Heckle and Jeckle

"Heckle and Jeckle" was a theatrical cartoon series created by Paul Terry, and released by his own studio, Terrytoons. The characters were a pair of identical magpies who calmly outwitted their foes in the manner of Bugs Bunny, while maintaining a mischievous streak reminiscent of Woody Woodpecker. However in a number of their cartoons ("Moose On The Loose", "Free Enterprise") their foes win in the end. Their names were inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novella "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". They are generally seen as the most entertaining and even funniest characters from the Paul Terry cartoons.

Who's Who?

One magpie spoke with an English accent, while the other spoke with a Brooklyn dialect. Although there seemed to be a great deal of uncertainty as to which was which, in the short "Bulldozing The Bulls", they clearly refer to each other by name, with the Brooklyn accent belonging to Heckle and the English accent belonging to Jeckle. In the later short "Stunt Men", Jeckle, in an English accent, calls Heckle by name again. Furthermore, in the cartoon "Rival Romeos", the magpies, after being simultaneously smitten by the same female, run home to get dressed. They are shown to occupy two sides of the same tree, and each character's home is marked with a sign—Heckle is clearly designated as the Brooklyn magpie with his jaunty hat, and Jeckle dons an English-looking bowtie and monocle. While they usually referred to each other by such names as "Old Featherhead", these episodes clearly give the names to the accents. Both characters were voiced at different times by Dayton Allen, Sid Raymond, Roy Halee, Ned Sparks and Frank Welker. [cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220902/|title="The Heckle and Jeckle Show"|accessdate=2006-12-15] [cite web
url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/11/obit.raymond.ap/index.html
title = Cartoon voice, actor Sid Raymond dead
accessdate = 2006-12-15
date = 2006-12-11
publisher = CNN / AP] In 1978's "The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle", the birds introduced themselves by name in the opening credits; Heckle had the Brooklyn accent, and Jeckle the English one.

Characteristics

Heckle is slightly more cynical than Jeckle. Both of them treat their mutual enemies with threats and rudeness, but Heckle will usually make his intentions clear from the outset, while Jeckle will (at first) treat enemies politely in order to lull them into a false sense of security before unleashing magpie mayhem. In the short "Blind Date", Heckle is able to forcibly disguise the unwilling Jeckle as a girl, indicating that Heckle is physically stronger than Jeckle. In "The Power of Thought", it is Jeckle who realizes the unlimited possibilities of being a cartoon character, although Heckle is quick enough to go along when this is pointed out to him.

The first "Heckle and Jeckle" cartoon premiered in 1946, the last in 1966. Their premiere short was entitled "The Talking Magpies", which cast the duo as a husband and wife looking for a new home.

New Heckle and Jeckle productions ceased in 1966. They then reappeared 1978 in their own segment of Filmation's "The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle".

Comic books

Heckle and Jeckle had their own comic book title for several years.
*St. John Publications, #1-24 (1951-55)
*Pines Comics, #25-34 (1956-59)

Popular culture

*Heckle and Jeckle made an unexplained appearance in Homer's vision of his funeral in "The Simpsons" episode "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace."
*Heckle and Jeckle make a brief cameo in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".
*Heckle and Jeckle are referenced in the "Jim Jarmusch" film "Coffee and Cigarettes".
*Heckle and Jeckle appear in the ancillary cast in the 1987 Ralph Bakshi "Mighty Mouse" cartoon "Mighty's Wedlock Whimsy".

References

External links

* [http://www.archive.org/details/the_talking_magpies The Talking Magpies cartoon @ the Internet Archive]