Capitol Critters

Capitol Critters is an American animated series and sitcom produced by Steven Bochco Productions and Hanna-Barbera in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The show is about the lives of mice, rats and roaches 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. 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 and Family Dog. The latter two, along with Capitol Critters, proved unsuccessful and were quickly cancelled.

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 Jammett, and Jammett'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.

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

Additional voices

 * Lewis Arquette
 * Michael Bell as Roach Husband, Various
 * Gregg Berger
 * Earl Boen
 * Sorrell Booke
 * Hamilton Camp
 * Brian Cummings
 * Jim Cummings as Cockroach Gang Leader (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
 * Whitby 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
 * Jarrett Lennon
 * Anndi McAfee
 * Scott Menville
 * Brian Stokes Mitchell
 * Rob Paulsen as Janitor, Pigeon (in "The KiloWatts Riots"), Various
 * Robert Picardo
 * Noam Pitlik
 * 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 Segall 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")

Reception
Capitol Critters was cancelled after less than two months. In its short run, the series dealt with such topics as politics, racial segregation, drug addiction, and mortality. 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.