Hubie and Bertie

Last updated

Hubie and Bertie
Looney Tunes character
Hubie and Bertie.jpg
Bertie & Hubie in Mouse Wreckers .
First appearance The Aristo-Cat (1943)
Created by Chuck Jones
Voiced byHubie:
Tedd Pierce (1943)
Dick Nelson (1946)
Stan Freberg (1947-1949)
Mel Blanc (1950–1951)
Jim Cummings (1995–2000)
Bob Bergen (1996)
Joe Alaskey (2005)
Jeff Bennett (2017)
Eric Bauza (2019–2020)
Sean Kenin (2021–present)
Bertie:
Michael Maltese (1943)
Mel Blanc (1945, 1949)
Stan Freberg (1946–1951)
Jeff Bennett (1995–2000, 2017)
Bob Bergen (1996)
Steve Kehela (1996)
Joe Alaskey (2005)
Eric Bauza (2019–2020)
Sean Kenin (2021–present)
In-universe information
Species Deer mouse
Annoyances
Enemies		 Cats

Hubie and Bertie are animated cartoon rodent characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Hubie and Bertie represent some of animator Chuck Jones' earliest work that was intended to be funny rather than cute. [1] Seven Hubie and Bertie cartoons were produced between 1943 and 1952. [2]

Contents

Debut

Jones introduced Hubie and Bertie in the short The Aristo-Cat , first released on June 19, 1943. [3] The plot of the cartoon would serve as the template for most future Hubie/Bertie outings: a character with some mental illness or degree of naïveté (here, a cat who doesn't know what a mouse looks like) is psychologically tormented by the pair. They tell the hungry cat that he is a lion and a bulldog his prey, leading to several painful encounters for the cat. [4]

Hubie and Bertie as designed by Jones are nearly identical rodents (Hubie, a rat and Bertie, a mouse) with long snouts, large ears, and big, black noses. The two are anthropomorphic, walking on their stubby hind legs and using their forelimbs as arms. They are primarily distinguished by their color: one is brown with a lighter-colored belly and face, while the other is gray. Hubie has a Brooklyn accent ("Hey, Boit! C'mere!"). Bertie has large buck teeth, and a habit of responding to Hubie with "Yeah-yeah, sure-sure!" or snickering "Riot!" if Hubie has just proposed some scheme with comic potential.

Mel Blanc voiced Hubie. While historians differ on who voiced Bertie in the initial cartoon, Stan Freberg voiced him subsequently. [3]

Development

Bertie made a cameo in Odor-able Kitty .

Trap Happy Porky (February 24, 1945) was their second appearance. [5] Nameless, indistinguishable except for color, they appear only in the first act, stealing food from Porky in nightshirt and cap. They are silent except for a single "I'm only three and a half years old", and retreat when a cat shows up.

Jones would repeat the theme of mind games several more times in his Hubie and Bertie shorts, as in their third cartoon, Roughly Squeaking on November 23, 1946. This time, Jones has the mice exploit a cat's stupidity by convincing him he is a lion and a dog is a moose he wants to eat. By the short's end, the cat thinks he is a lion, the dog believes he is a pelican, and a bystanding bird (driven mad from watching the two) has pulled his feathers out and imagines himself a Thanksgiving turkey. The mice are here voiced by Dick Nelson (Hubie) and Stan Freberg (Bertie).

The short was followed by House Hunting Mice on September 6, 1947, where Hubie and Bertie run afoul of a housekeeping robot.

In the next cartoon, Mouse Wreckers , and for the remainder of the series, Blanc and Freberg would handle the voices of Hubie and Bertie, respectively.

Cat and mouse

Jones introduced a permanent "antagonist" of sorts for the mice in Mouse Wreckers . The short was released in 1949 and was the first in which they are officially called "Hubie" and "Bertie". In the cartoon, the duo moves into a new home, only to discover that it is protected by champion mouser Claude Cat (the character's debut), voiced by Mel Blanc. The mice torment the cat both physically and mentally. The short was nominated for an Academy Award. [6]

The mice would antagonize Claude in two more films: The Hypo-Chondri-Cat , released in 1950, featured Hubie and Bertie making Claude think he is sick with various ailments and, ultimately, that he has died. In 1951's Cheese Chasers , however, Hubie and Bertie inadvertently torment Claude when, after going overboard on a cheese raid and getting sick of their favorite food, they decide to commit suicide by trying to get Claude to eat them, but Claude thinks that they are poisonous and refuses, deciding to commit suicide as well by getting a bulldog to attack him but the bulldog gets confused.

