I think the fact that it was WILLING to scare the hell out of us was something we enjoyed, we didn't feel coddled, we felt like we were being given some real art. I think when kids watch a show, they can tell if their intellect is being respected or not, and when a show does respect that, we can all feel it.
Even if it takes us a decade or more to be able to put that feeling into words its a feeling thats still there. That substance is something sorely lacking in a lot of media these days tbh, especily for kids. Children deserve good stories. I know Courage for me felt just a tinge less scary cause I did live in what felt like Nowhere, I got to hear things go bump in the night. I think thats why the shows most troubling moments for me are when it entered the uncanny valley. but it was largely a comfortable show for me to escape to.
@piusdoe8984 You know, its possible for kids to enjoy a well made story or series? Theyre little humans capable of much of the same reasoning as adults; yes being children means theyre often wrong or uninformed, but sometimes they can be right. Children deserve good stories, and I know from personal experience having once been a child that sometimes media doesnt respect you enough to give you those stories.
ngl, the scene from that one episode where muriel is turned into a child and courage keeps trying to making her mac and cheese, lives rent free in my head
How does this comment not have more likes? This episode is a reference joke in our family for when our kid asks for something in a very specific manner that he doesn't even like in the first place. Then he's like, "Well, I don't really like that." 😂😂😂
I don't even remember the violin girl, but seeing this video and reading the comments makes me want to go back and rewatch this show so badly. I loved it so much as a kid
This and the Misadventures of Flapjack pushed the limits of cartoons back in the day (I know there are many shows that outdo them, hush) Courage the Cowardly Dog was a show that I remember fondly growing up despite the many nightmares it gave me. Behind all the horror, doom and gloom, and slap stick comedy was a little dog who do what he can to protect his owners he cherish, and make new friends along the way
I really didnt want to dog on your comment until you told me to hush. What right do you have to tell me to hush when you cant even provide better examples of scary cartoons
Between Courage, Flapjack, Billy & Mandy, and Regular Show(which wasn't actually scary, but had some weird/disturbing imagery in the early seasons), I think Cartoon Network just liked scaring kids.
@@gnarlywagner8171theres better examples but those are clearly children cartoons lmao. obviously on the adult side there are thousands to provide but those are..children..horror shows
I wasn't allowed to watch any TV as a kid, mostly just old Scooby Doo and Boomerang shows. At the end of one of my Scooby VHS tapes, there was an episode of courage the cowardly dog, which my mom always turned off before the credits could finish. In my near-teens, I was left unattended and decided that THIS time, I was gonna watch that episode. So my very first experience of courage the cowardly dog was the Ramses Curse episode... I was alone in my house which was surrounded by forest, at night, and that Thing popped up on the screen... I'll never forget the way the eerie music and the way he moves, the fog and the echoing speech, made me feel. Not terrified, but more just.... Thoroughly unsettled. I was hooked. Ironically, banning those shows under her roof, my mom made sure I saw every single episode lmao
This was my all time favorite show growing up. It was a treat when it came on. I think subconsciously I was able to relate to Courage. I had such bad anxiety as a child. It manifested in so many ways and made it hard to function. No one understood and I was alone in my fear a majority of the time. I don’t remember directly relating but I was so drawn to it. There’s a saying “art is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” And perhaps it’s why we all love courage
“Courage is not the ABSENCE of fear, courage is being terrified, but fighting through that fear because there is something far more important at risk. Love conquers all.” Something my Dad said when we watched Courage and I asked him: “Why’s he named Courage if he’s a chicken?!” Dad never treated me like a “stupid kid”, ya know? I feel like cartoons back then did the same thing. They didn’t pander or simplify. Maybe that’s why we loved them so much…
This was really good, enough to get me to cry a little. Especially with the section about Eustace, and not repeating the cycle of trauma. As i've managed to pull myself and refuse to repeat the cycle of pain i've experienced. Cause i don't want anyone to have to go through it. Regardless of what's been done to me. It takes a lot to do that, and sometimes i forget that i can be proud of it. Thank you.
I hope you can hold onto that, even when emotions and stress are high. It takes a lot to break the cycle, but you can do it with time and practice and being open. Wishing you the best!
I saw that thumbnail and immediately heard Fred's voice saying "....Nauuuggghhhtttyyyyy" I remember so many of their voices even though I haven't watched it in at least 10 years Edit: I also remember Doc Gerbil, the crazy lint woman and "Return the slab"
"It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... .."
Courage didn't traumatize me. That show taught me empathy, compassion, and how being scared doesn't make me less of person or that fear isn't a healthy response to genuinely dangerous situations.
