The Three Little Pups

A variation of the fable The Three Little Pigs, this early '50s Tex Avery short displays the highly stylized backgrounds that were the influence of UPA cartoons, an influence that changed cartoons forever.

The short also displays a completely new twist in Avery bad-guys. The Dog-catching Wolf first appears as a sinister fanged being who blows down the flimsy houses of Droopy's brothers, and when he fails with Droopy's brick abode, he furiously tries to break in, pounding on the roof with an axe, then pounding the door with a sledgehammer - and instantly he stops, looks at the audience, and softly drawls on the quality of the doghouse's construction.

From here the Dog-catcher is a totally different character; he tries to break into the house, but the malice of before is now gone, replaced by calm effort foiled at every turn by Droopy, whose countermoves receive respectful praise from the Dog-catcher after one gag blows up in his face. So unflappable is the Dog-catcher that when he catches a dog in the wrong place, he changes clothes, twice, and even tells the other dog to leave.

Daws Butler voices the Dog-catcher and here we see the genesis of Huckleberry Hound in the southern drawl as the Dog-catcher eventually reaches the last straw and vows if his final gag doesn't work he'll do something about it - and does, without even a hint of regret.

Other cartoons would use this style of villian, but few ever did it better than The Three Little Pups.