Saturday Morning Cartoons - Frame And Mountie

Happy July 1st Long Weekend, eh?

When you think of Canada, what comes to mind? I always consider something proud and majestic, symbolically strong in both culture and country. That's right, I think of Alan Thicke. But when I don't think of Alan Thicke, I think of our Mounties!

Truthfully, the official officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were far better dressed than Alan Thicke ever was! They too are a symbol of Canadian pride, much of which has been on display in the cartoons we watch!

We begin with the most famous animated Mountie of all time - Dudley Do-Right.

Dudley first appeared in segments during The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, but later received top billing in his own program on ABC called The Dudley Do-Right Show. (also known in syndication as Dudley Do-Right and Friends)

Dudley was always successful in getting his man (namely Snidley Whiplash), but most of the time it was completely by accident. He was a bit of a dumbbell, which is culturally inaccurate as it's a well-known fact that all Canadians are born brilliant. At least he was polite though, which is true to Canada.

By the way, sorry for bragging about how smart Canadians are. It was pompous and inappropriate. Thank you for still reading this. I really appreciate it.

Dudley was a parody of the old time Mountie serials that Americans made, where officers on dog sleds veered dangerously in and out of sudden avalanches. Many of the Mountie cartoons would parody these short films.

Here's Dudley is in his first cartoon called 'The Disloyal Canadians'.

Here, Dudley tries recruiting a 'Mountie Bear', which features cartoon cameos by 2 other very famous Canadians.

Apparently the Americans loved the idea of bears posing as Canadians. But apparently the U.S. Forest Service didn't love the idea of a pyromaniac posing a police officer. Here's a segment that was banned for many years, called 'Stokey The Bear'.

Besides Dudley, many other cartoon characters have suited up north of the border.

Oswald The Lucky Rabbit became 'Ozzie Of The Mounted' back in 1928.

Bosko became 'Big Man From The North' in 1931.

Elmer Fudd attempted to get his rabbit in Friz Freleng's 'Fresh Hare' from 1942. As evidenced at the 7:12 mark, you'll know why you've never seen this on TV before. Yeesh. Unacceptable. And quite random as is, so would've been a tough edit to try and make natural. Apparently there are cuts to this where they fade out before "Camptown Races", and another where the song is left intact, but footage of Bugs dancing in a different cartoon replaces the racist images.

Sgt. Droopy McPoodle is probably the second most well-known animated Mountie of all time, as seen in 1946's 'Northwest Hounded Police', directed by Tex Avery. This is basically a remake of Droopy's first cartoon, 1943's 'Dumb-Hounded', but with better gags.

Sgt. Huckleberry Hound (played by Daws Butler), stout fellow and all that, is assigned to bring in Powerful Pierre in 1958's 'Tricky Trapper'.

The similarly-voiced Smedley (also voiced by Daws Butler) is a melon-headed Mountie, who mistakes Chilly Willy for the nefarious Caribou Lou in 1959's 'Yukon Have It'.

The New 3 Stooges are assigned to bring in a delinquent bear. What is it with Mounties and bears?

This was from a series that ran from 1965-66, featuring cartoons built around new bridging sequences that starred the then-60-year old Stooges. They would introduce the animation as part of separate live action vignettes.

Ren and Stimpy proudly wore women's clothing in 1993 as members of the lesser-known 'The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen'. Why did they do it? For the great reward of "probably going to hell".

Here's a bland and unfunny entry into Cartoon Network's What A Cartoon! pilot program from 1995, called 'Yoink! Of The Yukon'. Thankfully the awful adventures of Sgt. Thumbsworth Tharplung and his sidekick, Yoink, were not picked up to be a series.

Cow and Chicken (which WAS picked up to be a series via What A Cartoon!) encountered a previously unheard-of "Canadian Office Mountie", played by The Red Guy in 1999's 'The Full Mounty'.

Rick the Mountie is one of many colourful Canadians the gang from South Park encounters in a 2003 Season 7 episode called 'It's Christmas In Canada'.

There! How's that for patriotism? You feelin' it? Ready for the long weekend? Well if not, here's Sgt. Wiggum to sing us out...

 

Happy Canada Day, eh!