This was beautiful. Looking back I never realized how much I took this show for granted, sure we had so many bangers but this show was completely in its own tier.
not very often that a youtube essay makes me bawl and sob by the end but i can't find the words to say how fantastic this video was. you really did the show justice! subscribed ❤
The ending had me so emotional. I would often say/think “the things I do for love”, or something similar, growing up. Never thought about how impactful this show was for me until now. This was my comfort show as a kid, my friends had SpongeBob, I had Courage. Happy this video was recommended to me. Thank you.
Return the slab was my favorite trauma 😂 And this video will stand the test of time . I’m showing my children this to remind them my cartoons were beautiful back then.
I actually met Marty Grabstein at Comic-Con a couple months back and lemme tell ya John made the right choice casting him. He's genuinely one of the nicest people I've ever met. He understands the Impact he, John, and everyone else who worked on the show made on our lives. HE also mentioned how he plans to get Him, John, and some of the team behind Courage together one day for another event and lemme tell ya when he mentioned that I was ecstatic. I genuinely hope Marty, John, and everyone else who worked on the show is doing well and I hope one day to meet John.
I don't know who you are, but thank you. I used to watch this show most evenings before bedtime on school nights. I never could quite interpret it as a kid, but looking back now at 30, I've realized that it has stuck with me all these years. Everything about myself makes a little more sense. What a beautiful video.
This was my childhood!! I always loved it, one of my fav shows for sure. I was always happy whenever it came on. watching this video i could recognize and remember a lot of scenes, characters and phrases that i had forgotten! thank u for the nostalgia trip 🙏
Only a couple sections in so far, but I gotta say that I really appreciate the “academic” feel that this video has. The mention and discussion of “art” as a concept I particularly love as it’s something I’m studying in school myself, and the more I watched this the more I kept seeing some of my favorite professors in my mind giving a lecture. Bravo, you’ve inspired me for future projects of mine
Also, that’s not to say I didn’t think it was funny and entertaining, that’s a big thing that I loved about it in comparison to some other video essays that stray too far in one way or another . An easy subscribe
Mr. Rock the quality of insight and accounts across the video are significantly more than any documentary I've ever watched, I love your work so much Also, the bit at the end about Eustice and the cycle of abuse hits so goddamn close to home, my family lineage has been nothing but abusers, my father not being an exception, always using that he was abused as a justification for mine. Going into the importance of breaking the cycle and it defining a hero is my personal favorite part of the video, wonderful insight, and I'd honestly like to personally thank you because honestly it gives me a sense of closure and that I can move past my awful lineage, thank you so much - also out of curiosity, what kind of rock are you?
what a great video, with a great ending. that collection of clips and the way you edited was awesome For those interested in the "closing the gap" metaphor at 10:48 it was said by Ira Glass. Just sharing for others, because for me it was to hear and find
@@lvl1rock thank you. it wasn't meant as a criticism of the video btw. I just wanted to find the source but the speaker's name is unusual and tricky to discern in speach. there was no auto-captions at the time, which would have solved that (hopefully once you have more followers youtube generates them quicker 😉)
Man this has gotta be one of my favorite analysis of the shows!!! The love for this show can be heard just through your voice, really in depth, really caring, definetly something ill come back to and share with others who watched or even those i want to watch this. Really poignant analysis dude im glad this is how i found out about your channel ❤
I'm glad they released the entire show on DVD, i was afraid they forgot about it. But this show absolutely gave me nightmares along with lost tapes and goosebumps. But i still loved it. I remember that I couldn't watch the weremole episode for a long while... I think though with the puppet episode, others say that he got help from Shirley off screen.
Oh my gosh the end 😭 I seriously wanted to cry . He is so right despite courage’s own fears and anxiety he has the courage because his love for saving the people he loves from the worlds scariest monsters ruled over all ❤
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one crying at the end of this video. It started off as an appreciation for this show and what made it great to such deeper understandings about life and fear and love. Just like the show being unexpected. The show seems scary and weird but had a lot of heart and meaning. I loved this show growing up even though I got scared easily when it comes to horror.
I must’ve watched every single episode as a kid, and I don’t really remember being “scared” by it too often, just cause it was really funny and endearing. There were a ton of creepy moments-and they definitely seem creepier in hindsight-but as a kid I was just like lol wtf. Katz and Fred were memorable favorites
Hello Mr. Rock, thank you for such an incredible video. I clicked on this due to the nostalgia, but ended up staying because of the thorough and entertaining analysis. I know a lot of work went into producing this video so I thank you for your devotion. Keep doing you please!
UA-cam recommendations brought me here this was such a great video on one of my favorite childhood cartoons and that last part of this video had me in tears 😭
My 5 yo daughter and 8yo son love courage. Me and my sister did too. There's stuff that's wayyy weirder and scarier than courage now days. You can't see the eyes, and the heads are "cut off", cause, it's easier, faster, and cheaper, to animate.
I’m proud to be an early part of your UA-cam journey. Every video that I watch is such a profound delight and I am sure that you will only continue to grow
Wow what a masterpiece of a video this was. I had tears at the end. “The things I do for love” has stuck with me all my life, I’ve even considered tattooing it on me because of its impact.
