Secret Squirrel
Encyclopedia
Secret Squirrel is a cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

 created by Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...

. Secret Squirrel was one of two co-stars of The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show
The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show
The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show was an hour-long Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1965 to 1967 for NBC.-Production:...

, which debuted in 1965. He was given his own show in 1966, but was reunited with Atom Ant
Atom Ant
Atom Ant is a cartoon ant and superhero, created by Hanna-Barbera in 1965. Atom costarred in The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show...

 for one more season in 1967. Secret first appeared in a prime-time animated special called The World of Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel, which aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 on September 12, 1965.

The Secret Squirrel half-hours included three individual cartoon segments: "Secret Squirrel," "Squiddly Diddly
Squiddly Diddly
Squiddly Diddly is an anthropomorphic animated squid created by Hanna-Barbera, who was featured in his own cartoon segment on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show beginning in 1965.-Fictional character biography:...

," and "Winsome Witch
Winsome Witch
Winsome Witch is a television series produced by Hanna Barbera Studios. It aired alongside Secret Squirrel and Squiddly Diddly on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show.-Plot:...

." Secret Squirrels shorts were a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 of the then-popular spy genre, with most of his shorts' elements satirizing those of the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 films. Secret Squirrel was also known as "Agent 000". Beginning in 1993, thirteen new
Secret Squirrel cartoons appeared in between the 2 Stupid Dogs
2 Stupid Dogs
2 Stupid Dogs was an American animated television series created by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Program Services that originally ran from September 5, 1993 to February 13, 1995 on TBS. The main segments of the show featured two dogs, "Big Dog" and "Little Dog". The Big Dog...

episodes, with the updated title, Super Secret Secret Squirrel and a new cast. As of 5 September 2011, episode reruns returned on Boomerang
Boomerang (TV channel)
Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...

 from Cartoon Network.

Character profile

Secret Squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...

 (voiced by Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...

) serves as a secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...

, taking orders from his superior Double-Q (voiced by Paul Frees
Paul Frees
Paul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...

) of the International Sneaky Service. His designation is Agent 000. Secret Squirrel is assisted in his adventures by fez
Fez (clothing)
The fez , or tarboosh is a felt hat either in the shape of a red truncated cone or in the shape of a short cylinder made of kilim fabric. Both usually have tassels...

-wearing sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...

 Morocco Mole (also voiced by Paul Frees impersonating Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...

). The pair fights crime and evil enemy agents using cunning and a variety of spy gadgets, including a machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....

 cane, a collection of guns kept inside Secret's trench coat
Trench coat
A trench coat or trenchcoat is a raincoat made of waterproof heavy-duty cotton drill or poplin, wool gabardine, or leather. It generally has a removable insulated lining; and it is usually knee-length.-History:...

, and a variety of devices concealed in his fedora (which he almost never removes).

Secret Squirrel's recurring arch-enemy is Yellow Pinkie (also voiced by Frees), a parody of both Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...

 from Goldfinger and Kasper Gutman from The Maltese Falcon. The last episodes introduced Hy-Spy (again voiced by Frees), the master of scientific criminology.

Broadcast history

SS's debut was on September 12, 1965 in
The World of Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel prime-time special on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

.
The original series 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 until 1968. Episodes were broadcast in syndication and as part of
The Banana Splits variety and compilation series.

The new series
Super Secret Secret Squirrel debuted in 1994.

The first seven episodes of the 1960s
Secret Squirrel series was broadcast in front of the 1994–1995 season of Hanna-Barbera's 2 Stupid Dogs
2 Stupid Dogs
2 Stupid Dogs was an American animated television series created by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Program Services that originally ran from September 5, 1993 to February 13, 1995 on TBS. The main segments of the show featured two dogs, "Big Dog" and "Little Dog". The Big Dog...

(1993–1995).

Their shorts have aired from time to time on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....

's sister cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...

 station Boomerang
Boomerang (TV channel)
Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...

.
The Secret Squirrel Show returned to Boomerang when Boomerang removed the shows Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear on January 2, 2008. The Secret Squirrel Show was removed on June 30, 2008, but it returned in June 2009 as a filler segment for 2 Stupid Dogs during the summer. The Secret Squirrel Show returned again on August 31, 2009.

Super Secret Secret Squirrel

Years later, Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole were revived in 1993
1993 in television
The year 1993 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1993.For the American TV schedule, see: 1993-94 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...

 for back-up segments of TBS Superstation's animated series
2 Stupid Dogs
2 Stupid Dogs
2 Stupid Dogs was an American animated television series created by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Program Services that originally ran from September 5, 1993 to February 13, 1995 on TBS. The main segments of the show featured two dogs, "Big Dog" and "Little Dog". The Big Dog...

