Are Muttley, and Mumbley related?

[mbaker]

I was watching "Yogi Bear & The Spruce Goose" yesterday, and it had Mumbley, and The Dread Baron in it. I was wondering if they were related to Dick Dastardly & Muttley? They do have A strong resemblance. I do know that the Dread Barron, and Mumbley were part of The Really Rottens on "Laff-A-Lympics", and was voiced by John Stephenson (Mr. Slate), but in this movie, he's voiced by Dick Dasterdly's voice actor, Paul Winchell. (Which I found odd) From what I know about Mumbley, He was part of the "Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape show" from the 70's where Bill Hanna, and Joe Barbera brought back their cat & mouse duo as friends. So could they be related?

[DR. BELCH]

Not sure, but I've wondered the same thing about Muttley and Precious Pupp for years (note the laugh).
Then again, Bill and Joe had a lot of characters who were utter rehashes (like the villains in "Space Race"--bleh) of older, better ones.

[Anthonynotes]

Originally posted by mbaker
I was watching "Yogi Bear & The Spruce Goose" yesterday, and it had Mumbley, and The Dread Baron in it. I was wondering if they were related to Dick Dastardly & Muttley? They do have A strong resemblance. I do know that the Dread Barron, and Mumbley were part of The Really Rottens on "Laff-A-Lympics", and was voiced by John Stephenson (Mr. Slate), but in this movie, he's voiced by Dick Dasterdly's voice actor, Paul Winchell. (Which I found odd) From what I know about Mumbley, He was part of the "Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape show" from the 70's where Bill Hanna, and Joe Barbera brought back their cat & mouse duo as friends. So could they be related?

From what I recall, Dick Dastardly and Muttley were created for the late 60's "Wacky Races", and were spun off into "Dastardly and Muttley In Their Flying Machines" (aka "Stop that Pigeon") a few years later. However, when time came to make "Laff-a-Lympics" in the mid-70's or so, there was some sort of rights issue centering around the two characters IIRC, thus resulting in the creation of the similar "Mumbly" (Muttley in a trench coat basically) and the "Dred Baron" for "Laff-a-Lympics". Don't think Muttley and Dick made much of a comeback until "Yogi's Treasure Hunt" (anyone remember this show? From the mid-80's....used IIRC the "flying ark" from "Yogi's Gang", but for the purpose of Yogi and the gang playing adventurers performing missions/solving cases for Top Cat (playing "Charlie" from "Charlie's Angels" in only talking to them via remote broadcasts) instead of participating in morality tales; recall one ep where somehow Muttley and Dick wind up in some parody of "The Smurfs" and wind up going ga-ga/fighting each other over some sveltely-drawn parody version of Smurfette...heh...). Might be nice to see these two used again for some future project, I suppose....


-B.

[Sharklady]

> Not sure, but I've wondered the same thing about Muttley and Precious Pupp for years (note the laugh) <

An even earlier HB dog originated that distinctive laugh; Mr. Muggins, the beaglesque nemesis of Huckleberry Hound.

[Dub]

Originally posted by Brainatra


From what I recall, Dick Dastardly and Muttley were created for the late 60's "Wacky Races", and were spun off into "Dastardly and Muttley In Their Flying Machines" (aka "Stop that Pigeon") a few years later. However, when time came to make "Laff-a-Lympics" in the mid-70's or so, there was some sort of rights issue centering around the two characters IIRC, thus resulting in the creation of the similar "Mumbly" (Muttley in a trench coat basically) and the "Dred Baron" for "Laff-a-Lympics". Don't think Muttley and Dick made much of a comeback until "Yogi's Treasure Hunt" (anyone remember this show? From the mid-80's....used IIRC the "flying ark" from "Yogi's Gang", but for the purpose of Yogi and the gang playing adventurers performing missions/solving cases for Top Cat (playing "Charlie" from "Charlie's Angels" in only talking to them via remote broadcasts) instead of participating in morality tales; recall one ep where somehow Muttley and Dick wind up in some parody of "The Smurfs" and wind up going ga-ga/fighting each other over some sveltely-drawn parody version of Smurfette...heh...). Might be nice to see these two used again for some future project, I suppose....