I thank Courage the Cowardly Dog, Invader Zim, and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy for getting me into the horror genre. This cartoon gave me nightmares as a kid and I loved every single second of it
❤ I teared up in the end.. ‘the things we do for love’ this show was balm in my childhood, now I love it even more. And thank you Miss Muriel, ‘Simple things are hard to beat’ & Happy Halloween
I've always joked around that Eustace and Muriel were the mirror image of my mom and dad. My mom was always super loving, and nothing me or my brother did or messed up seemed to bother her, but my dad could be really mean over nothing. As I've gotten older, I have realized that his attitude was a reflection of the abuse he suffered growing up (it was so bad that he still refuses to talk about his childhood). I didn't know it at the time, but the show gave me a kind of safe place to explore empathy and to look past the surface to see what was actually going on under the surface during a time in my life where concepts like that were to abstract to grasp on my own. The writing and everything of the show was truly beautiful. It still is one of my favorite shows of all time.
Bro, when the Kats motel episode aired, as a kid, I would stuff wash clothes up the tub's faucet for a few months. The idea of giant spides coming out of there terrified me. Also, props to the show makers for using the uncanniness of early cgi to their advantages. Funnily enough, the episodes that stuck with me the most, even now, are the mature subject matter episodes, about death of a parent, domestic abuse, low self esteem, and other things people should be informed about.
Excellent video essay! I feel like it's becoming increasingly difficult to find such good quality and entertaining stuff on youtube, so thank you and keep rocking!
holy fuck dude, the inspiration you delivered. i found myself here to reminisce of the show, but i really found myself crying near the end of this presentation. thank you.
I always had a fascination with horror and Courage scratched that itch for me without being too intense. Because it wasn't too intense horror-wise, the most upsetting or disturbing part to me was Eustace. I played his interactions with Courage and Muriel over and over again in my head and fixated on how unfairly he treated them. The monsters being manifestations of a families skeletons in the closet or the "things we don't talk" about or abuse was the message that resonated with me mainly because that was my reality when I was a child watching Courage the Cowardly Dog. I loved the horror and hated and pitied Eustace. Whoever said disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed was on to something.
Thank You so much for this video! I literally shedded some tears and my inner child feels so seen and happy now. Seeing this in the eyes of an adult now I see why Courage was my favorite cartoon of all time because we all need courage to jump in the darkness even scared to see our "Happy Endings" or just see where our courage can take us.
What a beautifully constructed video, In some ways, we are all courage the cowardly dog. It takes courage to be so uniquely different, and this is far from being cowardly. To be cowardly would be to hide your true feelings and continue to follow in the footsteps of everybody else with no intention on being different which I think is a beautiful juxtaposition to how the writers of the show view themselves. and all that create amazing truly unique content. Thank you
Wow so much research and love put into this video. Was really cool seeing and hearing Dilworth. I’ll never forget when I saw him for the first time and was like yeah that’s definitely the face and kind of the guy that created the show lol
Thank you for doing a deep dive on my favorite Cartoon Network cartoon. I absolutely love Courage. Yep, I did get disturbed with some of the scenes but that’s what makes the show so… fantastic. I dunno how to explain it. It doesn’t hold back. It doesn’t try to be a childish cartoon and that’s why I adore it.
This video is GENUINELY art, I learned so much I wanted to learn not just about the show but art period bro and I’m one of those appreciators fs. LOVED the video man keep the heat coming 🔥❤️
I grew up watching Courage (Coraje) dubbed in Latin American Spanish and it was equally traumatizing, with him screaming still embedded in the back of my head. I was so afraid of watching it after getting from school but always came back to watch another episode. Oh the merry childhood times. Great video.
The ring tone on my phone is cats motel background music That's my favourite episode and that song (available on youtube) marked me when I was around 7 and took me around 35 years to find it and use it as a ringtone This carton show is pure amazing
Bravo, man. I was not expecting to get teary-eyed by the end of the video. I love Courage, and I love you for making such a well researched, structured and entertaining essay
Actually had me tearing up in the end. A great story about beautiful people sharing beautiful sentiments. What an incredible production rock. And you’re so right. Art is fucking awesome. People say the eyes are the window to the soul, but really, it’s art. So glad I decided to watch this. Liked and subbed no brainer.
Me too. Neither this or Grim Adventures ever really scared me at all, I just thought they were enjoyable and funny. There were only two episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog that genuinely creeped me out, “The Tower of Dr Zalost” and “The Windmill Vandals”. Neither of those episodes are in-your-face scary, they just have a genuinely creepy atmosphere that lasts throughout the entire runtime.
I was never scared by this show, except freaky fred.... that episode is my favorite but always left me uncanny... thing that because the other villains were just more abstract and imaginative... but fred... we see some freds in real life...
