The White Cowboy is a Dutch series of 26 short cartoons first broadcast in 1998 on the children's programming block Villa Achterwerk (Bottom Manor), a block dedicated to broadcasting all sorts of short comedic skits aimed at children. The series is now fully available on the creator's YouTube channel Bullet Hole Studios
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This cartoon is set in the stereotypical wild west town Bullet Hole City. Each episode, the town is plagued by all sorts of weird problems, ranging from drunken loud pub-crawlers causing noise pollution to a horde of ghosts haunting the town at night time. The citizens of Bullet Hole City then spend much time at overreacting to said problem. This lasts for a good few minutes followed by the eponymous White Cowboy riding into town on his equally white horse.
The White Cowboy is a very calm and polite individual who stays unfazed at any problem the series throws at Bullet Hole City. The White Cowboy then spends time analyzing the problem, usually accompanied by him commenting on it in a completely deadpan tone. After this, he comes up with a solution that is completely outlandish and sometimes very stupid. But this solution always solves the problem the town is currently facing. Each episode ends with the White Cowboy announcing his departure and Riding into the Sunset.
This cartoon provides examples of:
- Anachronism Stew: Modern technology is frequently depicted, despite this cartoon taking place in the old west.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The criminal Ugly Joe is guilty of six robberies, three assaults, purse snatching and an unpaid parking ticket.
- Bedsheet Ghost: One episode deals with Bullet Hole City being terrorized by a horde of these ghosts during night time. The citizens are completely terrified by them, despite the ghosts doing nothing worse than yelling boo. The White Cowboy on the other hand stays completely calm and asks one of them what it is trying to do, followed by him politely asking to do it somewhere else, seeing as the townspeople are very easily frightened.
- Beware the Nice Ones: The White Cowboy is very polite and always stands up for people in need. Unless you are a villain, in which case he'll stop at nothing to either humiliate you or, in extreme cases, even cause your death.
- Big Damn Heroes: This trope is invoked when the White Cowboy arrives. First, the townspeople are wallowing in their own distress. Then, the White Cowboy arrives with his triumphant theme tune and the narrator narrating his arrival with dramatic fanfare.
- But Now I Must Go: After the White Cowboy saves the day, he always dramatically announces his departure using the following catchphrase (translated to English): "My duty is done, the day is saved and I have a long journey ahead of me." Off course, his journey always takes him back to Bullet Hole City, whenever the need arrives, so this trope never sticks.
- Captain Obvious: The White Cowboy frequently (under)states the obvious and sometimes even repeats whatever the narrator just said.The White Cowboy, concerning a murderer who just attacked him: "This man has a very serious problem."
- Cardboard Prison: The criminal Ugly Joe manages to break out of every prison he is put in by simply kicking a hole in the wall and jumping out. This is ultimately used against him, by building a sky scraper prison, meaning he can't simply jump out.
- Catchphrase: The White Cowboy has several.
- "This asks for drastic measures" said right before implementing his solution.
- "My duty is done, the day is saved and I have a long journey ahead of me." said by the White Cowboy at the end of the episode, announcing his departure.
- Dissonant Serenity: The White Cowboy never loses his cool, even on otherwise terrifying situations. This is usually accompanied by him calmly delivering understating comments on whatever situation he is facing.
- Empathic Environment: When the pastor of a strict Reformed church starts preaching about Fire and Brimstone, the weather reacts with a thunderstorm. This is a visual pun, as the Dutch word for a sermon about fire and brimstone is "donderpreek", which literally translates to "thunder sermon".
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The White Cowboy is only known by this name.
- Eyes Always Shut: The design of the White Cowboy invokes this trope. This is done to make him look a little but stuck up.
- For the Evulz: Several of the people or entities terrorizing this city have no other motivation than just being jerks. A good example are the ghosts, who just like to scare people because ghosts are supposed to do so.
- Good Wears White: The White Cowboy is a hero and the show tends to emphasize that he wears white.
- Gratuitous English: Some of the English names really stand out in this otherwise fully Dutch cartoon. Most notable are White Cowboy and Bullet Hole City.
- Mellow Fellow: The White Cowboy is this. He never shows any emotion other than his pleasant politeness. Even when confronted by dangerous villains.
- Narrating the Obvious: Whenever the White Cowboy arrives in Bullet Hole City, his first lines are always accompanied by the narrator adding "he spoke" to whatever he's saying.
- Nice Guy: The White Cowboy always acts very nice and polite to everyone. Even when said person acts hostile to him.
- Riding into the Sunset: This is what the White Cowboy does after saving the townspeople.
- Silly Spook: The aforementioned ghosts are at most mildly inconvenient to the townspeople, pulling all kinds of practical jokes to scare them. Yet the townspeople react to them as if they are the scariest thing ever.
- Spock Speak: The White Cowboy always speaks in polite and grammatically correct Dutch. His way of speaking really stands out compared to the townspeople, who tend to speak in dialect.
- Strictly Formula: Episodes of this series always adhere to the same formula. First the narrator tells about Bullet Hole City. Then the disaster strikes. After the disaster takes its toll on the townspeople, the White Cowboy arrives and solves the problem, after which he rides off into sunset.
- Understatement: Due to his polite persona, the White Cowboy tends to do this whenever encountering an unfortunate situation.
- Wild West: This cartoon is set in a very strange version of this setting.
