The Dover Boys
| "The Dover Boys at Pimento University" or "The Rivals of Roquefort Hall" | |
|---|---|
| Merrie Melodies series | |
Title Card
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| Directed by | Charles M. Jones |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Story by | Tedd Pierce |
| Voices by | (All uncredited) Mel Blanc Tedd Pierce John McLeish Bea Benaderet Marjorie Tarlton The Sportsmen Quartet |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Robert Cannon Ken Harris Phil DeLara Rudy Larriva Ben Washam |
| Layouts by | John McGrew |
| Backgrounds by | Gene Fleury |
| Studio | Leon Schlesinger Productions |
| Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date(s) | September 19, 1942 (USA) |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 9 min. (one reel) |
| Language | English |
"The Dover Boys at Pimento University" or "The Rivals of Roquefort Hall" (also known as simply The Dover Boys) is a 1942 Merrie Melodies cartoon produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions and directed by Chuck Jones. It was released by Warner Bros. on September 19, 1942. The cartoon is a parody of the Rover Boys, a popular juvenile fiction book series of the early 20th century. Jones would later remark that The Dover Boys was the first cartoon of his he found to be funny. In 1994, the cartoon was voted #49 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.
The cartoon is one of a handful from WB to enter the public domain, due to United Artists - which had bought Associated Artists Productions (whose library was later absorbed into WB's own television unit) - not renewing the copyright.
The scene descends upon Pimento University ("good old P.U."), the college where three inseparable brothers, athletic oldest brother Tom Dover (on a tandem bicycle with a perpetual wheelie), middle child Dick (on a self-propelled penny-farthing whose pedals are too far away for Dick to reach), and portly, curly-haired youngest brother Larry (on a tricycle), attend school. "A gay outing at the park has been planned by the merry trio, and they are off to fetch 'their' fiancée, dainty Dora Standpipe, at Miss Cheddar's Female Academy, close by."
The Boys are called upon to rescue Dora when she is kidnapped by the nefarious villain Dan Backslide. "The former sneak of Roquefort Hall, coward, bully, cad, and thief, and arch-enemy of the Dover Boys," his feelings for Dora are summed up in his comment, "How I love her! … (father's money!)" Backslide then steals a conveniently placed, unoccupied runabout (after loudly declaring his intention to do so, hypocritically claiming that "NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW!"), which he uses to kidnap an oblivious Dora while she and the Dover Boys are playing hide-and-seek, spiriting her away to a remote mountain lodge. But Backslide soon discovers that, despite appearances, Dora is anything but dainty; she proceeds to administer a sound thrashing to the villain, all the while acting the damsel in distress—crying for help and pounding on the door (with the locks on her side) and on Backslide—until he is himself crying out for help from Tom, Dick, and Larry.
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