Dave the Barbarian

Premise

The series takes place in the kingdom of Udrogoth during the Middle Ages. It centers on Dave (voiced by Danny Cooksey), a powerful yet cowardly barbarian who lives with his older sister Candy (Erica Luttrell) and younger sister Fang (Tress MacNeille). His parents, Throktar and Glimia, are the King and Queen, but are away "fighting evil" across the world (though they sometimes communicate via a magic crystal ball or cauldron), and have left Candy in charge of the kingdom as Princess Regent while Dave is supposed to defend the kingdom (since he is the biggest). Together the three siblings, along with their "wizard" uncle Oswidge, are left to run and protect the kingdom.

There is a Narrator, referred to either as "the Narrator" or "the Storyteller." He is able to talk to the characters of the show, and vice versa, which breaks the fourth wall. In fact, he was once captured by The Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy, and was forced to tell the story from his kidnapper's commands.

Production

The show was created and written by Doug Langdale. After premiering on Disney in 2004, it began broadcasting on Toon Disney a year later. In Latin America, the show was broadcast on Jetix.

Much like its predecessors Hagar the Horrible, The Flintstones and the short-lived The Roman Holidays, Dave the Barbarian juxtaposes both the ancient and modern. Candy, for example, shops in the local mall and uses the crystal ball for online shopping sprees. Occasionally, the series even breaks the fourth wall with a character directly addressing the audience or even communicating to the narrator.

Main characters

Dave (voiced by Danny Cooksey) - The middle child and only brother of the three siblings. Dave is a muscular and very strong barbarian war-prince who is very sensitive to pain and would rather knit and cook than fight evil. He is also afraid of many things and at least once an episode, he will be frightened somehow and shriek his high-pitched, effeminate scream. He is also allergic to many things. According to Fang, Dave wanted to be a barbarian when he was young, but thought a barbarian was a librarian who also cuts hair. Dave's catchphrases are "Bajabbers" and "Please don't hurt me!"

Candy (voiced by Erica Luttrell) - The oldest child of the three siblings. Left in charge while the king and queen are away, Candy has a contemporary "valley girl" attitude and would rather shop and hang out than rule a kingdom. Candy's main ability is her martial arts skills. She is the kingdom's most beautiful girl and she's rather selfish, but gets over that in a small way while helping Hamwise and his wife defeat the nefarious Invisigoths. Candy has used the quote "Don't mess with the princess" on a number of occasions and has referred to herself also as a Barbarian. She has displayed the most strength out of the family often when it comes to monsters destroying a shop or so; whether or not she is stronger than Dave remains unseen but out of the two, she is the one willing to use it.

Fang (voiced by Tress MacNeille) - The youngest of the three siblings. Fang is a very rambunctious and uncivilized tomboy who loves to smash things. She has long red hair in a ponytail. She resembles a cross between both Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm of The Flintstones. She is the butt of a running joke in which she is often mistaken for a monkey, hence her catchphrase, "Not a monkey!". However, she frequently acts and appears to look like a monkey and during one episode she finds a tribe of monkeys that exactly resemble her. She is too small to fight most of the time and resents Dave (who is very strong) because of his cowardice. Although she aspires to be a tough barbarian princess (ala Xena), she secretly likes to play with dolls. Fang wields a spear in combat.

Oswidge (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) - Dave, Fang and Candy's uncle. A rather clumsy sorcerer who usually wreaks havoc with his spells rather than being useful. It was revealed in the episode "Sorcerer Material" that he never really went to sorcerer school, he just worked in the cafeteria. Uncle Oswidge loves to eat and presents a rather unkempt appearance. Like his niece Fang, he secretly likes to play with dolls. His favorite foods are ham and "Nut Logs" and cannot resist them. His knowledge of magic and magical items, and most other things, surpasses the rest of the family.

Faffy (voiced by Frank Welker) - The family's dumb pig-shaped pet dragon. Unlike most dragons, he breathes lightning and is domesticated, plus he does not have a tail. He does possess a wild streak that can be revealed when around other dragons, particularly evil ones with rebellious attitudes. It is mentioned in the show that Faffy has a one digit IQ.

Lula (voiced by Estelle Harris) - Dave's shrill, impatient, sarcastic enchanted sword. Her main ability is shooting a lightning discharge from the tip of her blade. She was once the sword of Argon the Ageless, but was used by Argon as the nose of a snowman, and left there for centuries.

Secondary characters

King Throktar and Queen Glimia (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson and Erica Luttrell) - The proper rulers of Udrogoth, and the parents of Dave, Candy and Fang. They are away fighting evil around the world, though they can communicate to their children via Oswidge's crystal ball, which seems to operate like a phone. Occasionally they are called while in a terrible situation.

