Nightmare Ned

Nightmare Ned
File:Nightmare Ned Title Card.jpg
Genre	Comedy horror
Created by	Terry Shakespeare G. Sue Shakespeare David Molina
Developed by	Walt Dohrn
Voices of	Courtland Mead Brad Garrett Victoria Jackson
Theme music composer	Steve Bartek
Composer	Steve Bartek
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	12 (25 segments)
Production
Executive producers	Terry Shakespeare G. Sue Shakespeare David Molina
Producer	Donovan Cook
Running time	22 minutes approx.
Production companies	Walt Disney Television Animation Creative Capers Entertainment
Distributor	Buena Vista Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	April 19 (1997-04-19) – August 9, 1997 (1997-08-09)

Nightmare Ned is an American animated television series which ran from April 19 to August 9, 1997, on ABC. The show was produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Creative Capers Entertainment, and created by Terry Shakespeare, G. Sue Shakespeare, and David Molina of Creative Capers Entertainment. The show was based on and developed alongside the computer game of the same name, however, the show ended up being completed before the video game was released.

The show focuses on the life of Ned Needlemeyer (voiced by Courtland Mead), an 8-year-old boy that deals with his daily problems through dark, quirky nightmares.

The show received mixed reviews from critics. The Chicago Tribune praised the show's art style but was critical of its subject matter. Similarly, Screen Rant described the show as "dark and even disturbing" and "mainly an excuse for Disney animators to show off their strange side". The show only aired once and was never re-released, being described as a "great oddity of the Disney Studio's television output" which was "largely disowned".

Characters

• Ned Needlemeyer (voiced by Courtland Mead): The show's protagonist. He is an 8-year-old boy who deals with his troubles through his nightmares.
• Ed Needlemeyer (voiced by Brad Garrett): Ned's father, who tries to help Ned with his problems, but this does not occur often.
• Sarah Needlemeyer (voiced by Victoria Jackson): Ned's mother, who is the only one in the family who tries to understand Ned's nightmares.
• Amy Needlemeyer (voiced by Kath Soucie): Ned's baby sister.
• Conrad and Vernon (voiced by Jeff Bennett and Rob Paulsen respectively): Two bullies who constantly pick on Ned. Conrad is heavyset with blue skin, and has a snaggletooth, whereas Vernon is tall with yellow skin and is often barefoot. They are named after Conrad Vernon, who served as one of the storyboard artists of the show.
• Ms. Bundt (voiced by Tress MacNeille): Ned's teacher.
• Joanie: A girl from Ned's school who has a crush on him. She appears in the episodes "Until Undeath Do Us Part" and briefly in "Girl Trouble".

Production

The television show was developed alongside the computer game of the same name. Donovan Cook described the collaboration: "There's some crossover. We sent them our graphics. [...] We had to have our art done right away and they ended up influenced by it along the way."

