(1962)
Created by Bob Kane
Starring Dallas McKinnon
IMDB Entry
Bob Kane was an important name in comic books. Known as the creator of Batman,* he tried his hand in other forms, and one of the more successful examples was the animated Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse.
Their main adversary was Frog, an Edward G. Robinson imitation. Minute Mouse existed solely to point out what was happening,*** so Courageous Cat could take out his gun and save the day.
Or, rather, his many guns. When faced by a threat, he’d have one on hand specifically designed to counteract it.****
The cartoons were short. I get the impression that it syndicated to morning kids shows across the country as filler. None were particularly outstanding adventures, but they were entertaining enough for kids.
The most memorable thing was the show’s theme song. It was a variation on Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn Theme and was often the best thing of any adventure.
I’m not really sure how involved Kane was; he may have just leant his name as a selling point.
The show ran two years, not a bad run for something like this. But eventually, even Bob Kane’s name couldn’t keep it going.
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*Reports indicate that Kane’s influence was primarily in coming up with the concept and choosing the name “Batman.” Bill Finger did most of the writing on the strip in the beginning, including creating nearly everything we think of when we think of the character. Kane did the art in the early days, but soon left that to assistants . Although Kane often talked about Finger as a collaborator, Kane was the only byline on the strip (and DC was contractually obligated to give him the single credit).
**Fairly obvious where Kane got the idea.
***Probably because it was cheaper than animating action.
****Deus ex Machina gun would be a good description.
