Some of the information is Boop-Oop-a-Dooping full of SPOILERS. Boop-Oop-a-Doop!
Pudgy the Dog
Name:
Pudgy the Puppy
Age:
Puppy
Gender:
Male
Sexual Orientation:
N/A
Dog Breed:
Teacup Pug
Religion:
N/A
Fur Color:
White & Black Spots
Eye Color:
Black
Occupation:
Pet
Pudgy the Pup is Betty's faithful puppy companion.
Also seen in many cartoons with Betty were Grampy, who appeared in over 10 Betty cartoons, and Fearless Fred, her sometime love interest, as well as a host of other personified animals most of whom disappeared after 1934.
Pudgy is a white little puppy with black spots who made his first appearance in Betty Boop's Little Pal in 1934. Pudgy was created by Myron Waldman, who stated in Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons that Pudgy was created as a replacement for Bimbo the dog.
He also has made appearances in Betty Boop's Love Meter, Betty Boop's Fortune Teller, Betty Boop's Firehouse and Betty Boop's 5th Avenue.
Quotes
- Pudgy: "He pulled a knife on me!" (Not Now)
- Pudgy: "Scram!" (Pudgy the Watchman)
Voiced by
- Mae Questel
- Jack Mercer
- Tom Smothers (1980)
- Cindy Robinson (Bally Technologies)
Animated by
- Phillip Huber (2023)
- Christian Probst (2023)
The role of Pudgy is often debated, as both Questel and Mercer were both known to mimic animals. Mae Questel was originally billed as a impersonator. Some of her early mimic talent was duck, dog, cat, chicken, own and monkey. The departure of Mae Questel in 1938 indicates that Jack Mercer provided the voice of Pudgy, as the character was continued to be voiced when she retired from the Betty Boop cartoons. Mae Questel might have provided the speaking voice for Pudgy, in the 1938 cartoon Not Now and sometimes panting sounds, etc.
Pudgy's Father
Pudgy's nameless dad, who Pudgy calls "My Daddy" appears in a photograph above his bed in Riding the Rails.
Pudgy's Girlfriend
Pudgy has a girlfriend called Snooty a rich Pekingese female dog who appears in two Betty Boop cartoons, which are Little Nobody, The Swing School. Snooty is owned by Mrs. Fritzi Ritz. In later spin-off material, she's a French poodle.
Boop! the Musical (2023)
Betty Boop's dog Pudgy is a puppet in Boop! the Betty Boop Musical. An original thought was to have a real dog portray Pudgy, and hire an animal trainer. However puppets are more easier to utilize. For example, The Little Mermaid Live! show had a Flounder puppet.
Trivia
- He's known as Pudgy the Dog, but also mainly Pudgy the Pup, which makes more sense as he is a puppy.
- Pudgy has only spoken one formal sentence in the whole of his appearances; in Not Now, he states one line after being scratched by his rival the cat. In Pudgy the Watchman, he yells "scram" to protect his fellow mice.
- In the cartoon Henry the Funniest Living American, Betty gives Pudgy as a gift to Henry.
- Pudgy makes his last appearance in The Scared Crows which was released in 1939.
- Most people think that Pudgy is the reincarnation of Bimbo, who was Betty's canine boyfriend who appeared in the earlier Betty Boop cartoons. This is untrue, both Bimbo and Pudgy are entirely different characters. Bimbo was Betty Boop's boyfriend who was removed from the Betty Boop cartoons due to bestiality and the Hays Code.[1]
- Pudgy appears on the artwork for Betty Boop's Double Shift sitting beside Billy Boop, but neither appear in the game.
- Pudgy means fat, the dog appears to be a slender, thin, tall.
- Pudgy's creator Myron Waldman also stated in the 1995 biography Betty Boop: Queen of Cartoons that he disliked Bimbo the Dog.
- In 2018 Pudgy was the face of Moschino's latest limited edition line for Chinese New Year, which is the Year of the Dog.