Charlie Dog is a Looney Tunes character.
Background[]
Golden Age[]
Bob Clampett minted the scenario that Charlie Dog would later inherit in the cartoon short "Porky's Pooch", written by Warren Foster, released on 27 December 1941. A homeless hound pulls out all the stops to get adopted by bachelor Porky Pig. Unlike later Charlie Dog entries, however, this earlier character manages to succeed to get Porky to adopt him. Mel Blanc, Joe Alaskey and Eric Bauza would provide the dog's gruff Brooklyn Bugs Bunny-like voice and accent, giving him a sly and clever disposition.
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" (released on October 4, 1947), written by Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce, 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: "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 sees Yankee Charlie searching for a fine gentleman of the Southern United States, and "A Hound for Trouble" (28 April 1951) which sends Charlie to Italy where he searches for a master who speaks English.
In these five 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", acting dramatic e.g. breaking down crying to get Porky to sympathize with him in both "Little Orphan Airedale", "Awful Orphan" and "Often an Orphan", to boasting of his pedigree ("Fifty percent Collie! Fifty percent Irish Setter! Fifty percent Boxer! Fifty percent Doberman Pincher! But, mostly, I'm all Labrador Retriever!"). However, he is really a fast-talking obnoxious mutt and is often unaware that his personality is what prevents him from getting adopted.
Jones retired Charlie Dog in the 1950s, along with other humorous minor characters he had introduced in the 1940s, such as the Three Bears and Hubie and Bertie. However, Charlie himself appeared as a cameo in Robert McKimson's "Dog Tales" via reused animation from "Often an Orphan".
Although Charlie did not appear in the Porky Pig cartoon "Dog Collared", the unnamed dog's personality is based on him and he portrayed a role similar to him. The 1953 Bugs Bunny cartoon "Lumber Jack-Rabbit" featured a dog similar in appearance to Charlie known as "Smidgen".
Post-Golden Age[]
In recent years, Warner Bros. merchandising and series and films such as episodes of Tiny Toon Adventures, the movies Space Jam (1996), and Tweety's High-Flying Adventure (2000) have brought Charlie back out of retirement.
In Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies, Charlie is one of the knights of King Foghorn Leghorn.
Charlie made a cameo appearance in The Looney Tunes Show episode "Father Figures". He is in a pet store where he was attacked by Henery Hawk (who was looking for a chicken).
Charlie made a cameo appearance in the Looney Tunes Cartoons short "Happy Birthday Bugs Bunny!" He would later star in the Season 2 short "Adopt Me!", where he is trying to get adopted in a pet store.
Appearances[]
Cartoons[]
"Little Orphan Airedale" (1947) - "Awful Orphan" (1949)
- "Often an Orphan" (1949)
- "Dog Gone South" (1950)
- "A Hound for Trouble" (1951)
- "Dog Tales" (1958) (cameo)
In other media[]
- The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Movie (cameo)
- The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries episode "Yelp"
- Space Jam
- Tweety's High-Flying Adventure
- Looney Tunes Back in Action
- The Looney Tunes Show episode "Father Figures"
- Looney Tunes Cartoons shorts "Happy Birthday Bugs Bunny!" and "Adopt Me!"
Notes[]
- Charlie was planned to have a cameo in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) in the deleted scene "Acme's Funeral".[1]
