This show is very high-energy, perfect for keeping kids engaged in the story. For the older audiences, the jokes are where it's at. Almost every episode has me laughing uproariously at least once! Given their resources, they made a damn decent show.
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hugoflora16 November 2021
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atomius20 January 2009This is a funny cartoon about Dave and Fang and some other characters- all great characters. There's this wizard and an evil pig... anyway good cartoon. I think it was in 2005 that i first saw it and 2007 when i last saw it. Now some may think it's a bit boring or weird but i think it's a good cartoon. It's got it's funny moments and good characters and plot and script and stuff and it's a good cartoon to enjoy... so yeah good enjoyable cartoon. Don't think it's worthy of another series or anything tho... it'd probably be all repetitive. I mean the characters re kinda simple when you think about it but overall good cartoon. Not as good as The Replacements of Kim Possible or Phineas and Ferb or wtvr but it beats Brandy and MR Whiskers or that dumb show... i forget the name... Hannah Montana... any day.
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GiraffeDoor14 June 2023I've just finished nostalgia watching this and this truly is a hidden gem.
I suppose there is a subtle intelligence in developing the characters that balance each other out and generate conflict but what I remember is the rich sense of place and time in which they weave vibrant pastiches of the ancient legend paradigm and also the delightfully absurd humor.
Few shows even attempt to match the freewheeling and bizarre non-sequitur of Spongebob; they often just settle for being loud and brash but Dave the Barbarian takes surreal and disarming humor and applies it like a virtuouso.
"Using a squirrel, some string and a megaphone Dave is able to fashion a megaphone"
And later: "Hi, I bet you'd all like to know why I tied a squirrel to a megaphone. Well, goodnight".
Dave by himself is a simply concept: You'd think he'd be tough but he's really not. But they do not waste the concept. He is a delightful block of joy and makes sensitivity and an appreciation for handicrafts cool.
He juxtaposes with his vicious but puny sister fang and the main villain is so much fun.
The Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy!
Repetition is lazy writing but it is funny every time and he is a perfect combination of meaningful threat and goofball.
Oh, and Twinkle the Marvel Horse deserves a shout out. -
darktiger20 October 2004Well, let's offset the childish negativity of the last comment.
Dave the Barbarian has a wonderfully warped sense of humor. Something completely unexpected to come out of Disney Channel. My only problem is they tend to run through the series too quick then rerun it for ages before putting out new episodes. They seem to do this with all their shows, though. :( I can't wait to see more.
If you like the humor of shows such as Animaniacs, chances are you'll love Dave. The so-called "lazy and cheap" drawings are better than a lot of cartoons out there today (Ed, Edd, and Eddie? Rugrats?), and the style just fits with the humor of the show.
Definite recommendation from me. -
timmarshal4 February 2006My whole family loves this show, it has some real wit to it(sorry some are too dull to understand this) and lighthearted. It was with great sadness we realized it would not be renewed. It amazing how people complain about this show when such garbage is on TV now. Power Rangers? Wiskers and Brandy. Dancing with the Stars! And people insult this show.
We love the show because it is so quirky. He is obviously not a barbarian, but the show is about comedy- and it excels! What is the crime- producing a show that all the family can like?
If you don't like it, watch some of the other more vapid shows now available. The whole problem it that this is on Disney, if this was on Nick, it would be seen by many more and would have been renewed. -
I was channel surfing one time and came across this show. I was laughing on the floor, literally! Even hilarious shows like Little Britain don't get me doing that. I found myself pulling out quotes from Dave the Barbarian all the time and I was so thrilled that my friends knew what I was on about :D the humour is very unique but understandable, so you can get into it right away. It is very witty how this show is set in the Middle Ages yet brings in a lot of technology from our days. I just watched an episode where they were attacked by a loner from current times, Ned Frischman, and this loner had them working for batteries for their "Game Guys" which had been dished out free. It's a very witty show, and I'm quite partial to Faffy, Dave's ugly wee dragon of a pet.
Oh, and for the record, "NOT A MONKEY!" -
melindac-229 July 2006Whilst shown in kid time of comics, a lot of the jokes are aimed at adult level. Original, witty, quirky & entertaining, worth watching. It is set in the Middle Ages and centers on a powerful yet cowardly barbarian named Dave. Together with his sisters Fang and Candy and their Uncle Oswidge, a wizard, the family is in temporary rule of the fictitious land of Udrogoth. The King and Queen are off "fighting evil" and sometimes make an appearance via crystal ball. The show juxtaposes both the modern and the ancient.Candy, for example, shops in the local mall and uses the crystal ball for online shopping sprees. Occasionally, the audience is addressed directly by the characters which is a useful effect. There is a narrator, known as the Storyteller-- sometimes referred to as the Narrator. His role in the show is pivotal as he controls what happens in the story. He is able to talk to the characters of the show, and vice versa. In fact, he was once captured by Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy, and was forced to read narration where Dave loses to him. In Australia its on Channel 7 on Saturday morning, and I hope it continue's to be shown.
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fearfulofspiders19 September 2008Even for a children show, the comedy of Dave the Barbarian is so limited, uneven, and unfunny in-general, that it makes for one of the more disappointing series from the Disney Channel.
The stories are okay, and the use of narration, as well as the concept of a cowardly barbarian are good ideas, just executed poorly. There's no laughs to come from anyone the age of eight-years-old or higher. Such an example would be failed randomness (along the lines of Family Guy, only not told in flashback, but in real-time).
All in all, this is a show to plant your 4-year-old in front of. It's not deep, educational, and certainly not funny. I, myself, would only put this on when I was drawing or for some background noise, as it can make the time fly. -
No, make that love it. I think before I under-estimated this show. True it's not for all, and it did strike me initially as a cheaply drawn unfunny show but actually for me Dave the Barbarian is the complete opposite. The colours mayn't be exactly plentiful, however Dave the Barbarian has quite a unique and wacky style of drawing which I like. The music, particularly the theme tune is memorable, the story lines have several moments of hilarity and the writing is off the wall and constantly very funny. I like the characters too, Dave himself is zany, but my favourites are Faffy and Lula. Candy can seem quite stereotypical, that in mind though she does do some very cool actions and moves. The voice acting isn't just an asset of the show, for me it is a big reason why the show works so well, all the voice actors bring a lot of energy into their characters and it comes through loud and clear. Overall, I love Dave the Barbarian. 9/10 Bethany Cox
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ThunderKing63 June 2019I just never got into this show compared to the other Disney 00s classics.
Its not bad. It's just not for me. -
strictlyrouge5 January 2005I am not a big fan of Disney. I don't like Lizzie McGuire, I don't like That's So Raven, I HATE the stupid sequels that they come out with every month. This show however is absolutely wonderful. This is the kind of off-the-wall humor that kids and adults can appreciate. This show never fails to put a smile on my face.
For Instance: "Dave creates a homemade megaphone using nothing but a squirrel, and piece of string, and a megaphone!"
That is gold. The plots are hilarious but easy enough for a kid to follow, the characters are well developed and reliable, and the character voices just completely make the show. Faffy and Twinkle the Wonderhorse are my heroes! :D -
arielsiere11 March 2022Wow disney just wow you just made it i have nothing to begin with so this cartoon ran from 2004 til 2005 it didn't lasted for too long because it had 1 season with 21 episodes.
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ericbooth-1138817 January 2021Dave the Barbarian is a guy with a talking sword, a pet miniature dragon, and a talking pet cavewoman whose his pet sister or that's how i always saw it. Chuckles the silly piggy was all ways tough but silly pig that had great plans but always lost. also the narrator was always great in front of Chuckles.
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hillhotrod-5293815 July 2018A forgotten golden cartoon of my childhood. One that I even had merch of but forgot existed. Comedic characters with their own strengths and flaws, a system of heroes that truly have to band together. No focus on a romance. A character for everyone. Twinkles the (Nihilistic) Magical Pony brings in comedy for those who like something a little dark but not dark enough its bad for kids. Fang brings a sense of it being okay for girls to be strong, while Candy is a strong princess character, different from traditional princess roles. And Dave, the hero of the cartoon, shows boys that being sensitive doesnt mean you cant be a hero. Heck, being sensitive and thoughtful might even save the day when brute strength doesnt work.
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IntoBara5 May 2020This show is going to be (If not already, consider the reviews on here) a cult classic. You just have to watch an episode or two to see if it clicks with you, and in someways, it dose remind me of some of the 90s nickelodeon shows, so if you're a big fan of those, I can recommended you giving this a try.