The series was initially planned for only one season with the potential to return as a 1998 mid-season replacement. However, due to production difficulties, the show was not continued after its 12-episode first season. The show ran over budget and there were creative differences between Donovan Cook, the producer and director of the show, and Walt Dohrn, the creator of the character and also a director of the show.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboard by	Original air date
1	"Ned's Life as a Dog" "A Doll's House"	Alan Smart Joan Drake	Gary Sperling Mike Mitchell Peter Gaffney	Mike Mitchell Bob Logan and Cynthia Petrovic	April 19, 1997 (1997-04-19)
"Ned's Life as a Dog": When Ned is tricked into eating dog food, thanks to a prank by Conrad and Vernon, he has a nightmare where he is turned into a dog. "A Doll's House": Irked by his visiting cousins forcing him to play with dolls, Ned accidentally breaks one of the dolls and tries to hide the damage. He goes to bed feeling guilty about it and dreams of turning into a doll himself.
2	"Robot Ned" "Dapper Dan"	Unknown	Unknown	TBA	April 26, 1997 (1997-04-26)
Ned and his dad bond by putting together a robot kit, but Dad's insistence on not reading the instructions leaves Ned confused. As he goes to bed, he dreams of his dad introducing the newly built robot as Ned's new brother. After being scolded by his dad for being too forgetful while playing with his toys, Ned goes to sleep trying to "remember not to forget", but ends up dreaming that he forgets to wear clothes to school.
3	"Monster Ned" "Ants"	Alan Smart Joan Drake	Creative Capers and Chris Mitchell Peter Gaffney	Chuck Klein, Bob Logan, and Chris Mitchell Robert Renzetti	May 3, 1997 (1997-05-03)
For his school presentation on "If I could be anyone in the world", Ned tells his class that he would be Gorpulon, a Godzilla-like monster. Ned gets laughed at and is sent to the corner by his teacher for snapping at his classmates. Embittered, Ned falls asleep and dreams of becoming Gorpulon. Finding a discarded ant farm, Ned's dad tries to stir up some enthusiasm in his son about the wonders of ant life, which Ned only feigns interest. Falling asleep out of boredom, Ned dreams that he and his dad have shrunken to the size of ants and end up inside the ant ranch.
4	"Magic Bus" "Until Undeath Do Us Part"	Donovan Cook Alan Smart	Peter Gaffney	Paul Tibbitt	May 10, 1997 (1997-05-10)
With Mom unable to drive him to school, she informs Ned that he will have to take the bus, much to his dismay. After going to bed, Ned dreams that his school bus is hijacked by a sinister ventriloquist dummy with a mission to drive the bus into the scorching sun. Ned tries to enjoy a horror movie at the theater but is constantly being pestered by Joanie, a girl who has a crush on him. Ned gives her a toy ring from his candy box in hopes that she'll leave him alone, but instead gives Joanie the impression that they are now married. Ned ends up falling asleep and dreaming of being pursued by a zombie bride after she mistakes Ned's discarded toy ring for a proposal.
5	"Headless Lester" "My, How You've Grown"	Alan Smart Howard Parkins	Ralph Soll and Michael Fontanelli Mark Saraceni, Gary Sperling, and Chuck Klein	Michael Fontanelli Chuck Klein	May 17, 1997 (1997-05-17)
While at summer camp, Ned thinks the scary stories his counselors tell are pretty lame, especially the one about the so-called "Headless Lester". Later that night, he dreams of the dreaded Lester chasing him in pursuit of a new human head. Ned is frustrated with being young and wishes he could be older. Falling asleep, he dreams of becoming a teenager.
6	"Tooth or Consequences" "Show Me the Infidel"	Howard Parkins	Ralph Soll and Mike Bell Gary Sperling and Michael Fontanelli	Mike Bell Michael Fontanelli	May 24, 1997 (1997-05-24)
Upset after losing his last baby tooth, Ned hides it so the tooth fairy can't find it. In his dream, the tooth fairy visits and convinces Ned to come back with her to Tooth Land. However, Ned learns that she actually plans on robbing him of all his teeth, and the only way for him to keep them is to beat an old wisdom tooth in a game of checkers. While at the amusement park with his family, Ned wants nothing more than to ride the house of horrors. While waiting in line, Ned falls asleep and dreams that he's next in line, but is forced to ride with an obnoxious patron named Dirk, who ruins the experience for him. However, Ned soon finds out who was actually behind the entire experience all along.
7	"Willie Trout" "House of Games"	Joanna Romersa Joan Drake	Peter Gaffney and Mike Bell Peter Gaffney	Mike Bell Vince Waller	May 31, 1997 (1997-05-31)
Dad tries to spend some quality time with Ned by taking him on a fishing trip, hoping to catch the legendary "Willie Trout". Bored out of his mind, Ned falls asleep and dreams Willie Trout has bitten Dad's head off and he must go and find it within the belly of the enormous fish. Fearful that the house is haunted, Ned is assured by his dad that the spooky noises he hears are just the house "expanding and contracting" and that there's nothing to be afraid of. When Ned falls asleep, he dreams of the house and everything in it comes to life.
8	"Girl Trouble" "Canadian Bacon"	Joan Drake Joanna Romersa	Gary Sperling and Chuck Klein Peter Gaffney and Mike Bell	Chuck Klein Mike Bell	June 7, 1997 (1997-06-07)
Ned is embarrassed after being tricked into using the girls' restroom by Conrad and Vernon. He then ends up falling asleep in the schoolyard and dreams about becoming a girl. Hilarity ensues when the two school bullies end up falling for him. Ned brings home a piglet and wants to keep him as a pet, but his parents break it to him that one of his favorite foods, Canadian bacon, is made of pig. That night, Ned dreams that his pet pig can talk and goes to live with its family in Canada. Ned soon finds out that the pig family is trying to fatten him up in order to eat him for Christmas dinner.
9	"Abduction" "Bad Report Card"	Alan Smart Howard Parkins	Gary Sperling and Michael Fontanelli Peter Gaffney and J.C. Wegman	Michael Fontanelli Jon Wegman	June 14, 1997 (1997-06-14)
After watching news reports of mysterious happenings involving cattle being defaced with mustache drawings, Ned goes to bed in his cow pajamas and dreams of being abducted by aliens, who mistake him for a cow. Now Ned must find a way off the ship and save all of the Earth cows that have been abducted. Thinking he's received bad grades, Ned tears up his report card and goes to bed feeling guilty about it. He dreams that he's sent to jail for "one whole weekend" to reflect upon his actions. Unluckily for him, Conrad and Vernon are also in prison and do nothing but cause more trouble to poor Ned.
10	"Testing... Testing..." "The Accordion Lesson"	Don Judge Howard Parkins	Gary Sperling and Ted Mathot Gary Sperling and Chuck Klein	Ted Mathot Chuck Klein	June 21, 1997 (1997-06-21)
Ned stays up late studying a math test and falls asleep dreaming of receiving a blank exam paper. Attempting to find the questions, Ned ends up in the surreal world of Muck the answer bird. Ned asks him for help, but Muck only wants to test him, putting him in strange circumstances that he must find a way out of. To appease his mom, Ned takes accordion lessons from a strange woman named Madame Olga. Ned falls asleep and dreams that his overly-enthusiastic teacher forces him to perform as her organ-grinder monkey, and it's up to Ned's accordion-playing mom to save the day.
11	"Along for the Ride" "Steamed Vegetables"	Unknown	Unknown	TBA	June 28, 1997 (1997-06-28)
Ned is stuck on a family road trip, and his parents and baby sister are quickly wearing on his nerves. He falls asleep and dreams that he and his family check into a run-down motel, run by an innkeeper who gives him the creeps. Ned is forced to rehearse for his school play about nutrition and is terribly anxious. He falls asleep practicing his lines and is surprised to find himself on stage with an audience of rather angry or, dare we say, "steamed" vegetables.
12	"Lucky Abe (One Cent Ned)" "The Dentist" "The Ballad of Conrad and Vernon"	Unknown	Unknown	Conrad Vernon	August 9, 1997 (1997-08-09)
Ned accidentally swallows a penny in attempting a magic trick as seen by his idol Frank Grimes. He faints and dreams that the magician himself performs a magical surgery on him to remove the penny, in front of a live audience. Ned goes to the dentist for a checkup and assures his mom that he's perfectly able to see the dentist on his own. He falls asleep and dreams of his twisted dentist sending him on a terrifying journey through his own mouth of rotting teeth. A clip show episode where Ned recites a poem he's written about the two bullies Conrad and Vernon, and all the trouble they've caused Ned throughout the series.