I loved this show growing up, but I never found it traumatizing or anything. This show never failed to make me laugh and though it could be creepy at times, I loved it all the same! Horror is, and always has been my favorite genre! Thanks for reminding me of good times by making this video!❤
John D. "In order to survive this scary world, you have to be more scary than it." Me: Considering John was the voice behind King Ramses, Mission accomplished 😂 I also asked Paul Schoeffler one time on Cameo advice on how to give my fiance a haircut, he responded back how we should give each other a haircut so we can both be "naughty" together and that "naughty" couples stick together, the funniest revisit of my childhood ever and Paul is such a sweet guy! 😊😆
This show was a big part of my childhood, I loved this analysis of why it stuck with me through all these years. Also, what's that sad music used in the last section, it's beautiful.
That ending... This entire video was beautifully made but that ending... it is a *perfect* showing of why this show means so much to so many Within the frights and scares, there is a sincere beauty and love
This makes so much sense. When I was rewatching the first season i was so puzzled and almost weirded out by how much dialogue Courage had. As a kid I remembered courage barely talking. They did reduce his talking and I remembered it that way
All i remember from this show is "I don't know what I just watched, but i loved it and i'll watch it again if i'm up and it's on.". Really cannot tell you a heck of a lot more. But thank you so much for this documentary style exert on the show, it HAUNTS my core in such a profound way. That damn dog...
I think the fact that it was WILLING to scare the hell out of us was something we enjoyed, we didn't feel coddled, we felt like we were being given some real art. I think when kids watch a show, they can tell if their intellect is being respected or not, and when a show does respect that, we can all feel it.
Even if it takes us a decade or more to be able to put that feeling into words its a feeling thats still there. That substance is something sorely lacking in a lot of media these days tbh, especily for kids. Children deserve good stories.
I know Courage for me felt just a tinge less scary cause I did live in what felt like Nowhere, I got to hear things go bump in the night. I think thats why the shows most troubling moments for me are when it entered the uncanny valley. but it was largely a comfortable show for me to escape to.
Lmao intellect really? You're taking the crap you say as an adult and applying it to kids
@piusdoe8984 You know, its possible for kids to enjoy a well made story or series? Theyre little humans capable of much of the same reasoning as adults; yes being children means theyre often wrong or uninformed, but sometimes they can be right. Children deserve good stories, and I know from personal experience having once been a child that sometimes media doesnt respect you enough to give you those stories.
ngl, the scene from that one episode where muriel is turned into a child and courage keeps trying to making her mac and cheese, lives rent free in my head
How does this comment not have more likes? This episode is a reference joke in our family for when our kid asks for something in a very specific manner that he doesn't even like in the first place. Then he's like, "Well, I don't really like that." 😂😂😂
Ya just unlocked a childhood memory: "I think I'm gonna hurl... gonna blow chunks!" 🤣
“I need more cheese!!!…….less cheese ….!
more macaroni…less macaroni! More macaroni AND cheese 🧀
I HATE MACARONI AND CHEESE “
More cheese AND macaroni! 😅
HI. I'M MURIEL. I'M ONLY 3 AND A HALF YEARS OLD. WHO ARE YEEEEEEEW.
I remember the violin girl scaring me so bad my dad wouldn't let us watch the show anymore.
similar thing here when my dad saw some crazy shit on ed edd and eddy and said “don’t watch this anymore” 😂😂
Same
the violin girl scared me so bad i went to PBS kids and disney channel only for months lol
I don't even remember the violin girl, but seeing this video and reading the comments makes me want to go back and rewatch this show so badly. I loved it so much as a kid
@lvl1rock was it when Ed ate his mattress?
I was raised by Courage's one phase "The Things I do for love".
Me too 🥹
And Jamie Lannister stole his lines. 😂
"lo que hago por amor" I watched it in spanish, I think about this phrase with the silly goofy voice every now and then
This is the best deep dive I have ever seen about this topic.
Thank you
This and the Misadventures of Flapjack pushed the limits of cartoons back in the day (I know there are many shows that outdo them, hush)
Courage the Cowardly Dog was a show that I remember fondly growing up despite the many nightmares it gave me. Behind all the horror, doom and gloom, and slap stick comedy was a little dog who do what he can to protect his owners he cherish, and make new friends along the way
I really didnt want to dog on your comment until you told me to hush. What right do you have to tell me to hush when you cant even provide better examples of scary cartoons
Between Courage, Flapjack, Billy & Mandy, and Regular Show(which wasn't actually scary, but had some weird/disturbing imagery in the early seasons), I think Cartoon Network just liked scaring kids.
