really sums it up well is that haunting little guitar riff that plays during the title card that alone was enough to make me feel stressed worry and honestly almost panicked it's crazy to me how they can make someone like me experience those feelings just over the course of a six or seven second clip the same guitarif would be used throughout the episode to build tension and suspense which it does a phenomenal job of doing this episode begins with muriel being too sick to cook dinner for the family eustis as per usual as angry specifically because muriel isn't making dinner for the family he goes into town to buy himself some dinner and get muriel a scone from the bakery in town on the way into town usta sees a billboard advertising a diner that sells big juicy burgers for cheap cut to jean bonds a little hole-in-the-wall diner that's run by a family of hogs as they enter they see a red-faced gentleman with dark green teeth sitting at the tiner eating a burger he finishes eating and asks for what one would assume is the bathroom but before he can finish asking his question jean bond points him in the direction of a door at the back of the diner after disappearing and not coming back for a while courage notices jean bond taking the red-faced gentleman's hat and briefcase claiming that he'll hold on to it for him until he gets back once they're served their burgers courage sees the red-faced guy's face in his patty jean vaughn explains it's my wife's special leaving courage terrified that the hogs running this diner are using human meat in their food in this one i love how in the beginning when courage is trying to tell eustis what's going on and he does that thing where he transforms into what the fear is he puffs himself up to be a similar shape as the red-faced man and then he lays down in his burger trying to show that the burger is made out of the red-faced man after sneaking into the basement courage believes that his suspicions are true when he sees shadows of the hogs and what he believes to be that same red-faced man he also overheard them talking about having another new customer and eating dog which seems to confirm courage's fears even further after a tense series of events fueled by that truly jarring guitar riff courage ends up escaping and literally sprinting all the way home at the end we learned that jean bond and his wife aren't actually serving people and that she has a knack for making food art and her muse is people the episode ends with eustis and the red-faced man eating a burger that's shaped exactly like eustis's head after re-watching this episode for research i came to the realization that this episode is also one of my all-time favorites the grim subject nature combined with that haunting guitar riff result in a captivating episode that really makes you assume the worst up until the end when the truth is revealed number six the clutching foot so i'm gonna be honest here i had a hard time compiling this list for the most iconic episodes it was hard for me not to get my own feelings and opinions wrapped up in the list this episode is a true indicator of that i rewrote my list multiple times and this episode actually was never on the list until i finalized it this episode really isn't one of my favorites but that doesn't matter because it's still truly an iconic episode again when i indicate what is iconic it's not about what my favorite is it's about the most memorable episodes that really capture what courage was about and this episode does just that it begins in the middle of the night with courage sleeping at the foot of eustis and muriel's bed eustis who oddly enough sleeps with his hat on wakes up in the middle of the night yelling about wool socks because his feet are incredibly itchy for some reason upon waking up he realizes that he has purple and green foot fungus thankfully muriel has a slew of family recipes to help including rubbing a cactus on his foot putting his foot in a bucket of angry lobsters and dipping his foot into a burning hot pan of gelatinous green muck featuring bones worms eyes a band-aid and what looks to be a bat wing refusing to go to the doctor eustis insists that he just needs a nap to feel better but when he wakes up the foot fungus has spread and it quickly engulfs his entire body at this point courage walks in and his reaction is absolutely priceless he screams bloody murder and one by one all of his teeth fly right out of his mouth the giant foot has a face on each toe and their voices bear likeness to old-timey gangsters i'm the big toe say yeah say and what i say go say the foot takes muriel hostage and forces courage to do its bidding including robbing a bank that oddly enough has a giant pool of lava underneath it and robbing a train after both robberies go awry the foot then unveils its plan to knock over the state of florida courage tries to do the 90s equivalent of google searching for the answer but his computer tells him that he needs a sample to find the solution courage decides to use a fishing rod with a hook to disgustingly sneak a piece of the foot's fungal flesh which he proceeds to insert into his computer's disk drive unfortunately the only solution to the issue is dog spit which leaves courage responsible for licking the giant foot until the fungus clears up which sounds like something straight out of dan schneider's wildest dreams after