The Narrator/Storyteller (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - The narrator of the series. He has never been seen in an episode.

Dinky and Cheezette (voiced by Erica Luttrell and Tress MacNeille) - Princess Candy's best friends, who are sometimes unsupportive - and wisely so - towards her actions. They are as obsessive about fashion, clothes, and social lives as Candy is.

Mrs. Gert Bogmelon (voiced by Lisa Kaplan) - A witch-like shopkeeper who loves money and loves to rip off her customers. She can be cowed by Fang and other aggressive people but takes advantage of meek people like Dave. She sells evil weasels, mystical swords, and other plot-related paraphernalia, such as used T-shirts for sporting events.

Twinkle The Marvel Horse (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - A magical pony with a rainbow-colored tail. He suffers from extreme depression and possible psychosis, apparently due to being left on his own in the stable all the time. He often talks about his dreams, which are very disturbing. He is capable of flight, though he has no wings. His manner of speech is a parody of Christopher Walken. He appears in the episodes 'Ned Frischman: Man of Tomorrow', 'Beef!', 'The Terror of Mecha-Dave', 'The Lost Race of Reeber', 'A Pig's Story', 'I Love Neddy' and 'Fiends and Family'.

Antagonists

The Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy (voiced by Paul Rugg) - An evil pig with a high-collared cape (and equally high voice) bent on ruling Udrogoth and the main antagonist of the show. Chuckles lives in a castle on the outskirts of the kingdom. He possesses the Mystic Amulet of Hogswineboar (named so because hogs, swine, and boars are all synonyms for the word 'pig'). This grants him amazing mystical powers such as telekinesis, shape-shifting, blasting magic to rival Lula's, and conjuration. He is also a whiz with technology, as evidenced by the Mecha-Dave. His schemes usually rely on a particular gimmick (like giant clams, giant ducks, evil pastries, or evil furniture). His catchphrase is: (whenever he gets hurt) "Ooh, my little piggy [insert body part]". It was also revealed in one episode (the Princess and the Peabrains') that he has a nephew named Knuckles the Silly Piggy, who wants to be the Harvest Hog instead of a dark lord of evil.

Malsquando (voiced by Rob Paulsen) - An evil sorcerer and Oswidge's rival. He has an obsession with taking over the world and making money. He was revealed to be a member of the Evil Sorcerers' union. He also runs a shop that cures hiccats (magical hiccups that produce cats from one's mouth). Unlike Oswidge, he actually went to wizards' school. His speaking pattern is based on that of Jonathan Harris.

Quosmir (voiced by Michael McShane) - The god of freshly laundered trousers, overused punctuation and possibly other random and ridiculous things. He has mommy issues and carries a security blanket known as his "ni-ni lankie". He often experiences short-term memory loss and attention deficit disorder. He is a green skinned naga-like giant with the lower half of a snake instead of legs; he is always wearing a blue cape and a combover. He has a severe inferiority complex that is only exacerbated in the presence of his mother. He has immense magical powers including flight, super-speed, and flaming loogies.

Princess Irmaplotz and Queen Zonthara (voiced by Melissa Rivers and Joan Rivers) - The evil sorceress princess of Hyrogoth that is trying to destroy Dave (or more likely she just wants to make Dave's life miserable). Her mother Zonthara is the ruler of Hyrogoth, and keeps on trying to teach Irmaplotz to be more evil. Her father is good, making her half-evil. Earlier in the show, Dave and Irmaplotz fell in love, but Dave decided that they were too different, and ended up dumping her, where she is now seeking revenge. She still may have feelings for him though; she once got the chance to destroy Dave, but she chose not to do so. She is similar to Dave in that they both have the same odd hobbies and interests (she and Dave both love "bad poetry" for example). She also has the same allergies as Dave. She is very beautiful and an intellectual; she would be a great match for Dave, only if she were not an evil princess. She occasionally wears glasses (she has stated that she does not like to wear them as she feels they make her look bookish, even though she cannot see things from far away without them), due to her being nearsighted.

Ned Frischman (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz) - A nerd who works at a pants factory in the year 1994. He gains a radioactive zipper which he uses to travel back into time to attempt conquering the world by using the advanced technology of the future, such as the Game Guy (a parody of a Game Boy), and a joke book from the 1940s, both plans of which were thwarted by Dave and his family (Though he is defeated by Faffy, Lula and Twinkle the marvel horse because they do not have thumbs to play on the Game Guys).

Awards and nominations

Annie Awards

2005 - Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production - Wendy Grieb for episode "The Maddening Sprite of the Stump" (Won)2005 - Writing in an Animated Television Production - Evan Gore & Heather Lombard for episode "Ned Frischman: Man of Tomorrow" (Nominated)

Broadcast

The series was broadcast internationally, including on the Family Channel in Canada.