Butch (formerly known as Spike) is an animated cartoon character created by Tex Avery. Portrayed as an anthropomorphic Irish bulldog, the character was a recurring antagonist in the Droopy shorts, and appeared in his own series of solo shorts as well. His name was changed to Butch in 1955's Deputy Droopy to avoid confusion with Spike from the Tom and Jerry cartoons. All of the original 1940s and 1950s shorts were directed by Avery and Michael Lah at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio.[4] Butch would not appear in new material again until Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring in 2002.
| Butch | |
|---|---|
| MGM Cartoons character | |
 Butch in the cartoon Grin and Share It (1957) | |
| First appearance | Bad Luck Blackie (early version) January 22, 1949 Wags to Riches (official version) August 13, 1949 |
| Created by | Tex Avery |
| Designed by | Louie Schmitt |
| Voiced by | Tex Avery (1949–1952, 1956–1957)[1] William Hanna (1949–1950, 1952, 1955–1956)[1] Sara Berner (1949–1950, 1952, 1956)[1] Daws Butler (1950–1951, 1957)[1] Bill Thompson (1951, 1957–1958)[1] Carlos Julio Ramírez (1952)[1] Frank Ross (1952)[1] Mary Kaye (1952)[1] Paul Frees (1952, 1955)[1] Norman Kaye (1952)[1] Jeff Bergman (2000, 2010)[2][3] Jim Cummings (2002)[3] Joe Alaskey (2011–2016)[3] Bill Farmer (2019–present) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Spike Poochini |
| Species | Dog (Bulldog) |
| Gender | Male |
Butch solo cartoons
| Title | Release Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bad Luck Blackie | January 22, 1949 | Butch's debut. |
| The Counterfeit Cat | December 24, 1949 | |
| Ventriloquist Cat | May 27, 1950 | |
| Garden Gopher | September 30, 1950 | |
| Cock-a-Doodle Dog | February 10, 1951 | |
| Magical Maestro | February 9, 1952 | Named as Poochini. |
| Rock-a-Bye Bear | July 12, 1952 | |
| Cellbound | November 25, 1955 | |
| Cat's Meow | January 25, 1957 | The final Butch cartoon; a remake of Ventriloquist Cat directed by Tex Avery and produced by Hanna and Barbera with different coloring for the cat, the dog, and some of the scenery.[4] |
Appearances in Droopy cartoons
- Wags to Riches (1949) – Academy Award shortlist; first time Spike appears as Droopy's rival.
- The Chump Champ (1950)
- Daredevil Droopy (1951)
- Droopy's Good Deed (1951)
- Droopy's Double Trouble (1951)
- Deputy Droopy (1955)
- Millionaire Droopy (1956) – a CinemaScope remake of Wags to Riches directed by Tex Avery.
- Grin and Share It (1957)
- Blackboard Jumble (1957)
- One Droopy Knight (1957) – a remake of Señor Droopy, Academy Award nominee.
- Mutts About Racing (1958)
- Droopy Leprechaun (1958)
Later appearances
Butch reappeared in direct-to-DVD films such as Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring and Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes, alongside Droopy.
His latest appearance was in 2014's The Tom and Jerry Show. He appeared in the episode "Double Dog Trouble", where Spike and Butch are two separate characters who are twins, in order to poke at the character's retitling, while detectives Tom and Jerry mistake each one for the other after Spike buys a room at the town's motel.
Voice actors
- Tex Avery (Bad Luck Blackie, Wags to Riches, The Counterfeit Cat, Ventriloquist Cat, Garden Gopher, Cock-a-Doodle Dog, Daredevil Droopy, Droopy's Good Deed, Magical Maestro, Rock-a-Bye Bear, Millionaire Droopy, Cat's Meow)[1]
- William Hanna (screaming in Wags to Riches, Garden Gopher, Rock-a-Bye Bear, Cellbound and Millionaire Droopy)[1]
- Sara Berner (laughing in Wags to Riches, Garden Gopher, Rock-a-Bye Bear and Millionaire Droopy, screaming in Wags to Riches and Millionaire Droopy)[1]
- Daws Butler (The Chump Champ, Droopy's Double Trouble, Blackboard Jumble)[1]
- Bill Thompson (Droopy's Double Trouble, Grin and Share It, One Droopy Knight, Mutts About Racing, Droopy Leprechaun)[1]
- Carlos Julio Ramírez (Magical Maestro)[1]
- Frank Ross (Magical Maestro)[1]
- Mary Kaye (Magical Maestro)[1]
- Paul Frees (Magical Maestro, Cellbound)[1]
- Norman Kaye (Magical Maestro)[1]
- Jeff Bergman (Cartoon Network bumper, Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes)[2][3]
- Jim Cummings (Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring)[3]
- Joe Alaskey (Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz, Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz)[3]
- Bill Farmer (The Tom and Jerry Show)