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49-491: Droopy is an animated character from the golden age of American animation . He is an anthropomorphic white Basset Hound with a droopy face. 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

98-583: A big steak, symbolised when Spike tears the truce contract to shreds and they go back to fighting again after Tom accidentally threw the steak into the sewer drain. From the 1944 cartoon The Bodyguard to 1948 cartoon Heavenly Puss , he was voiced by Billy Bletcher . His first name is Bulldog in Dog Trouble , His name also varies in some shorts: in Puttin' on the Dog , Solid Serenade and Cat Fishin' he

147-610: 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 (apparently, it regenerated like a lizard's tail, given the unharmed dragon later became Droopy's servant/pet). 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

196-444: A few weaknesses that Tom tries to capitalize upon: his possessiveness about his bone and his ticklishness. Spike's fiercest behavior is reserved for anyone who interferes with Tyke, but also, Spike's generally well-intentioned brain is at times easily outwitted by Tom and/or Jerry. Jerry also arranges to get Tom in trouble with Spike, provoking a chase, and/or a pounding from the bulldog, and Spike will keep Tom's attention off Jerry for

245-478: A girlfriend for Tyke). He had also made a cameo in the 1967 MGM Animation/Visual Arts production Matinee Mouse , which reused footage from Love that Pup and The Truce Hurts , and added some new animation in the final punchline. Spike would continue to appear in Tom and Jerry full-length features released in the early 2000s and finally, Tom and Jerry Tales . Spike and his son Tyke also appear as regulars in

294-492: 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 (1949),

343-473: A long series of comic book stories in Dell Publishing 's Tom and Jerry Comics , starting with #79 (Feb 1951) until #215 (May 1963). They also appeared in three issues of Dell's Four Color series between 1953 and 1955, (#499, 577, and 638). Their own title thusly started at #4. "M.G.M.'s Spike and Tyke" ran until issue #24, and then there was a final Four Color issue, #1266. Unlike their portrayal in

392-547: A sad-faced Droopy often said, "You know what? I'm happy"). A memorable Cartoon Network promotional spot featured Droopy (voiced by Don Messick) 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

441-595: 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 " (aka "Jubalio") to himself (much like Huckleberry would sing " Oh My Darling Clementine " 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

490-509: A solo guest in Tom and Jerry cartoons for the next several years; his son Tyke was introduced in 1949, with Love That Pup . Tyke is a sweet, happy and innocent puppy, who doesn't speak for most of the earlier installments. Spike and Tyke's characters, provide a model of father and son behavior, with Spike spending much of his free time taking Tyke on father-son outings, teaching him the facts of life for dogs and guarding him diligently when they are sleeping. In Tom and Jerry Kids , Tyke has

539-417: A speaking role for the first time, aside from traditional dog noises he expressed in the prior films. Spike's relationships with Tom and Jerry have varied from time to time, but essentially Spike has little affection for Tom Cat, who seems to always be disrupting his life, causing trouble, antagonizing Tyke or all of the above. The Truce Hurts (1948), Pet Peeve (1954) and Hic-Cup Pup (1954) are so far

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588-603: A while. Several stories also have Jerry taking advantage of Spike and Tyke's size and proximity, as he often tries to hide or sleep with or near Spike and Tyke for protection. In his early appearance, Dog Trouble , Spike as an unnamed Bulldog is the main antagonist, chasing and attacking both Tom and Jerry on sight, even trying to eat Jerry, which forced the two to work together to defeat him. However, in his first appearance The Bodyguard , after Jerry willingly saved him from being poached, he became Jerry's protector whenever needed. In all subsequent shorts, Spike becomes typecast as

637-495: Is his incredible strength, given his diminutive stature and unassuming looks and personality, but this was usually reserved for when he was upset (with a few rare exceptions, where he very easily moved his adversary without harming him), 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

686-419: Is named Spike from then on and is not changed again. When Tyke is introduced, Spike is given a softer approach (mainly towards his son) and is kinder and less aggressive, but is still portrayed as a dumb animal on more than one occasion. Spike's love and affection towards Tyke becomes Jerry's newest weapon against Tom, as his strategy goes from luring Tom towards Spike to inflicting harm on Tyke, and even when it

735-651: Is named "Killer", and in The Truce Hurts he signs his name "Butch" on the treaty peace paper. He is also a Devil Dog in Heavenly Puss . In Tom's later attempts to catch Jerry, he has to deal with Spike for bothering his son. In 1949's Love That Pup , Spike was given a puppy son, Tyke, who became another popular supporting character in the Tom and Jerry cartoons. His voice was taken over by Daws Butler , who styled Spike's voice after Jimmy Durante taking after his 1940s radio series with Garry Moore . He

