Catscratch is an American animated television series created by Doug TenNapel (also known for creating Earthworm Jim). It was aired on both Nickelodeon and Nicktoons on July 9, 2005. It is an adaptation of TenNapel's graphic novel, Gear, which is also the name of the cats' monster truck. The series features music composed by longtime TenNapel collaborator, Terry Scott Taylor. Catscratch's first DVD appearance was on Nick Picks Vol. 3, which came out on February 7, 2006 (though the DVD contained only "Bringin' Down the Mouse").
The series revolves around a trio of anthropomorphic feline brothers, including the arrogant and acerbic Mr. Blik, the impulsive and cheerful Waffle, and Gordon Quid, who possesses stereotypical Scottish mannerisms and recounts apparently fictional experiences back in Scotland. After their wealthy owner Edna Cramdilly died, she left her riches to them, along with a menacing, oversized monster truck named Gear and a dignified butler named Hovis, and the program commonly chronicles their wealthy lifestyles and action-packed, sometimes paranormal, experiences. Other characters include the kind, sweet young neighboring girl Kimberly, with whom Gordon is obsessed with, and the cats' competitive rivals the Chumpy Chump Brothers, among others.
Characters
Mr. Blik (voiced by Wayne Knight): Mr. Blik is the self-appointed leader of the group who's confident, pampered and vain. He is a black cat who often gets himself into major trouble and is prone to near-death injuries. Mr. Blik is proud of his newly inherited riches and spends his money on anything and everything that spells respect and power. Mr. Blik always insults his two brothers. Mr. Blik's catch phrases are, "Yeah!" and "Suckers!" He is the oldest of the three.
Waffle (voiced by Kevin McDonald): Waffle is an extremely enthusiastic, naïve and childish cat. He has an affinity for newts, and can speak Newtuguese (a language supposedly spoken by newts) as if he were a newt himself. Waffle is a lover of life who is overly optimistic. His catch phrases are "Spleee!" or "Yahoo!" when he's happy and gets super-excited about all things silly. Waffle has been wowed by revolving doors, fingers, bubble wrap and newts. He also wishes roller coasters were public transportation, would eat donuts straight from "donut trees", loves zero gravity basketball and smelling the pictures of flowers on shirts. Waffle also likes doing flatulent sounds with his underarms. He is a gray Tortie with long, floppy ears and a long tail with dark periwinkle stripes like his right ear. He is the tallest and the youngest of the three.
Gordon Quid (voiced by Rob Paulsen): Gordon is an outspoken member of the Highland Quid clan and acts like he's from Scotland despite the fact that he is not. However, he speaks with a thick stereotypical Scottish accent. He is kind-hearted, has a soft spot for "Human" Kimberly and loves to sing, which quite regularly angers his older brother, Mr. Blik. He is also an excellent cook, usually cooking Scottish recipes, which a lot of people don't find edible. He has an orange patch on his right eye. The episode "Lovesick" shows he is allergic to both broccoli and chocolate, which cause disastrous effects upon contact. At first, the reaction seems to consist of typical allergic symptoms, such as sneezing, but eventually, all of the lights appear to go out and he turns into a Mr. Hyde-like monster, similar to a cat-like monster they were watching in a movie. Somewhat fortunately (particularly for Mr. Blik and Waffle), no future episode involves or mentions Gordon and his allergies. In some episodes, Gordon is shown with green-colored eyes, but in others he has blue. Judging from his short tail, he is a Manx. Gordon also has a mission set before him: to get Mr. Blik to do the right thing. Gordon's catch phrases are, "In the name of the Highland Quid Clan", "Feel my sting.", "Great gopher", "Cheer", and sometimes "Pop a Wheelie!". He is the shortest of the three, younger than Mr. Blik and older than Waffle.
Hovis (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) Hovis is Mrs. Cramdilly's butler and has stayed on to look after the cats and collect his measly paychecks (which Mr. Blik signs). He's not exactly thrilled about his new situation, but he hails from a long line of butlers who have served in the house and he honestly believes he has nowhere else to go. Therefore, Hovis puts up with the fact that the former pets have become his masters. Blik barks out orders constantly, Gordon treats him as an equal and Waffle hasn't quite figured out that he's not a pet anymore (he still asks Hovis to be let out and scratched behind his ears). His birthday is April 14, 1982, as seen in "Love Jackal." (Hovis' voice sounds similar to that of Shackelford, the butler to the Sherman family on The Critic, which LaMarche also portrayed.)
Kimberly (voiced by Liliana Mumy): Kimberly is a 8-year-old girl with a good-natured personality, a gap in her teeth, and an obsession with unicorns. She is one of the few human friends the cats have. She doesn't think they are greedy, and just accepts her feline neighbors for who they are and sees the good in their hearts. She is also completely unaware of the fact that Gordon has a complete infatuation with her. She has three human friends named Kaitlin, Kaitlyn and Charlotte.
Episodes
Note: All episodes were directed by Michael Girard with the only co-directions of:
Doug TenNapel in "A Line in the Litterbox"
Christine Kolosov-Pitt in "King of Clubs"
Broadcast
US
Nickelodeon (2005–07)
Nicktoons Network (2007–09; December 19, 2015)
Canada
YTV (2006–09)
Latin America and Brazil
Nickelodeon (2006–08)
Nick at Nite (2009–10)
Philippines
TV5 (2008–10)
UK
Nickelodeon (2006–08)
Nicktoons (2006–08)
Australia and New Zealand
Nickelodeon (2006–12)
Network Ten (2006–11)
Eleven (2011–present)
Middle East
Nickelodeon (2008–2011)
Comics
Confirmed by an e-mail from Doug TenNapel, there were a few 2-page Catscratch comics in the works for Nick Magazine. The first one came out in the December / January 2005 issue. The second one came out in the March 2006 issue. The third and last one was in the February 2007 issue.
Production
Catscratch went into production in early 2005. Production continued on Catscratch until the final episode, "Spindango Fundulation/Duck and Cover" aired in early 2007. After the final episode of Catscratch was aired on February 10, 2007, Nicktoons continued to show re-runs of the cartoon until January 2, 2009. It was briefly shown again on December 19, 2015.
