49 Fun Facts About Courage the Cowardly Dog

In which US state is the fictional town of Nowhere, where Courage lives, located?

Kansas. The town's name sets up the show's running joke: the Bagges' lonely farmhouse really is in the middle of Nowhere.

Who created Courage the Cowardly Dog?

John R. Dilworth. He made the pilot at his own New York studio, Stretch Films, and stayed on to direct the series himself.

What was the title of the 1996 pilot short that became Courage the Cowardly Dog?

The Chicken from Outer Space. Its alien chicken came back for a rematch in the series, in an episode called 'The Revenge of the Chicken from Outer Space'.

The Courage pilot lost the 1996 Oscar for animated short to which Wallace & Gromit film?

A Close Shave. Nick Park's short introduced Shaun the Sheep, who went on to get a series and films of his own.

Where did Muriel find the abandoned puppy she went on to name Courage?

In an alley. Muriel decided a puppy sitting there all alone must be very brave, and the name stuck.

The Courage pilot first aired on which showcase of cartoon shorts?

What a Cartoon! The showcase tried out new shorts as would-be pilots; Dexter's Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls came out of it too, and Courage's own series followed in 1999.

Courage is usually described as which breed of dog?

Beagle. That makes him the same breed as Snoopy, although some fans insist he is really a mutt.

Who was the regular voice of Courage in the series?

Marty Grabstein. He gave Courage real speeches in the first season, but the dialogue was soon pared back to screams and mumbling, a deliberate choice.

Thea White, the voice of Muriel, also worked in which other profession?

Librarian. White had left the stage for the library, and it took a chance phone call from a producer to bring her back to acting as Muriel.

What happened to Courage's parents when he was a puppy?

They were sent into outer space by a veterinarian running a secret experiment, a past the show held back until its final episode.

What insulting name does Eustace habitually call Courage?

Stupid dog. The insult runs in the family: Eustace's own mother, Ma Bagge, greets him as 'stupid boy'.

Eustace scares Courage by putting on a green face covering and shouting what phrase?

Ooga Booga. The scares come from plain jealousy: Eustace resents how much Muriel dotes on the dog.

In 'Journey to the Center of Nowhere', which angry vegetables plot revenge on Muriel for serving up their kind?

Eggplants. A drought has driven them to it, so Courage ends the uprising with water rather than a fight.

What is the name of the Bagge family's doctor?

Dr. Vindaloo. His stock diagnosis is 'there's nothing to worry about', yet he is one of the few characters who can understand what Courage is trying to tell him.

What kind of animal is Shirley the Medium?

A chihuahua. Shirley tells fortunes from a ramshackle caravan and has no patience with Eustace, whom she curses more than once for his greed.

Where does Courage keep the sarcastic computer he turns to for advice?

The attic. The machine is not always on his side: in one episode a thunderstorm brings it to life and it downloads itself into Muriel's body to show how daring it can be.

Which recurring young inventor snaps 'Watch where you're going, ya fool!' at anyone in his way?

Di Lung. His gadgets cause as much trouble as any monster: one turns Courage into a fly, and he later builds a robot Courage to replace the real one.

Hamilton, a dog often called the prototype for Courage, appeared in the creator's earlier short for which network?

MTV. The short, Smart Talk with Raisin, gave Hamilton a home with two squabbling owners, a set-up fans see echoed in Courage, Muriel and Eustace.

Muriel Bagge, Courage's kindly owner, originally comes from which country?

Scotland. One late episode lures her home, where a man claiming to be her Uncle Angus locks her up and sets her to making kilts.

Which ingredient does Muriel put in almost every dish she makes, to her family's dismay?

Vinegar. It turns out to be the secret of her prize-winning sweets as well: a jealous rival kidnaps her to get the recipe, only to hear that she puts it in everything.

In the first regular episode, what does Katz do to the guests at his lonely roadside lodging?

Feeds them to giant spiders. The spiders are his pets, and the motel is simply his way of keeping them supplied with food.

A sly fox in sunglasses keeps kidnapping Muriel in an early Courage episode; what does he plan to do with her?

Cook her. He is a chef whose prize stew lacks one ingredient, a granny, and in the end he lands in the pot himself.

Muriel's unsettling nephew Fred, star of "Freaky Fred", works in which profession?

Barber. Fred narrates his visit in rhyme, lingering on the word 'naughty', and his urge to clip everything in reach soon turns on Courage.

In "King Ramses' Curse", what does the pharaoh's ghost repeatedly demand?

Return the slab. Eustace refuses to hand the treasure back without payment, so the ghost answers with three plagues on the farmhouse.

In 'Night of the Weremole', what does Eustace mistake his transformed wife Muriel for?

Mice. So while Courage hunts down the creature that bit her in search of a cure, Eustace simply fetches his mallet.

