Butch (animated character)
| Butch | |
|---|---|
| MGM Cartoons character | |
 Butch in the cartoon Grin and Share It (1957) | |
| First appearance | Bad Luck Blackie (early version) January 22, 1949 Wags to Riches (official version) August 13, 1949 |
| Created by | Tex Avery |
| Designed by | Louie Schmitt |
| Voiced by | Tex Avery (1949–1952, 1956–1957)[1] William Hanna (1949–1950, 1952, 1955–1956)[1] Sara Berner (1949–1950, 1952, 1956)[1] Daws Butler (1950–1951, 1957)[1] Bill Thompson (1951, 1957–1958)[1] Carlos Julio Ramírez (1952)[1] Frank Ross (1952)[1] Mary Kaye (1952)[1] Paul Frees (1952, 1955)[1] Norman Kaye (1952)[1] Jeff Bergman (2000, 2010)[2][3] Jim Cummings (2002)[3] Joe Alaskey (2011–2016)[3] Bill Farmer (2019–present) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Spike Poochini |
| Species | Dog (Bulldog) |
| Gender | Male |
Butch (formerly known as Spike) is an animated cartoon character created by American animator Tex Avery for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Portrayed as an anthropomorphic Irish bulldog, the character was a recurring antagonist in the Droopy shorts, and appeared in his own series of solo shorts as well.
History
A prototype of Butch first appeared in the 1949 short Bad Luck Blackie directed by Tex Avery where he antagonises a small kitten. In this short, he was designed as a large grey bulldog with a spiky collar and a hench build similar to that of Spike from the Tom and Jerry shorts. He would officially debut in the same year in the short Wags to Riches in his finalised design, being tan colored and slightly more anthropomorphised, where he would take on the role as Droopy's rival. From there on, Avery would continue regularly pitting the character against Droopy as well as featuring him in his own shorts such as being pitted against Blackie Cat (The Counterfeit Cat, 1949 and Ventriloquist Cat, 1950), a gopher (Garden Gopher, 1951) and keeping watch of a sleeping bear (Rock-A-Bye Bear, 1952). His name was officially changed to Butch in 1955's Deputy Droopy as he was occasionally referred to as Spike. This change was made to avoid confusion with Spike from the Tom and Jerry cartoons (ironically the name Butch is also used in the Tom and Jerry Cartoons for the name of a rival alley cat). All of the original 1940s and 1950s shorts were directed by Avery and Michael Lah at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio.[4] Butch would not appear in new material again until Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring in 2002.
Filmography
| # | Title | Release date | Director | Produced by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bad Luck Blackie | January 22, 1949 | Tex Avery | Fred Quimby | Prototype. |
| 2 | Wags to Riches | August 13, 1949 | First appearance with Droopy. Academy Award shortlisted cartoon. | ||
| 3 | The Counterfeit Cat | December 24, 1949 | |||
| 4 | Ventriloquist Cat | May 27, 1950 | |||
| 5 | Garden Gopher | September 30, 1950 | |||
| 6 | The Chump Champ | November 4, 1950 | |||
| 7 | Cock-a-Doodle Dog | February 10, 1951 | |||
| 8 | Daredevil Droopy | March 31, 1951 | |||
| 9 | Droopy's Good Deed | May 5, 1951 | |||
| 10 | Droopy's Double Trouble | November 17, 1951 | |||
| 11 | Magical Maestro | February 9, 1952 | Named as Poochini. | ||
| 12 | Rock-a-Bye Bear | July 12, 1952 | |||
| 13 | Deputy Droopy | October 29, 1955 | |||
| 14 | Cellbound | November 25, 1955 | |||
| 15 | Millionaire Droopy | September 21, 1956 | Tex Avery, Michael Lah (Uncredited) | William Hanna | A CinemaScope remake of Wags to Riches. Despite Avery being credited, he had no involvement in this short. |
| 16 | Cat's Meow | January 25, 1957 | Tex Avery, Michael Lah (Uncredited) | A CinemaScope remake of Ventriloquist Cat. Final short where he isn't paired with Droopy. | |
| 17 | Grin and Share It | May 17, 1957 | Michael Lah | ||
| 18 | Blackboard Jumble | October 5, 1957 | Michael Lah | ||
| 19 | One Droopy Knight | December 6, 1957 | Michael Lah | A pseudo-remake of Señor Droopy, Academy Award nominee. | |
| 20 | Mutts About Racing | April 4, 1958 | Michael Lah | ||
| 21 | Droopy Leprechaun | July 4, 1958 | Michael Lah | Final Golden Age appearance. |
Later appearances
Butch would re-appear in the Tom and Jerry direct-to-DVD films throughout the 2000s such as Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring as an antagonist and Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes, alongside Droopy.
His latest appearance was in 2014's The Tom and Jerry Show. He appeared in the episode "Double Dog Trouble", where Spike and Butch are two separate characters who are twins, in order to poke at the character's retitling, while detectives Tom and Jerry mistake each one for the other after Spike buys a room at the town's motel.
Voice actors
- Tex Avery (Bad Luck Blackie, Wags to Riches, The Counterfeit Cat, Ventriloquist Cat, Garden Gopher, Cock-a-Doodle Dog, Daredevil Droopy, Droopy's Good Deed, Magical Maestro, Rock-a-Bye Bear, Millionaire Droopy, Cat's Meow)[1]
- William Hanna (screaming in Wags to Riches, Garden Gopher, Rock-a-Bye Bear, Cellbound and Millionaire Droopy)[1]
- Sara Berner (laughing in Wags to Riches, Garden Gopher, Rock-a-Bye Bear and Millionaire Droopy, screaming in Wags to Riches and Millionaire Droopy)[1]
- Daws Butler (The Chump Champ, Droopy's Double Trouble, Blackboard Jumble)[1]
- Bill Thompson (Droopy's Double Trouble, Grin and Share It, One Droopy Knight, Mutts About Racing, Droopy Leprechaun)[1]
- Carlos Julio Ramírez (Magical Maestro)[1]
- Frank Ross (Magical Maestro)[1]
- Mary Kaye (Magical Maestro)[1]
- Paul Frees (Magical Maestro, Cellbound)[1]
- Norman Kaye (Magical Maestro)[1]
- Jeff Bergman (Cartoon Network bumper, Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes)[2][3]
- Jim Cummings (Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring)[3]
- Joe Alaskey (Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz, Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz)[3]
- Bill Farmer (The Tom and Jerry Show)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media.
- ^ a b "CN: Paramedics". YouTube. March 10, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Voice(s) of Butch". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
- ^ Adamson, Joe, Tex Avery: King of Cartoons, 1975, Da Capo Press