licking the foot clean courage has saved the day and all as well until courage goes to brush his teeth and now the big toe who is the leader of the foot has taken the form of courage's tongue which is where the episode ends due to the gross out nature of this episode it definitely isn't one of my favorites but i would be lying if i said it wasn't an iconic episode one thing that really stands out to me in this one is again how courage would do anything for his owners even eustis who is a complete jerk to courage number five the demon in the mattress as opposed to the last episode this one is another one of my absolute favorites a large inspiration from this episode is drawn from the 1973 film the exorcist which is frequently hailed as one of the scariest films of all time the episode begins with muriel experiencing a particularly sleepless night due to their old beaten up mattress after seeing an ad for mattress that will change your life forever muriel calls the number on the ad to order the new mattress she ignores the obvious red flags such as the ominous voice on the phone already knowing their address the creepy horse-drawn carriage the freaky delivery men that hiss at courage and the obvious demonic face on the mattress combined with all that the mattress turns their entire room green but you know no cause for concern there surprise surprise the mattress is haunted by a demon that is attempting to possess muriel after seeing this happen courage goes into the living room to warn eustis and does that thing where he hilariously transforms into a hyperbolized likeness of what's scaring him courage picks up eustis and carries him upstairs where they find muriel fully possessed by this demon it would be lovely if i could have a cup of after hilariously menacing him the demon finds itself facing courage in an epic thumb wrestling match which courage loses courage proceeds to again do the 90s equivalent of google searching basic instructions for an exorcism which involves eustace putting on a hilarious flowing gown and chanting some ridiculous incantation after being humiliated and projectile vomited on by the demon eustace gives up but courage tries and is successful in exercising the demon which proceeds to then possess eustis instead but thankfully muriel cracks him over the head with a rolling pin which puts him down for the count and courage rolls up the mattress and chains it up a completely pissed-off muriel calls the mattress company to pick up their haunted mattress and the episode ends on a happier note with muriel and courage sleeping on the couch i for one will never forget this episode because it's one of the first episodes i saw where i could actually identify the horror themes and exactly what movie they were drawn from that and the fact that it terrified me to my core when i was a child number four a night at the cat's motel strap in because this one is a straight up masterpiece this episode introduces cats as the antagonist a villain who would be seen again and again throughout the entirety of the series this episode begins on a dark and stormy night the bag family on their way home from what eustis deemed a crummy vacation decides to stop at the cat's motel for the night the name of which i feel like could be referenced to the bates motel from the movie psycho they go into the office and are greeted by cats the creepy hotel owner welcome to the cats motel i'm cats the song that plays when cats is introduced is an instant classic as well as a constant and ominous reminder of how much of a true to form villain that katz is the one posted rule in this hotel is no dogs allowed which leads to eustis tying courage up to a post on the exterior of the hotel back in the motel room as muriel prepares to take a bath you see the space chicken as a rubber duck floating in the water i love this callback to the original pilot to me it feels like a true symbolization of how important it was for the show to never forget where it all started and to stick to its roots this early iteration of cats had a collection of giant horrific but also beautifully animated spiders that he treasured and cared for the majority of this episode revolves around cats trying to feed the family to his spiders courage being targeted by a spider escapes from his leash and runs to find his family who just so happens to be staying in room number 666 and a half with muriel fighting off a gigantic spider and used to sleeping through the whole ordeal then getting captured himself courage runs off to get help in this episode when courage does the thing where he transforms into what it is scaring him he turns into three different monsters that are actually completely irrelevant to this episode oddly enough but it's still hilarious nevertheless the climax of this episode occurs when katz challenges courage to a game of hand ball when katz ends up winning and just when courage seems to be meeting his untimely demise at the hand of cats and his giant spiders we get hit with a massive plot twist turns out that muriel actually saved herself by flushing the spider she was fighting down the toilet then she proceeds to smash cats over the head with a tennis racket knocking him unconscious and from what i recall the only time throughout the series saving courage from sure doom the roles are typically reversed with courage saving the day there is so much