Cool McCool
| Cool McCool | |
|---|---|
 Opening titles | |
| Created by |
Bob Kane Al Brodax |
| Starring |
Bob McFadden Chuck McCann Carol Corbett |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 20 (half hours) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 3 episodes per half-hour (30 minutes with Commercials) |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 10, 1966 – August 30, 1969 |
Cool McCool was an animated series that ran on NBC from September 10, 1966 to August 30, 1969 with three segments per show, running to 60 segments in all. It was created by Bob Kane – most famous as the one of the creators of Batman – and produced by Al Brodax for King Features.
Synopsis
Riffing off the then-popular genres of superheroes and James Bond spy adventures, Cool McCool featured the adventures of a hip, trenchcoated spy, who – as on the contemporary TV show Get Smart – defeated villains despite being comically inept. Villains included the Rattler, Hurricane Harry, Greta Ghoul, the Owl, Jack-In-The-Box and Dr. Madcap. McCool's boss was known as Number One, although his face was never seen onscreen; only his arms and a cigar were visible behind his chair (a reference to another contemporary spy show – The Prisoner, which featured a spy looking for Number One who ran the prison he found himself in). Number One's secretary was Friday, a dumpy girl who had an unrequited crush on the secret agent. McCool had three catchphrases: "Danger is my business!" "When you're right, Number One, you're right," and (after bungling something) "That will never happen again."
The show also featured a Keystone Kops-style segment featuring the adventures of McCool's father, Harry McCool, a uniformed police officer, presumed to have taken place decades before Cool's time. Harry was supported by his brothers Dick and Tom. Only 20 Harry McCool episodes were made, each one sandwiched between the two Cool McCool episodes per show.
Cast
Cool and Harry were voiced by Bob McFadden, while most of the other voices were supplied by Chuck McCann. Carol Corbett provided the voice of the female characters. McFadden modeled McCool's voice after comic legend Jack Benny.
Secret, Inc.
- Cool McCool: A secret agent who takes several risks to save the world. Despite his powerful skills and super-spy abilities, he can be bumbling, foolish and clumsy at times. He rides a modified car called the "Coolmobile", which he can summon by whistling. His mustache tingles when there's danger lurking about and can also be used as a telephone to contact Number One. A running gag in the series is that after the end of each mission, despite being successful (often in spite of his own bumbling), Cool would do something that would make Number One mad, thus causing him to get ejected. His catchphrases are "Danger is my business!", "When you're right, Number One, you're right" and "That will never happen again." He is voiced by Bob McFadden.
- Number One: Cool's boss. Whenever Cool does something really stupid, he always ejects him out of the headquarters by means of a control dashboard at his desk. His face is never shown, just his arm that has a black suit, wearing a diamond ring and holding a cigar, making his appearance possibly taken off of Al Brodax, the show's co-creator. It was revealed that he is married since in the series finale, Cool destroyed his wife's anniversary gift. His real name is never revealed. Voice of Chuck McCann .
- Friday: Number One's secretary who has a crush on Cool. She is mostly a klutz. She is voiced by Carol Corbett.
- Breezy: Cool McCool's adolescent sidekick who aids him on some occasions. He is always there on the job when Cool is in trouble. He looks like a younger version of Cool except his hair covers his eyes, he wears a hat, he has a buck tooth and has a soft voice. Unlike Cool, he makes few mistakes and is not as bumbling. Voice of Chuck McCann.
Harry McCool segment (Komedy Kops)
The cartoon is a flashback, supposed to take place decades before Cool's time. At the end of every first Cool McCool segment, Cool sings about his recent missions and that he should be like his father (a uniformed police officer who was even more of a bumbler), and the flashback segment starts. As the Komedy Kops are uniformed officers, there are no recurring villains.
- Harry McCool: Cool's father. He, along with his brothers Dick and Tom, were the members of the Komedy Kops. He is the more intelligent of the trio, thus the de facto leader, and occupies the first seat in the tandem bike they ride. Like his son, Harry is voiced by Bob McFadden.
