The Dogfather

For the album, see Tha Doggfather.
The Dogfather
First appearanceThe Dogfather (1974)
Portrayed byBob Holt
In-universe information
SpeciesDog
GenderMale

The Dogfather is an American series of 17 theatrical cartoon shorts produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and distributed by United Artists between 1974 and 1976.[1] It is the final theatrical cartoon series made by DePatie–Freleng.

Plot

The Dogfather was a parody of The Godfather, but with canines as part of the Italian organized crime syndicate. It consists of the Dogfather (voiced by Bob Holt impersonating Marlon Brando) and his henchmen Pug (also Bob Holt) and Louie (voiced by Daws Butler).[2]

The opening credits featured the Dogfather, speaking (and later singing) to the lyrics of a song entitled "I'm Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse".

The Dogfather was later broadcast as part of the NBC Saturday morning cartoon series The Pink Panther and Friends.[2]

Filmography

No. Title Directed by: Story: Released:
1 "The Dogfather" Hawley Pratt Bob Ogle June 27, 1974
2 "The Goose That Laid a Golden Egg" Hawley Pratt Friz Freleng October 4, 1974
3 "Heist and Seek" Gerry Chiniquy Don Christensen
4 "The Big House Ain't a Home" Gerry Chiniquy Dave Detiege October 31, 1974
5 "Mother Dogfather" Arthur Leonardi
6 "Bows and Errors" Gerry Chiniquy John W. Dunn December 29, 1974
7 "Deviled Yeggs"
8 "Watch the Birdie" March 20, 1975
9 "Saltwater Tuffy" Arthur Leonardi
10 "M-O-N-E-Y Spells Love" Dave Detiege April 23, 1975
11 "Rock-A-Bye Maybe" Gerry Chiniquy John W. Dunn
12 "Haunting Dog" May 2, 1975
13 "Eagle Beagles" May 5, 1975
14 "From Nags to Riches"
15 "Goldilox & the Three Hoods" August 28, 1975
16 "Rockhounds" Arthur Leonardi November 20, 1975
17 "Medicur" Gerry Chiniquy April 30, 1976

Revival

In 1993, The Dogfather was revived (and re-designed) as a recurring antagonist for The Pink Panther. The Dogfather was voiced by Joe Piscopo (except for "It's Just a Gypsy in My Soup" where he was voiced by Jim Cummings), while Pug and Louie are voiced by Brian George and Jess Harnell.

Remakes

Much like a number of DFE-produced cartoon shorts, about half of the Dogfather cartoons were remakes of Looney Tunes cartoons from the 1950s that were directed by Freleng, which are listed below:

  • The pilot episode (The Dogfather) was a remake of Tree For Two (1952).
  • The Goose that Laid a Golden Egg was a remake of Golden Yeggs (1950).
  • Heist and Seek was a remake of Bugsy and Mugsy (1957).
  • Mother Dogfather was a remake of Stork Naked (1955).
  • Saltwater Tuffy was a remake of Tugboat Granny (1956)
  • Devilled Yeggs was a remake of Satan's Waitin' (1954).
  • Watch the Birdie was a remake of Dr. Jerkyll's Hide (1954).
  • M-O-N-E-Y Spells Love was a remake of Hare Trimmed (1953).
  • Rock-a-Bye Maybe was a remake of Kit for Cat (1948).
  • Eagle Beagles was a remake of Hare Lift (1952).

However, this was criticized by Charles Brubaker, the author of the website Cartoon Research, who pointed out that this made the series almost completely unoriginal and resulted in inferior versions of those Looney Tunes shorts.[3]

Crew

  • Produced by: David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng
  • Directors: Hawley Pratt, Gerry Chiniquy, Arthur Leonardi
  • Story: Bob Ogle, Don Christiansen, John W. Dunn, Friz Freleng, Dave Detiege
  • Title Designer: Arthur Leonardi
  • Animation: John V. Gibbs, Bob Matz, Norm McCabe, Bob Richardson, Warren Batchelder, Don Williams, Bob Bransford, Nelson Shin
  • Layout: Dick Ung, Richard H. Thomas, Roy Morita
  • Background: Richard H. Thomas
  • Music by: Dean Elliott
  • Lyrics: John Bradford
  • Camera: John Burton Jr.
  • Executive in Charge: Lee Gunther

Home media

Kino Lorber released all 17 shorts on DVD and Blu-ray in April 2018.[4]

References

  1. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 73–74. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b Beck, Jerry (2006). Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town. New York, New York: Dorling Kindersley, Ltd. pp. 54–55, 102–103. ISBN 0-7566-1033-8.
  3. ^ "DePatie Freleng's "The Dogfather" |".
  4. ^ "New Date, Details, Extras and Artwork for the Cartoon on DVD and Blu-ray Disc | TVShowsOnDVD.com". tvshowsondvd.com. Retrieved 2018-02-14.


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