. Titled Super Secret Secret Squirrel, these new cartoons featured Secret Squirrel voiced by Jess Harnell
Jess Harnell
Jess Q. Harnell is an American voice actor and singer, best known for voicing Wakko Warner on Animaniacs. Harnell has been the announcer for America's Funniest Home Videos since 1998.-Life and acting career:...

 imitating Mel Blanc and Morocco Mole voiced by Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...

.

These segments featured different artwork compared to the original 1960s cartoons. All the characters inhabiting the world were now animals. Double-Q, called simply the 'Chief' in these shorts and voiced by Tony Jay
Tony Jay
Tony Jay was an English actor, voice actor and singer. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was known for his voice work in animation, film and computer games. Jay's distinctive baritone voice often landed him villainous roles...

, is a cape buffalo
African Buffalo
The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...

 instead of a man with a balding hairline, and arch-foe Yellow Pinkie was replaced with a sea lion
Sea Lion
Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear-flaps, long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short thick hair. Together with the fur seal, they comprise the family Otariidae, or eared seals. There are six extant and one extinct species in five genera...

 known as Goldflipper (voiced by Jim Cummings). These new shorts also introduced Penny (voiced by Kimmy Robertson
Kimmy Robertson
Kimmy Robertson is an American actress best known for her role as Lucy Moran in the TV series Twin Peaks. She was married to John Christian Walker from January 18, 2003 to September 27, 2004....

), a female squirrel assistant to the Chief (à la Miss Moneypenny
Miss Moneypenny
Jane Moneypenny, better known as Miss Moneypenny, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M, who is Bond's boss and head of the British Secret Service...

) as a possible love interest for Secret (as hinted at in the episodes Queen Bea and Quark). Morocco was given a new color scheme, wears sunglasses, and has an evil twin
Evil twin
The evil twin is an antagonist found in many different fictional genres. They are physical copies of protagonists, but with radically inverted moralities. In filmed entertainment, they can have obvious physical differences with the protagonist—such as facial hair, eyepatches, scars or distinctive...

 brother, Scirocco
Mole
(voiced by Jess Harnell). Secret's art design remained relatively intact, but with a more modern design than the previous animated series' version of the character. His hat has a slightly different style. This new series seems to have fallen under the villain of the week
Villain of the week
"Villain of the week" is a term that describes the nature of one-use antagonists in episodic fiction, especially ongoing American genre-based television series...

 formula and Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole have once appeared on a 2 Stupid Dogs story.

Season 1 (1965–1966)

Title Original airdate

Season 2 (1966–1968)

Title Original airdate


Super Secret Squirrel
2 Stupid Dogs
2 Stupid Dogs was an American animated television series created by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Program Services that originally ran from September 5, 1993 to February 13, 1995 on TBS. The main segments of the show featured two dogs, "Big Dog" and "Little Dog". The Big Dog...

(1993)

Title Original airdate


Other appearances

  • Secret and Morocco appear as part of the cast in Yogi's Ark Lark
    Yogi's Ark Lark
    Yogi’s Ark Lark is an animated Hanna-Barbera television movie, intended to raise ecological awareness. Broadcast in 1972, it was part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie and served as the pilot for Yogi's Gang.-Plot:...

    and its spin-off
    Spin-off (media)
    In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

     series Yogi's Gang
    Yogi's Gang
    Yogi's Gang is a 30-minute animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired 16 half-hour episodes on ABC from , to . The show began as Yogi's Ark Lark, a special TV movie on The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie in 1972...

    , but the two characters have no dialogue in either series.
  • Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole appear as teenagers on Yo Yogi!
    Yo Yogi!
    Yo Yogi! is an animated series first aired on NBC on Saturday mornings during the 1991-92 season. It is, to date, the last television series to feature or star Yogi Bear. It is also the last Hanna-Barbera show to premiere on NBC to this date...

    . Secret Squirrel was voiced by Kath Soucie
    Kath Soucie
    Katherine Elaine Soucie is an American voice actress. She is sometimes credited as Kath Soucie, Katherine Soucie, Kath Souci, Kath E...

     and Morocco Mole was voiced by Neil Ross
    Neil Ross
    Theodoric Neilson "Neil" Ross is an English voice actor and announcer, born in London, England and now resident and working in Los Angeles, in the United States. He has provided voices for in many American cartoons, particularly those based on Hasbro products and Marvel Comics, and numerous...

    . Secret Squirrel has an uncle named Uncle Undercover (voiced by Greg Burson
    Greg Burson
    -Biography:Greg Burson was given the responsibility of voicing Bugs Bunny in the 1995 Carrotblanca, a well-received 8-minute Looney Tunes cartoon originally shown in cinemas alongside The Amazing Panda Adventure and The Pebble and the Penguin...

