Droopy


Droopy is an animated character from the golden age of American animation. He is an anthropomorphic dog with a droopy face, hence his name. He was created in 1943 by Tex Avery for theatrical cartoon shorts produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio. Essentially the polar opposite of Avery's other MGM character, the loud and wacky Screwy Squirrel, Droopy moves slowly and lethargically, speaks in a jowly monotone voice, and—though hardly an imposing character—is shrewd enough to outwit his enemies. When finally roused to anger, often by a bad guy laughing heartily at him, Droopy is capable of beating adversaries many times his size with a comical thrashing.
The character first appeared, nameless, in Avery's 1943 cartoon Dumb-Hounded. Though he was not called "Droopy" onscreen until his fifth cartoon, Señor Droopy, the character was already named "Droopy" in model sheets for his first cartoon. He was officially first labeled "Happy Hound", a name used in the character's appearances in Our Gang Comics. He starred in 24 theatrical cartoons, ending in 1958 as a result of MGM closing its cartoon department. The character has been revived several times for new productions including films and television shows also featuring MGM's other famous cartoon stars, Tom and Jerry, either as their ally or enemy.
In the cartoon Northwest Hounded Police, Droopy's last name was given as "McPoodle". In The Chump Champ, it was given as "Poodle". Nevertheless, Droopy is generally understood to be a basset hound.

History

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Droopy first appeared in the MGM cartoon Dumb-Hounded, released on March 20, 1943. 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. Avery had used a similar gag in his Merrie Melodies short Tortoise Beats Hare, which in turn was an expansion/exaggeration of the premise of his The Blow Out. In fact, this cartoon shows that early ideas about Droopy's personality were already germinating, as that film's Cecil Turtle has similarities to Droopy.
Droopy's, 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 US Navy during World War II, the role was played by other voice actors, including Don Messick, who reprised the role in the 1990s. Avery's preferred gag man Heck Allen said that Avery himself provided the voice on several occasions, and "You couldn't tell the difference." Droopy himself was a versatile actor: he could play a Mountie, a cowboy, a deputy, an heir, or a Dixieland-loving everyday Joe with equal ease. The same voice was used for Big Heel-Watha in the Screwy Squirrel cartoon of the same name and for a Pilgrim who chases a turkey modeled after Jimmy Durante in Avery's 1945 short Jerky Turkey.
One of Droopy's more surprising traits is his incredible strength, given his diminutive stature and unassuming looks and personality, but this was usually reserved for when he was upset, at which time he would say in a monotone voice "You know what? That makes me mad" prior to thrashing the hapless villain of the piece. One such occasion was in Señor Droopy, where he did this to a bull. It happened again in One Droopy Knight, where a dragon was Droopy's victim. In the second case, he also broke the dragon's tail off and knocked him very far away with it like a baseball bat. This was also once done by a baby version of Droopy in the Western-themed short Homesteader Droopy. One example of Droopy showing his strength without being provoked was in The Chump Champ in which Spike stuffs an anvil in a speed bag. Droopy easily punches the bag several times but when Spike takes a swipe at it, half of him shatters to the ground. Another running gag that occurred during many of Droopy's cartoons was whenever Droopy's adversaries chopped down a tree. As the tree started coming down and was about to crush the unsuspecting Droopy, the adversary would run far the opposite way, point to the sky, and shout, "TIM.....". Then, in a moment of surprise, the tree would change direction and end up crushing the adversary instead and he would finish by saying, ".....ber" while still pointing to the sky with a look of confusion on his face.
In most of his cartoons, Droopy matches wits with either a slick anthropomorphic Wolf or a bulldog named "Spike", sometimes silent, sometimes sporting a Gaelic accent. Two Droopy cartoons – The Shooting of Dan McGoo and Wild and Woolfy – also feature appearances from the curvy heroine of Avery's Red Hot Riding Hood as a damsel in distress being pursued by the Wolf. Three later Droopy cartoons –Three Little Pups, Blackboard Jumble, and Sheep Wrecked – feature a slow-moving southern wolf character. Voiced by Daws Butler in a dialect Butler later used for Hanna-Barbera's Huckleberry Hound, this wolf was a more deadpan character with a tendency to whistle "Kingdom Coming" to himself.
Avery took a year-long break from MGM from 1950 to 1951, during which time Dick Lundy took over his unit to do one Droopy cartoon, Caballero Droopy, and several Barney Bear cartoons. Avery returned in late 1951 and continued with Droopy and his one-shots until the Avery unit was dissolved by MGM in 1953. Michael Lah, an Avery animator, stayed on long enough to help William Hanna and Joseph Barbera complete Deputy Droopy after Avery had left the studio. Lah himself then left MGM, but returned in 1955 to direct CinemaScope Droopy cartoons costarring either Spike or the "Kingdom Coming"-whistling wolf. The opening title card was replaced with a newly drawn sequence in which Droopy gives his deadpan greeting: "Hello, all you happy people." Seven Droopy cartoons were created under the H-B production stable. One of these, One Droopy Knight, was nominated for the 1957 Academy Award for Best Short Subject. However, by the time of One Droopy Knight's release in December 1957, the MGM cartoon studio had been closed for six months, a casualty of corporate downsizing.