784-444: Is not limited to Hollywood studios, however. Some of the finest examples of character animation can be found in the work of Nick Park of Aardman Animations and Russian independent animator Yuri Norstein . Though typical examples of character animation are found in animated feature films, the role of character animation within the gaming industry is rapidly increasing. Game developers are using more complicated characters that allow

833-532: Is not responsible, as seen in The Invisible Mouse , Spike still blames Tom and hurts him instead of Jerry. Only on one occasion does Jerry fail to frame Tom, in Hic-Cup Pup where Tom unintentionally cures Spike and Tyke's hiccups, and Spike shakes Tom's hand. Spike, however, is not without a softer and sympathetic side: in the episode Pet Peeve , after believing that Tom is willing to leave

882-553: Is perfectly obvious that Jerry is responsible and not Tom, as seen in Love That Pup . Spike fails to notice this and still blames Tom (although this can be partially due to Spike's dislike of Tom). A short-lived Spike and Tyke cartoon series was produced by MGM in 1957; only two entries were completed. Within a year, the MGM cartoon studio had shut down, and Hanna and Barbera took Spike and Tyke and retooled them to create one of

931-699: The 12 basic principles of animation , and is informally considered to be the 'animation bible' for any student of animation. Other notable figures in character animation include the Schlesinger/Warner Bros. directors ( Tex Avery , Chuck Jones , Bob Clampett , Frank Tashlin , Robert McKimson , and Friz Freleng ), cartoon animators Max Fleischer and Walter Lantz , pioneering animators Hanna-Barbera , former Disney animator Don Bluth , independent animator Richard Williams , John Lasseter at Pixar , and latter-day Disney animators Andreas Deja , Glen Keane and Eric Goldberg . Character animation

980-477: The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio in Hollywood, California. All cartoons were released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . Fred Quimby was the producer of the first 17 cartoons from 1943 to 1955. Quimby retired in 1955 and from 1956 to 1958, Hanna and Barbera produced the cartoons until MGM closed the cartoon studio in 1957, and the last cartoon was released in 1958. Most of these cartoons were produced in

1029-542: 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 (1957), was nominated for the 1957 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) . However, by the time of One Droopy Knight' s release in December 1957,

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1078-726: The "non-natural" effects often seen in science fiction films. There is a good deal of overlap between these areas. Sometimes, visual effects animators will use the same principles of character animation; an early example is the pseudopod in The Abyss . On-going computer science research on character animation deals with the question of generating multi-layer level of detail at run-time to allow large crowd rendering in real-time applications. Realistic character movements are often simulated using motion capture and soft-body dynamics simulations. Spike and Tyke (characters) Spike made his early appearance as an unnamed Bulldog in

1127-807: The 1920s. In the 1930s, Walt Disney made character animation a particular focus of his animation studio, best showcased in productions such as Three Little Pigs (1933), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), and Dumbo (1941). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the "first full length animated and musical feature" in Technicolor . Disney animators such as Bill Tytla , Ub Iwerks , Grim Natwick , Fred Moore , Ward Kimball , Les Clark , John Sibley, Marc Davis , Wolfgang Reitherman , Hal King, Hamilton Luske , Norm Ferguson , Eric Larson , John Lounsbery , Milt Kahl , Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston all became masters of

1176-512: The 1942 Tom and Jerry cartoon Dog Trouble , and his first appearance and his first speaking role was in The Bodyguard (1944), where he was voiced by Billy Bletcher . Spike was voiced by Bletcher until 1949, from which point he was voiced by Patrick McGeehan , Jerry Mann, Bob Shamrock, John Brown , Stan Freberg , and Daws Butler , with a thick New Yorker accent similar to Jimmy Durante 's. After Dog Trouble , Spike appeared as

1225-469: 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 (now called Butch because of the same-named bulldog in Hanna and Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoons) or

1274-562: The Cartoon Stars bumper. Here in his blooper reel, he says his signature line "I'm so happy" while actually smiling. 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: Voiced by in unofficial material: The Droopy cartoons were directed by Tex Avery (1943–1955), Dick Lundy (1952), Michael Lah (1955–1958) and William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (1956), at

1323-451: The MGM cartoon studio had been closed for six months, a casualty of corporate downsizing. 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 (voiced by Charlie Adler ), an older version of

1372-473: 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 (the Wolf character "portrays"

1421-652: 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 (1941) starring Bugs Bunny , which in turn was an expansion/exaggeration of the premise of his The Blow Out (1936) with Porky Pig . 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 meek, deadpan voice and personality were modeled after

1470-493: 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

1519-570: 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 when MGM closed 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. He's also known to be

