DROOPY, MASTER DETECTIVE

DROOPY, MASTER DETECTIVE

(FOX, October 2, 1993-January 1, 1994)

Hanna-Barbera Productions, Tuner Entertainment

MAIN CAST:
Don Messick – Droopy
Charlie Adler – Dripple, Lightning Bolt the Super Squirrel, Screwball Squirrel
Teresa Ganzel – Miss Vavoom
Frank Welker – McWolf, Dweeble, Wild Mouse, Grunch, various
William Callaway - Rumpley

             With Ted Turner’s acquisition of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and United Artists libraries, and Tom and Jerry performing well on his networks, it was decided to revive Tom and Jerry for a new generation with Tom and Jerry Kids. It became one of the inaugural programs for the all-new Fox Kids programming block and proved a success for the fledgling FOX network. The series ended up earning four seasons and a spin-off starring their co-stars; banking on his recent resurgence in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit and its follow-up theatrical shorts.

Droopy and Dripple on the case.

             Droopy, Master Detective was a spoof on detective films and cop shows with a faux film noir style. It focused on the Tex Avery-created character Droopy (Don Messick) and his son, Dripple (Charlie Adler), as detectives. They worked on various cases from thefts to kidnappings to protecting the rich and famous in various time periods. Like many other Hanna-Barbera productions, the series was broken up into three story segments per episode. The first and last segment usually featured a Droopy adventure both with and without Dripple as he faced off against his eternal enemy, McWolf (Frank Welker). As Droopy’s role and time period changed, so too did McWolf’s profession; ranging from a rival detective to a disgruntled superhero.

Screwball with Rumpley and Dweeble.

             The second segment usually centered around another Tex Avery creation: Screwball Squirrel. Screwball first appeared in the 1944 short Screwball Squirrel Avery made during his tenure at MGM. Voiced by Wally Maher, Screwball was brash and erratic and took cartoon physics to the extreme; pulling objects out of thin air, creating duplicates of himself, breaking the fourth wall and so forth. Screwball usually spent his time torturing his enemy, typically portrayed by Meathead Dog (Dick Nelson). Screwy did not fare as well as Droopy with audiences, generally perceived to be an unsympathetic and annoying character. Avery seemingly killed Screwball in his fifth short, 1946’s Lonesome Lenny, and never used him again.

Screwball comin' at ya!

               Screwy resurfaced in cameo form and a mention in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit (which also featured Droopy), and served as the basis for both the characters of Slappy Squirrel on Animaniacs and Sledgehammer O’Possum from Cartoon Network’s What a Cartoon. Screwball (voiced by Adler) was revived for Master Detective and was given new rivals in the form of Dweeble (Welker) and his dog, Rumpley (William Callaway). Dweeble was the attendant of the park where Screwball had taken residence and refused to leave. Screwball was seen frequently in a t-shirt and Napoleon hat.

Title card from the sole Wild Mouse segment.

             Three of the segments were populated by other characters from Kids. One segment featured Wild Mouse (Welker), a savage mouse raised in the wild by wolves similar in personality to Warner Bros.’ Tasmanian Devil, being hunted. The remaining two featured the character of Lightning Bolt the Super Squirrel (Adler), a campy and flamboyant superhero that could fling lightning bolts.

Droopy and Dripple on McWolf's case.

             Droopy, Master Detective debuted on FOX on October 2, 1993 and replaced its parent series on the Saturday morning schedule the following week. The series was written by Jim Ryan, Sandy Fries, Don Jurwich, Arthur Alsberg, Don Nelson, Bruce Morris, Stewart St. John, Carl Swenson and Jerry Eisenberg. Jurwich and Neal Barbera served as story editors, with Jurwich also producing. Character designs were handled by Eisenberg, Mark Christiansen, Eric Clark, Judith Holmes Clarke, David Mucci Fassett, Jim Franzen, Michael Gougen, Scott Hill, Brain Hogan, Leonard Johnson, Marcus Nickerson, Lew Ott, Robert Sledge, Mitchell Walker Jr., Butch Hartman, Bob Singer, Bwana Takamoto, Rick Calabash (as Rick Schneider), Peter Alvarado, Lance Falk, Tony Sgroi, Denise Shimabukuro, Jim Stenstrum, Donna Zeller, and Iwao Takamoto. Gary Lionelli composed the series’ score and theme, with producer Joseph Barbera writing the theme’s lyrics. Animation was handled by Fil-Cartoons, Inc. and Mr. Big Cartoons.

Dweeble taking drastic measures to get Screwball.

               Unfortunately, Droopy found itself up against both Garfield and Friends and Sonic the Hedgehog on the schedule, which resulted in lower ratings than hoped. FOX ended up not renewing Droopy for another season; having also allowed Tom and Jerry Kids to conclude. While Fox Kids needed to rely on acquired programming for its debut, once it got its footing it began focusing more on productions made in-house that they had a larger financial stake in and no longer needed those kinds of programs to carry them. Droopy would end up dropped from the schedule in January of 1994, however it would return that summer for several weeks of reruns.

