Animation Column: “Angry Beavers”

“Angry Beavers,” happy viewers
By Helen Lee, syndicated through Tribune Media Services on April 18, 1998

They’re brothers, they’re furry, and as “The Angry Beavers” (10:30 ET Sunday mornings on Nickelodeon), cartoon characters Daggett and Norbert are a big hit with both kids and their parents. Sure, they love each other, but like brothers everywhere Daggett and Norbert also fight a lot. Show creator Mitch Shauer says “People get their feelings hurt…we learn to control those emotions. I like to bring them out and show them.”

Shauer says he tries to “make sure that (the relationship) is childlike in an adult sort of way.” Clearly, kids relate. “So many brothers and sisters watch the show, then come up and say, ‘I’m Norbert, my brother’s Dag.'”

Actually, Schauer says Norbert is based on himself: “Low key, laid back, doesn’t get too excited about anything. He has a bemused detachment-he almost knows it’s a cartoon. He pushes Daggett’s buttons.

And Daggett? “He wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s enthusiastic, intelligent, a little gullible. He’ll leap into the fire long before he should have.”

Besides its feisty title characters, what makes “The Angry Beavers” special is the way it incorporates music from the late ’60s and early ’70s. “We tend to go to Discoland every once in awhile. We try not to go past Woodstock, but we just can’t help ourselves,” he says.

“The ‘Beavers’ are at the cusp of retro. We have fun with it, and kids can connect with it. The music from that era is really good. And kids can listen to ‘Sugar, Sugar’ and still enjoy it. As we go along I’m more (interested in the years) 1968 to 1974, because those are (my) high school years.” Shauer claims to be a big fan of Yes, the Moody Blues and the Electric Light Orchestra.

Which makes it all the more thrilling for Shauer that an upcoming episode of “Beavers” may feature Jeff Lynne of 70’s rock group ELO, who turns out to be a big fan of the show. Lynne may sing in a “pompous rock opera” episode scheduled for the third season.

In the meantime, ambitious plans for the Beavers abound. Right now, Schauer and his crew are planning a mini-series in five parts for the beginning of the fourth season. He wouldn’t reveal much about the plot, except to say it would be about “Beavers on the road.” Another future episode will tackle Broadway, and a Halloween show this year will be a take-off of B-movies including cameo appearances from Peter Graves and Adrienne Barbeau.

“It was a lot of fun to work with Peter Graves and Adrienne Barbeau, especially since they knew Roger Corman,” says Shauer, who’s an unabashed admirer of the legendary B movie producer.

Why all the references to a bygone age? Explains Shauer, “What we try to do is cross over-‘Beavers’ was never intended to be just for kids. There’s nothing like the laughter of a small child, but I remember my grandfather coming down to watch cartoons with me.”

Shauer adds, “I love to sit in the living room with my kids, two teenage girls and a young boy. And they’re all laughing (at the show). That’s an accomplishment, to get kids from different age groups to connect.”