Later appearances

In 1980, Filmation produced a series of lower-budget Droopy shorts for television as part of its Tom and Jerry TV series The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show. In the 1990s Hanna-Barbera series Tom & Jerry Kids, Droopy had a young son named Dripple, 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. In 1993, Tom & Jerry Kids had a spin-off series, Droopy, Master Detective, which cast Droopy and son as film noir style detectives. Droopy also had cameos in two theatrical features: as an elevator operator in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and in '. Droopy also had cameos in all three subsequent Disney-produced Roger Rabbit shorts, Tummy Trouble, Roller Coaster Rabbit, and Trail Mix-Up. Droopy also appears in the 2006 cartoon series Tom and Jerry Tales, and has appeared in almost every Tom and Jerry direct-to-video movie, beginning with '.
In the early 2000s, Droopy appeared in a Cartoon Network short entitled Thanks a Latté, in which he works at a coffee shop and forces a stingy wolf into giving him a tip. In said short, the character is depicted with a bald head. The short now airs on Cartoon Network's sister channel Boomerang. During the same period, Droopy was also featured in Adult Swim's Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law in the episode "Droopy Botox" voiced by Maurice LaMarche. He is seen seeking a settlement after a cosmetic surgeon injected him with too much botox. A memorable Cartoon Network promotional spot featured Droopy and Shaggy from Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo parodying a dialog scene between Jules and Vincent in Pulp Fiction.
A three-issue Droopy comic book miniseries was released in the mid-1990s by Dark Horse Comics.
In 1997, Droopy appeared in Cartoon Network's Bloopers of the Cartoon Stars bumper. Here in his blooper reel, he says his signature line "I'm so happy" while actually smiling.

Voice actors

The following is the list of voice actors who have portrayed Droopy, the years they regularly voiced the character, and the films and/or television series they did the voice in:
The Droopy shorts were directed by Tex Avery, Dick Lundy, and Michael Lah at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio in Hollywood, California. All shorts were released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Fred Quimby was the producer of the first 17 shorts from 1943-1955. Quimby retired in 1955 and from 1956 to 1958, Hanna and Barbera produced the shorts until MGM closed the cartoon studio in 1957, and the last cartoon was released in 1958. Most of these cartoons were produced in the standard Academy ratio, seven cartoons were produced in widescreen CinemaScope format only.
Like any other studio, MGM reissued and edited its cartoons when re-released to theaters. Many pre-1951 cartoons were reissued with Perspecta Sound, which was introduced in 1954. MGM also reissued its cartoons before the introduction of Perspecta Sound. Because of the 1965 MGM vault fire, only backup prints of pre-1951 MGM cartoons exist.
#TitleDirectorProducerOriginal release dateNotes
1Dumb-HoundedTex AveryFred QuimbyMarch 20, 1943
2The Shooting of Dan McGooTex AveryFred QuimbyMarch 3, 1945
3Wild and WoolfyTex AveryFred QuimbyNovember 3, 1945
4Northwest Hounded PoliceTex AveryFred QuimbyAugust 3, 1946
5Señor DroopyTex AveryFred QuimbyApril 9, 1949Guest appearance of Lina Romay in a live-action sequence in the end.
6Wags to RichesTex AveryFred QuimbyAugust 13, 1949Remade as Millionaire Droopy
7Out-FoxedTex AveryFred QuimbyNovember 5, 1949
8The Chump ChampTex AveryFred QuimbyNovember 4, 1950
9Daredevil DroopyTex AveryFred QuimbyMarch 31, 1951
10Droopy's Good DeedTex AveryFred QuimbyMay 5, 1951
11Droopy's Double TroubleTex AveryFred QuimbyNovember 17, 1951Introduction of Droopy twin brother, Drippy
12Caballero DroopyDick LundyFred QuimbySeptember 27, 1952
13The Three Little PupsTex AveryFred QuimbyDecember 26, 1953Live-action sequence
14Drag-a-Long DroopyTex AveryFred QuimbyFebruary 20, 1954
15Homesteader DroopyTex AveryFred QuimbyJuly 10, 1954
16Dixieland DroopyTex AveryFred QuimbyDecember 4, 1954
17Deputy DroopyTex Avery
Michael Lah		Fred QuimbyOctober 28, 1955
18Millionaire DroopyTex AveryWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera		September 21, 1956CinemaScope remake of Wags To Riches.
19Grin and Share ItMichael LahWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera		May 17, 1957Produced in CinemaScope
20Blackboard JumbleMichael LahWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera		October 4, 1957Produced in CinemaScope
21One Droopy KnightMichael LahWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera		December 6, 1957Produced in CinemaScope
Nominated–Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film
22Sheep WreckedMichael LahWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera		February 7, 1958Produced in CinemaScope
23Mutts About RacingMichael LahWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera		April 4, 1958Produced in CinemaScope
24Droopy LeprechaunMichael LahWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera		July 4, 1958Produced in CinemaScope

Home media

These cartoons can also be found as extras on DVDs of classic Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the period: