The show centers on a smart-mouthed dog who is incredibly obese, so much to the point that he is ball-shaped with small, stubby legs. Other characters include Little Costumed Buddy, Piranha Mae, and Onion Boy. The group fights crime in the fictional neighborhood of "Neighbourhood X" and they try to fight for justice but often fail humorously.
Main characters
Fat Dog Mendoza (voiced by Mark Acheson) – The main protagonist. He is a massively obese dog who is smart, and solves problems with Buddy.
Little Costumed Buddy (voiced by Kathleen Barr) – Fat Dog's best friend. A boy who loves pretending to be a hero and wants to be a real one someday. In one instance when Fat Dog teaches him how to bowl, he accidentally calls him "Little Costumed Danny")
Piranha Mae (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) – Buddy's best friend.
Cruddy McFearson (voiced by Brian Drummond) – Buddy's bully.
Onion Boy (voiced by Ian James Corlett) – A friend and classmate of Buddy.
Doctor Rectangle (voiced by Peter Kelamis) – Buddy's Dad.
Polly-Esther (voiced by Teryl Rothery and Pauline Newstone, respectively) – Buddy's teachers and neighbours who are siamese twins. Despite having a single body, her two heads are separate in personality and opinions.
Development for the series began in March 1994, when Sunbow explored producing a show based on the one-shot comic. For many years, it remained on Sunbow's development slate as the studio classified it as a "Raw" property due to it only existing as a one-shot comic.
In December 1997, production for the series started with the completion of the preliminary bible for the series to convert the adult nature of the comic into a kids property, and to retain the qualities of the characters. Sunbow began to ship the show off to other companies as a co-production deal, who were mainly impressed with the Little Costume Buddy character.
In March 1998, Sunbow began to find a European partner for the series, which they found Cartoon Network Europe as broadcaster and TMO-Loonland as co-producer. The former noticing the show could appeal to the European audience, and the latter being that their unique animation style would work for a series like Fat Dog Mendoza. By September, both companies signed in September 1998, with TMO-Loonland's signing allowing the series to fulfill European content requirements. The funding for the series was split for 50% by Sunbow, 35% by TMO-Loonland, and 10%–15% by Cartoon Network Europe. It also allowed Cartoon Network Europe to fulfill their two-production deal with Sunbow, with fellow show The Cramp Twins filling the other half.
By 1999, the production was confirmed for an Early-2000 delivery from Cartoon Network Europe, who would hold first-run rights to the series.[4]
Armando Carrillo, Hector Carrillo, John Delaney, and Art Mawhinney
()
Old Grandpappy Buddy comes to visit and gives Little Costume Buddy a brand new Dog. Fat Dog however, gets jealous and suspicious of "Brett", and discovers that he could be a fraud.
Little Costumed Buddy doesn't seem that happy at being a superhero without super powers. Fat Dog takes him to the Secret Hidden Fortress of the Crime Fighter's League, but he has competition with other super-less superheroes.
It's Fat Dog's birthday, and Little Costumed Buddy takes him to an all-you-can-eat restaurant with live entertainment. However, they soon find out they're the ones part of it!
5
5
"Going the Distance"
Timothy J. Madison
Armando Carrillo, Hector Carrillo, Chad Hicks, and Chris McCulloch
()
Fat Dog realises that Little Costumed Buddy gets too caught up on his projects, so to get him out of it, he takes him on an exhibition around Neighbourhood X.
6
6
"An Onion a Day"
Michael Ryan Scott Musgrove, Michael Ryan, and Ralph Soll (story)
Dave Concepcion, Art Mawhinney, Steve Remen, and Hank Tucker
()
Onion Boy is accused of stealing a museum antique. He must go to the Land of the Dinosaurs to pick up a new one he has "broken".
7
7
"Gone Today, Gone Tomorrow"
Scott Musgrove, Michael Ryan, and Ralph Soll
Armando Carrillo, Hector Carrillo, Mike Kazaleh, and Hank Tucker
()
A power outage is sending the houses going out one by one. Little Costumed Buddy and Fat Dog are in on the case.
8
8
"The Heart of Fat Dog"
Scott Musgrove and Michael Ryan Darick Chamberlin, Scott Musgrove, and Michael Ryan (story)
Armando Carrillo, Hector Carrillo, Chad Hicks, and Chris McCulloch
()
When a living Piggy Bank thinks that Fat Dog is laughing at him, it runs away. However, when Little Costumed Buddy discovers Fat Dog has gone missing as well, he goes on an adventure with Piranha Mae and Onion Boy to find Fat Dog.
9
9
"Superboots"
Scott Musgrove, Shawn Wolfe, and Michael Udesky Scott Musgrove and Shawn Wolfe (story)
Dave Concepcion, Chad Hicks, and Steve Remen
()
A new brand of speed-increasing boots has released into shops, and Little Costumed Buddy thinks they could be great. He and Fat Dog find jobs to participate in, but realize they have a rival on their hands when Doc Rectangle is after them as well.
10
10
"Fat Dog Strikes Back"
Scott Musgrove and Michael Ryan (also story)
Armando Carrillo and Hector Carrillo
()
The Bald Moose Lodge hits Neighbourhood X. Fat Dog realises something must be up when Little Costumed Buddy is sucked into their world.
11
11
"Four Feet Deep"
Scott Musgrove and Michael Ryan Scott Musgrove, Michael Ryan, and Ralph Soll (story)
Armando Carrillo, Hector Carrillo, Don Manuel, and Steve Remen
()
Little Costumed Buddy and Fat Dog accidentally fall to the center of the Earth, and Piranha Mae must try and get them out before it's too late. Meanwhile, Fat Dog and Little Costumed Buddy have to deal with a new villain and attempt to foil his plans.
12
12
"Citizen 'X'"
Scott Musgrove and Michael Ryan Scott Musgrove, Michael Ryan, and Ralph Soll (story)
Dave Bennett, Armando Carrillo, Hector Carrillo, and John Delaney
()
Old Man X wants to move the Himalayan Mountains nearer to his backyard – or more or less, all on Neighbourhood X. Little Costumed Buddy and Fat Dog must find a way to make him change his mind.
13
13
"Built Free"
Scott Musgrove and Michael Ryan
Armando Carrillo, Hector Carrillo, Chad Hicks, and Steve Remen
()
Fat Dog convinces Little Costumed Buddy to keep a small baby Robot. However when it grows, the two realise they need to return it where it was.
Season 2
No. in series
No. in season
Title
Written by
Storyboarded by
Original air date
14
1
"Exposing Fat Dog"
Scott Musgrove and Peter Egan
Gibbs Lee and Ali Woodruff
()
15
2
"Hot Dog Mendoza!"
Scott Musgrove, Shawn Wolfe, and Michael Ryan Scott Musgrove and Shawn Wolfe (story)
John Ahern, Dave Bennett, John Delaney, Eduardo Olivares, and Steve Remen
()
16
3
"World Destruction Weekend!!!"
Randolph Heard Randolph Heard, Scott Musgrove, Michael Ryan, and Shawn Wolfe (story)
Dave Bennett, Don Manuel, and Steve Remen
()
17
4
"Curses, Fat Dog!"
Ben Townsend Ben Townsend, Scott Musgrove, and Michael Ryan (story)
Armando Carrillo and Hector Carrillo
()
18
5
"The Ghosts of Lane 13"
Shawn Wolfe and Michael Ryan Scott Musgrove, Shawn Wolfe, and Michael Ryan (story)
Ben Edlund, Ian Freedman, Don Manuel, Art Mawhinney, and Hank Tucker
()
19
6
"Sell, Sell, Sell!!!"
Scott Musgrove and Michael Ryan
Ian Freedman, Art Mawhinney, and Steve Remen
()
20
7
"Sunken Heroes"
Randolph Heard, and Scott Musgrove with Michael Ryan (story)
Armando Carrillo and Hector Carrillo
()
21
8
"Substitute Fat Dog"
Scott Musgrove and Michael Ryan
Dave Bennett, Art Mawhinney, and Steve Remen
()
22
9
"Don't Hold Your Breath"
Michael Udesky, and Scott Musgrove with Michael Ryan (story)
Don Manuel, Steve Remen, and Art Mawhinney
()
23
10
"Big Fat Dog"
Scott Musgrove and Michael Ryan
Armando Carrillo and Hector Carrillo
()
24
11
"The Good, the Bad and the Lazy"
Scott Musgrove and Michael Ryan (also story)
Don Manuel and Armando Carrillo
()
25
12
"The Day Fat Dog Stood Still"
Scott Musgrove, Michael Ryan, and Ben Townsend (also story)
Armando Carrillo
()
26
13
"Mom's Mistake"
Scott Musgrove and Michael Ryan Scott Musgrove, Michael Ryan, and Ben Townsend (story)
The series originally premiered on Cartoon Network UK in February 2000, and remained on the channel until 2005 (mainly being repeated late-at-night). Channel 5 later acquired free-TV rights and began airing the show in 2001 as part of their The Core teen block, and later transitioned to Milkshake FM.[5][6]
The show also aired on several other Cartoon Network feeds, including Cartoon Network MENA.[7]
Over the next few years, the show was pre-sold by TV-Loonland to other broadcasters and companies, like Nox Music in Russia,[8] Retelsat in Spain,[9] and ZigZag in Poland.[10]
The show also re-ran on KidsCo in a small number of countries.[12]
Home Media
In 2000, home video distributor Maverick announced they had acquired the British home video rights to Sony Wonder's catalogue in the United Kingdom.[13] The company released single VHS volume of the series in October 2000, containing the first three episodes in production order: "Other Side of the Moon", "Forgotten Fat Dog", and "Power Play".[14]
