Pooch the Pup

Pooch the Pup

Pooch the Pup (art by Walter Lantz Studios). This picture is used as the title card in Guild/Firelight reissues.
Character information
First appearance	The Athlete (1932)
Last appearance	She Done Him Right (1933)
Created by	Walter Lantz Studios

Pooch the Pup is a funny animal cartoon character, an anthropomorphic dog, appearing in Walter Lantz cartoons during the studio's black-and-white era, and is the first recurring character to be made by Walter Lantz. This character, however, only appeared in thirteen shorts, and only two are available on video so far.

In 1931, Walter Lantz was encountering slight financial troubles. One way to cope with the problems was to conceive a new series featuring a new character, thus leading to the appearance of Pooch the Pup. While Lantz went on to direct the Pooch the Pup shorts, his colleague Bill Nolan would focus on the long-running Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons.

When surprised about something, Pooch would say "Heh!" in a squeaky fashion. And when his girlfriend is in trouble, he pounds his chest and makes a Tarzan-esque shout before moving.

Pooch made his debut in The Athlete. Here, he was a white-furred bloodhound with long black ears. In Pin Feathers, he had black fur, making him appear very similar to Oswald, except for his long, hairless tail.

Pooch's last hurrah was in She Done Him Right, a parody of a movie called She Done Him Wrong. Following his retirement from the screen, Oswald was seen in two cartoons wearing a jacket similar to Pooch's. It was suggested that the two Oswald shorts were initially designed to feature Pooch.

Note: One source listed S.O.S. Icicle (May 8, 1933) as a separate cartoon, while another claimed it was a working title for Hot & Cold.