Tex Avery's Droopy - The Complete Theatrical Collection

Frederick "Tex" Avery directed some of the funniest cartoons ever made, but he relied primarily on situations and moving graphics, rather than on the personalities of familiar characters. Droopy, the phlegmatic basset hound, was one of the few characters Avery used regularly: His low-key presence was the perfect counter to the extreme takes, fast cuts, frenetic action, and general mayhem going on around him. Avery is also noted for "self-reflexive gags:" the characters know they're in a cartoon and often comment on the fact. In "Dumb-Hounded,"a sprinting wolf cuts a corner too sharply, skids past the sprocket holes at the edge of the film, and onto the blank screen. Droopy frequently turns to the camera and comments, "You now what? I'm happy." Some of the later films in the collection, made by animators Dick Lundy and Michael Lah, lack Avery's manic panache. The last cartoons in the collection were designed for the CinemaScope format: Droopy's pudgy form looks lost in those vast frames, and the flattened graphics pioneered by the UPA studio distort his rounded shape. But those are minor caveats. Fans have waited impatiently for Tex Avery's seminal cartoons to be released on DVD in the US, and this collection is a must-have for anyone interested in animation.

DISC ONE

"DUMB-HOUNDED" (1943)
A real classic. From the moment Droopy drags himself onscreen (bringing up the rear of a team of police bloodhounds) you know he's a different kind of hero. "Hello all you happy people," he deadpans to the audience, breaking the fourth wall for the first of, oh, a hundred times. "You know what?" I'm the hero." He continually sniffs out the Wolf, an escaped prisoner.

"THE SHOOTING OF DAN MCGOO" (1945)
The song "Frankie and Johnny" sets the theme for this adventure set in (say it fast) Coldernell, Alaska. It's a gag-filled remake of the Robert Service poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" ("A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon; the kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune..."), with a dance-hall dame so hot even Droopy howls at the moon.

"WILD AND WOOLFY" (1945)
Droopy gets the girl -- and lets loose with another wild howl -- after he saves her from the Wolf's kidnapping attempt. Along the way there's a fork in the road (yes, a real fork) and a horse that takes off its shoes to cross a stream.

"NORTHWEST HOUNDED POLICE" (1946)
When the Wolf escapes San Francisco's Alka-Fizz Prison -- by simply drawing an escape door -- Droopy tracks him down wherever he goes. Amazingly funny.

"SENOR DROOPY" (1949)
Bullfighters the Wolf and Droopy ("Senor Droopy from Guada-loopy") compete for a beautiful (and live action!) senorita. About as good as the best Bugs Bunny.

"WAGS TO RICHES" (1949)
Spike the bulldog tries to knock off Droopy when a millionaire leaves our hero a fortune... that goes to Spike if he dies.

"OUT-FOXED" (1949)
Droopy goes fox hunting. Skippable.

"THE CHUMP CHAMP" (1950)
Droopy and Spike compete in sports events. OK, but Disney's "How To" shorts with Goofy are funnier.

"DAREDEVIL DROOPY" (1951)
Droopy and Spike compete to become a circus acrobat. See above.

"DROOPY'S GOOD DEED" (1951)
Droopy and Spike wage war in a Boy Scout competition. The best moment: when Droopy goes into a burning cabin, the damsel in distress looks a lot like Disney's Cinderella (whose film was, gee, released the same year). A moment later comes the black-face moment with Spike that other reviewers have mentioned. A Rochester gag comes later. The racial scenes take away from an otherwise first-rate cartoon. The slapstick gags are similar to, but funnier than, those in the best Road Runner shorts.

"DROOPY'S DOUBLE TROUBLE" (1951)
Now a butler, Droopy teams up with his twin brother Drippy to stress-out Spike.

"CABELLERO DROOPY" (1952)
Violinist Droopy and a guitar-strumming wolf (the "Kristo Kid" woo a senorita. More Road-Runner-style gags.

DISC TWO

"THE THREE LITTLE PUPS" (1953)
A parody of Disney's "The Three Little Pigs." Snoopy, Loopy, and Droopy are the three little dogs. Has another black-face moment. Includes a couple moments where the characters watch a (real) live-action western on TV.

"DRAG-A-LONG DROOPY" (1954)
The definitive Droopy cartoon. When his sheep destroy the pasture of some cattle country (the "Bear Butte Ranch", shepherd Droopy gets into argument, a shooting-skills contest and eventually a head-to-head stampede with the rancher Wolf. Has talking cows, naked cows and the strangest Droopy dame: the Venus de Milo, who, when the Wolf takes over her body (don't ask), runs away on very shapely high-heeled gams. (Yes, gams. I'm really getting the lingo down, don't ya think?)

"HOMESTEADER DROOPY" (1954)
The plot? The Wolf (here, "Dishonest Dan, the Cattle Man" hassles homesteader Droopy. The reasons to love it? Well, it's got great gags, great writing, a baby Droopy (he's the hero this time) and one of the funniest talking-cow moments in film history. When a bull comes into the Wolf's office and says simply "Moo Moo Moo Moo! Moo! Moo!" the Wolf responds "What? A dirty homesteader just fenced in our water hole in Red Rock Canyon?"

"DIXIELAND DROOPY" (1954)
Droopy plays John Pettybone, a dog who has one single ambition: to lead a Dixieland Jazz Band in the Hollywood Bowl. A loud Dixieland score, with unexpected sudden moments of dead silence, sets this one apart.

"DEPUTY DROOPY" (1955)
The characters get more angular (i.e., more '50s-style) and the colors get brighter as lawman Droopy stops some varmints from making off with some gold. No Wolf, no Spike, but not bad.

"MILLIONAIRE DROOPY" (1956, Cinemascope)
A throwback, this is simply a widescreen version of "Wags to Riches."

"GRIN AND SHARE IT" (1957, Cinemascope)
When Droopy and Butch (think Spike crossed with Yogi Bear) strike gold, Butch wants it all to himself.

"BLACKBOARD JUMBLE" (1957, Cinemascope) Three school boys (all of which look like Droopy, but don't have his personality) try the patience of their substitute teacher, a slow-moving Wolf (who now has the voice of Huckleberry Hound). Funny at times, but has none of the deadpan Droopy wit.

"ONE DROOPY KNIGHT" (1957, Cinemascope)
Sirs Butchalot and Droopalot vie to kill a dragon. Nominated, somehow, for 1957's Best Short Subject Cartoon Academy Award.

"SHEEP WRECKED" (1958, Cinemascope)
Droopy guards his sheep from the Wolf. The best of the Hanna-Barbera shorts. Very colorful, with lots of orange backgrounds.

"MUTTS ABOUT RACING" (1958, Cinemascope)
Droopy and Butch compete in a car race.

"DROOPY LEPRECHAUN" (1958, Cinemascope)
Butch mistakes Droopy for a leprechaun. An airline stewardess looks just like Jane Jetson.