Chuck Jones' Dover Boys were a parody of the popular juvenile literature heroes of the 20's, The Rover Boys. In 1942, the Dovers, Tom, Dick, & Larry, are enrolled at Pimento University (ol' PU), and all three are enamored of one Dora Standpipe (Bea Benaderet). Voice talent also includes Mel Blanc (uncredited for a change), author Tedd Pierce, and the Sportsmen (The Jack Benny Program, which Blanc & Benaderet also contributed to).
The Dovers would make a comeback some 50 years later on Animaniacs, with Rob Paulsen, Jeff Bennett, & Jon Bauman voicing the brothers. We'll see if we can find something with the Dovers & Slappy Squirrel from that era.
Rating: B.
2 comments:
I first saw this short on a college public access show; I didn't realize it was a Warner Brothers short until I read this fact in the book 'That's All, Folks! The Art of Warner Bros. Animation' years later. I also only recently became aware that this was a spoof of one work in particular; I thought it was just a general sendup of period melodramas.
Coincidentally, online comics/puppeteers Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop recently riffed this cartoon on their YouTube channel The Isle of Rangoon.
I've seen the Dovers' appearance with Slappy Squirrel on "Animaniacs" (available on Dailymotion), and will try to get it up next week. In this version, the Dovers' voices were done by Rob Paulsen, Jeff Bennett, and...........Jon "Bowzer" Bauman. It has to be seen to be believed.
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