Funky Cops was a French animated series that aired during 2003. It was licensed to 4Kids Entertainment to be distributed in the United States. Although another English dub was given much later.
The cartoon follows Ace Anderson and Dick (Jack in the 4Kids dub) Kowalski, a pair of private detectives in San Francisco and their antics on the police force. Both are noted to be lovers of disco and funk, why else are they called Funky Cops.
The series only had two seasons with a total of 37 episodes. Due to low ratings, the series was quietly cancelled. The show can be found on Youtube, both in English
and French.
Funky Cops provides examples of:
- 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: The show is animated in 2D, but the vehicles and dance sequences are computer animated.
- Affectionate Parody: Of buddy cop shows during the 1970s, more of a straight-up Homage.
- The Alcatraz: The Alcatraz is the setting of the Prison Episode; it is repeatedly remarked on that Alcatraz was closed forever in 1963 and should only be a tourist attraction.
- Chronically Crashed Car: An unfortunate ice cream van gets totaled in every appearance its in.
- Cool Shades: Dick sports a pair of green shades.
- Dub Name Change: Dick was renamed Jack in the 4Kids dub.
- Disco Dan: Both Ace and Dick, then again, it is during the 1970s.
- Embarrassing Slide: "A Fools Errand" has Da Chief accidentally showing one of his vacation slides during the briefing.
- Expy: The two leads; imagine Starsky & Hutch, but replace one of them with Shaft.
- Family-Friendly Firearms: Oddly enough averted (as the show is set in the past as opposed to the present), as one of the few 4Kids properties to retain their realistic firearms (considering a lot of them are
Distanced from Current Events (namely the 9/11 Attacks) at the time). - Foreign Language Theme : In the original French version with its English-performed Disco track* , due to the series' setting.
- Foreign Rescore: As per usual with 4Kids dubs, they compleltely redid the background music and added in their own. Though considering how a lot of the original music is licensed, this is a lot more justifiable
- Frothy Mugs of Water: Averted, despite being aimed at kids. The club the duo frequents explicitly serves cocktails
- The Old Convict: In the episode where Ace and Dick are sent to prison, they befriend an elderly lifer called Bookboy (as he works in the library); Bookboy claims he's been called by that name for so long he doesn't remember his real name. He helps them escape using a glider he'd built out of matches over some decades.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: At the end or "Jail Break"; Ginger still swears revenge on Dick, Bookboy hasn't been heard from since he escaped, the head guard now owns a nightclub in New York, and Ace and Dick had long successful careers and were rarely sent back to prison.
