| Secret Squirrel | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Comedy Adventure |
| Created by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Written by | Michael Maltese Dalton Sandifer Warren Foster Tony Benedict |
| Directed by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Voices of | Mel Blanc Paul Frees |
| Theme music composer | Ted Nichols |
| Composers | Ted Nichols Hoyt Curtin (stock music, uncredited) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (original) 13 (reboot) 39 (total) |
| Production | |
| Producers | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC TBS (reboot) |
| Release | October 2, 1965 (1965-10-2) – November 26, 1966 (1966-11-26) |
Secret Squirrel is a cartoon character created byHanna-Barbera forThe Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, which debuted in 1965 on Saturday mornings. The character was given his own show in 1966, titledThe Secret Squirrel Show, but was reunited withAtom Ant for one more season in 1967. The half-hourThe Secret Squirrel Show included three individual cartoon segments: "Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole", "Squiddly Diddly" and "Winsome Witch".[1] Secret Squirrel first appeared in a prime-time animated special calledThe World of Secret Squirrel and Atom Ant, which aired onNBC on September 12, 1965.[2]
Secret Squirrel was aparody of the spy genre, and most of the shorts parodied elements of theJames Bond films. Secret Squirrel was also known as "Agent 000". In 1993, 13 newSecret Squirrel cartoons appeared in-between the2 Stupid Dogs first-season episodes, with the updated titleSuper Secret Secret Squirrel and a new cast.
SecretSquirrel (voiced with a slight lisp byMel Blanc) serves as asecret agent, taking orders from his superior, Double-Q aka the Chief (voiced byPaul Frees), of the International Sneaky Service. Mostly Double Q is usually annoyed by Secret Squirrel when he enters the office in other objects in his office instead of using the door like other people. His designation is Agent 000.[3] Secret Squirrel is assisted in his adventures by hisfez-wearing, bespectacledsidekick MoroccoMole (also voiced by Paul Frees impersonatingPeter Lorre).[4]
The pair fights crime and evil enemy agents using cunning and a variety of spy gadgets, including amachine gun cane, a collection of weapons kept inside Secret'strench coat which is also bulletproof, and a variety of devices concealed in his purplefedora (which has eye holes cut in it and which he seldom removes).
Secret's recurring archenemy is Yellow Pinkie (also voiced by Frees), a parody of bothAuric Goldfinger fromGoldfinger and ofSydney Greenstreet's portrayal of the Kasper Gutman character fromDashiell Hammett'sThe Maltese Falcon. He also tangles with such enemies as the Masked Granny, Captain Kidd and Robin Hood and his Merry Mugs.[5] The last three episodes introduced Hi-Spy (again voiced by Frees), a master of scientific criminology.
The 1993 reboot segments saw several changes in characters and artwork compared to the 1960s original cartoons, including the recasting ofJess Harnell as Secret andJim Cummings as Morocco (as Blanc and Frees had both died several years prior). All the characters inhabiting the world are now animals (except for agingerbread man and aQuark). Double-Q (voiced byTony Jay), now simply called "the Chief" in these shorts, is aCape buffalo with a sour cherry-scentedcalabash pipe. Yellow Pinkie has been replaced by asea lion named Goldflipper (voiced byJim Cummings) who, despite being Secret's archenemy, only appears in one episode of the revival series. These new cartoons also introduce Penny (voiced byKimmy Robertson), a female squirrel assistant to the Chief (à laMiss Moneypenny) and a possible love interest for Secret (as hinted at in the episodes "Queen Bea" and "Quark").
Secret's art design remains relatively intact, but looks more modern than the original 1960s version of the character, featuring hard lines and sharper angles, giving him a leaner and slicker style. His trademark hat looks slightly different. Secret also loses his signature lisp given to him by Blanc that was similar to that ofSylvester from theLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies cartoons fromWarner Bros. (although it was paid homage to in the episode "Goldflipper", where Secret spoke with it to mock Morocco's sudden lisp in that episode). Harnell's portrayal gives Secret a suave voice in reminiscence of him sometimes breaking into hisWakko Warner voice without the Scouse accent, most notably when he is screaming.
Morocco's color scheme has been redesigned; his wardrobe's palette has been swapped and he wears sunglasses. Cummings' portrayal of Morocco makes his voice less of a Peter Lorre impersonation: the Moroccan accent remains, but the voice is higher-pitched. He also now has anevil twin brother named Scirocco Mole (voiced byJess Harnell).
Apparently, in the 1993 revival cartoons, the personalities and traits of Secret and Morocco have been switched as opposed to their original 1960s personalities. Morocco was more of a chauffeur and used to be quite intelligent, while in the revival cartoons he is more independent as a sidekick, becomes more of a bungler, and is more childlike, often getting injured (which was Secret's department in the 1960s series) and often using his catchphrase "Okay, Secret!". Secret was portrayed as a bumbling secret agent in the original, while in the revival version he is actually capable of doing his job effectively. He can be both a workaholic and more easygoing while still able to get the job done. Like the original, Secret has a gadget for almost everything but also relies on his mixed martial arts combat skills. Most of his injuries either come from his job or Morocco's bumbling.
The Chief speaks with a British accent now (due to being voiced byTony Jay), as evidenced by his catchphrase "Good show, Secret".
The series' debut was on September 12, 1965, inThe World of Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel prime-time special onNBC.
The original series,The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, was broadcast from October 2, 1965, to September 2, 1967. Secret Squirrel had his own show in 1966 and was then reunited with Atom Ant in 1967-1968. Episodes were broadcast in syndication and as part ofThe Banana Splits variety and compilation series.
Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole were revived in 1993 for back-up segments of the first season ofTBS Superstation's animated series2 Stupid Dogs. TitledSuper Secret Secret Squirrel, these new cartoons featured Secret Squirrel (voiced byJess Harnell) and Morocco Mole (voiced byJim Cummings).2 Stupid Dogs creatorDonovan Cook was asked by then-newHanna-Barbera presidentFred Seibert to choose a classic studio cartoon to revive within the main show, andSuper Secret Secret Squirrel was the result. The reason to reviveSecret Squirrel was because it was one of Cook's favorite Hanna-Barbera shows.
After Cook guided the updated design with artistsPaul Rudish andCraig McCracken, supervising producerLarry Huber, the "adult supervision" assigned by Seibert, was responsible for all further aspects of these cartoons. He assigned animatorDavid Feiss to the storyboards.
This new series seems to have fallen under thevillain of the week formula. Except for "Egg" and "Agent Penny", every episode is named after the enemies Secret and Morocco encounter.
Secret and Morocco make an appearance in a2 Stupid Dogs episode titled "Let's Make a Right Price", in which they star in a commercial for Granny's Joybone Doggie Treats. The Little Dog and the Big Dog from2 Stupid Dogs appear in theSuper Secret Secret Squirrel episode "Scirocco Mole" as contestants in a game show.
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | |||
| 1 | 20 | October 2, 1965 (1965-10-2) | February 12, 1966 (1966-2-12) | |
| 2 | 6 | September 10, 1966 (1966-9-10) | November 26, 1966 (1966-11-26) | |
| Super Secret Secret Squirrel | 13 | September 5, 1993 (1993-9-5) | November 28, 1993 (1993-11-28) | |
| Nº | Ep | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Sub Swiper" | October 2, 1965 (1965-10-2) | |
Captain Ahab steals anatomic submarine; Secret and Morocco must capture him and return the subintact. | ||||
| 2 | 2 | "Masked Granny" | October 9, 1965 (1965-10-9) | |
Secret and Morocco have a mission to secure the Bombay Bomb inthe Pentagon, whilst the Masked Granny plans a heist to steal it. | ||||
| 3 | 3 | "Scotland Yard Caper" | October 16, 1965 (1965-10-16) | |
Secret receives orders from Scotland Yard to recover the stolencrown jewels. He does, but ishimself accused of being the thief by the police. | ||||
