Capitol Critters

 ( 1992 American Animated Television Series Debuts ) 

Capitol Critters is an American animated sitcom produced by Steven Bochco and Hanna-Barbera in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The show is about the lives of mouse, , and Cockroach who reside in the basement and walls of the White House in Washington, D.C.

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

(2025). 9781476665993, McFarland & Co. ISBN 9781476665993

Cartoon Network 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 animated shows to compete with the success of Fox's The Simpsons, 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.

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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 cousin Berkley, rebellious rat Jammet, and Jammet’s mother Trixie. Max also befriends a hip cockroach named Moze and a former laboratory rat 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 and Vice President Dan Quayle. The episodes' themes reference current issues of the day, including gun control and drug abuse.

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Cast

• Neil Patrick Harris as Max
• Charlie Adler as Jammet
• Patti Deutsch as Trixie
• Jennifer Darling as Berkeley
• Dorian Harewood as Moze
• Bobcat Goldthwait as Muggle
• Frank Welker as Presidential Cats

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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 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
• Takayo Fischer as Kazuko (in "A Little Romance")
• Linda Gary
• Joan Gerber as Roach Wife
• Ed Gilbert
• Dan Gilvezan
• Danny Goldman as Opie the Squirrel (in "Opie's Choice")
• Arlene Golonka
• David Graham
• Whit 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 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 Adlon 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")

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Episodes

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Reception Capitol Critters was cancelled after less than two months.

(2025). 9780415283267, Routledge. ISBN 9780415283267

In its short run, the series dealt with such topics as politics, racial segregation, drug addiction, and mortality.

(1994). 9780824037963, Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780824037963

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 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.

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External links

• Capitol Critters at the Big Cartoon Database

Categories: 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

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