Charlie Dog

Bob Clampett minted the scenario that Charlie Dog would later inherit in his 1941 cartoon, "Porky's Pooch": a homeless hound pulls out all the stops to get adopted by hapless bachelor Porky 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" (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" and "Often an Orphan". Jones also starred Charlie without Porky in a couple of shorts: "Dog Gone South" (1950) which sees Yankee Charlie irritating a fine Southern gentleman, and "A Hound for Trouble" (1951) which sends Charlie to Italy 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 duping a hapless victim into taking him in to pulling "the big soulful eyes routine" to boasting of his pedigree ("Half Collie! Half Airedale! Half Pekinese! Half St. Bernard! With a pinch of Spitz thrown in!").

Jones shelved the Charlie Dog series of films in the 1950s, along with other characters he had introduced, such as The Three Bears and Hubie and Bertie. He was turning his efforts to new characters, such as Pepe Le Pew and Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner. However, recent Warner Bros. merchandising and films such as Space Jam have brought Charlie back out of retirement. He still doesn't hold a spot in the greater pantheon or Warner Bros. characters, but his place as one of Jones's most memorable creations is assured.

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