Butch (film series)

Spike/Butch was a short-lived animation cartoon series by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The title character was also a recurring antagonist in the Droopy shorts. His name was changed to Butch to avoid confusion with Spike from the Tom and Jerry cartoons. All of the original, 1940s-1950s shorts were directed by Tex Avery.^[1]

Spike solo cartoons

• Bad Luck Blackie (1949) - The first Spike cartoon; Spike's debut.
• The Counterfeit Cat (1949) - The first cartoon to have Scott Bradley's iconic Tex Avery theme music that would continue to be used in Tex Avery and Droopy cartoons throughout the 1950s.
• Ventriloquist Cat (1950)
• Garden Gopher (1950)
• Cock-a-Doodle Dog (1951)
• Magical Maestro (1952)
• Rock-a-Bye Bear (1952)
• Cellbound (1955)
• Cat's Meow (1957) - The final Spike cartoon; a remake of Ventriloquist Cat directed by Tex Avery and produced by Hanna and Barbera with different coloring for the cat, the dog, and some of the scenery.^[2]

Appearances in Droopy cartoons

• Wags to Riches (1949) - First time Spike appears as Droopy's rival.
• The Chump Champ (1950)
• Daredevil Droopy (1951)
• Droopy's Good Deed (1951)
• Droopy's "Double Trouble" (1951)
• Deputy Droopy (1955)
• Millionaire Droopy (1956) - a CinemaScope remake of Wags to Riches directed by Tex Avery
• Grin and Share It (1957)
• Blackboard Jumble (1957)
• One Droopy Knight (1957) - a remake of Senor Droopy, Academy Award nominee
• Mutts About Racing (1958)
• Droopy Leprechaun (1958)

Later appearances

Butch reappared in direct-to-DVD movies such as Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring, alongside Droopy. During the years he's been voiced by Tex Avery, Bill Thompson, Jim Cummings, Jeff Bergman and Joe Alaskey.

References