    ) who owns The Invention Dimension store in Jellystone Mall.
  • Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole have appeared on the animated series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
    Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
    Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is an American animated television series comedy created by Williams Street and produced by Cartoon Network Studios that aired on Cartoon Network during its Adult Swim late night programming block. The series' pilot first aired in 2000, and later became a series in...

    . In "Blackwatch Plaid," Secret Squirrel (voiced by Bill Farmer
    Bill Farmer
    William "Bill" Farmer is an American voice actor and comedian, best known for being the current voice of the Disney characters Goofy, Pluto and Horace Horsecollar.-Early life:...

    ) is charged with flashing
    Indecent exposure
    Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...

     when he tries to rescue someone (since his gadgets are in his coat). In "Birdgirl of Guantanamole," Morocco Mole (voiced by Maurice LaMarche
    Maurice LaMarche
    Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...

    ) is suspected of being a terrorist. In the Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law video game
    Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (video game)
    Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law is a video game developed for the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable by High Voltage Software released on January 8, 2008...

    , Secret Squirrel and Magilla Gorilla
    Magilla Gorilla
    The Magilla Gorilla Show is an animated series for television produced by Hanna-Barbera for Screen Gems between 1963 and 1967, and originally sponsored in syndication by Ideal Toys from 1963 through 1966. The show also had other recurring characters, including Punkin' Puss & Mushmouse, and Ricochet...

     were suspected of robbing Harvey Birdman's office. Secret Squirrel is found "not guilty" after his peanut allergy provides exoneration (Magilla Gorilla is also found "not guilty").
  • Secret Squirrel makes a cameo appearance in an episode of Squirrel Boy
    Squirrel Boy
    Squirrel Boy is an American animated television series produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The series, created and executive-produced by Everett Peck, who was also the creator of the more adult-humored Duckman, ran from May 27, 2006 until September 27, 2007 on Cartoon Network...

    in which his hat was seen on a gravestone.
  • Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole can be seen in a Cartoon Network
    Cartoon Network
    Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....

     rap in 1995.
  • Secret Squirrel makes an appearance in the show The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy in an episode with Hoss Delgado who is driving in his monster truck
    Monster truck
    A monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...

     and almost runs over Secret Squirrel.
  • Secret Squirrel made a cameo appearance in The Angry Beavers
    The Angry Beavers
    The Angry Beavers is an American animated television series created by Mitch Schauer for the Nickelodeon channel. The series revolves around Daggett and Norbert Beaver, two young beaver brothers who have left their home to become bachelors in the forest near Wayouttatown, Oregon. The show premiered...

    episode "Partying is such a Sweet Sorrow" as one of the guests at Norbert and Daggett's party.

In Popular Culture

  • "Secret Squirrel" is a song on Marcy Playground
    Marcy Playground
    Marcy Playground is an American alternative rock band consisting of three members: John Wozniak , Dylan Keefe , and Shlomi Lavie . The band is best known for their 1997 hit "Sex and Candy".-Early years:...

    's second album, Shapeshifter.
  • Within federal law enforcement circles the slang term "secret squirrel" has been used to describe U.S. Secret Service Agents.
  • In the military community, the term "Secret Squirrel" refers to the military's Special Operations
    Special operations
    Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...

     community and the clandestine missions that they pursue.
  • In the British private security industry, the term "Secret Squirrel" refers to a Store Detective, Loss Prevention Investigator, Profit Protection Investigator, Private Investigator or anyone who conducts investigations into criminal, dishonest or fraudulent activities.
  • The term is often adopted by workplace managers who conduct disciplinary investigations.

LP Album

Hanna-Barbera Records released a Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole: Superspy (HLP-2046) LP album in 1966. It featured an adventure with several songs. Mel Blanc voiced Secret Squirrel, but Daws Butler
Daws Butler
Charles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...

 voiced Morocco Mole instead of Paul Frees.

Secret Squirrel in other languages

  • Brazilian Portuguese
    Brazilian Portuguese
    Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....

    : Esquilo sem Grilo ("No-worries Squirrel") in the 1965 version; James Quilo ("James Quirrel") in the 1993 version
  • French: L´Agent sans Secret ("Secret-less Agent")
  • German: Geheimer Eichkater ("Secret Squirrel")
  • Italian: Agente Super Segretissimo ("Super Very Secret Agent")
  • Spanish: El Inspector Ardilla ("Inspector Squirrel")
  • Indonesian Detektif Tupai ("Detective Squirrel")
  • Swedish Agent Kurre
  • Chinese 松鼠特務 ("Special Agent Squirrel")
  • (In Morocco and thereabouts, MM is known plainly as "Mole")
  • Norwegian: Agent Ekorn

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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