Droopy's Good Deed (1951) User Reviews

Another Avery classic!

[theshape-13 · 8/10 · 23 March 2006]

"Droopy's Good Deed" was one of the last cartoons Avery produced for MGM back in 1950 (released in 1951) before going on a self-imposed sabbatical from the MGM cartoon dept. In this outing, Spike the vagrant comes across a boy scout camp when he is booted off a freight train. A competition is underway between Droopy and another scout for Best Scout. The prize? A trip to Washington to meet with the President! Spike sees this as his opportunity and takes the other scout's place. The remainder of the cartoon is a smattering of quick black-out gags as Spike does his best to eliminate his competitor, Droopy.

Beware of current prints circulating on video and on TV - 2 very un-PC racial gags have been excised from the cartoon. While one gag (the aftermath of Spike being struck by lightning) is uncensored on the video release, the other gag (the end result of a bomb with Spike and a refined gentleman) is still edited. If one wishes to see the complete cartoon, I suggest they seek out a copy from a private collector (my print is uncut).

Enjoyable but incomplete

[jdremmer · 7/10 · 10 February 2007]

A great cartoon by a master. A very talented example of classic art. However this copy does not include the scene of Spike the hound removing an African American woman from the house fire. Droopy hound saves a lady first and then Spike saves one himself, which is difficult for him to carry. Other content is missing as well. Still a nice lovely cartoon, even though it is the most popular version known. My dad was an art and animation collector and growing up showed me the details of his hobby. I was fascinated as a child by all the wonderful drawings, and cartoons he had. It was very enjoyable to us. My brothers were careful around his collection. This cartoon stands out to me, as one he said would be only a handful of its type with alternative releases. He was very keen in collecting rare pieces. He said various forms exist because of sensitivity issues for various reasons. He also said that most of these cartoons were shown to adults only in those times. This is something that did not make sense to us as children. We thought cartoons were all the same. I recommend this cartoon for all its clever antics and humor. Very enjoyable. Wonderfully entertaining.

At the end of this film, when piano music is emanating . . .

[pixrox1 · 8/10 · 15 July 2022]

. . . from beyond closed doors at America's White House, and the portal opens to reveal Droopy near the keyboard, the mutt asks "Who were you expecting--the President?" When this film was released in 1951, viewers would naturally expect to see the Commander-in-Chief's only child, concert pianist Margaret Truman, tickling the ivories. Future opera star Marge, 1924-2008, would become a prolific crime novelist once she hung up her ballet slippers and moved out on her own. After declining the captaincy of the U. S. S. Missouri and an ambassadorship to France, Marge settled down as a devoted housewife and mother of four.

Scout's Honor, This Is Another Very Good Droopy Cartoon

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 18 June 2007]

You have to laugh just looking at Spike here in the opening scenes of this Droopy cartoon. In this story, he's apparently a hobo and he's been kicked off a train. He has a little derby on and is smoking a half-cigar. After getting the boot, he winds up next to some Boy Scout and overhears that the winner of a contest between these two finalists will get to meet the President of the United States. Oh, boy - that's for him!

One of the finalists, of course, is Droopy. The other one is, well, it doesn't matter because Spike quickly grabs him, puts on his little uniform (Spike looks like he's wearing what young girls wear today - half an outfit) and is ready to battle Droopy for the big award. (Odd that nobody notices the change in scouts!)

Spike does the usual, trying to sabotage Droopy at every turn. We get funny scenes involving lightning, wild life photography, Spike imitating a "damsel in distress" in one scene and later, an old lady crossing a street and a baby on the top of the "Umpire State Building" as the action switches from rural to urban.

One funny line (there isn't much dialog in Droopy cartoons) after Spike is burned to a crisp: "Hey, Blackie. Any more babes in there?"

Tex Avery strikes again!

[llltdesq · 10/10 · 2 November 2002]

Tex Avery's most successful original continuing character was Droopy. Though Avery was involved in the development of many of Warner Brothers principal characters, most of the time he preferred doing one-shots, not wanting to be tied into a regular character continuously. Under pressure at MGM to develop a continuing series like the rival unit Hanna and Barbera had with Tom and Jerry, he tried with Screwy Squirrel and the characters George and Junior, which had short runs, then came up with Droopy and hit a small jackpot. Droopy was the perfect character for Avery-a quiet, nondescript little fellow who always seems to come out ahead. The series was loose enough to permit Avery to do the sight gags he loved but also had a character recognizable enough to audiences that he could be a hook to grab audiences and build in popularity, thus keeping the studio and Avery reasonably happy. MGM continued the series, with mixed results, after Avery left the studio. This particular short has loads of hilarious sight gags and the ending is hilarious. Well worth watching. Most recommended.

Droopy with good-natured intent

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 29 September 2017]

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best he ever did. Generally like the Droopy cartoons and the character himself a lot, his best cartoons are classics and among Avery's best. 'Droopy's Good Deed' is among my favourite Droopy cartoons, and one of his best and funniest pairings with Spike. Underneath the hilarious humour and wacky antics between Droopy and Spike, there is also a heart and good intention to 'Droopy's Good Deed', which makes it good-natured, heart-warming and the viewer liking Droopy even more than we do already and wanting to overcome his hurdles set by Spike.

Droopy, as usual, is so well established in personality and is high on the humour and charisma scale, also possessing a golden heart. Spike is even funnier and more interesting, his scheming and tricks are violent but imaginative and hilarious when everything he does goes badly wrong.

Typically, Avery does a wonderful job directing, with his unique, unlike-any-other visual and characteristic and incredibly distinctive wacky humour style all over it as can be expected.

Once again there is nothing sadistic or repetitious about 'Droopy's Good Deed'. It's hilarious, imaginative content that has enough variety to stop it from being too predictable. The ending is a riot in particular. Whether with the central conflict it is easy to figure out who gets the upper hand and who gets the worst of it doesn't matter here.

It is no surprise either that the animation is superb. The character designs are unique, Avery always did have creative character designs, and suitably fluid. The music, courtesy of Scott Bradley, is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms and fits very well indeed.

Can never fault the voice acting in the Droopy cartoons, Bill Thompson and Daws Butler were always independently excellent voice actors and 'Droopy's Good Deed' is further testament to this.

Overall, brilliant. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Meet the President!

[OllieSuave-007 · 10/10 · 27 January 2018]

Another Droopy cartoon I remembered fondly from my younger days, about Droopy trying to earn a Boy Scout honor and be awarded with a presidential visit. Of course, Spike tries to sabotage Droopy's stellar performances and attempts to meet the president in his place. But, what results are hilarious outsmarts from Droopy - and plenty of slapstick comedy to follow at the expense of Spike.