@@gnarlywagner8171theres better examples but those are clearly children cartoons lmao. obviously on the adult side there are thousands to provide but those are..children..horror shows
The art style of Flapjack scared me so much I'd avoid watching it xD
@@gnarlywagner8171what
I wasn't allowed to watch any TV as a kid, mostly just old Scooby Doo and Boomerang shows. At the end of one of my Scooby VHS tapes, there was an episode of courage the cowardly dog, which my mom always turned off before the credits could finish. In my near-teens, I was left unattended and decided that THIS time, I was gonna watch that episode. So my very first experience of courage the cowardly dog was the Ramses Curse episode... I was alone in my house which was surrounded by forest, at night, and that Thing popped up on the screen... I'll never forget the way the eerie music and the way he moves, the fog and the echoing speech, made me feel. Not terrified, but more just.... Thoroughly unsettled. I was hooked. Ironically, banning those shows under her roof, my mom made sure I saw every single episode lmao
that episode at the end of the VHS is a core memory for so many people in my generation
I remember VHS tapes 😢
It was the scooby doo alien invasion one right?? I remember that one and the chicken from outer space being after the witches ghost one
My mom banning me from dragon ball is what made me stay up late to watch it and Inuyasha
@@saralindgren8752 yep! I loved the jokes in that episode
The last section with the compilation of the clips was so amazing....like wow
This was my all time favorite show growing up. It was a treat when it came on. I think subconsciously I was able to relate to Courage. I had such bad anxiety as a child. It manifested in so many ways and made it hard to function. No one understood and I was alone in my fear a majority of the time. I don’t remember directly relating but I was so drawn to it. There’s a saying “art is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” And perhaps it’s why we all love courage
Maybe we were the cowardly dogs
this is beautiful, man
We most certainly are I think
lol
The things we do for love 😢
@@MsMrapplepie 😂😂😂😂😂
I didn't expect to cry when i clicked on this video LMAOO
SAME
SAME FAM SAME.
FR that ending had me rethinking my whole childhood experience with this show
“Courage is not the ABSENCE of fear, courage is being terrified, but fighting through that fear because there is something far more important at risk. Love conquers all.” Something my Dad said when we watched Courage and I asked him: “Why’s he named Courage if he’s a chicken?!” Dad never treated me like a “stupid kid”, ya know? I feel like cartoons back then did the same thing. They didn’t pander or simplify. Maybe that’s why we loved them so much…
We got jumpscared by therapy 😅
This was really good, enough to get me to cry a little. Especially with the section about Eustace, and not repeating the cycle of trauma. As i've managed to pull myself and refuse to repeat the cycle of pain i've experienced. Cause i don't want anyone to have to go through it. Regardless of what's been done to me. It takes a lot to do that, and sometimes i forget that i can be proud of it. Thank you.
I hope you can hold onto that, even when emotions and stress are high. It takes a lot to break the cycle, but you can do it with time and practice and being open. Wishing you the best!
ABSOLUTELY MY FRIEND ❣️❣️❣️
COURAGE IS THE KIND OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND LOYALTY AND FRIENDSHIP EVERY SOUL COULD PRAY FOR ***
AND MOST NEVER FIND 💔
You pulled some tears out of me with that end compilation man. Great video
I saw that thumbnail and immediately heard Fred's voice saying "....Nauuuggghhhtttyyyyy"
I remember so many of their voices even though I haven't watched it in at least 10 years
Edit: I also remember Doc Gerbil, the crazy lint woman and "Return the slab"
I don’t know if this is true but if it is it’s even scarier when you consider that Fred’s “shaving” is metaphor for s*xual assault.
"What's your offer!"
"It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... It's a Gerbil World... .."
Courage didn't traumatize me. That show taught me empathy, compassion, and how being scared doesn't make me less of person or that fear isn't a healthy response to genuinely dangerous situations.
Wow cool. Have a cookie 🍪
get over yourself lmao
The ending genuinely brought me to tears
42:00 " the only thing more disappointing than never knowing what it looks like, is knowing what it looks like."
This was beautiful. Looking back I never realized how much I took this show for granted, sure we had so many bangers but this show was completely in its own tier.
not very often that a youtube essay makes me bawl and sob by the end but i can't find the words to say how fantastic this video was. you really did the show justice! subscribed ❤
8:48 that... actually explains a lot.
The ending had me so emotional. I would often say/think “the things I do for love”, or something similar, growing up. Never thought about how impactful this show was for me until now. This was my comfort show as a kid, my friends had SpongeBob, I had Courage. Happy this video was recommended to me. Thank you.
Return the slab was my favorite trauma 😂
And this video will stand the test of time .
I’m showing my children this to remind them my cartoons were beautiful back then.
Holy shit the ending actually has me in tears. Congratulations, you earned yourself a subscriber
I actually met Marty Grabstein at Comic-Con a couple months back and lemme tell ya John made the right choice casting him. He's genuinely one of the nicest people I've ever met. He understands the Impact he, John, and everyone else who worked on the show made on our lives. HE also mentioned how he plans to get Him, John, and some of the team behind Courage together one day for another event and lemme tell ya when he mentioned that I was ecstatic. I genuinely hope Marty, John, and everyone else who worked on the show is doing well and I hope one day to meet John.