| 4 | 4 | "Robin Hood & His Merry Muggs" | October 23, 1965 (1965-10-23) | |
Secret and Morocco try to track down some thieves who are using aRobin Hood television show to cover their thefts. | ||||
| 5 | 5 | "Wolf in Cheap Cheap Clothing" | October 30, 1965 (1965-10-30) | |
Secret and Morocco are sent to stop Wily Wolf from smuggling sheep. Secret lures him into a trap with a "Little Red Riding Hood" scenario. | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "Royal Run Around" | November 6, 1965 (1965-11-6) | |
Secret and Morocco are assigned to safeguard Pasha Panchabaggie, but Pasha rides away on hisflying carpet and proves difficult to catch despite the many gadgets at Secret's disposal. | ||||
| 7 | 7 | "Yellow Pinkie" | November 13, 1965 (1965-11-13) | |
Secret and Morocco are sent to catch an enemy agent called Yellow Pinkie, who seems to be too smart for them. | ||||
| 8 | 8 | "Five Is a Crowd" | November 20, 1965 (1965-11-20) | |
Dr. Dangit creates five robot duplicates of Secret Squirrel to commit crimes andframe the real one for them. Secret follows the duplicates to Dangit's hideout and turns them against him. | ||||
| 9 | 9 | "It Stopped Training" | November 27, 1965 (1965-11-27) | |
Secret and Morocco are put on a case to recover the Silver Streak Express train, which is stolen by Yellow Pinkie with a shrinking ray gun. | ||||
| 10 | 10 | "Wacky Secret Weapon" | December 4, 1965 (1965-12-4) | |
Secret and Morocco are assigned to protect a secret weapon only to lose it to Yellow Pinkie, but they pin him down at the seaport. | ||||
| 11 | 11 | "Cuckoo Clock Cuckoo" | December 11, 1965 (1965-12-11) | |
Secret receives a mission from England to retrieveBig Ben, stolen by agiant who wants to make acuckoo clock out of it. | ||||
| 12 | 12 | "Catty Cornered" | December 18, 1965 (1965-12-18) | |
Upon being called in by a scientist, Secret and Morocco attempt to catch a cat who swallowed an explosive capsule. A cat-chasing dog makes their task difficult, and a "doggone temper" erupts. | ||||
| 13 | 13 | "Leave Wheel Enough Alone" | December 25, 1965 (1965-12-25) | |
Secret and Morocco try to catch Yellow Pinkie, who has stolen all the gold from themint, but will have to chase him in a car race first. | ||||
| 14 | 14 | "Jester Minute" | January 1, 1966 (1966-1-1) | |
Secret and Morocco are sent to safeguard the king's crown, only for it to be stolen by Yellow Pinkie. Secret thwarts every one of his enemy's traps in order to recover the king's crown. | ||||
| 15 | 15 | "Not So Idle Idol" | January 8, 1966 (1966-1-8) | |
Yellow Pinkie steals a golden idol and only Secret can locate its whereabouts. | ||||
| 16 | 16 | "Gold Rushed" | January 15, 1966 (1966-1-15) | |
While vacationing in Washington D.C., Secret and Morocco chase after Yellow Pinkie, who has stolengold bullion from the Granbovian embassy. | ||||
| 17 | 17 | "Double Ex-Double Cross" | January 22, 1966 (1966-1-22) | |
Secret and Morocco investigate the petrified population of Okey Dokey Isle, where they encounter the responsible perpetrator, Double-Ex. | ||||
| 18 | 18 | "Capt. Kidd's Not Kidding" | January 29, 1966 (1966-1-29) | |
Secret and Morocco go aboard a Spanishgalleon to investigate the ghost ofCaptain Kidd, who is actually Yellow Pinkie seeking gold. | ||||
| 19 | 19 | "Bold Rush" | February 5, 1966 (1966-2-5) | |
Morocco takes the liberty of locating a gold shipment stolen by Yellow Pinkie all by himself. Secret discreetly assists Morocco during his vacation. | ||||
| 20 | 20 | "Tusk-Tusk" | February 12, 1966 (1966-2-12) | |
Secret and Morocco try to find a missing elephant that was taken prisoner by the Grand Wazir to overthrow the Rajah. | ||||
| Nº | Ep | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1 | "Robot Rout" | September 10, 1966 (1966-9-10) | |
Yellow Pinkie is promoted to President, due to a mass roboticbrainwashing of the citizens. Secret and Morocco head to Yellow Pinkie's lab to confront him, but he turns Morocco against Secret. | ||||
