Oggy and the Cockroaches

And you think escargots are gross...

The slapstick trickster cartoon. You know the drill: some character pulls a mean one on another. The victim retaliates. Both parties get caught up in an escalating spiral of cartoon violence. Hilarity Ensues, until houses are leveled down, forests are ravaged, cities are lain waste, and the world goes Kaboom!!. Then they start it all over again in the next episode.

This time-honored formula, featured in many Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry shorts, gets a revival in the French production Oggy and the Cockroaches (Oggy et les Carfards- 1998-1999, 2008). Each 7-minute short (there are 195 of them) follows the life of the blue rotund cat Oggy, who has the misfortune to share the same house with three cute but naughty roaches: Dee Dee, Marky and Joey. Their sole purpose of existence is to have fun with Oggy by pulling a series of practical jokes. Oggy is sometimes helped by his cousin Jack, a green cat with a knack in mechanics and a short fuse. Factor in a burly neighborhood bulldog named Bob, and you have a great slapstick set-up.

Oggy is renowned for its expressive use of mime -- the cats may make cat sounds or (rarely) speak in gibberish, but there is no dialog, and written words are kept to a minimum. Without the need for dubbing, the show is able to reach a wide international audience.

The Characters page.

The WMG page.

Tropes used in Oggy and the Cockroaches include:
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