Dog Gone South

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.

One of the best one off shorts from Looney Tunes. Yes, it features Charlie the Dog once again trying to find a home, but Belvedere and the Colonel are one of a kind characters who aren't too fond of Yankees or Yankee Pot Roast.

Aah, magnolias! Charlie puts these two through the ringer trying to replace Belvedere as the Colonel's pet. One of the rarely seen Looney Tunes cartoons during this new age of political correctness. Why are great new cartoons like The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy seen as smart and irreverent, but older cartoons like this seen as demeaning or degrading? I can only hope that this great cartoon will eventually hit a DVD collection before some other format comes along and they have to start all over again.

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.

I remember back when Nickelodeon wasn't chock-filled with the min-numbing drivel they have on now and they showed syndicated cartoon shows, preferably Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon (which IMO overdid it on Speedy Gonzales cartoons, old Porky Pig cartoons, those really rare Bosko cartoons, and a bad habit of showing redrawn versions of old cartoons instead of their original print). One of the cartoons just happened to be "Dog Gone South". This is a great piece of work and a refreshing break from being paired up with Porky Pig. Instead, Charlie Dog is shown harassing Colonel Shuffle from "Mississippi Hare".

Unfortunately both this and "Mississippi Hare" were last seen on Nick and are now banned because of the Southern stereotyping. Sigh! When will the censorship learn...

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