DVD Review: CatDog: Season One, Part One

My Score:

Available October 18, 2011

CatDog looks awfully strange, with a cat and a dog conjoined at the waist so that neither of them actually have a butt... and honestly I had no idea what to expect from this series since I had never seen it before, but hey, I was willing to give it a shot since Shout Factory was willing to send me a free review copy. And I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by its entertainment value and by how easy it was to get over that whole weird conjoined no-butt-or-legs thing. Their waist stretches and bends so much that they're often seen standing side-by-side with each other, if you can call it standing.

Cat and dog have completely opposite personalities, yet they are still best friends as well as brothers. Cat is more sophisticated and refined while Dog is more crude and impulsive, but they usually get along very well and have a lot of fun together. This show actually reminds me of a cross between Ren & Stimpy, SpongeBob Squarepants, and Darkwing Duck... though Darkwing Duck may just be because of Cat's voice, who sounds exactly like Darkwing Duck (same voice actor, Jim Cummings, so you know...), and Dog's voice just sounds generally familiar as he's voiced by Tom Kenny who has done tons and tons of cartoon character voices.

Each half-hour episode contains two stories, and often involves Cat trying to manipulate Dog into doing something due to his his greed and selfishness, but which turns into a disaster. There are a bunch of other side characters such as their neighbor, a tough little mouse named Winslow who lives in their wall, and Greaser Dogs who are always bullying Catdog. Then there's Rancid Rabbit who is voiced by Billy West, the voice of Fry on Futurama and both Ren & Stimpy on The Ren & Stimpy Show, and Eddie the Squirrel who is voiced by Dwight Schultz, who played Murdock on The A-Team (the TV series) and Lt. Barclay on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

I rather enjoyed this show, and although there are some jokes in here that only adults will get, most of the comedy is on children's level. There's no continuing story arc or character development and not much emotional depth, but it still entertains and will put a smile on your face and make you chuckle now and then.

Disc 1

• Dog Gone / All You Can't Eat
• Flea or Die! / CatDog Food
• Full Moon Fever / War of the CatDog
• Pumped / Dummy Dummy
• Nightmare / CatDogPig

Disc 2

• Squirrel Dog / Brother's Day
• The Island / All You Need is Lube
• Party Animal / Mush, Dog, Mush!
• Diamond Fever / The Pet
• Shriek Loves Dog / Work Force