| 22 | 2 | "The Pink Sky Mobile" | September 17, 1966 (1966-9-17) | |
Secret and Morocco battle Yellow Pinkie in his new Pink Sky Mobile against their Spy Car. Both sides end up with scooting vehicles. | ||||
| 23 | 3 | "Scuba Duba Duba" | September 24, 1966 (1966-9-24) | |
Secret and Morocco are assigned to recover a missile stolen by the enemy agent Scuba Duba before he can destroy the city, which is being held for ransom by him. | ||||
| 24 | 4 | "Hi-Spy" | October 29, 1966 (1966-10-29) | |
Secret is sent to confront the evil scientific criminology master Hi-Spy face-to-face in France, but Secret cannot outsmart him.Throwaway line: "Naw, it's just swamp gas!" | ||||
| 25 | 5 | "Spy in the Sky" | November 12, 1966 (1966-11-12) | |
Hi-Spy is intent on causing destruction on the globe with his armed satellite. Secret and Morocco head to the satellite to halt his plans. | ||||
| 26 | 6 | "Ship of Spies" | November 26, 1966 (1966-11-26) | |
Secret and Morocco are assigned to locate Hi-Spy's invisible ship and put his plan out of action. | ||||
| Nº | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Storyboard by: | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.1 | "Goldflipper" | Larry Huber Robert Alvarez (animation) | Mark Saraceni | Genndy Tartakovsky | September 5, 1993 (1993-9-5) | |
An evilsea lion named Goldflipper (voiced byJim Cummings) creates a giant gold magnet that steals golden teeth, which he calls the "Molar-Acoustic-Synctro-Bicuspid-Dental-Magnetic-Electro-Platt-Conductive-Postiviser". Secret goes undercover as a Squirrely Girly Scout to thwart Goldflipper's evil plan and recover all the stolen teeth. | ||||||
| S.2 | "Greg" | Larry Huber Ron Hugart (animation) | Roberts Gannaway | Rob Renzetti | September 12, 1993 (1993-9-12) | |
Secret investigates a mysterious candy disappearance caused by agingerbread man named Greg (voiced byCharlie Adler), who is using ants to steal all the candy in the world, which he will then use to make a giant candy monster. | ||||||
| S.3 | "Quark" | Larry Huber Robert Alvarez (animation) | Roberts Gannaway | Conrad Vernon | September 19, 1993 (1993-9-19) | |
A sub-atomicquark known as Quark (voiced byRoger Rose) is destroying important monuments in order to make an amphitheater out of North America. Secret has to shrink down to sub-atomic size in order to stop him. | ||||||
| S.4 | "Queen Bea" | Larry Huber Ron Hugart (animation) | Mark Saraceni | Don Shank | September 26, 1993 (1993-9-26) | |
Queen Bea (voiced byB. J. Ward) and herhoney bee minions capture Secret during a Honey Bank robbery so that Queen Bea can force Secret's hand in marriage after trapping Morocco in a honey container. Penny comes to his rescue. | ||||||
| S.5 | "Hot Rodney" | Larry Huber Ron Hugart (animation) | Roberts Gannaway | Tony Craig | October 3, 1993 (1993-10-3) | |
During a race against a race car driving rooster named Hot Rodney (voiced byJeff Bennett), Secret is waylaid by Hot Rodney's orchestrated kidnapping of Morocco. | ||||||
| S.6 | "Egg" | Larry Huber Ron Hugart (animation) | Roberts Gannaway | David Feiss | October 10, 1993 (1993-10-10) | |
Morocco receives a mandatory special assignment to hold a "rare" and "cursed" egg for at least three seconds, but has a hard time doing so. | ||||||
| S.7 | "Chameleon" | Larry Huber Ron Hugart (animation) | Roberts Gannaway | Rob Renzetti | October 17, 1993 (1993-10-17) | |
Expensive paintings are stolen on the night of a museum gala. Secret discovers an art-loving, sophisticatedchameleon (voiced byRoddy McDowall) has pilfered all the art for his own personal collection. Secret and Morocco then outsmart him by trapping him in a room full of "modern" art, which Chameleon despises. | ||||||
| S.8 | "Agent Penny" | Larry Huber Ron Hugart (animation) | Roberts Gannaway, Paul Rudish | David Feiss | October 24, 1993 (1993-10-24) | |
