Secret Squirrel


Secret Squirrel is a cartoon character created by Hanna-Barbera and also the name of his segment in The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, which debuted in 1965. He was given his own show in 1966, but was reunited with Atom Ant for one more season in 1967. Secret first appeared in a prime-time animated special called The World of Secret Squirrel and Atom Ant, which aired on NBC on September 12, 1965. The show's half-hours included three individual cartoon segments: "Secret Squirrel", "Squiddly Diddly" and "Winsome Witch".
Secret Squirrel was a parody of the spy genre, and most of the shorts parodied elements of the James Bond films. Secret Squirrel was also known as "Agent 000". In 1993, 13 new Secret Squirrel cartoons appeared in-between the 2 Stupid Dogs episodes, with the updated title Super Secret Secret Squirrel and a new cast.

Character profile

Secret Squirrel serves as a secret agent, taking orders from his superior, Double-Q, of the International Sneaky Service. His designation is Agent 000. Secret Squirrel is assisted in his adventures by his fez-wearing, bespectacled sidekick Morocco Mole. Morocco Mole has a thick Middle Eastern accent.
The pair fights crime and evil enemy agents using cunning and a variety of spy gadgets, including a machine gun cane, a collection of weapons kept inside Secret's trench coat which is also bulletproof, and a variety of devices concealed in his purple fedora.
Secret's recurring archenemy is Yellow Pinkie, a parody of both Auric Goldfinger from Goldfinger and of Sydney Greenstreet's portrayal of the Kasper Gutman character from Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon. He also tangles with such enemies as the Masked Granny, Captain Kidd and Robin Hood and his Merry Mugs. The last three episodes introduced Hi-Spy, a master of scientific criminology.

''Super Secret Secret Squirrel''

The 1993 revival cartoons saw several changes in characters and artwork compared to the 1960s original cartoons, including the recasting of Jess Harnell as Secret and Jim Cummings as Morocco. All the characters inhabiting the world are now animals. Double-Q, now simply called "the Chief" in these shorts, is a Cape buffalo with a cherry-scented calabash pipe. Yellow Pinkie has been replaced by a sea lion named Goldflipper who, despite being Secret's archenemy, only appears in one episode of the revival series. These new cartoons also introduce Penny, a female squirrel assistant to the Chief and a possible love interest for Secret.
Secret's art design remains relatively intact, but looks more modern than the original 1960s version of the character, featuring hard lines and sharper angles, giving him a leaner and more slick style. His trademark hat looks slightly different. Secret also loses his signature lisp given to him by Blanc that was similar to that of Sylvester from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons from Warner Bros.. Harnell's portrayal gives Secret a suave voice in reminiscence of him sometimes breaking into his Wakko Warner voice without the Scouse accent, most notably when he is screaming.
Morocco's color scheme has been redesigned, his wardrobe's palette has been swapped and he wears sunglasses. Cummings' portrayal of Morocco makes his voice less of a Peter Lorre impersonation: the Moroccan accent remains, but the voice is higher-pitched. He also now has an evil twin brother named Scirocco Mole.
Apparently, in the 1993 revival cartoons, the personalities and traits of Secret and Morocco have been switched as opposed to their original 1960s personalities. Morocco was more of a chauffeur and used to be quite intelligent, while in the revival cartoons he is more independent as a sidekick, becomes more of a bungler and is more childlike, often getting injured, and often using his catchphrase "Okay, Secret!". Secret was portrayed as a bumbling secret agent in the original, while in the revival version he is actually capable of doing his job right. He can be both a workaholic and more easygoing, while still able to get the job done. Like the original, Secret has a gadget for almost everything, but also relies on his mixed martial arts combat skills. Most of his injuries either come from his job or from Morocco's bumbling.
The Chief speaks with a British accent now, as evidenced by his catchphrase "Good show, Secret."
Despite the changes, the revival cartoons still had a big fan base and a cult following, with the conventional wisdom that the revival cartoons have superior humor compared to the somewhat drab original cartoons.

Broadcast history

The series' debut was on September 12, 1965 in The World of Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel prime-time special on NBC.
The original series, The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, 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 1967-1968. Episodes were broadcast in syndication and as part of The Banana Splits variety and compilation series.

''Super Secret Secret Squirrel''

Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole were revived in 1993 for back-up segments of TBS Superstation's animated series 2 Stupid Dogs. Titled Super Secret Secret Squirrel, these new cartoons featured Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole. 2 Stupid Dogs creator Donovan Cook was asked by then-new Hanna-Barbera president Fred Seibert to choose a classic studio cartoon to revive within the main show, and Super Secret Secret Squirrel was the result. The reason to revive Secret Squirrel was because it was one of Cook's favorite Hanna-Barbera shows.
After Cook guided the updated design with artists Paul Rudish and Craig McCracken, supervising producer Larry Huber, the "adult supervision" assigned by Seibert, was responsible for all further aspects of these cartoons. He assigned animator David Feiss to the storyboards.
This new series seems to have fallen under the villain of the week formula. With the exception of "Egg" and "Agent Penny", every episode is named after the enemies Secret and Morocco encounter.
Secret and Morocco make an appearance in a 2 Stupid Dogs episode titled "Let's Make a Right Price", in which they star in a commercial for Granny's Joybone Doggie Treats. The Little Dog and the Big Dog from 2 Stupid Dogs appear in the Super Secret Secret Squirrel episode "Scirocco Mole" as contestants in a game show.

Voices

Other appearances

released an LP album called Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole in Super Spy in 1966. It featured an adventure with four songs - "Secret Squirrel" and "Morocco Mole" on the beginning and the end of Side 1, respectively and "Agent O Double O" and "Super Spy" on the beginning and the end of Side 2, respectively. Mel Blanc voiced Secret Squirrel, but Daws Butler voiced Morocco Mole instead of Paul Frees.

Home video

The episode "Sub Swiper" is available on the DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960s Vol. 1.
On November 3, 2015, Warner Archive released The Secret Squirrel Show: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.
The Secret Squirrel Show: The Complete Series was made available for download via iTunes in August 2016.
On August 14, 2018, Warner Archive released 2 Stupid Dogs/Secret Squirrel Show Volume 1 on DVD, which includes all of the episodes of Super Secret Secret Squirrel. Again, this is an Manufacture-on-Demand release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.

Cultural influence

The phrase “Secret Squirrel stuff” is used by people working in U.S. intelligence to lightheartedly describe material that is highly classified, usually as a non-answer to a question. It may likewise be used in a pejorative manner to mean someone who is unlikely to have actually had a job as a special operations soldier, spy or mercenary, or to have performed the actions they claim to.
The history of the name "Secret Squirrel" for special operations forces and spies appears to predate the television show, as one story states that the word "squirrel" was using during World War II as a test to root out German spies.
The name "Secret Squirrel" is police slang for an agent of the United States Secret Service.
The 1990s alternative rock band Marcy Playground recorded a song as an homage called "Secret Squirrel" on their album Shapeshifter.