Video game

Nightmare Ned
File:Nightmare Ned Video Game Box.jpg Cover art
Developer(s)	Creative Capers Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Disney Interactive
Director(s)	Walt Dohrn
Programmer(s)	Michael Sean Clement
Artist(s)	Christina Vann
Composer(s)	Patrick J. Collins Jim Owen
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release	October 1997
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, Sidescroller
Mode(s)	Single-player

Nightmare Ned is a computer game for Microsoft Windows that was developed alongside the animated series. It was initially planned for a September 2, 1997 release. However, this release date was evidently pushed back based on the most recent files on the CD-ROM being dated September 16; it was eventually released on October 7. Developed by Creative Capers Entertainment and Window Painters Ltd. and published by Disney Interactive Studios, the game was Disney Interactive's first video game release that was developed by a subcontracted developer. The game was also released unofficially in Russia, under the title Один дома: Ночные кошмарики (Odin doma: Nochnye koshmariki; Russian for "Alone at Home: Nightly Nightmares").

The game features Ned traveling through adventure portals into five different nightmare worlds: Ned's Graveyard Nightmare, Ned's School Nightmare, Ned's Medical Nightmare, Ned's Nightmare in the Attic, Basement and Beyond, and Ned's Bathroom Nightmare. Each portal has a corresponding representative "shadow creature" that, through exploration of the world, eventually reveals itself to be someone or something harmless.

Unlike the TV series, the animation in the game used digital ink and paint. It was designed to take advantage of Intel MMX technology. Nightmare Ned was the first CD-ROM to use full-motion video streaming technology. The game was promoted through print ads, advertisements on Disney VHS releases, and an online campaign on Yahooligans!. Sequels for the game were planned but were never released.

Reception

The Nightmare Ned video game was critically acclaimed and was nominated for two CODiE awards. In 1998, it received a Parents' Choice Award. In June 1998, it received a silver award from I.D. Magazine. In October 1998, it received an award from Communication Arts magazine for "best in entertainment interactive design".

PC Mag described the game as "so packed with great graphics and original songs that it makes other kids titles look anemic by comparison". SuperKids also praised the graphics, describing them as "slick" and using "state-of-the-art technology". I.D. Magazine described the game as "really sophisticated" and wrote that the game was "pushing not only gaming and illustration for kids, but also advancing ideas about game-space".

Voice cast

• Harry Anderson as the Graveyard Shadow/Grampa Ted Needlemeyer
• Jeff Cesario as the School Shadow/Billy Blatfield
• Lani Minella as Sarah Needlemeyer
• Steve Coon
• Jill Fischer as the Attic, Basement and Beyond Shadow/Sally
• Edie McClurg as the Storytelling Dragon
• Ali Wentworth as the Medical Shadow/Dr. Klutzchnik
  • Additional voices by Kyle Kozloff

External links

• Nightmare Ned at IMDb
• Nightmare Ned at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016.