I don't know who you are, but thank you. I used to watch this show most evenings before bedtime on school nights. I never could quite interpret it as a kid, but looking back now at 30, I've realized that it has stuck with me all these years. Everything about myself makes a little more sense. What a beautiful video.
This was my childhood!! I always loved it, one of my fav shows for sure. I was always happy whenever it came on. watching this video i could recognize and remember a lot of scenes, characters and phrases that i had forgotten! thank u for the nostalgia trip 🙏
My guy, I need a warning or something. You really fucked me up with this one. Thank you so much.
I don’t think a video essay has made me cry before this one. Thank you rock ❤
Only a couple sections in so far, but I gotta say that I really appreciate the “academic” feel that this video has. The mention and discussion of “art” as a concept I particularly love as it’s something I’m studying in school myself, and the more I watched this the more I kept seeing some of my favorite professors in my mind giving a lecture. Bravo, you’ve inspired me for future projects of mine
Also, that’s not to say I didn’t think it was funny and entertaining, that’s a big thing that I loved about it in comparison to some other video essays that stray too far in one way or another . An easy subscribe
Mr. Rock the quality of insight and accounts across the video are significantly more than any documentary I've ever watched, I love your work so much
Also, the bit at the end about Eustice and the cycle of abuse hits so goddamn close to home, my family lineage has been nothing but abusers, my father not being an exception, always using that he was abused as a justification for mine. Going into the importance of breaking the cycle and it defining a hero is my personal favorite part of the video, wonderful insight, and I'd honestly like to personally thank you because honestly it gives me a sense of closure and that I can move past my awful lineage, thank you so much - also out of curiosity, what kind of rock are you?
So glad the show and video resonate with you, thanks for watching !!
and I just got my DNA test back I’m sedimentary 🪨
@@lvl1rockayy new Rock lore just dropped *airhorns* 😎
what a great video, with a great ending. that collection of clips and the way you edited was awesome
For those interested in the "closing the gap" metaphor at 10:48 it was said by Ira Glass. Just sharing for others, because for me it was to hear and find
appreciate that! next time I’ll put the name in text on screen as well in case it’s hard to hear :)
@@lvl1rock thank you. it wasn't meant as a criticism of the video btw. I just wanted to find the source but the speaker's name is unusual and tricky to discern in speach. there was no auto-captions at the time, which would have solved that (hopefully once you have more followers youtube generates them quicker 😉)
the best channel on this website rn. so much insight. keep cooking
Wow I just finished it and experienced more trauma 💔 beautiful video
i think you made a viral banger
im 10 minutes in and wow this is a well made video
Man this has gotta be one of my favorite analysis of the shows!!! The love for this show can be heard just through your voice, really in depth, really caring, definetly something ill come back to and share with others who watched or even those i want to watch this. Really poignant analysis dude im glad this is how i found out about your channel ❤
I'm glad they released the entire show on DVD, i was afraid they forgot about it.
But this show absolutely gave me nightmares along with lost tapes and goosebumps. But i still loved it.
I remember that I couldn't watch the weremole episode for a long while...
I think though with the puppet episode, others say that he got help from Shirley off screen.
one of the best videos i've seen done on one of my most cherished childhood cartoons!
Oh my gosh the end 😭 I seriously wanted to cry . He is so right despite courage’s own fears and anxiety he has the courage because his love for saving the people he loves from the worlds scariest monsters ruled over all ❤
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one crying at the end of this video. It started off as an appreciation for this show and what made it great to such deeper understandings about life and fear and love. Just like the show being unexpected. The show seems scary and weird but had a lot of heart and meaning. I loved this show growing up even though I got scared easily when it comes to horror.
I must’ve watched every single episode as a kid, and I don’t really remember being “scared” by it too often, just cause it was really funny and endearing. There were a ton of creepy moments-and they definitely seem creepier in hindsight-but as a kid I was just like lol wtf. Katz and Fred were memorable favorites
honestly I felt like most of them left me thinking at the end more than freaked out
Hello Mr. Rock, thank you for such an incredible video. I clicked on this due to the nostalgia, but ended up staying because of the thorough and entertaining analysis. I know a lot of work went into producing this video so I thank you for your devotion. Keep doing you please!
UA-cam recommendations brought me here this was such a great video on one of my favorite childhood cartoons and that last part of this video had me in tears 😭
My 5 yo daughter and 8yo son love courage. Me and my sister did too. There's stuff that's wayyy weirder and scarier than courage now days. You can't see the eyes, and the heads are "cut off", cause, it's easier, faster, and cheaper, to animate.
