Dave the Barbarian (2004-2005) is a Disney animated series, an Affectionate Parody of the Heroic Fantasy genre.The series takes place in The Middle Ages and centers on a powerful yet cowardly barbarian named Dave who lives in the fictitious land of Udrogoth along with his older sister Candy and younger sister Fang. 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), and have left Candy in charge of the kingdom. Together the three siblings, along with their wizard uncle Oswidge, their pet Faffy and Dave's talking sword Lula, are left to run and protect the kingdom.There is a Narrator, referred to either as "the Narrator" or "the Storyteller," voiced by Jeff Bennett. He plays a big part in the show, as he controls what happens in the story. He is able to talk to the characters of the show, and vice versa. In fact, he was once captured by Arch-EnemyTHE DARK LORD CHUCKLES, THE SILLY PIGGY!, and was forced to read narration where Dave loses to him.The show was created and written by Doug Langdale of Earthworm Jim and The Weekenders fame. It premiered on Disney Channel on January 23, 2004; a year later, it began broadcasting on Toon Disney as well. In Latin America, the show is broadcast on Jetix. Sadly however, the show only lasted one season due to Disney punting the show around their schedule. The reruns now mostly show on Early Morning shifts on the weekend.Much like its predecessors The Flintstones and the short-lived The Roman Holidays, Dave the Barbarian juxtaposes the ancient and the modern. Candy, for example, shops in the local mall (the "Great Indoor Marketplace of Udragoth") and uses the crystal ball for online shopping sprees. Occasionally, the series even breaks the fourth wall with a character directly addressing the audience.Critically acclaimed, but unfortunately it could not last since Disney just seemed to lose interest halfway into it's run, and thus cancelled after one season.
Tropes:
Action Girl: Candy; sometimes parodied, sometimes played straight. Fang wants to be one, but can't quite manage.
Apple of Discord: In one episode, Chuckles sends Dave a pair of rose colored glasses that makes the wearer only see their ideal world around them, even though the real world is still there. All of Dave's family promptly begins fighting over them once they all see what they can do.
Argument Of Contradictions: An episode of the show has Dave and Fang arguing over how to deal with a band of monsters coming to Udrogoth. The argument eventually degenerates into chasing each other around a table while shouting "Yes!" and "No!"
Crazy-Prepared: Ned spent hours practicing his evil laugh before he became a villain
Cute Bruiser: Subverted with Fang. She has the looks and the attitude of a Cute Bruiser, but the only thing she can beat are bugs. Granted, this includes bugs about the size of an rhinoceros that could lay waste to the entire Kingdom of Udrogoth — as she demonstrated when some of them didn't simply run in terror from her reputation.
Dark Secret: In one episode, when Dave was snooping around to see who stole his Cooking Book, he sees Oswidge watching a soap opera, Candy shaving her pits, Fang secretly playing with dolls, and Faffy playing poker with some other dragons, talking about how the 'Big Palooka' hasn't discovered yet. Dave doesn't even realize he's the Big Palooka being referred to...
Depending on the Writer: If Candy is an Action Girl or not, or if she is stronger than her brother or not. Also, Fang's strength changes from episode to episode.
Fake Out Opening: In one episode, we see what appears to be the King returning home, but after we see How We Got Here we know it's really Chuckles in disguise, and now "the King" suddenly has green glowing eyes and sounds like Chuckles.
Fangs Are Evil: Princess Irmoplotz and Queen Zonthara. But not Fang. Except in that one episode where she was posessed by the forces of Pure Evil In The Form Of Leiderhosen.
Getting Crap Past the Radar: A Roman salute is made by one of the characters while proclaiming himself to be a dictator.
It's time to cut a muffin!
"That sounds nasty for some reason."
"First you shall lay waste here...then you shall lay waste there. Then, when you can lay NO MORE WASTE—"
"You're cheesing me off!"
Floral Derangement gives us this gem:
Pinkeye the Sailor: Seagulls, seagulls everywhere
Leaving presents in my hair!