- Dick: The brother of Harry and Tom who is a police officer for the Komedy Kops. Rides in the middle seat. He often cannot understand Tom's gibberish, so he recurs to his catchphrase question "What did he say, Harry? What did he say?" He is voiced by Chuck McCann.
- Tom: The brother of Harry and Dick who is a police officer for the Komedy Kops. Rides in the back seat. He speaks in gibberish that only Harry seems to understand. He is voiced by Chuck McCann.
Villains
Cool McCool's enemies. Although in most cases each villain acts independently (though Madcap and Greta Ghoul work together since they are a married couple), in the in-between sequences introducing Harry McCool they are depicted as all working together to try to capture Cool McCool (they are usually outwitted nevertheless).
- The Owl: An owl-themed elderly supervillain who is the main and primary antagonist of the Cool McCool series. He lives in a cave, has a cat themed evil girlfriend named Pussycat (also voiced by Corbett), and has owl pets. He is the first villain that Cool McCool encounters in the series and he is always seen walking bare-footed. He has the ability to command any birds to do his bidding. He and his gang communicate by hooting, the natural sound of the owl. He is the headmaster of the College of Crooks, which was McCool's old college being turned as a secret hideout. He is a parody of The Penguin and possibly of Spider-Man's nemesis The Vulture. He is voiced by Chuck McCann.
- The Rattler: A green anthropomorphic snake with a passion for the arts. He has the ability to control plants and also adores plant life. He can even communicate with the plants and treats them all with care. He can also wield shotguns and bombs. His catchphrase is "seize him" which is mostly used when he orders his plants to capture McCool. Because of his human appearance (except skin color), he can easily pull off a disguise when taking rare art. He also shares the same features and instincts as a snake as he hisses and falls for the snake charmer. He is the Professor of Botany in the College of Crooks. The name is a parody of The Riddler, though his m.o. is more at Poison Ivy. He is voiced by Chuck McCann.
- Dr. Madcap: A wacky supervillain with the ability to control any hat and make them do his dirty work. Although he adores his hats, he also loves Greta Ghoul, his wife, who is sad since he spends more time on the hats than her, so he commands the hats to give Greta presents to make her happy. He is a parody of the Mad Hatter. His characteristics are similar to his parodied counterpart as he is brilliant but also psychotic as well. His hats sometimes lead many surprises such as anvils or guns. He is the first professor of science in College of Crooks. He is voiced by Chuck McCann.
- Greta Ghoul: Dr. Madcap's wife. She doesn't feel much appreciated or loved by her husband in some episodes and speaks with a Transylvanian accent. She is a green color-schemed woman who is often moody and depressed. Like her husband, she is myopic. Hench her name, she can be seen popping out everywhere in a blink of an eye, mostly on pots. She is the second professor of science in College of Crooks. She is a parody of Catwoman. She is voiced by Carol Corbett.
- Hurricane Harry: An overweight supervillain who can create mighty gusts of winds to blow many things away from his path. He speaks in a deep voice and a lisp. He lives with his fiancée Bellows Belle, also voiced by Carol Corbett, who wheezes when speaking. It seems that he regrets his powers or he gained his powers by accident when he was young because in his first appearance when he was blowing out the candles of his birthday cake and it blows the whole cake away, he cries out "Every time!" meaning that his powers have ruined his birthdays because he is unable to blow out the candles properly due to his wind power. Unlike the others, he is a parody of most criminals under the name Hurricane in the Marvel Comics. He is the Professor of Physical Education in College of Crooks. He is a parody of Mr. Freeze. He is voiced by Chuck McCann similarly to actor Sidney Greenstreet.
- Jack-in-a-Box: A supervillain wearing jester attire that hides in a jack-in-a-box to scare and attack people. His weapon is his shotgun, bombs, grenades filled with laughing gas, and spring-loaded shoes. His residence is in a multi-colored jack-in-a-box, possesses a Magic Mirror who is actually an exact clone of himself and his pets are lions. Whenever he talks, he says a sound or word that is similar to that of jack-in-a-box sound effects and or music (like popping out sounds). His movements and stature are always in motion when he speaks, making his waist going up in down like he's popping out, and his voice vibrates. Most of his attacks would evolve explosives and guns. He is the college cheerleader in the College of Crooks. He is a parody of The Joker. He is voiced by Chuck McCann.