As for myself, it has never really clicked with me and was always something I watched as a kid because there was nothing else to watch and I was waiting for Kim Possible come on. -
talbaineric25 March 2004I love this show lots! I've grown to be a fan of it.
Its centered in the Middle Ages around a barbarian family,a rather odd yet funny one. Dave,a reluctant,allergic-to-about-everything,phobic barbarian,Candy,the older sister who is a typical teenager,and Fang,the youngest and the great little terror of the family. Keeping watch over them while their mom and dad are away battling evil is their Uncle Oswidge,a scruffy sorcerer who loves to eat. Aiding Dave is his wise-cracking sarcastic enchanted sword Lula and the family pet dragon,Faffy.
I didn't think too much of it at first,but once I gave the show a chance,I ended up loving it. And I'm glad to see not only me,but other people are praising this show left and right. It truly deserves it.
5 out of 5 stars. -
glcrumpacker6 July 2005We chanced upon this cartoon while surfing channels at bedtime, and now the whole family is hooked, from Daddy and me, in our forties, down to our 2-year-old son. All of us giggle madly.
This cartoon is reminiscent of old Bullwinkle cartoons, George of the Jungle, and Animaniacs, with a dash of Ren & Stimpy thrown in for good measure. It's silly manic fun, and you have to love any cartoon that can send a toddler and a preschooler (and their parents) into fits of mad giggling over evil lederhosen. Purely priceless. Watch it once -- either you'll get it and be hooked, or you'll never get it. This is a cartoon the whole family can have fun with because it works on a lot of different levels. -
turtlesouls2 February 2004I love this show! Call me immature, but I think it's hilarious. The villains are weirdly pathetic, not really evil at all. The "heros" are almost as pathetic as the villains, yet they always manage to bumble through and set things right in the end. I love Dave, who reminds me of my brother. He wants to do things right, but can't seem to realize that he's doing it all wrong and making a bigger mess. I love that he keeps a small dragon for a pet. I rate this show 4* out of 5.
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Megan_Koumori26 April 2005Dave gets a lot of flack from viewers who I suspect haven't even watched the show. I too was wary, but seeing that Danny Cooksey was in the title role (Budnick forever, though "Salute your Shorts" may be rotting in Herb's vault somewhere), I felt obliged to tune in at least once. I'm very glad I did.
From afar, Dave may look bogus, but it's actually a smartly written show. A combination of Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Rocky and Bulliwinkle, with enough scatological humor to please Rocko and Angry Beavers fans, but not to the "throw up" extreme (As in, yuck!, Catdog), it takes constant jabs at "heroes" like He-Man and Conan. For example, in the Barbarian-Mitzvah episode, Dave's tester is a cloaked Skeletor-like figure who introduces himself as...Gloria (Did I mention, there's Family Guy-esq humor to spare, though it's considerably toned down.).
Dave's parents are out fighting all the evil in the world, and they take their job very causally, sending home souvenirs (which sometimes try to kill the kids,), instructing everyone to brush their teeth while chained to a wall, etc. Most shows would have the parents fighting a specific type of evil, which would probably ultimately doom the kingdom, but for Dave's parents, all the evil in the world is good enough.
My one problem is Candy, who assumes a Lizzie Maguire attitude throughout the show, which dooms her character to stereotype. But I'm being to wonder if she's truly that type of character or supposed to be a parody. At least she does some awesome martial arts.
Everybody loves Twinkle the Marvel Horse. A "cute" magical pony with a sick, twisted mind, it's not unusual for Twinkle to come out of nowhere in the middle of a show and start singing about rabid rats and other tortures. For this stroke of pure genius, the show's writers should be upheld.
In short, give this show a shot. If it was on Cartoon Network or Nick (Well, probably not Nick. Worthless piece of scumbag trash that network's become), it would probably be a classic by now. Like many great shows though (How many can YOU name?), it's doomed on the wrong channel. -
miriamlaufey14 April 2006When I saw the opening of "Dave the Barbarian" for the first time, I thought it was just another badly-drawn, lame cartoon show that's supposed to be funny. But I was too lazy to change the channel, so I kept watching. I was surprised to find out that this show is exactly my cup of tea. I mean, that episode was about evil lederhosen; need I say more? Other gems of this show include an overly cute and overly chronically depressed magic pony and a diabolic villain named Chuckles the Silly Pig. And at the end of the episode, when other Disney cartoons reveal their corny, moral lesson, the characters in "Dave the Barbarian" say things like, "I always thought strength was everything. But in the end, what really counted was reading the washing instructions." So if you have a whacky sense of humour á la Monty Python, and are looking for something to watch with your child that both of you will enjoy, I recommend Dave the Barbarian. This is one show I'd like to have on DVD!