It gives my scalp a glossy feel
Who needs shampoo when you can have real?
One episode has a woman slapping a sausage around with her palm and shouting "you'll never amount to anything!" at it. How they got this past, I don't know.
God Save Us From The Queen: Queen Zonthara, Princess Irmaplotz's mother, althought she is a very minor character and not relevant in the series. Her daughter is the real antagonist.
Golden Snitch: The penmanship portion of the Rite of Pillage counts for 75% of the total mark - a result of a pen company being the major sponsor.
God of Evil: Parodied with Quosmir, the god of freshly laundered trousers and overused punctuation.
Humor Dissonance: Used in-story by Ned Frischman. The people of the past has never heard his incredibly lame futuristic "why did the chicken cross the road"-class jokes and therefore considers him to be the funniest man in existence. invoked
No Fourth Wall: The characters interact with the narrator, occasionally pausing to check their scripts, etc.
"The inside of this television set is filthy!"
Chuckles even captured the Narrator at one point and forced him to read his own story, making him the new Narrator, so to speak. Whatever the Narrator said would become real. They held auditions for a new Narrator.
Narrator: Thinking quickly, Dave constructs a homemade megaphone using only a squirrel, some string and a megaphone.
Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Parodied in "The Maddening Sprite of the Stump". A giant muffin that had been attacking the castle is defeated offscreen, while the narrator explains that the show's budget is too cheap to actually show the battle, but assures the audience that it was exciting.
There are plenty of standard issue dragons roaming around as well; Faffy (who is routinely mistaken for a flying potato) seems to have simply lost the genetic lottery, hard.
Our Werebeasts Are Different: Irmaplotz uses a werecow "to make Dave look like a dork." Afterwards, anytime Dave gets bitten by something else, he turns into that. This leads to Dave turning into a cat, Oswidge, a hamster, an egg beater, Lula and a gym teacher.
Resolved when he is made to bite his own tongue, turning Dave into a Weredave, and everyone he bites into a weredave.
Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Played straight with Candy, but averted with Dave in Civilization when Dave asks if Fang realises he's not a girl—while wearing blue.
Poke the Poodle: Dave's attempts to be just a little evil in one episode (an attempt to make his relationship with Princess Irmoplotz work) really, really emphasize little. We're talking taking two free nut log samples instead of just one...then feeling so guilty he bought ten crates.
Previously On: Parodied in one episode that opens with a montage of Dave screaming and enduring misfortune.
Princesses Rule: Princess Candy is ruling Udrogoth until her parents come back from destroying all the evil in the world.
Pygmalion Plot: Non-romantic version, in the episode where the family tried to make Fang act more ladylike.
Dave:(completely sincere) Because what could be more wholesome than the entire family working together as one ... to crush Fang's spirit and force her to stifle her true self?
In "Beauty and the Zit", Dave encounters the monster zit for the first time. Dave asks for the monster's hat before being roared at and landing in a large pile of hats. The clothes and Lula the sword float for a few seconds before falling to the ground.
In another episode, "The Cow Goes Moon", Princess Irmaplotz disappears for the second time, leaving behind only her dress. She takes it back.
Superhero Origin: Spoofed in the creation of the Time Zipper, with everything from a strike from the Nordic Gods to a radioactive grasshopper bit in about 10 seconds
Ned Frischman: Wow, that hardly ever happens!
Talking Animal: Twinkle the Marvel Horse; in one throwaway gag, Faffy is seen talking articulately to other dragons when he thinks no human is listening
There Are No Therapists: Inverted in "Shrink Rap." Dave becomes a therapist to help people, but all he does is ask "How does that make you feel?" and generally irritates everyone.
What The Heck Is An Aglet: Dave and his friends and family are being held against the wall by magic. "Dave, do something!" "I am... I'm trying to remember what the thing on the end of a shoelace is called, an argle?" When they are let go, but still against the wall, he suddenly remembers something. "That the the on the end of a shoelace is called an aglet?" "No, that gravity makes things fall."
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