-B.

So THAT explains Mumbley and the Dread Baron! @_______@

I always wondered that...

I remembered reading somewhere else that "in continuity" Dread Baron and Mumbley are the cousins of Dick Dastardly and Muttley - though i dont know how much truth lies in this. Since then Dick Dastardly has always been Classic HB's main villian even used in that Hanna Barbera ride at Universal Studios, if its still up...

Being an 80's kid I still remember Yogi's Treasure Hunt It was my favorite version of the toons that used all the Classic HB characters in one setting. I also liked how they kept the Ark for travelling even if the actual Y"ogi's Ark" cartoon did bite big wind...

Those were the days. ^^ I'd love to see a 90's version of the old HB group VS Dick Dastardly and Muttley just one more time myself


Care to elaborate on what the rights issue was with muttley and Dastardly that forced the Barons creation in the first place?

[Mister Intensity]

I would love to see a modern-day, Cartoon Cartoon take on Dastardly and Muttley. It would also love to see an explanation on why Mumbley is a good guy on his own show and a bad guy in his other appearences (my theory is that Muttley took his place for a period of time).

I believe Mark Evanier added the "cousins" explanation in an issue of the Marvel Laff-a-Lympics comic book in the late seventies. In the same issue, he added that the Blue Falcon is the ancestor of Space Ghost.

I don't think either explanation is cannon but you never know.

Mister Intensity

[Joe Tully]

Originally posted by Jon &quot;WB&quot; Gray

Care to elaborate on what the rights issue was with muttley and Dastardly that forced the Barons creation in the first place?

Wacky Races was the show that introduced Muttley & Dick Dastardly. This was made by HB in association with a company known as Heatter-Quigley Productions. Because of the way this worked out, Heatter-Quigley owned rights to Muttley & Dick Dastardly (and also the other characters from the show).

Since Dastardly & Muttley In Their Flying Machines was also made with Heatter-Quigley, it was OK to use Muttley & Dastardly. (Ditto for Penelope Pittstop in her own series.)

Later, HB wanted to use Muttley in his own segments as a detective in part of the Grape Ape/Tom & Jerry Show. But, HB wasn't working with HQ, so they invented Mumbley. Mumbley was joined by the Baron in the Laff-A-Lympics.

In the mid 80s, HQ fell apart. HB apparently bought permanent rights to the HQ characters. Then we saw Muttley & Dastardly show up again in Yogi's Treasure Hunt, Yo Yogi! and eventually some CN promos.

[John-Paul]

Their cousins.So are Dick and The Dread Baron!

It was revealed in an old Laff-a-Lympics comic which I own!

[Anthonynotes]

Well, if Mark Evanier (writer of various other animated and comic tidbits over the years, incl. "Garfield and Friends") says they're related, that's good enough for me! (Throw in "Precious Pup" as a distant relation, and it'd easily explain the "snickering dog" tendency in the HB universe :-)

Re: Blue Falcon as Space Ghost's ancestor: well, they *do* sound awfully alike... :-)

Re: Heatter-Quigley: What Tully said... though from looking at the "Wacky Races" gameboy game at my dept. store job (we used to have it selling in the toy dept.), it still credits HQ as the co-creators/in the copyright notice (along with Cartoon Network/H-B/so forth). (Shrug)


-B.
Still shudders at the name "Dickie Dastardly" from "Yo, Yogi!"...that, and "Magilla Ice" (Magilla Gorilla as a rapper)...

[Dub]

Wow...I remember Yo Yogi too unfortunately...

Treasure Hunt may have been the better of the three but arguably, Yo Yogi was the worst -__-

Thoughts of Jellystone Mall make me ill....