Dog Gone South

By this point, Charlie Dog had thrice invaded Porky Pig's life, so I guess that Chuck Jones wanted to send the pushy mutt on a new kind of adventure. "Dog Gone South" puts Charlie in the deep South, where he tries to get a southern gentleman to adopt him (the southern gentleman looks like Colonel Shuffle from Jones's earlier "Mississippi Hare"). Charlie doesn't interpret the colonel's current dog as an impediment.

It impressed me to see what Charlie can do on this different kind of adventure, as opposed to being a nuisance to Porky. My favorite of Charlie's cartoons is his debut "Little Orphan Airedale" (the ending reminded me of the Alan Bates movie "King of Hearts"). But I liked his antics here. It looks as though the South may never get over the Civil War! Worth seeing.

Growing up with Looney tunes and other cartoons was awesome. I wish my children was interested in something like this. I guess the children of today can't appreciate something so awesome. My kids look at cartoons like this one and are bored within a few minutes. Hopefully, if I keep showing them the old classics then maybe they will warm up to them and enjoy watching them. I was able to get them to enjoy Foghorn Leghorn and the little chicken hawk videos. "I'm a rooting, tooting, chicken hawk"..."Now I say, Now I say, boy..." My kids did find it interesting to know that one man (Mel Blanc) did all the voices for the cartoons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpeRhDNgI4U

If I could pick a favorite Charlie Dog cartoon, this would be it. I love the sequence where Colonel Shuffle is playing his banjo on his front porch singing "Boll my weevil and corn my pone, when you're way down south you're never alone!" Charlie runs up and begins playing "Yankee Doodle," causing Yankee hating Colonel Shuffle to hit him with his banjo. Charlie also faces a problem with Shuffle's bulldog Belvedier.

One thing I cannot understand is why this cartoon is not shown anymore. There are no black people in it like there were in say "Mississippi Hare" (which mind you were portrayed pretty good-naturedly). It seems rather odd that Turner Broadcasting, stationed in the South would refuse to show a Southern cartoon. I suppose it could be possible that the people working for AOL-Time Warner assumed that just because it had the word "South" in the title, that it would feature stereotypical blacks. I feel this a shame because this is the best Charlie Dog cartoon ever made.

It one of the best cartoons - Loony tunes ever made. There are others that come to mind. Rabbit Seasoning for instance.....starring Daffy Duck and Buggs Bunny. But this cartoon is in that league...

And it has that line, "Oh, Belvedere...Come here boy!...

Wonderful slapstick, gags..and I love that American Southern Accent make this into a classic.I would dearly love to be able to get this on DVD.

The Colonel and his faithful Hound - Belvedere is brilliant here... If you ever get the chance please watch it.

Carl Brown - Ipswich, England

'Dog Gone South' is a refreshing departure for Charlie Dog from his partnership with Porky Pig, his cartoons with Porky are still great (am especially fond of 'Awful Orphan') but it is nice to have something different in a while.

It is a real shame that 'Dog Gone South' was banned due to the Southern stereotyping, which is not that insensitive, it may have been strong at the time but it's pretty tame now and actually adds to the impact of the humour.

Because it is one of Charlie Dog's better cartoons, once again a perfect demonstration of Charlie being a charismatic and funny character (who in his outings with Porky always stole the show from under him) and begs the question of why his stint as a character was so short-lived. He is brilliantly supported by the characters of Colonel Shuffle and especially Belvedere. Mel Blanc as always does a fantastic job with the voice work.

Animation is as always bright and colourful, with lots of smooth movement, imaginative detail in the gags and rich and meticulous detail in the backgrounds. Carl Stalling's music score is as ever high in energy, liveliness, character, lushness and whimsy, and not only is dynamic and fits effortlessly with the action but enhances everything.

What's more, 'Dog Gone South' is enormously entertaining, with the typical wild looniness, razor-sharp wit and sardonic bite constantly shining in the dialogue. Plus there are some beautifully timed and animated and imaginative sight gags, that contain enough surprises. The highlights are the classic and often quoted "Oh Belvedere, come here boy" (which has as much to do as how it is said as it is a funny line) and the hilarious ending.

All in all, wonderful and under-appreciated cartoon that got unfair treatment. 10/10 Bethany Cox