about this episode that would deem it iconic in my eyes but one of my favorite parts is the animation of the spiders they are all so colorful and bizarre looking that combined with it being the introduction of cats as a villain definitely sets this episode apart from the rest of the series now before i go on with our top three most iconic episodes of courage i wanted to take a moment to throw out a couple honorable mentions that almost made my list but just really didn't make the cut for one reason or another the first one is the duck brothers an episode about two duck brothers trying to save their third brother from a chef who is trying to cook him the next honorable mention is everyone wants to direct an episode about the famed director benton tarantella coming back from the dead to resurrect his former partner and eat muriel the last honorable mention i wanted to throw out there was the queen of the black puddle an episode about a mysterious puddle that is home to an evil sea demon that's trying to presumably eat eustis these episodes are definitely iconic in my book but for the sake of this video not being any longer than it already has to be i decided to limit to only 10 most iconic episodes number three revenge of the chicken from outer space i honestly really contemplated putting this as number one on the list for good reason too because it's a true call back to what made courage into the show that we all know and love the writers essentially continued the story that was shown in the original pilot and made an entire episode based off of the premise that the chicken from the original pilot survived alas there are other episodes i feel are a little more iconic but this episode is definitely an important one regardless the episode begins with courage waking up screaming from a nightmare he goes downstairs for a glass of water when a bright light from outside catches his eye he looks outside to find a massive ufo and descending from it is none other than the chicken from outer space only this time he is headless featherless and frankly looks like he's been prepared to be a delicious meal courage does that thing where he transforms into what he's afraid of but this time instead of a hyperbolized version he transforms into a scary ufo some of the chickens polka-dotted eggs and then the chicken itself muriel dismisses courage's fear telling him that's it no more liver for you then she proceeds to get captured by the space chicken who uses a rather clever slideshow to convey its plan to courage at one point courage goes inside to get eustis for help and courage again does that thing where he transforms into a likeness of what the danger is but this time it's greatly hyperbolized like you'd expect and he appears in the form of a three-headed purple monster chicken that's terrorizing muriel eustis being as useless as ever ignores courage so courage takes it upon himself to smack eustis with a slipper and lures a now enraged eustis out to the ufo to help unfortunately eustis ends up having his head taken by the chicken who is now just a little bit more terrifying while wearing eustace's head naturally muriel falls asleep in the ufo as she tends to do at the most inopportune times of course leaving courage to defend her from the space chicken eventually courage ends up defeating the chicken by blowing up his ufo with a giant rocket saving the day and making sure muriel is safe of course eustis on the other hand is left wandering around headless again and i can't stress how much i appreciated the callback to the pilot which solidified this episode spot at number three on my list number two freaky fred [Music] these last two episodes i had a big problem deciding which was more iconic than the other fingers crossed that i don't regret this decision any time that courage comes up in conversation this episode and the number one spot on this list seem to almost always come up without fail this episode begins with a prologue delivered by the voice in fred's head he explains that he is muriel's nephew and that he has been very naughty we also get a glimpse of eustis telling courage how he thinks fred is a freak who owns a freaky barbershop where he does freaky things as fred rings the doorbell courage imagines a line of monsters waiting at the door including a mummy whose eyes are falling out a man-sized bug and a top hat frankenstein and a mime i feel the need to point that out because it was hilarious in my opinion as they welcome fred into their home courage notices that he is wearing a wristband labeled home for freaky barbers with a phone number on it which sends him into a panic as muriel sends fred to the bathroom to freshen up eustis comes upstairs to bring towels and locks courage in the bathroom with fred unfortunately for courage the lock is broken and eustis has to go to the hardware store to get it open for some weird reason throughout the episode courage spends the entire day in the bathroom with fred while eustis is out sitting in his truck reading the paper on the side of the road lounging at the beach and sleeping in a movie theater locked in the bathroom fred goes on a long monologue that more or less explains how he has a fetish for cutting hair of those who are unwilling all the meanwhile he is shaving courage bald in the most weird way possible complete with graceful dancing and massive toothy grins eventually