Anyone remember the old TV show "Courage the Cowardly Dog"?

[Cranky Old Man]

People keep insisting that Courage the Cowardly Dog was a kids show. How come you assume this? Is it because it's animated, of broadcasted on kids channels?
Has anybody read what the author had to say about the show - what his intended audience was?

Honesly? Now you're just picking a fight.

YES, I AM! Have at you! *puts on boxing gloves and dances around.*

It doesn't matter what it's intended audience is/was, it is a kids' show because it aired on Cartoon Network in the daytime. Just like Ren & Stimpy, which was basically written for adults, is a kids' show for the same reasons. One of the many reasons why these particular shows are great is that they can tell a great visual story that kids can understand with ease while having a whole lot of innuendos and adult themed jokes that mature audiences can enjoy as well.

I tried to figure out what sort of audience that John R. Dilworth intended, but from this interview (that I didn't skim all the way through), all I can tell is that they did not have child specialists that were meant to keep the show "child safe". Cartoon Network liked his Courage short film, and hired him based on that. Most of his other cartoons feature equally disturbing things, and Courage was somewhat of an auto-biography. (He portrayed himself as Eustace.)