- Charlie Dog
Charlie Dog is an animated
cartoon fictional character in theWarner Bros. "Looney Tunes " series of cartoons.Bob Clampett minted the scenario that Charlie Dog would later inherit in his cartoon short "Porky's Pooch ", first released on27 December ,1941 . A homeless hound pulls out all the stops to get adopted by bachelorPorky Pig .Mel Blanc would provide the dog's gruff,Brooklyn brogue. However, as he did for so many other "Looney Tunes " characters,Chuck Jones took Clampett's hound and transformed him into something new. Jones first used the dog in "Little Orphan Airedale " (4 October ,1947 ) which saw Clampett's "Rover" renamed "Charlie." The film was a success, and Jones would create two more Charlie Dog/Porky Pig cartoons in 1949: "The Awful Orphan " (29 January ) and "Often an Orphan " (13 August ). Jones also starred Charlie without Porky in a couple of shorts: "Dog Gone South " (26 August ,1950 ) which seesYankee Charlie searching for a fine gentleman of theSouthern United States , and "A Hound for Trouble " (28 April ,1951 ) which sends Charlie toItaly where he searches for a master who speaks English. In these cartoons, Charlie Dog is defined by one desire: to find himself a master. To this end, Charlie is willing to pull out all the stops, from pulling "the big soulful eyes routine" to boasting of his pedigree ("Fifty percentCollie ! Fifty percentIrish Setter ! Fifty Percent Boxer! Fifty percent Doberman Pincher! But, mostly, I'm allLabrador Retriever !")—though in reality, he is just a slick-talking mutt who rarely realizes that his own aggressive obnoxiousness is sabotaging his appeal to any potential guardian. Jones shelved the Charlie Dog series of films in the 1950s, along with other characters he had introduced, such as The Three Bears andHubie and Bertie . He was turning his efforts to new characters, such asPepe Le Pew and Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner. However, recent Warner Bros. merchandising and series and films such as "Tiny Toon Adventures ", "Space Jam " (1996), and "Tweety's High-flying Adventure " (2000) have brought Charlie back out of retirement.
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