courage ends up getting the bracelet off of fred's wrist and calling the phone number that's on it the people from the mental hospital show up to bust down the door and take him back this episode is incredibly memorable for many reasons due to the bizarre nature in general with fred at one point even going as far as stuffing courage's mouthful of pancakes and shaving down the portion that won't fit in courage's mouth all in all this one is definitely one of the most bizarre and weird episodes the series had ever aired which earned it the number two spot in my list and finally number one king ramsay's curse this is in my opinion the most iconic courage of cowardly dog episode of all time when i think of this show this is the single episode that always comes to mind first it's interesting for me to reflect on this episode as a child it terrified me and i could swear i remember it being at least a whole half an hour long but in all reality the episode is only roughly 11 minutes but in this short 11 minutes so much happens and to a terrified child 11 minutes feels like an eternity the episode begins with a pair of mobsters who are on the run from the law they stop to bury a mysterious slab that they claim will make them rich but they plan to come back for it when the heat dies down just when they get back in the car a dense fog covers the road and we hear that iconic line accompanied by a spine-chilling tone when they don't listen the watcher is left to assume that they met their demise at the hands of the curse the next morning courage goes outside and digs up the exact spot where the mobsters buried the mysterious slab he brings it inside and eustis is quick to call it garbage and throw it out the window until a news report comes on the tv explaining that the stolen slab is actually worth a million dollars while eustis is going on about buying new lawn chairs with his million dollars courage notices the slab start to change and one of the mysterious figures on the slab disappears as someone from the institute of the pharaoh knocks on the door to take the slab back to where it belongs courage does that thing where he transforms into his fears again the guy from the institute only offers a stylish tote bag as an offer for the slab so eustis slams the door in his face of course seeming to seal his fate later that night we get our first look at king ramsay's ghost as he appears at the farmhouse and this iconic scene was forever burned into the memory of a poor terrified six-year-old sean [Music] he threatens eustis with three plagues but assuming that it's the professor playing a trick on him eustis slams the door and completely ignores the threat at that exact moment courage again witnesses the slab change and one of the symbols on the slab disappears as it begins to pour rain inside of the house the house floods up to the attic but courage has the idea to swim to the basement and pull the plug on the drain that proceeds to drain the water from the house the next plague is in the form of a ridiculously loud and obnoxious song that can be heard from no matter where you are after searching everywhere courage finally finds the source of the song which is a phonograph behind a rock nearby playing the song he smashes it and returns home just in time to be met by the third and final plague a swarm of locusts covers the home almost like a massive cloud and begins to devour their house meanwhile muriel is panicked cooking to cope with the stress of course at the last second when just a minor portion of the house is remaining eustis relinquishes the slab and courage throws it out the window which causes the plagues to stop shortly after eustis greedily goes back to claim the slab now that the three plagues are gone but he ends up being trapped within the slab which is now sealed inside of king ramsay's tomb there's a lot to cover about why this episode is iconic but ultimately the largest reason would have to be king ramses himself the way they 3d animate him makes him really pop compared to everything else in this episode his quintessential catchphrase burned itself into the memory of everyone who saw this episode and even that ridiculous song that plays as part of the second plague was also burned into the memories overall this episode is so hauntingly memorable that to me it really stands out as the number one most iconic episode of all time thank you very much for watching this video if you made it this far go ahead in the comment section down below and let me know what you thought about my ranking and if there's anything that you would change in regards to my ranking if you enjoyed this video make sure you click 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Channel: DuskTillShawn

Views: 159,288

Keywords: Top 10 Most Iconic Episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog, Courage, cowardly, dog, courage the cowardly dog, cartoon network, cartoons, courage, funny, iconic, episodes, Cartoon Cartoon show, What a Cartoon, hanna barbera cartoons, hanna barbera, dexters lab, scooby doo, 90s, 1999, 2000, 00s cartoons, 90s cartoons, best, best episode, comedy, retrospective, DuskTillShawn, best episodes of courage the cowardly dog, most scary episodes of courage the cowardly dog, best episodes of courage

Id: eFHZ75EVE-E

Length: 30min 46sec (1846 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 12 2020