After these seven cartoons, Jones retired Hubie and Bertie, but continued to use the characters (or mice resembling them) in cameo roles in other shorts whenever he needed a generic mouse for a gag, such as the unnamed mouse in Chow Hound , who resembles Bertie, or the "killer" mice in Scaredy Cat .

Filmography

Later appearances

Hubie and Bertie have made several cameos and recurring appearances in various Warner Bros. productions:

Home media

All of the Hubie and Bertie cartoons are available, remastered, on Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porky Pig</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Porky Pig is an animated character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts featuring the character. Even after he was supplanted by later characters, Porky continued to be popular with moviegoers and, more importantly, the Warners directors, who recast him in numerous everyman and sidekick roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speedy Gonzales</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast, being quick-witted and heroic while speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent. He usually wears a yellow sombrero, white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief, similar to that of some traditional Mexican attires. To date, there have been 46 theatrical shorts made either starring or featuring the character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvester the Cat</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr. is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Most of his appearances have him often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper. He appeared in 103 cartoons in the golden age of American animation, lagging only behind superstars Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Daffy Duck. Three of his cartoons won Academy Awards, the most for any starring a Looney Tunes character: they are Tweetie Pie, Speedy Gonzales, and Birds Anonymous.

Charlie Dog is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes series of cartoons. The character was featured in nine cartoons between 1941 and 1958. He is generally characterized as a friendly wise guy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Cat</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Claude Cat is an animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petunia Pig</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Petunia Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. She looks much like her significant other, Porky Pig, except that she wears a dress and has pigtailed black hair.

The Looney Tunes Golden Collection is a series of six four-disc DVD sets from Warner Home Video, each containing about 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts originally released from the 1930s to 1960s. The initial run of the series was in folding cardboard packaging issued gradually from October 28, 2003 to October 21, 2008. A boxed set combining all six volumes was released in 2011, and each volume was reissued separately in standard Amaray-style cases in 2020.

Edward Stacey "Tedd" Pierce III was an American screenwriter and voice actor of animated cartoons, principally from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s.

<i>Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1</i> 2003 American film

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on October 28, 2003. The first release of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD series, it contains 56 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements. The set won the Classic Award at the Parents' Choice Awards.

<i>Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4</i> 2006 American film

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on November 14, 2006.

<i>Cheese Chasers</i> 1951 film by Chuck Jones

Cheese Chasers is a 1951 Warner Bros. Cartoons Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon was released on August 25, 1951 and stars Hubie and Bertie, with Claude Cat.

This is a list of all cartoons featuring Porky Pig. Directors are listed in parentheses.

<i>Mouse Wreckers</i> 1949 film

Mouse Wreckers is a 1949 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones, written by Michael Maltese and starring Hubie and Bertie in their first pairing with the redesigned Claude Cat. The cartoon was released on April 23, 1949.

<i>Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2</i> 2004 American film

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on November 2, 2004. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements.

<i>The Hypo-Chondri-Cat</i> 1950 film

The Hypo-Chondri-Cat is a 1950 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon was released on April 15, 1950 and stars Hubie and Bertie and Claude Cat. The title is a play on "hypochondriac".

<i>Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection</i> 2012 American film

Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection is a DVD and Blu-ray set featuring cartoons focusing on Hubie and Bertie and Sniffles and featuring various other mouse characters in Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes shorts. It was released on August 28, 2012.

Trap Happy Porky is a 1945 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on February 24, 1945, and features Porky Pig, along with Hubie and Bertie, an early version of Claude Cat and a prototype of Hector the Bulldog.

<i>Chuck Jones: Extremes & Inbetweens – A Life in Animation</i> American TV series or program

Chuck Jones: Extremes & Inbetweens – A Life in Animation is a 2000 American television documentary film directed by Margaret Selby. The film chronicles the career of legendary Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies director, Chuck Jones. The film features interviews with Jones himself, as well as animators Matt Groening, Eric Goldberg, and John Lasseter, critics Roger Ebert and Leonard Maltin, film directors Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and Joe Dante, and comedians Whoopi Goldberg, Lorne Michaels, Robin Williams, and June Foray, as well as others. The film was originally broadcast as part of the Great Performances series on November 22, 2000, on PBS, and later released to VHS and DVD by Warner Home Video on October 22, 2002.

References

  1. ↑ Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. p. 128. ISBN   0-13-275561-0 . Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 94. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Hubie and Bertie at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Top 5 Chuck Jones Mouse Cartoons". CraveOnline. August 21, 2012. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  5. ↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 158. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  6. ↑ Retrieved on May 9, 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.