I’m proud to be an early part of your UA-cam journey. Every video that I watch is such a profound delight and I am sure that you will only continue to grow
I found you and I've watched eight essays already. Please never stop. That ending sequence was wonderful and I teared up.
I cant wrap my head around how this video doesn't have more likes. The end brought me to tears, god I love Courage
This is one of the best videos I've seen on UA-cam, thank you for giving this show the comprehensive and triumphant video it deserves
Wow what a masterpiece of a video this was. I had tears at the end. “The things I do for love” has stuck with me all my life, I’ve even considered tattooing it on me because of its impact.
I thank Courage the Cowardly Dog, Invader Zim, and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy for getting me into the horror genre.
This cartoon gave me nightmares as a kid and I loved every single second of it
Me too
RETURN THE SLAB!!!! ... OR SUFFER MY CURSE!!!! 0:20
OH HECK NO!!!!!!! 20 years later, I'm a horror fan, but I am STILL scared of King Ramses. F*CK NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! 😱😱😱
Hellyeah lol @@sakurakittynoir1400
That fucker used to scare me as a kid not even going to lie
THAT WAS THE BEST!!!
Yo that episode still give me the chills 😅
bro this is a rare cartoon from my childhood I could not recite the entire plot of a single episode bc I was too scared to even really watch
I’m happy I subbed to you after your Mewtwo video. Another great video. 💗
I’m happy you did too! thanks for joining the journey
He has a Mewtwo video?! Awww yeah! The first movie will always be my favorite.
This was so heartwarming and nostalgic ❤ thank you so much for taking the time to create this video. So inspiring 👏
❤ I teared up in the end.. ‘the things we do for love’ this show was balm in my childhood, now I love it even more.
And thank you Miss Muriel, ‘Simple things are hard to beat’
& Happy Halloween
I've always joked around that Eustace and Muriel were the mirror image of my mom and dad. My mom was always super loving, and nothing me or my brother did or messed up seemed to bother her, but my dad could be really mean over nothing. As I've gotten older, I have realized that his attitude was a reflection of the abuse he suffered growing up (it was so bad that he still refuses to talk about his childhood). I didn't know it at the time, but the show gave me a kind of safe place to explore empathy and to look past the surface to see what was actually going on under the surface during a time in my life where concepts like that were to abstract to grasp on my own. The writing and everything of the show was truly beautiful. It still is one of my favorite shows of all time.
Bro, when the Kats motel episode aired, as a kid, I would stuff wash clothes up the tub's faucet for a few months. The idea of giant spides coming out of there terrified me. Also, props to the show makers for using the uncanniness of early cgi to their advantages. Funnily enough, the episodes that stuck with me the most, even now, are the mature subject matter episodes, about death of a parent, domestic abuse, low self esteem, and other things people should be informed about.
Excellent video essay! I feel like it's becoming increasingly difficult to find such good quality and entertaining stuff on youtube, so thank you and keep rocking!
This is top-tier content. Great job and don't stop what you're doing!
Another goated video, please keep making this stuff!
Thank you so much for this, videos like this make me fall in love with art all over again and that's such an important feeling.
The Quentin Tarantino zombie film maker haunted me as a kid hahah something so horrible about courage’s basement always
holy fuck dude, the inspiration you delivered. i found myself here to reminisce of the show, but i really found myself crying near the end of this presentation. thank you.
This is a beautifully crafted tribute to one of my favorite cartoons growing up. You have earned a sub my friend.
I think of courage almost daily. Thanks for making this and bringing it up again
I always had a fascination with horror and Courage scratched that itch for me without being too intense. Because it wasn't too intense horror-wise, the most upsetting or disturbing part to me was Eustace. I played his interactions with Courage and Muriel over and over again in my head and fixated on how unfairly he treated them. The monsters being manifestations of a families skeletons in the closet or the "things we don't talk" about or abuse was the message that resonated with me mainly because that was my reality when I was a child watching Courage the Cowardly Dog. I loved the horror and hated and pitied Eustace. Whoever said disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed was on to something.
The episode where the hand comes out of the suitcase scared the hell out of me when I was a young kid. Such a good show
Thank You so much for this video! I literally shedded some tears and my inner child feels so seen and happy now. Seeing this in the eyes of an adult now I see why Courage was my favorite cartoon of all time because we all need courage to jump in the darkness even scared to see our "Happy Endings" or just see where our courage can take us.
What a beautifully constructed video, In some ways, we are all courage the cowardly dog.
It takes courage to be so uniquely different, and this is far from being cowardly.
To be cowardly would be to hide your true feelings and continue to follow in the footsteps of everybody else with no intention on being different which I think is a beautiful juxtaposition to how the writers of the show view themselves. and all that create amazing truly unique content.
Thank you
This video earned you a subscribe from me. Had me tearing up at the end. Amazing work!!
