Droopy is a series of cartoons for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer created and initially directed by Tex Avery, with Dick Lundy taking over for one short, Caballero Droopy. Later entries were directed by Michael Lah. The series stars the titular character, a short bloodhound with a deadpan voice usually played by Bill Thompson.
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 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 the standard Academy ratio (1.37:1); seven cartoons were produced exclusively in the widescreen CinemaScope format.
Like most other major studios, 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.
Filmography[]
| # | Title | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Original release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dumb-Hounded | Tex Avery | Rich Hogan | Fred Quimby | March 20, 1943 | The first and only Droopy short to be written by Rich Hogan until 1949. |
| 2 | The Shooting of Dan McGoo | Heck Allen | March 3, 1945 | The first Droopy short to be written by Heck Allen. | ||
| 3 | Wild and Woolfy | November 3, 1945 | ||||
| 4 | Northwest Hounded Police | August 3, 1946 | The final Droopy short written by Heck Allen until 1952. | |||
| 5 | Señor Droopy | Rich Hogan | April 9, 1949 | The first Droopy short to be written by Rich Hogan since 1943. A Live-action sequence occurs in the end of the short. | ||
| 6 | Wags to Riches | Jack Cosgriff Rich Hogan |
August 13, 1949 | The first out of two Droopy cartoons to be written by Jack Cosgriff, not including its cinemascope remake, Millionaire Droopy (1956). | ||
| 7 | Out Foxed | Rich Hogan | November 5, 1949 | |||
| 8 | The Chump Champ | November 4, 1950 | ||||
| 9 | Daredevil Droopy | March 31, 1951 | ||||
| 10 | Droopy's Good Deed | May 5, 1951 | ||||
| 11 | Droopy's Double Trouble | November 17, 1951 | The first appearance of Droopy's Brother, Drippy. The final Droopy short to be written by Rich Hogan. | |||
| 12 | Caballero Droopy | Dick Lundy | Jack Cosgriff Heck Allen |
September 27, 1952 | The only Droopy cartoon to be directed by Dick Lundy. The second and final out of two Droopy shorts to be written by Jack Cosgriff. This does not include the "Wag to Riches" (1949) remake, "Millionaire Droopy" (1956).
The first Droopy short to be written by Heck Allen since 1946. | |
| 13 | The Three Little Pups | Tex Avery | Heck Allen | December 26, 1953 | Live-action sequence | |
| 14 | Drag-a-Long Droopy | February 20, 1954 | ||||
| 15 | Homesteader Droopy | July 10, 1954 | ||||
| 16 | Dixieland Droopy | December 4, 1954 | ||||
| 17 | Deputy Droopy | Tex Avery Michael Lah |
October 28, 1955 | The final Droopy short to be written by Heck Allen.
The final official Droopy short to be directed by Tex Avery, not including the following short. The first Droopy short to be directed by Michael Lah. The final Droopy short to be produced by Fred Quimby. | ||
| 18 | Millionaire Droopy | Tex Avery | Jack Cosgriff Rich Hogan |
William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
September 21, 1956 | A CinemaScope remake of Wags to Riches. The first Droopy short to be produced by both William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. |
| 19 | Grin and Share It | Michael Lah | Homer Brightman | May 17, 1957 | The first Droopy short to be completely directed by Michael Lah.
The first short to be written by Homer Brightman. The first officially made Droopy short to be produced in CinemaScope, the following cartoons afterwards would be produced in CinemaScope. | |
| 20 | Blackboard Jumble | October 4, 1957 | Produced in CinemaScope | |||
| 21 | One Droopy Knight | December 6, 1957 | Produced in CinemaScope | |||
| 22 | Sheep Wrecked | February 7, 1958 | Produced in CinemaScope. | |||
| 23 | Mutts About Racing | April 4, 1958 | Produced in CinemaScope | |||
| 24 | Droopy Leprechaun | July 4, 1958 | Produced in CinemaScope
Final appearance of Droopy in the Golden Age of America Animation. |
Home Media[]
The entire Droopy library was released by Warner Home Video in 2007. However, the prints released were the 1995 USA Turner prints and not the restored negatives. On February 17, 2020 four of Tex Avery's Droopy shorts were included on the Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1 Bluray from Warner Archive Collection, presenting them in HD for the first time. An additional six shorts were included in Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 2 on December 15, 2020 with another five being included on Volume 3 released on October 5, 2021. Unlike the previous releases, the shorts were fully uncut and restored from the best surviving elements.
- Seven Droopy shorts on VHS as The Adventures of Droopy released in 1989.
- Six Droopy shorts on VHS as Here Comes Droopy! released on October 10, 1990.
- Four Droopy shorts on VHS as Droopy and Company released on February 29, 1992.
- Seventeen Droopy shorts on LaserDisc as The Compleat Tex Avery released on January 13, 1993.
- On May 15, 2007, Warner Home Video released all of Droopy's MGM cartoons on DVD as Tex Avery's Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection, complete and uncut. The seven Droopy cartoons produced in CinemaScope were released in their original widescreen versions, instead of the pan and scan versions regularly broadcast on television.
- On February 18, 2020, four Droopy shorts appeared uncut and digitally restored in HD on Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1 Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection. An additional six Droopy cartoons appeared uncut and digitally restored on Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 2 released on December 15, 2020. An additional five Droopy cartoons appeared uncut and digitally restored on Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 3 released on October 5, 2021.
These cartoons can also be found as extras on DVDs of classic Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the period:
- Wild and Woolfy is on the DVD of Thrill of a Romance
- Northwest Hounded Police is on the DVD of Courage of Lassie
- Wags to Riches is on the DVD of The Barkleys of Broadway
- Senor Droopy is on the DVD of That Midnight Kiss
- Out Foxed is on the DVD of Madame Bovary
- The Chump Champ is on the DVD of Pagan Love Song
- Droopy's Double Trouble is on the DVD of Royal Wedding
- Dixieland Droopy is on the DVD of The Long, Long Trailer
- Blackboard Jumble is on the DVD of Blackboard Jungle
- Millionaire Droopy is on the DVD of High Society
- Deputy Droopy is on the DVD of It's Always Fair Weather
- The Three Little Pups is on the DVD of The Band Wagon