Loopy De Loop

Loopy De Loop
Title Card
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Produced by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Written by	Michael Maltese Warren Foster Tony Benedict Dalton Sandifer
Starring	Daws Butler
Music by	Hoyt Curtin
Production company	Hanna-Barbera Productions (Time Warner)
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Release dates	November 5, 1959 – June 17, 1965 (48 Shorts)
Running time	7 Minutes Per Short
Country	United States
Language	English

Loopy De Loop was the only theatrical cartoon short series produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera after leaving MGM and opening their new studio, Hanna-Barbera Productions.^[1] The series, distributed to theatres by Columbia Pictures, ran from November 5, 1959 to June 17, 1965.^[1]

Overview

Loopy is a gentleman wolf who mangled the English language in his bid to converse in a bad French-Canadian accent, and always wore a characteristic tuque knit cap. A self-appointed good Samaritan, he dauntlessly fought to clear the bad name of wolves and would open every episode with his trademark introduction “I am Loopy De Loop, the good wolf.” Though he was always kind and helpful, his exploits usually got him beaten up or chased out of town by the very people he had helped, all for no other reason than the prejudice of being a wolf.^[1]

The character's name was an inspired combination of a play on words:

• "Loop the loop" is a 360-degree back flip performed by airplane stunt pilots.
• Canis lupus is the Latin-based scientific name for the grey wolf species of the dog family, with the species' name of lupus being the basis for "loup", the French word for wolf.
• "Loopy" is a synonym for "crazy" or "eccentric"

List of theatrical shorts

Season		Shorts	Original screening
			Season premiere	Season finale
	1959	2	November 5, 1959	December 3, 1959
	1960	7	March 3, 1960	September 8, 1960
	1961	10	January 5, 1961	December 14, 1961
	1962	9	January 18, 1962	December 13, 1962
	1963	11	February 14, 1963	December 31, 1963
	1964	5	January 2, 1964	October 15, 1964
	1965	4	January 7, 1965	June 17, 1965

1959

No.	#	Title	Air date
1	1	"Wolf Hounded"	November 5, 1959
Loopy recalls the true story of Little Red Riding Hood in which he rescued Red Riding Hood's basket from the Three Little Pigs, but sustained multiple injuries and charmed Grandma. Animated by Ken Muse.
2	2	"Little Bo Bopped"	December 3, 1959
Loopy tries to recover Little Bo Peep's lost sheep lost in a large flock guarded by a sheepdog. Then it is the sheepdog that returns the lost sheep instead. Animated by Ken Muse.

1960

No.	#	Title	Air date1
3	1	"Tale of a Wolf"	March 3, 1960
Loopy tries to give wolf-kind a good reputation, but his efforts get him into multiple beat ups from a watch dog (who bears a resemblance to Quick Draw McGraw's dog Snuffles and played by Paul Frees). Animated by Carlo Vinci.
4	2	"Life with Loopy"	April 7, 1960
Loopy tells a therapist a story of how he tried to fit in as a wolfdog pet. It worked until he confessed to his master (played by Don Messick) he was an actual wolf. Afterwards, the therapist realizes that Loopy is a wolf and drives him out of his office with his gun. Animated by Lewis Marshall
5	3	"Creepy Time Pal"	May 19, 1960
Loopy goes off to save Hansel and Gretel (played by Jean Vander Pyl and Don Messick) from the witch's gingerbread house, despite their refusal. Animated by Carlo Vinci.
6	4	"Snoopy Loopy"	June 16, 1960
Loopy tries to deliver a baby gorilla (played by Don Messick) to the zoo, but it keeps running off and causing trouble for Loopy. Animated by Ken Muse.
7	5	"The Do-Good Wolf"	July 14, 1960
Loopy assists Snow White and she moves into the house of the Seven Dwarfs who don't trust wolves. Animated by Ken Muse.
8	6	"Here Kiddie, Kiddie"	September 1, 1960
Loopy is a zoo wolf and keeps getting blamed for taking a mother's baby by her and the zookeeper. Animated by Ken Muse.
9	7	"No Biz Like Shoe Biz"	September 8, 1960
In a take-off of Cinderella, Loopy plays "fairy godmother" to a young woman (played by Jean Vander Pyl) who is not invited to a ball and wants to see the prince. Animated by Carlo Vinci.