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1568-536: The crooks in both Dumb-hounded and its semi-remake, Northwest Hounded Police (1946)) 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 cutie of Avery's Red Hot Riding Hood (1943) as a damsel in distress being pursued by the Wolf. Three later Droopy cartoons – Three Little Pups (1953), Blackboard Jumble (1957), and Sheep Wrecked (1958) – feature

1617-470: 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

1666-463: The first television successes for Hanna-Barbera Productions , Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy . Spike and Tyke would not appear in new Tom and Jerry cartoons, until the 1970s The Tom and Jerry Show , the 1980s The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show , and 1990s Tom & Jerry Kids (in which Tom and Jerry themselves were made younger, but Spike and Tyke remained the same ages, and appeared both with Tom and Jerry, and in new episodes of their own with

1715-509: The gamer to more fully connect with the gaming experience. Prince of Persia , God of War , Team Fortress or Resident Evil contain examples of character animation in games. Character animation is often contrasted with creature animation, in which specialised animators bring to life realistic animals and creatures, such as dinosaurs and fantasy creatures. Visual effects animators specialise in animating vehicles, machinery, and natural phenomena such as rain, snow, lightning and water, as well as

1764-437: The guider of Cartoon Network back when it first launched at October 1, 1992. 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. 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

1813-530: The house in Spike's favour, Spike feels sorry for him to the point that he offers to leave instead, which Spike does until he realises that Tom is only using reverse psychology to trick him into leaving. In The Truce Hurts , Spike is portrayed as a very intelligent and equilibrated character when he convinces Tom and Jerry to stop the fighting among the three of them and sign a Peace Treaty, but their newfound friendship comes to an end when they argue over how to share

1862-509: The illusion of thought, emotion and personality. Character animation is often distinguished from creature animation , which involves bringing photorealistic animals and creatures to life. Winsor McCay 's Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) is often considered the first example of true character animation. Later, Otto Messmer imbued Felix the Cat with an instantly recognizable personality during

1911-559: 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 (where he

1960-422: The only cartoons where Spike actually cares about and shows affection for Tom; these relationships often dissolve and usually end with them fighting. Tom does not usually antagonize Spike intentionally, but Spike often ends up in the middle of a Tom and Jerry chase, (as they are all seemingly living together) which ends up waking Spike up, ruining his new dog house, wrecking his and Tyke's picnic, and so on. Spike has

2009-399: The period: Animated character Character animation is a specialized area of the animation process, which involves bringing animated character s to life. The role of a character animator is analogous to that of a film or stage actor and character animators are often said to be "actors with a pencil" (or a mouse). Character animators breathe life in their characters, creating

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2058-480: The recent reboot series . Spike made an appearance in the 2021 film, Tom & Jerry under the ownership of Ben. He was voiced by Bobby Cannavale . Spike and Tyke made frequent appearances in the second Tom and Jerry daily newspaper strip, which was distributed by Editors Press Service from about 1974 until 1998. The strip was produced in the US, but only appeared in foreign newspapers. Spike and Tyke starred in

2107-473: 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 running gag in this episode was the fact that Droopy was often seen crying despite having a huge grin frozen on his face, a reverse of the classic cartoons where

2156-548: The standard Academy ratio (1.37:1); 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. These cartoons can also be found as extras on DVDs of classic Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of

2205-430: The stereotypical dumb brute who is always duped into becoming a shield for Jerry from Tom. It is only in two episodes where Jerry gets Spike out of a jam and the dog willingly protects him from Tom in well-earned gratitude ( The Bodyguard and Fit to Be Tied ). On most occasions, Jerry causes trouble for Tom by luring him near Spike and harming him to get him angry, and in some cartoons when it's perfectly obvious that Tom

2254-523: The technique. Frank and Ollie, as they were affectionately known by their protégés, taught that the thoughts and emotions behind the character were primary to the creation of every scene. Out of all the Nine Old Men , Frank and Ollie were the most known for their mentor /apprentice relationships, and the sharing of their knowledge about creating characters, most notably as transcribed through Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life . This book relays

2303-491: Was given a very important role on showing the kids the guide of this channel in his lesser known program "Droopy's Guide to the Cartoon Network. In June 1999, 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 and was voiced by Jeff Bergman . The short aired on Cartoon Network's sister channel Boomerang until 2015. During

2352-485: Was in The Chump Champ in which Spike (as "Gorgeous Gorillawitz") 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,

2401-707: Was voiced by the film's animation director Richard Williams ), and in Tom and Jerry: The Movie . Droopy also had cameos in all three subsequent Disney -produced Roger Rabbit shorts, Tummy Trouble (again he's an elevator operator), Roller Coaster Rabbit (he plays a bad guy dressed as Snidely Whiplash ), and Trail Mix-Up (he plays a scuba diver). 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 Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring , either as an ally or an enemy. On October 1, 1992, back when Cartoon Network first aired, Droopy

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