Editing Freakazoid! (section)

{{Short description|American animated TV comedy series (1995-1997)}}
{{About|the animated series|other uses|Freakazoid (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Freakazoid! (Amblin Television) logo.svg
| caption              =
| alt_name             = ''Steven Spielberg Presents Freakazoid!''
| creator              = {{Plainlist|
* [[Bruce Timm]]
* [[Paul Dini]]
}}
| developer            = [[Tom Ruegger]]
| director             = {{Plainlist|
* Jack Heiter
* Scott Jeralds
* [[Eric Radomski]]
* Dan Riba
* Rich Arons
* [[Ronnie Del Carmen]]
* David Marshall
* [[Peter Shin]]
* [[Andrea Romano (voice director)|Andrea Romano]]
}}
| voices               = {{Plainlist|
* [[Paul Rugg]]
* [[David Kaufman (actor)|David Kaufman]]
* [[Ed Asner|Edward Asner]]
* [[Craig Ferguson]]
* [[Jonathan Harris]]
* Tracy Rowe
* [[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]]
}}
| narrated             = Joe Leahy
| theme_music_composer = [[Richard Stone (composer)|Richard Stone]]
| composer             = {{Plainlist|
* Richard Stone
* Steven Bernstein
* Julie Bernstein
* [[Gordon Goodwin]]
* Tim Kelly
* Carl Johnson
}}
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 2
| num_episodes         = 24 (49 segments)
| list_episodes        = List of Freakazoid! episodes
| executive_producer   = [[Steven Spielberg]]
| producer             = {{Plainlist|
* Mitch Schauer
* [[Paul Rugg]]
* Rich Arons
* John P. MacCann
}}
| runtime              = 22 minutes
| company              = {{Plainlist|
* [[Amblin Entertainment]]
* [[Warner Bros. Animation|Warner Bros. Television Animation]]
}}
| network              = [[Kids' WB]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1995|9|9}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1997|6|1}}
| related              =
}}
'''''Freakazoid!''''' is an American [[superhero fiction|superhero]] [[television comedy|comedy]] [[List of animated television series|animated television series]] created by [[Bruce Timm]] and [[Paul Dini]] and developed by [[Tom Ruegger]] for the [[Kids' WB]] programming block of [[The WB]]. The series chronicles the adventures of the title character, Freakazoid, a crazy teenage [[superhero]] who fights crime in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="Perlmutter">{{Cite book |last=Perlmutter |first=David |title=The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows |date=2018 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1538103739 |pages=220–221}}</ref> It also features mini-episodes about the adventures of other superheroes. The series was produced by [[Warner Bros. Animation|Warner Bros. Television Animation]] and [[Amblin Entertainment]], being the third animated series produced through the collaboration of [[Steven Spielberg]] and Warner Bros. Animation after ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' and ''[[Animaniacs]]''.

[[Bruce Timm]], best known as a producer of the [[DC Animated Universe]], originally intended for the series to be a straightforward superhero action-adventure cartoon with comic overtones, but [[executive producer]] Steven Spielberg requested it to be a flat-out comedy.<ref name="comedy">Lenburg, p. 638</ref> The show is similar to fellow Ruegger-led programs such as ''[[Animaniacs]]'', having a unique style of humor that includes [[slapstick]], [[fourth wall]] breaking, [[parody]], [[surreal humour]], and pop culture references.

The series was 1 out of the 5 shows that helped launched the WB's new children's programming block, [[Kids' WB]] on September 9, 1995, alongside ''[[Animaniacs]]'' (acquired after its cancellation from ''[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]''), ''[[The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries]]'', ''[[Pinky and the Brain]]'', and ''[[Earthworm Jim (TV series)|Earthworm Jim]]''. The series lasted for two seasons across 24 episodes, with the final episode being broadcast on June 1, 1997. Although the series originally struggled in ratings, reruns on [[Cartoon Network]] and a fan following elevated it to become a [[Cult following|cult hit]].<ref name="dvdint1" /> Warner Bros. considered renewing the series for a third season, but deemed it to be too expensive. The show also ranked #53 on ''[[IGN]]''{{'}}s Top 100 Animated Series list.<ref>{{Cite web |title=53. Freakazoid |url=http://www.ign.com/top/animated-tv-series/53.html |access-date=December 13, 2011 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref>