Droopy Dog

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, his 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.

Related Topics:
Animated movie - Tex Avery - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - 1943 - Screwy Squirrel - 1949 - Basset Hound - Enemies - Jubalio - 1941 - Tortoise Beats Hare - Short - Warner Bros. - Cecil Turtle

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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.

Related Topics:
MGM - Cartoon - March 20 - 1943 - Radio comedy - Fibber McGee and Molly - Bill Thompson - Voice actors - Don Messick - 1990s

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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.

Related Topics:
Mountie - Cowboy - Deputy - Heir - Dixieland

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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.

Related Topics:
Retirement - 1956 - Cinemascope - Remake - 1949

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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.

Related Topics:
1970s - Filmation - Frank Welker - Lou Scheimer

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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 Frontier Droopy. 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 two Roger Rabbit shorts, Tummy Trouble and Rollercoaster Rabbit (played by Williams in the former and by Corey Burton in the latter).

Related Topics:
1990s - Hanna-Barbera - Tom & Jerry Kids - Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Animation - Richard Williams - Roger Rabbit - Corey Burton

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