Episode list
Show 01
Cool McCool in "The Big Blowout"
Harry McCool in "The Phantom of the Opera House"
Cool McCool in "Fine Feathered Fiends"
Show 02
Cool McCool in "If the Hat Fits... Watch It"
Harry McCool in "Horsehide and Go Seek"
Cool McCool in "The House that Jack Built"
Show 03
Cool McCool in "The Odd Boxes Caper"
Harry McCool in "The Vaishing Shoehorns"
Cool McCool in "Garden of Evil"
Show 04
Cool McCool in "Rocket Racket"
Harry McCool in "Here's Pie in Your Eye"
Cool McCool in "Queen's Ransom"
Show 05
Cool McCool in "The Big Brainwash"
Harry McCool in "The Woodchopper"
Cool McCool in "Shrinking the Slinker"
Show 06
Cool McCool in "The Box Fox"
Harry McCool in "Gym Dandy"
Cool McCool in "Bagging the Windbag"
Show 07
Cool McCool in "Will the Real Cool Mobile Please Stand Up"
Harry McCool in "Big Top Cops"
Cool McCool in "Owl on the Prowl"
Show 08
Cool McCool in "Sniffin, Snoozen, and Sneezen"
Harry McCool in "The New Car"
Cool McCool in "How Now Foul Owl"
Show 09
Cool McCool in "Caps and Robbers"
Harry McCool in "Three Men on a House"
Cool McCool in "The Romantic Rattler"
Show 10
Cool McCool in "Jack in the Boxer"
Harry McCool in "Fowl Play"
Cool McCool in "Love is a Gas"
Show 11
Cool McCool in "Who Stole my 32 Secret Agents?"
Harry McCool in "The Jet Set, Yet"
Cool McCook in "The 500 Pound Canary Caper"
Show 12
Cool McCool in "Fun and Games"
Harry McCool in "McCool Jazz"
Cool McCool in "Mother Greta's Wrinkle Remover"
Show 13
Cool McCool in "The Sombrero Affair"
Harry McCool in "Dog Tired"
Cool McCool in "The Moon Goon"
Show 14
Cool McCool in "Two Fats and a Fink"
Harry McCool in "High Jokers"
Cool McCool in "Rockabye for Rattler"
Show 15
Cool McCool in "High Jacker Jack"
Harry McCool in "Time Out"
Cool McCool in "The Wind Goddess"
Show 16
Cool McCool in "Hot McHot"
Harry McCool in "Monkey Dizziness"
Cool McCool in "A Growing Problem"
Show 17
Cool McCool in "Oh Say Can You Seed"
Harry McCool in "Green Dragon"
Cool McCool in "What Goes Up... Must Come Down"
Show 18
Cool McCool in "Birds of a Feather Flop Together"
Harry McCool in "A Lot of Ballooney"
Cool McCool in "The Box Popper"
Show 19
Cool McCool in "Owl's Well That Ends Well"
Harry McCool in "Goat Chaser"
Cool McCool in "A Tree is a... Tree?"
Show 20
Cool McCool in "The Whistler's Mommy Case"
Harry McCool in "In the Dough"
Cool McCool in "The College of Crooks"
DVD & VHS
Rhino records
- Cool McCool Collection – 2003 DVD oop
Hollywood DVD
- Cool McCool: How To Catch a Crook – 2003 UK PAL DVD oop
- Cool McCool: Danger is My Business / G-Force – 2004 UK PAL DVD oop
- Cool McCool: Danger is my Business / Felix the Cat – 2004 UK PAL DVD oop
Best Film & Video Co
- Cool McCool: Shooting the Breeze – 1990 VHS oop
- Cool McCool: Grime & Punishment – 1990 VHS oop
- Cool McCool: How to Catch a Crook – 1990 VHS oop
BCI Eclipse
- Animated All Stars vol 1 – 2006 2DVD – (2 Cool McCool episodes)
- Cool McCool: The Complete Series – 3DVD March 13, 2007
External links
- Cool McCool at the Internet Movie Database
- Cool McCool at TV.com