Expert: Test Pattern Guy - 8/3/2006

Question
I am  hoping you can help me out.  I am looking for the cartoon character from the late 60's or early 70's who was known for the phrase, I will hug him, I will love him, I will feed him and I will call him George.  I am not positive if this is the exact phrase but I know its close. If this rings a bell please let me know.  Thanks

Answer
Hi, Tammy...

The main character that the phrase is most associated with is Lenny, a dog character created for the final "Screwy Squirrel" cartoon that Tex Avery did for MGM... that one was done in the late '40's for a short called "Lonesome Lenny," and the character was a take-off on the character of Lenny in "Of Mice and Men." In that book and film, Lenny kept a mouse in his pocket that was his friend, and he would "hug him, and squeeze him" and "call him George" because the other character in the book and film, George, was Lenny's caretaker.

Now, that being said, the whole gag was used again in the mid-60's in "The Abominable Snow Bunny" with Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. In that one, the Abominable Snowman caught Daffy and said the same thing as he was hugging and squeezing him, almost ripping his head off in the process... my bet is you are thinking of the Snowman one, though...

You know, both of these are available on DVD... Ebay and Amazon might be able to help you find them... if you need an immediate fix, though, the "Snow Bunny" short makes an appearance in "The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Movie," and a few of the other "movies" they cut together from Bugs Bunny cartoons... that one is not hard to find. The "Screwy Squirrel" shorts are a bit more difficut to find, but they are available.

Hope this helps,

TPG