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jayride4_jc3 March 2004This is an amazing cartoon! Having two kids and getting a healthy dose of animation daily, this is one of the most hilarious and entertaining cartoons out there. Not an adult theme, but quite a few quips that adults can appreciate, this show is truly wasted in its time slot. It belongs in Saturday morning or after-school in mass syndication. Each character fills a completely opposite role. Phobic brute, tiny horror, beauty queen, crazy wizard, lazy pet. It's been done before, but not with such pizazz. Even the "evil" characters are highly interesting. More than once I've been stuck in front of the TV at the worst times, unable to peel my eyes from the screen and a smile so big it hurts.
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sutungpo7 August 2009I admit to a certain prejudice here since I lived with a live action version of Fang for 9 years, but Dave may in fact be the most underrated animated series of the past 20 years. Sarcastic, witty and sly, Dave skewers modern fantasy and it's fandom with a zeal not often seen outside an episode of South Park. Dave,a beautiful steroid enhanced muscle man with the heart of the Cowardly Lion, and his two sisters, Fang, a tiny redhead with a big voice and a habit of getting her own way come hell or high water, and Candy, the fairy tale princess left in charge of the kingdom while mom and dad are off fighting evil, deal with Candy's addiction to shopping, defeat the Dark Lord Chuckles (a cute little piggie), engage in sibling rivalry, and in general just struggle to grow up and accept responsibility.
My best guess as to the lack of an audience for this gem is that the targeted demographic, the average fantasy fan and SciFi addict, lacks even a vestigial sense of humor. Dealing with the target group in a sarcastic manner only works if the members of that group are able to engage in enough abstract reasoning to appreciate being made the butt of the joke. -
tigersweety0931 January 2006Dave the Barbarian is a Disney Channel show, but it doesn't seem much like one. It's about a sensitive, creative, and BUFF guy named Dave who only wanted to be a Barbarian because he thought it meant a Librarian who also cuts hair. He lives in the Middle Ages, in a castle. His parents left to fight evil and what-not, leaving Dave's valley-girl sister, Candy, in charge. He also has a little sister, Fang, who is at least 5 times more of a bug-squashing barbarian than Dave will ever be, a pet potato-shaped dragon named Faffy, Lula the sarcastic Enchanted Sword, Twinkle the "Marvel Horse", and his Uncle Oswidge, a "wizard".
Dave and his Merry Band of Idiots fight many enemies, but the main source of most of their problems is Dark Lord Chuckles, the Silly Piggy. Uses the Amulet of Hogswineboar, he tries to destroy Dave so he can take over the world! Dave's family has many problems at home, too. Sometimes, these problems can teach us a lesson about not being bossy, or being true to yourself. Other times, they will end in songs about eggs by the name of Steve.
The great thing about this show is, it can be predictable. Usually, that's a bad thing. But on this show, it's funny. They make it SO obvious that something is going to happen, and they do it on purpose. How can you not laugh when **WARNING, SPOILER!** Chuckles jumps in with a beard and a wig, and the gang thinks he is their new Band Manager? Another great thing is the jokes. Calling someone "As stupid as the stuff you scoop out of pumpkins" is sure to get SOMEONE to laugh! It got me to.
In short, give it a chance if you ever get to see it. This show could have gone so far, if it weren't for lack-of-open-mindedness from viewers. -
drdiemo25 January 2004I just viewed 4 episodes of this show by catching the end a marathon and I gotta say I was shocked. I caught jokes on masturbation(quote: "ever touched a monkey? it's addicting"), Laying waste(meant to mean destruction but taken out of context to mean relieving yourself in public) and even a penis joke(in the episode about slaying dave's pet dragon). I'm not conservative about my humor (something about mary anyone?) but these kinds of jokes have a time and place, of which just isn't on a network marketing itself to wholesome family programming. I guess Disney has done away with its old standards to appeal to a different demographic. There were some decent jokes, and the potty humor would go right over the heads of younger kids so we'll see how it does.