That was one of the best analyzation videos I’ve ever seen. Like truly hands down amazing work. You deserve so many more views and subs.
Yeah I almost cried at the end of the video ngl. Amazing work ty.
Wow so much research and love put into this video. Was really cool seeing and hearing Dilworth. I’ll never forget when I saw him for the first time and was like yeah that’s definitely the face and kind of the guy that created the show lol
Thank you for doing a deep dive on my favorite Cartoon Network cartoon. I absolutely love Courage. Yep, I did get disturbed with some of the scenes but that’s what makes the show so… fantastic. I dunno how to explain it. It doesn’t hold back. It doesn’t try to be a childish cartoon and that’s why I adore it.
Found my pops "faces of death" VHS when i was 5 among other adult VHS , but courage the cowardly dog was a breath of fresh air creepy but awesome.
This video is GENUINELY art, I learned so much I wanted to learn not just about the show but art period bro and I’m one of those appreciators fs. LOVED the video man keep the heat coming 🔥❤️
Thank you for this, I have never seen any of you work before but I subscribed and liked less than 5 minutes in. Thank you
You have given me a new appreciation for every aspect of producing a cartoon while telling me cool stuff about my favorite cartoon. Thank you. :)
I grew up watching Courage (Coraje) dubbed in Latin American Spanish and it was equally traumatizing, with him screaming still embedded in the back of my head. I was so afraid of watching it after getting from school but always came back to watch another episode. Oh the merry childhood times. Great video.
The last montage was amazing!!! Great video man... Subscribed greetings from Lithuania 🇱🇹
This video was so good, deserves so many more views. Thanks so much!
The ring tone on my phone is cats motel background music
That's my favourite episode and that song (available on youtube) marked me when I was around 7 and took me around 35 years to find it and use it as a ringtone
This carton show is pure amazing
Hardly ever has a video essay on youtube brought me to tears before
Concluding minutes of this video got me incredibly teary eyed. Excellent deep dive.
This is the best deep dive I have ever seen about Courage the cowardly Dog. I miss that show so much, that reminds me of my childhood.
Bravo, man. I was not expecting to get teary-eyed by the end of the video.
I love Courage, and I love you for making such a well researched, structured and entertaining essay
the end sequence of the hamster episode with the sounds muted and the music is genuinely one of my favorite tv scenes of all time, absolute banger
Actually had me tearing up in the end. A great story about beautiful people sharing beautiful sentiments. What an incredible production rock. And you’re so right. Art is fucking awesome. People say the eyes are the window to the soul, but really, it’s art. So glad I decided to watch this. Liked and subbed no brainer.
I must be weird, because I never found the series all that scary. Creepy, but I loved that.
Me too. Neither this or Grim Adventures ever really scared me at all, I just thought they were enjoyable and funny. There were only two episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog that genuinely creeped me out, “The Tower of Dr Zalost” and “The Windmill Vandals”. Neither of those episodes are in-your-face scary, they just have a genuinely creepy atmosphere that lasts throughout the entire runtime.
I was never scared by this show, except freaky fred....
that episode is my favorite but always left me uncanny...
thing that because the other villains were just more abstract and imaginative... but fred... we see some freds in real life...
That intro was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. 👏🏻👏🏻
I loved this show growing up, but I never found it traumatizing or anything. This show never failed to make me laugh and though it could be creepy at times, I loved it all the same! Horror is, and always has been my favorite genre! Thanks for reminding me of good times by making this video!❤
John D. "In order to survive this scary world, you have to be more scary than it."
Me: Considering John was the voice behind King Ramses, Mission accomplished 😂
I also asked Paul Schoeffler one time on Cameo advice on how to give my fiance a haircut, he responded back how we should give each other a haircut so we can both be "naughty" together and that "naughty" couples stick together, the funniest revisit of my childhood ever and Paul is such a sweet guy! 😊😆
45k subs is insane. You deserve s lot more, great job!
This show was a big part of my childhood, I loved this analysis of why it stuck with me through all these years. Also, what's that sad music used in the last section, it's beautiful.
This was so well done with such a beautiful ending and tribute, oof mah heart
Amazing vid! So good I downloaded it
Incredible job dude, I'm excited for more in the future!
That ending...
This entire video was beautifully made but that ending... it is a *perfect* showing of why this show means so much to so many
Within the frights and scares, there is a sincere beauty and love
This makes so much sense. When I was rewatching the first season i was so puzzled and almost weirded out by how much dialogue Courage had. As a kid I remembered courage barely talking. They did reduce his talking and I remembered it that way
All i remember from this show is "I don't know what I just watched, but i loved it and i'll watch it again if i'm up and it's on.". Really cannot tell you a heck of a lot more. But thank you so much for this documentary style exert on the show, it HAUNTS my core in such a profound way. That damn dog...
Dude, that last montage bit had me straight up emotional, holy hell.