''Capitol Critters'' is an American

animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of a television sitcom that is animation, animated instead of being filmed live-action, and is generally made or created for adult animation, adult audiences in most cases. ''The Simpsons'', ''SpongeBob SquarePan ...

produced by Steven Bochco Productions and

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

in association with

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...

for ABC. The show is about the lives of

mice A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

s, and roaches who reside in the basement and walls of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

in Washington, D.C. Seven out of the show's 13 episodes were aired on ABC from January 28 to March 14, 1992.

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

later aired all 13 episodes (including the unaired episodes) from 1995 through 1996. 20th Television currently holds the rights to the show. The series was part of a spate of attempts by major networks to develop

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

animated shows to compete with the success of Fox's ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', alongside CBS's '' Fish Police'' (also produced by Hanna-Barbera) and '' Family Dog''.Daniel Cerone
'Fish Police' on Endangered Species List
''Los Angeles Times'', February 28, 1992, accessed January 20, 2011. The latter two, along with ''Capitol Critters'', proved unsuccessful and were quickly cancelled.

Premise

A young mouse named Max is forced to flee his home on a farm in Nebraska after his family is killed by exterminators. He travels to Washington, D.C. to live with his

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

cousin Berkley, rebellious rat Jammet, and Jammet’s mother Trixie. Max also befriends a hip

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...

named Moze and a former

laboratory rat Laboratory rats or lab rats are strain (biology), strains of the rat subspecies ''Rattus norvegicus domestica'' (Domestic Norwegian rat) which are bred and kept for scientific research. While Animal testing on rodents, less commonly used for re ...

named Muggle who still suffers from the side effects of the experiments he is put through that often have him exploding. The group has to deal with the White House's resident cats, which are caricatures of then-President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

and Vice President

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

. The episodes' themes reference current issues of the day, including

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

and

drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...

Cast

* Neil Patrick Harris as Max * Charlie Adler as Jammet * Patti Deutsch as Trixie * Jennifer Darling as Berkeley *

Dorian Harewood Dorian Harewood (born August 6, 1950) is an American actor, best known for playing Jesse Owens in '' The Jesse Owens Story'' (1984), Det. Paul Strobber on '' Strike Force'' (1981–1982), and Rev. Morgan Hamilton in '' 7th Heaven'' (1996–2003 ...

as Moze * Bobcat Goldthwait as Muggle * Frank Welker as Presidential Cats

Additional voices

* Lewis Arquette * Michael Bell as Roach Husband, Various * Gregg Berger * Earl Boen as Lawyer (in "The Bug House") * Sorrell Booke * Hamilton Camp * Brian Cummings *

Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...

as Kid Vicious (in "Hat and Mouse"), Various * Tim Curry as Senator (in "Max Goes To Washington") * Jeff Doucette * Nancy Dussault * Paul Eiding as Max's Father (in "Max Goes to Washington") *

Richard Erdman John Richard Erdman (June 1, 1925 – March 16, 2019) was an American character actor and occasional film and television director. He appeared in more than 160 films and television productions between 1944 and 2017, mostly in supporting roles ...

* Takayo Fischer as Kazuko (in "A Little Romance") * Linda Gary * Joan Gerber as Roach Wife * Ed Gilbert *

Dan Gilvezan Daniel John Gilvezan (born October 26, 1950) is an American actor, known for playing Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the 1981 animated series '' Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' and Bumblebee in the original 1984-1987 '' The Transformers'' seri ...

* Danny Goldman as Opie the Squirrel (in "Opie's Choice") * Arlene Golonka * David Graham * Whitby Hertford * Gordon Hunt * Helen Hunt * Robert Ito as Ichiro (in "A Little Romance") * Nick Jameson * David Jolliffe * Janice Kawaye as Miko (in "A Little Romance") * Tony Lamond * Steve Landesberg as Owl (in "Into the Woods") * Jarrett Lennon * Anndi McAfee * Scott Menville * Brian Stokes Mitchell * Rob Paulsen as Janitor, Pigeon (in "The KiloWatts Riots"), Various * Robert Picardo * Michael Tucker as Phil (in "Gimme Shelter") *

Noam Pitlik Noam Pitlik (November 4, 1932February 18, 1999) was an American television director and actor. In 1979, Pitlik won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on the ABC sitcom '' Barney Miller''. Early life The son of ...

as Sydney (in "Gimme Shelter") * Don Reed * Peter Renaday * Ariana Richards as President's Granddaughter (in "If Lovin' You Is Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Rat") * Robert Ridgely * Neil Ross as Newscaster * Beverly Sanders * Pamela Segall as Violet (in "If Lovin' You Is Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Rat") * Jeffrey Tambor * Mark L. Taylor * Russi Taylor as Bluebird (in "Into the Woods") * Marcelo Tubert * Chick Vennera * B.J. Ward as Max's Mother (in "Max Goes to Washington") * Lee Wilkof * Eugene Williams * Patty Wirtz * Bill Woodson * Patric Zimmerman as Felix (in "The Rat to Bear Arms")

Episodes

Reception

''Capitol Critters'' was cancelled after less than two months. In its short run, the series dealt with such topics as politics, racial segregation, drug addiction, and mortality. In his review of the series, '' Variety'' critic Brian Lowry wrote that "at its best, the show seems to ape the work of film director

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (; born October 29, 1938) is a Mandatory Palestine-born American retired animator and filmmaker, known for his fantastical animated films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent anim ...

by using an animated setting to explore adult themes", and that "the bland central character and cartoonish elements ..will likely be off-putting to many adults, who won't find the political satire biting enough to merit their continued attention. Similarly, kids probably won't be as smitten with the cartoon aspects or look". ''Capitol Critters'' had their own Burger King Kids Club toys in 1992, which featured Jammet, Max, Muggle, and a Presidential Cat sitting on or emerging from miniature Washington, D.C., monuments.

References

External links

*
''Capitol Critters'' at the Big Cartoon Database
{{Steven Bochco 1992 American animated television series debuts 1992 American television series endings 1990s American adult animated television series 1990s American animated comedy television series 1990s American political comedy television series 1990s American satirical television series 1990s American sitcoms American adult animated comedy television series American adult animated drama television series Animated adult television sitcoms American animated sitcoms American English-language television shows Political satirical television series Television series by Hanna-Barbera Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series created by Steven Bochco Animated television series about mice and rats Animated television series about insects Television shows set in Nebraska Television shows set in Washington, D.C. American Broadcasting Company sitcoms American Broadcasting Company animated television series Animation based on real people Cultural depictions of George H. W. Bush Animated television series about orphans American teen animated television series Television series about talking animals Works set in the White House