Droopy Dog
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Droopy Dog in the opening sequence. |
Droopy Dog was a low-key
animated movie character created by
Tex Avery at
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in
1943—essentially the polar opposite of his other famous character, loud, whacky
Screwy Squirrel. Originally known as
Happy Hound until
1949, this mournful
Basset hound spoke in a jowly monotone and, though he didn't look like much, was shrewd enough to outwit his
enemies—the conniving Butch the Irish bulldog and the thieving, nasty wolf (not the
Jubalio wolf, although Droopy and several of his lookalike relatives faced him too, in
Three Little Pups and
Blackboard Jumble). Avery had used this same gag in
1941 on his
Tortoise Beats Hare short for
Warner Bros. In fact, this film shows that early ideas about Droopy's personality were already germinating, as that film's
Cecil Turtle is very similar in character to Droopy.
Droopy first appeared in the
MGM cartoon Dumb-Hounded, released by MGM on
March 20,
1943 which is considered one of Avery's best works by animation scholars. Droopy's first scene is when he saunters into view, looks at the audience, and declares "hello all you happy people...you know what? I'm the hero." In the cartoon, Droopy is tracking an escaped convict and is always waiting for the crook wherever he turns up. Droopy's meek, deadpan voice and personality were modeled after the character Wallace Wimple on the
radio comedy Fibber McGee and Molly; actor
Bill Thompson, who played Wimple, was the original voice of Droopy. During his time in the service, the role was played by other
voice actors, including
Don Messick, who reprised the role in the
1990s.
Probably his most famous short is
Northwest Hounded Police, in which Droopy quite literally appears everywhere that an increasingly more frustrated crook attempts to run, until, exhausted, the bad guy turns himself in (this is very reminiscent of
Dumb-Hounded). Droopy was a versatile actor: he could play a
Mountie, a
cowboy, a
deputy, an
heir, or a
Dixieland-loving everyday Joe with equal ease.
What made the character even more hilarious is his incredible strength, given his dimunitive stature and unassuming looks and personality, but only when he was upset, and then he would monotone, "You know what? That makes me mad." prior to tossing the hapless villain of the piece over his head many times.
As Avery looked towards
retirement, Michael Lah, his animator, co-directed several pictures with him in the mid-fifties, several featuring Droopy. Lah would be directing Droopy solo by
1956 in pictures costarring Spike and Jubalio Wolf. The last golden-age Droopy cartoon—made after Avery had left MGM—was a
Cinemascope remake of
1949's
Wags to Riches called
Millionaire Droopy, which essentially used all of the original cels and vocal tracks but different backgrounds.
In the
1970s,
Filmation produced a series of crude, low-budget Droopy shorts for television, with
Frank Welker and producer
Lou Scheimer alternating as the voice of the hound.
In the
1990s Hanna-Barbera offering
Tom & Jerry Kids, Droopy had a young son named Dripple—possibly an older version of the infant we see in
Homesteader Droopy. The mild success of the show provided perhaps the most Droopy merchandise: plush toys, gummy snacks, figurines, etc. Tom & Jerry Kids had a spin-off series,
Droopy, Master Detective. He also had cameos in two theatrical features: as an elevator operator in
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (where he was voiced by the film's
animation director
Richard Williams), and in
Tom and Jerry: The Movie (voiced by Messick). Droopy also had cameos in all three subsequently-produced
Roger Rabbit shorts,
Tummy Trouble,
Rollercoaster Rabbit, and
Trail Mix-Up (played by Williams in the first short and by
Corey Burton in the latter two). A short-lived Droopy comic book series was released in the mid-90's by
Dark Horse Comics. In 2004, Droopy was a client on
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law ( EP19 - Droopy Botox - July 18, 2004) after receiving a bad face-lift, which he learned to like. Also in 2004, Droopy appeared in
Comedy Central's
Drawn Together in voice form as the narrator of a book-on-tape (
Clara's Story: How I Kissed a Black Girl by
Princess Clara) that the character
Foxxy Love listens to in the episode "
Clara's Dirty Little Secret".
Matt Groening has stated that he based
The Simpsons character
Hans Moleman on Droopy.
Droopy also has a cameo in the
manga and
anime Dragon Ball, by
Akira Toriyama, as the Abbot of the Buddhist Monastery that hosts the Strongest-under-Heaven Tournament. Before the fights begin, Abbot Droopy delivers, in his trademark deadpan, a bit of
Zen Wisdom: "Woof."
Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's news parody
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, has taken to imitating Connecticut senator and 2000 Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman with Droopy Dog's voice and mannerisms.
*Dumb-Hounded (1943)
*The Shooting Of Dan McGoo (1945)
*Wild And Woolfy (1945)
*Northwest Hounded Police (1946)
*Señor Droopy (1949)
*Wags To Riches (1949)
*Out-Foxed (1949)
*The Chump Champ (1950)
*Daredevil Droopy (1951)
*
Droopy's Good Deed (1951)
*Droopy's "Double Trouble" (1951)
*Caballero Droopy (1952)
*The Three Little Pups (1953)
*Drag-A-Long Droopy (1954)
*Homesteader Droopy (1954)
*Dixieland Droopy (1954)
*Deputy Droopy (1955)
*Millionaire Droopy (1956)
*Grin And Share It (1957)
*Blackboard Jumble (1957)
