The Classic Horror And Sci-Fi Films That Inspired Cartoon Network's Courage The Cowardly Dog

The '90s were a great time to be a young horror-loving kid. There were several gateway horror shows and movies that made genre fans out of an entire generation, preparing kids for the horrors of the real world within the safe confines of a television set. It was a time of "Goosebumps" and of "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," a time of "AAAHH!!! Real Monsters" and "Tales from the Cryptkeeper." Then there was "Courage the Cowardly Dog."

Though "Real Monsters" featured, well, monsters, it was still definitely a comedic show. "Courage the Cowardly Dog," though, even when it wasn't technically scary, it was always eerie and disturbing. The cartoon follows the eponymous dog Courage, who lives with an elderly couple in a farm in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas. They are constantly thrown into weird, often spooky situations. The series started with a pilot short titled "The Chicken from Outer Space," which was even nominated for an Academy Award.

Like many cartoons of the time, "Courage the Cowardly Dog" often referenced horror heavy hitters, fueled by creator John R. Dilworth's love for the genre. "Jaws," Village of the Damned," "Forbidden Planet," and even "The Exorcist" inspired fan favorite episodes of the cartoon.

This last one is particularly interesting; there's an entire "Cowardly" episode dedicated to "The Exorcist," wherein Courage's owner Muriel essentially plays Regan MacNeill and there's a Pazuzu-style demonically-possessed mattress. The episode, appropriately titled "The Demon in the Mattress," directly parodies several scenes from the classic horror movie by having Muriel vomit, levitating from her bed, rotating her head 360 degrees, and even having the titular demon say "She's in here, with us."

Of course, "Courage the Cowardly Dog" didn't stop its horror homages there. This is a show for kids that also included a "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" reference in the form of Muriel's barber nephew Fred, who constantly rhymes, along with a giant blue-skinned girl named Tulip that looks like something straight out of "Fantastic Planet" (a deeply bizarre animated movie, and one you should watch if you enjoyed "Dune"). And, of course, this is the only Cartoon Network series that dared to make a major "Godzilla" villain a recurring guest star. While "SpongeBob SquarePants" introduced "Nosferatu" to a generation of kids, "Courage" sang both the horrors and praises of Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster to children everywhere.

If there is a lesson to be learned here, it's that more cartoons should be weird and take inspiration from esoteric sources, allowing kids to grow up and later realize the genius of their favorite childhood animated series. After all, where else would you get a "God Emperor of Dune" parody (likely the only screen adaptation we'll ever get) other than the 2000s kids cartoon "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy"? Or how about that time an episode of "Invader Zim" saw the titular alien gruesomely stealing organs from his classmates (teaching kids invaluable lessons about human anatomy and our internal organs in the process)?

Of course, that is not to say that kids' cartoons aren't strange anymore — just look at "Adventure Time" or the fantastic "The Hollow." Still, there is an edge and a sense of visual experimentation that was more prominent in '90s and early '00s cartoons that is sadly gone. Thankfully, we'll always have Courage facing up against a creepy King Ramses.