Droopy and Dripple moonlighting as firefighters.

            During the show’s production, Turner Broadcasting System would buy Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears Enterprises from Great American Broadcasting (formerly Taft Broadcasting), gaining access to the studios’ libraries and turning Hanna-Barbera into its own in-house production studio. To showcase their animation library, Turner would launch Cartoon Network; a 24-hour cable channel dedicated solely to cartoons. Not only was Droopy the first character seen on the network to welcome viewers, but Master Detective would make its way over there in 1997; airing until 2001. The series would be made available on the Boomerang streaming service in 2017 until it was shut down in 2024. As of 2023, it was available on the iTunes store.

On the case.

            While Droopy would return to Saturday mornings in Tom and Jerry Tales, Screwball faded again into relative obscurity. However, in 1996, Dark Horse Comics published Comics and Stories which featured Screwball. In 1997, Cartoon Network ran an edited version of the short Happy-Go-Nutty (removing a blackface gag) repeatedly for 12 hours as an April Fool’s prank, while sister station Boomerang would feature him in their station identification segments after 2005. In 2013, Screwy (Paul Reubens) and Meathead (John DiMaggio) appeared in the film Tom and Jerry’s Giant Adventure along with Droopy (Joe  Alaskey).

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Queen of the Mutant Weirdo Vampires / Screwball Snowballs / Shadowman and the Blue Pigeon” (10/2/93) – Droopy and Dripple protect a horror movie actress. / Screwball uses snowballs to torment Dweebie and Rumpley. / Droopy and Dripple team up with a superhero to protect a gem from a criminal.

 

“Droopy and the Cyberdolts / Pickax Max / Hey! Where’s Armold?” (10/9/93) – Droopy investigates a gang of robots in the future. / Screwball protects his park from a prospector. / Droopy and Dripple must find the Raj’s pet elephant.

 

“Return of the Yolker / A Chip off the Old Blockhead / Mighty McWolf” (10/16/93) – The Yolker goes after a priceless egg. / Rumpley coaches Dweebie on catching Screwball. / A former hero goes berserk.

 

“Deep Swamp Droopy / Dog Breath Dweebie / Hogswild” (10/23/93) – Droopy and Dripple participate in a riverboat race against McWolf. / Dweebie recounts the exploits of his pirate ancestor. / Lightningbolt and Super Squirrel face off against a pig motorcycle gang.

 

“Primeval Prey / Dweebie’s Worst Nightmare / Battle of the Super Squirrels” (10/30/93) – An explorer pursues Wildmouse. / Screwball plagues Dweebie’s dreams. / Lightningbolt competest with Thundergut to see who’s the best hero.

 

“The Babyman Bank Heists / Dweebie’s Night Out / The Deep Space Case” (11/6/93) – Droopy and Dripple are after a baby-faced crook. / Screwball keeps Dweebie up after a wild night out. / Droopy and Dripple are hired by an alien girl.

 

“The Monster Mob / Everybody Out / Sherlock Droopy” (11/13/93) – A mobster seeks helps from monsters to evade Droopy. / Dweebie and Rumpley try to get rid of Screwball. / Sherlock Droopy goes against his arch-nemesis Professor Wolfiarty.

 

“Dueling Detectives / Squirrelicious Obnoxiousness / Sherlock Droopy Gets Hounded” (11/20/93) – Droopy and Private Eye McWolf compete to see who solves a case first. / Screwball uses his new designation as an endangered species to his advantage. / Sherlock Droopy goes against the Baskerton Hound.

 

“Auntie Snoopie / Demolition Disorder / Mushu McWolf” (11/27/93) – Droopy gets a visit from his overprotective aunt. / Dweebie and Rumpley team-up with Screwball to save the park. / Droopy goes after a kung-fu criminal.

 

“Sheep Thrills / Screwball Out West / The Maltese Fossil” (12/4/93) – Droopy and Dripple are hired to guard a flock of sheep. / Screwball follows Dweebie and Rumpley on their dude ranch vacation. / Prehistoric Droopy defends a rare dinosaur skeleton from a crook.

 

“The Case of Pierre le Poulet / Commotion on the Ocean / Alligator Droopy” (12/11/93) – Droopy goes after an art thief. / Screwball follows Dweebie and Rumpley on a cruise. / Droopy and Dripple investigate the disappearance of wallabys.

 

“Droopy’s Deep Sea Mystery / Can We Miss You If You Don’t Go Away? / Droopy and the Case of the Missing Dragon” (12/18/93) – Droopy and Dripple aid a mermaid. / Dweebie and Rumpley try to trick Screwball out of the park. / Droopy and Dripple investigate a missing jade dragon.

 

“Round ‘Em Up, Bub / A Screwball Romance / The Case of the Snooty Star” (1/1/94) – Wild West Droopy and Dripple face off against Mad Dog McWolf. / Screwball helps Rumpley with his girl troubles. / Droopy and Dripple guard a snobby actress.

Originally posted in 2015. Updated in 2026.