2 Stupid Dogs

Infobox television
show_name = 2 Stupid Dogs


caption =
format = Animated Series
Comedy
runtime = 30 Minutes
creator = Donovan Cook
starring = Brad Garrett
Mark Schiff
Jess Harnell
Jim Cummings
Tony Jay
among several guest voices.
country = USA
network = TBS Superstation
first_aired = 11 September 1993
last_aired = 21 January 1995
imdb_id = 0105928
tv_com_id = 3876
num_episodes = 36
list_episodes = List of 2 Stupid Dogs episodes

"2 Stupid Dogs" is an Emmy-nominated [cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Daytime_Emmy_Awards/1995
title=Daytime Emmy Awards: 1995] American animated television series created by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons that originally ran from 11 September 1993 to 21 January 1995 on TBS Superstation. Reruns continued to air on Cartoon Network from 1994 to 14 June 2003 and did air on Boomerang.The main segments of the show featured two dogs, "Big Dog" and "Little Dog." The big dog was voiced by Brad Garrett, and the little dog was voiced by Mark Schiff. A backup segment, a remake of Hanna-Barbera's Secret Squirrel (entitled "Super Secret Secret Squirrel"), was shown in between the main "2 Stupid Dogs" cartoons in each episode, similarly to early Hanna-Barbera cartoons in the 1960s.

Plot

"2 Stupid Dogs" was about a big dog and a little dog and their everyday misadventures, with an animation style unusual for the time: a very flat, simplistic style similar to early Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 1950s and 1960s, but with early 1990s humor and sensibility. It also did not have a series structure, similar to many humorous cartoons and sitcoms. The show did not follow a continuous storyline — what happens in one episode has little to no effect on another.

Episodes

Production

"2 Stupid Dogs" was the beginning of the successful revival of Hanna-Barbera's fortunes, since the studio had not launched a bona fide hit since "The Smurfs" in 1981. The Turner Entertainment president installed MTV and Nickelodeon branding veteran Fred Seibert as the head of production. Seibert's plan to reinvent the studio was to put his faith in the talent community, a first for television animation, and Hanna-Barbera in particular. His first pitch and first series put into production in 1992 was "2 Stupid Dogs", by recent California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) graduate Donovan Cook. "Ren and Stimpy" creator John Kricfalusi was credited to adding "tidbits of poor taste" to the three Little Red Riding Hood episodes, and a few other Spümcø artists also contributed to selected episodes during the course of the show.

Several artists and directors from the show became the first creators in Seibert's "What-A-Cartoon!" program; 48 theatrical length, original character cartoons, made expressly for the Cartoon Network, and designed to find the talent and hits of the new generations. "2 Stupid Dogs" spawned creators Genndy Tartakovsky ("Dexter's Laboratory" and "Samurai Jack"), Craig McCracken ("The Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends"), Miles Thompson, Paul Rudish, and Zac Moncrief.

Characters

The title characters were never named. They were referred to as simply "The Big Dog" and "The Little Dog" in the end credits (although one skit had the Big Dog named Jonathan).
* Big Dog- is a large grey sheep dog (in a episode where they were in a farm, he was even able to herd sheep). He is much stronger than the Little Dog. The Big Dog is generally too lazy to bother with anything, and most of the time seemed more aloof and unconcerned about his surroundings than actually stupid. In some episodes, he surprisingly revealed deep philosophical intelligence. A running gag about the Big Dog is he would spit out a whole cob of corn he ate.
* Little Dog- is a small orange Dachshund. Little Dog is much more energetic and hyperactive than Big Dog. Little Dog is completely scared by cats, and when a cat appeared, it was Big Dog that had to scare the cat away. He does know a little about history (such as when in an Abraham Lincoln parody, when the Lincoln actor dies from a sword strike, the little dog remarks "I thought Lincoln was shot").

There were also other recurring characters:

*Mr. H (but credited as "Hollywood")- A big loud, fat oaf who likes to point out others' mistakes: "Well isn't that cute? "But it's wro-o-o-o-o-ng!!" ("Wrong" is always accompanied by the sound of a foghorn.) The credited name "Hollywood" may be a reference to his numerous appearances in various roles and occupations, including a construction foreman, actor, casino manager, and so forth. Like fellow Cartoon Network antihero Red Guy from Cow and Chicken, he even appears in female roles, though still having a heavy set of facial hair. He is prone to anger and screaming, but faints when he sees but a drop of blood on his finger.
*Red- (voiced by Candi Milo), a loud Little Red Riding Hood clone whose bad eyesight causes many mishaps on the way to her grandmother's house, as well as other adventures (which are always parodies of other fairy tales). She had a habit of loudly exclaiming random words in her sentences while speaking. In all of the "Red" episodes of 2 Stupid Dogs, "Red" "la-la's" the main theme of Tchaikovsky`s 1812 Overture on the way to "Grandma's house".
*Kenny Fowler- A geeky boy who fell in love with a beautiful girl in his class, but is often led astray by the "doggies!" The class bully says "What a fouler!" when Kenny faints as a result of being bullied.
*Buffy Ziegenhagen- A pretty girl with whom Kenny is in love. Buffy hangs out with Buzz.
* Buzz- The class bully. He says "What A Fouler!" when Kenny is in trouble or he faints. In one episode, his name is revealed by the teacher.
*Mrs. Crabface- Kenny, Buzz and Buffy's teacher. Her head is never seen. She was absent in one classroom episode.
*Cubby- (voiced by Rob Paulsen), A fat geeky adolescent usually appearing as a clerk at several stores during the show. He is prone to farting and other numerous mishaps in the presence of the protagonist dogs.
* A cat, whose appearance causes Little Dog to scream "Ca-a-a-a-t!" and run for cover, and Big Dog to just simply say "Woof!", in most cases causing the cat to shriek, and fall over stunned.
*In two episodes, a family that parodied The Brady Bunch were visited by the dogs "(except the boys were blond and the girls were brunette)". One of the gags involved the two oldest kids kissing in reference to Maureen McCormick and Barry Williams' (who played brother and sister Marcia and Greg Brady on the series) romantic involvement as teenagers while filming the Brady Bunch.

Reception

Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman of "Animation World Magazine" described "Two Stupid Dogs" as one of two "clones" of "The Ren and Stimpy Show". [" [http://www.awn.com/mag/issue5.12/5.12pages/goodmanrenstimpy.php3 Cartoons Aren't Real! Ren and Stimpy In Review] ," "Animation World Magazine"]

References

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/ghost1_1340/2sdpetition.html Petition to Release 2 Stupid Dogs on DVD]
* [http://www.toontracker.com/2stupid/2stupiddogs.htm Toon Tracker: 2 Stupid Dogs]