Which villain cons his way into the farmhouse to rob the Bagges after Muriel loses her memory?

Le Quack. He arrives posing as an amnesia specialist, and it is Courage himself who sends for the French duck to treat Muriel.

What kind of animal is the Great Fusilli, who turns Muriel and Eustace into puppets?

An alligator. His travelling stage show turns its stars into puppets, and in the end the theatre's magic does the same to him.

In 'The Clutching Foot', what on Eustace's body swells into a gang of mobsters?

A fungus. It starts as an itch, swallows Eustace whole and becomes a giant foot whose toes are gangsters, with the big toe as boss.

What is the name of the giant cockroach who hosts the Bagges in "Courage in the Big Stinkin' City"?

Schwick. The name is short for Buschwick, after the Brooklyn neighbourhood, and he forces Courage to fetch a mysterious package before Muriel's big performance.

In 'Little Muriel', what turns Muriel into a demanding three-and-a-half-year-old?

A tornado. It sucks her up and drops her back as a toddler, leaving Courage to babysit while he works out how to reverse it.

What was the name of Eustace's late brother, the hunter he never measured up to?

Horst. The farmhouse was his before it was Eustace's, and even from beyond the grave he warns his brother to leave his locked box buried.

In "1000 Years of Courage", who inhabits the future Earth?

Banana people. A thousand years on, they are being lured into a castle and eaten by a giant gorilla until Courage steps in.

The double-length episode "The Tower of Dr. Zalost" features a professor who fires what at Nowhere?

Unhappy cannonballs. Each one plunges its victims into gloom, which suits their maker: 'zalost' is the Serbo-Croatian word for sorrow.

In "Robot Randy", why does the giant robot enslave Courage and his owners?

To prove he is not a failure. Randy would rather whittle wooden reindeer than conquer planets, and his fellow robots despise him for it.

In "Ride of the Valkyries", where are Courage and his owners on holiday when Valkyries carry Muriel away?

Norway. Three Valkyries take Muriel for their missing sister and mean to carry her into battle against the trolls.

In "So in Louvre Are We Two", which painting does Muriel insist looks just like her?

The Mona Lisa. When the family is locked in the museum overnight, its artworks come to life, the famous portrait among them.

In "King of Flan", how does the King hypnotize the citizens of Nowhere into overeating?

Through television. His broadcasts hypnotise anyone watching, and the whole town grows hugely fat on flan until Courage breaks the spell.

In one Courage episode, an overdue book's curse turns Muriel and Eustace into what?

Characters from the book. The spell holds until the overdue fee is paid in full, which sends Courage scrambling to raise the money.

In 'Ball of Revenge', what game does Eustace invite the villains to play to kill Courage?

Dodgeball. Eustace, fed up with Muriel's doting on the dog, recruits six of Courage's old enemies to finish him off on the court.

In the final segment, 'Perfect', who reassures Courage that he is fine the way he is?

A fish in the bathtub. A stern teacher has spent the whole episode drilling him to be perfect, and the fish is the one who tells him there is no such thing.

What is the title of the computer-animated Courage special made about a decade after the series ended?

The Fog of Courage. The short redrew Courage and the Bagges in CGI and gave Eustace a new voice, the actor Wallace Shawn.

What does Muriel usually whack Eustace with when she catches him tormenting Courage?

A rolling pin. It is her standing answer to his pet trick, springing out at the dog in a monstrous mask.

Which franchise crossed over with Courage in the 2021 direct-to-video film Straight Outta Nowhere?

Scooby-Doo. Mystery Inc. ends the film in classic style, unmasking its giant cicada as a machine piloted by two of Courage's oldest enemies.

In Straight Outta Nowhere, what is revealed to be buried under the Bagge farmhouse?

A dark matter meteor. Courage's computer blames it for every strange thing that has ever happened in Nowhere, and suggests it is the rock that killed the dinosaurs.

Which instrument does Shirley the Medium play between the verses of her spells?

Saxophone. She breaks off her chanting for a burst of sax, and for all her grumbling she is one of the few allies Courage can count on.

Where does Eustace's mother, Ma Bagge, live?

In a trailer. Eustace visits it on Mother's Day hoping for some affection, only for Ma to fuss over Courage and ignore her own son.

Which musical instrument does Muriel play?

Sitar. She is good enough to win a contest whose prize is a performance at Radio City Music Hall, which is how the family ends up in New York.

Why was Eustace recast for the 2021 Courage crossover film?

Both his series actors had died: Lionel Wilson in 2003 and Arthur Anderson in 2016. Jeff Bergman, a veteran of Looney Tunes voices, took over the role.

In 'Hothead', what happens whenever Eustace loses his temper after trying an experimental hair tonic?

Things around him explode. Eustace only wanted a cure for his bald head, so it is left to Courage to try to keep the old man calm.