I believe that this is the time period when cartoons started taking a turn for the worse, but Muttley’s laugh is a cartoon classic. Because cartoons evolve like anything else, the wheezy laugh has a history on each side of Muttley’s history. Besides, creators know what works. For some reason, I keep picturing in my mind a dog whose repeated gag would be biting a leg, and then laughing while holding the bite – but I can’t uncover that character.
Muttley information
- Dick Dastardly’s sidekick on Wacky Races.
- Hanna-Barbera character
- Loved metals, and would happily hug himself, jump into the air, and float down like a feather (similar to Snuffles on Quick Draw McGraw)
- Premiered on September 13, 1969 CBS (17 segments)
Pre-Muttley characters with the laugh
- Griswold in a Top Cat episode
- Mugger, mean-spirited circus dog in the Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear movie
- Precious Pupp, Granny Sweet’s mischievous dog who is also angelic in her presence (Precious Pupp segment of the Atom Ant show).
Post-Muttley characters with the laugh
- Sebastian (a cat) on Josie and the Pussycats
- Mumbly, a confused with crime-fighting dog
- Captain of the Really Rottens in Laff-a-Lympics