In an attempt to cut down his expenses, the Chief replaces Secret with Penny and hires Morocco as his secretary. Note:Snooper and Blabber make speaking cameo appearances at a crimefighters' pub. In the same scene,Undercover Elephant fromCB Bears,Hong Kong Phooey andMumbly make background appearances, while the portraits ofScooby-Doo,Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long,Atom Ant, Hong Kong Phooey, Mumbly andDynomutt, Dog Wonder are seen with Snooper and Blabber's portraits. | ||||||
| S.9 | "Scirocco Mole" | Larry Huber Ron Hugart (animation) | Roberts Gannaway | Tony Craig | October 31, 1993 (1993-10-31) | |
In a quiz show hosted by a fox, Secret relates the origin of his partnership with Morocco and an encounter with Morocco's evil twin brother Scirocco (voiced byJess Harnell). Note:Yogi Bear andBoo-Boo andthe Big Dog and the Little Dog makecameo appearances as the other contestants. | ||||||
| S.10 | "Platypus" | Larry Huber Ron Hugart (animation) | Roberts Gannaway | Rob Renzetti | November 7, 1993 (1993-11-7) | |
Secret, Morocco and the Chief get their bodies mixed up in a de-scrambler owned by aplatypus (Roger Rose) and have a hard time catching him in their altered states. | ||||||
| S.11 | "Doctor O." | Larry Huber Rob Hugart (animation) | Mark Saraceni, Jim Turner | Paul Rudish, David Feiss, Tony Craig | November 14, 1993 (1993-11-14) | |
Secret has to stop anopossum named Doctor O. from blocking out the sun with a satellite, but he has to do it blind and in total darkness. The constant darkness also prevents the Chief from using the rest room. | ||||||
| S.12 | "One Ton" | Larry Huber Rob Hugart (animation) | Lane Raichert | David Feiss | November 21, 1993 (1993-11-21) | |
Secret attempts to stop a crazygiant panda called One Ton (voiced by Yoshio Be) from tearing up Chinatown, but he also has strict orders from the Chiefnot to harm him, because giant pandas are an endangered species. As a result, Secret has to figure out how to defeat the pandawithout actually fighting him. | ||||||
| S.13 | "Voo Doo Goat" | Larry Huber Rob Hugart (animation) | Roberts Gannaway | David Feiss | November 28, 1993 (1993-11-28) | |
Secret must stop an evil shaman goat (voiced by John Garry), who has made avoodoo doll of the Chief in order to gain control over the agency. | ||||||
Hanna-Barbera Records released an LP album calledSecret Squirrel and Morocco Mole in Super Spy (HLP-2046) in 1966. It featured an adventure with four songs - "Secret Squirrel" (based on the show's theme song) and "Morocco Mole" on the beginning and the end of Side 1, respectively, and "Agent O Double O" and "Super Spy" on the beginning and the end of Side 2, respectively. Mel Blanc reprised his role as Secret Squirrel, butDaws Butler voiced Morocco Mole instead of Paul Frees.
The episode "Sub Swiper" is available on the DVDSaturday Morning Cartoons 1960s Vol. 1, as well as a part of the "A Sample of Boomerang" tape, from Cartoon Network's sister channel, Boomerang.
Warner Archive releasedThe Secret Squirrel Show: The Complete Series onDVD in Region 1 as part of theirHanna–Barbera Classics Collection in November 2015. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.[7]
The Secret Squirrel Show: The Complete Series was made available for download via iTunes in August 2016.
Warner Archive released2 Stupid Dogs/Secret Squirrel Show Volume 1 on DVD in August 2018, which includes all of the first-season episodes of2 Stupid Dogs and all of the episodes ofSuper Secret Secret Squirrel. Again, this is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.
The phrase"Secret Squirrel stuff" is used by people working in U.S. intelligence to lightheartedly describe material that is highly classified, usually as a non-answer to a question.[8] It may likewise be used in a pejorative manner to mean someone who is unlikely to have actually had a job as a special operations soldier, spy or mercenary, or to have performed the actions they claim to.
The history of the name "Secret Squirrel" for special operations forces and spies appears to predate the television show, as one story states that the word "squirrel" was used during World War II as ashibboleth to root out German spies.[9]
The name "Secret Squirrel" is police slang for an agent of theUnited States Secret Service.[10]