1961

No.	#	Title	Air date
10	1	"Count Down Clown"	January 5, 1961
Thinking he is not needed by anyone, Loopy joins a space program and participates in tests by going to the moon. Animated by Dick Lundy.
11	2	"Happy Go Loopy"	March 2, 1961
Loopy goes to a masquerade party and is mistaken for a guy named "Charlie" in a wolf costume; Loopy livens the party up by doing impressions of Maurice Chevalier, Ed Sullivan, Peter Lorre and Jimmy Durante. Animated by Ed Love.
12	3	"Two Faced Wolf"	April 6, 1961
Loopy unknowingly befriends a scientist (played by Hal Smith) who turns into a monster on and off without Loopy knowing that the monster is really him. Animated by George Nicholas.
13	4	"This Is My Ducky Day"	May 4, 1961
After despairing about how his good deeds do not pay, Loopy raises a duck (played by Red Coffey). Even that does not improve matters for Loopy. Animated by Bill Keil.
14	5	"Fee Fie Foes"	June 9, 1961
A take-off on Jack and the Beanstalk where Loopy participates in the well-known fairy tale by climbing a beanstalk by bringing back Jack (played by Don Messick) to his mother (played by Jean Vander Pyl) and meets the giant. Animated by Robert Bentley.
15	6	"Zoo Is Company"	July 6, 1961
Loopy helps an elephant (who sounds like Wally Gator) with a mouse problem and that mouse is Bigelow Mouse (played by Doug Young). Animated by George Nicholas.
16	7	"Child Sock-Cology"	August 10, 1961
Loopy encounters a lost giant gorilla baby and brings him back to the zoo. Animated by Dick Lundy.
17	8	"Catch Meow"	September 14, 1961
Loopy unsuccessfully tries to negotiate a peace between a cat (played by Don Messick) and a mouse. But when it works, it doesn't improve matters for the duo. Animated by George Nicholas.
18	9	"Kooky Loopy"	November 16, 1961
Loopy meets The Big Bad Wolf (played by Arnold Stang) of the Little Red Riding Hood story and wants him to be a good wolf. Animated by Jack Ozark.
19	10	"Loopy's Hare-do"	December 14, 1961
Loopy volunteers to be a hunter's (played by Don Messick) hunting dog and at the same time protect the rabbit. By the time the hunting is well, the hunters spots a $50 wolf bounty opportunity. Animated by Bob Carr.

1962

No.	#	Title	Air date
20	1	"Bungle Uncle"	January 18, 1962
Loopy's nephew Bon-Bon keeps taking a lamb from a swearing watchdog (played by Don Messick) and he thinks Loopy keeps taking the lamb. Animated by Jack Ozark.
21	2	"Beef For and After"	March 1, 1962
Loopy's nephew Bon-Bon again takes another animal from the swearing watchdog (played by Don Messick), this time, a cow and blames Loopy for taking the cow. Animated by Dick Lundy.
22	3	"Swash Buckled"	April 5, 1962
In France, Loopy meets the four musketeers and one of them goes to rescue a princess (played by Jean Vander Pyl) and Loopy goes with him to see him in action. Animated by Jack Ozark.
23	4	"Common Scents"	May 10, 1962
Loopy protects a skunk (played by Mel Blanc, uncredited) on the verge of suicidal tendencies. The skunk stops this when he meets a girl skunk (played by Julie Bennett) with equal sorrows. Animated by Dick Lundy.
24	5	"Bearly Able"	June 28, 1962
Without Goldilocks, the Three Bears leave it to Loopy to babysit their baby bear, who makes Loopy's job a difficult one. Animated by Jack Ozark.
25	6	"Slippery Slippers"	September 7, 1962
Loopy helps Prince Charming (played by Arnold Stang) find his beloved Cinderella. After various mistakes, Loopy's search is successful. Animated by Jack Ozark.
26	7	"Chicken Fraca-See"	October 11, 1962
After a fox steals a chicken egg from the swearing watchdog (played by Don Messick), it hatches a baby chick and the chick follows Loopy calling him "Mama" and the watchdog keeps thinking Loopy is the chicken thief. Animated by Carlo Vinci.
27	8	"Rancid Ransom"	November 15, 1962
Out west, Loopy does two good deeds and a bounty hunter (played by Don Messick) goes after him for money. Animated by Dick Lundy.
28	9	"Bunnies Abundant"	December 13, 1962
Loopy protects an army of rabbits from a hungry wolf (played by Doug Young). Animated by George Nicholas.

1963

No.	#	Title	Air date
29	1	"Just a Wolf at Heart"	February 14, 1963
Loopy is crazy in love with a cute girl wolf named "Gaga" (played by Jean Vander Pyl) and she wants him to bring her sheep from his sheepdog friend (played by Don Messick). Animated by Jack Ozark.
30	2	"Chicken Hearted Wolf"	March 14, 1963
Loopy tries to prove wolves can be good and tries to teach a lesson to chicken thief Sam Wolf (played by Doug Young) about stealing chickens from a farmer (played by Don Messick). Animated by Don Patterson.
31	3	"Whatcha Watchin"	April 18, 1963
The watchdog (played by Don Messick) (who is friends with Loopy?) is tired after staying out all night and falls asleep on watch duty and Loopy attempts to help him keep his job. Animated by Bob Carr.
32	4	"A Fallible Fable"	May 16, 1963
When the Big Bad Wolf walks out on a Little Red Riding Hood re-enactment, Loopy stands in for him unaware of how serious the other actors take the story. Animated by Jack Ozark.
33	5	"Sheep Stealers Anonymous"	June 13, 1963
Loopy helps wolves be cured of sheep-stealing and helps Sam Wolf (who was in "Chicken Hearted Wolf" with a different design and voice and is played by Doug Young) be cured of sheep, but he keeps taking sheep from the swearing watchdog (played by Don Messick). Animated by George Nicholas and George Goepper.
34	6	"Wolf in Sheep Dog's Clothing"	July 11, 1963
With the watchdog sick, a farmer (played by Don Messick) hires Loopy to be a watchdog. Loopy poses as one and must stop another wolf from stealing sheep. Animated by Bill Keil.
35	7	"Not In Nottingham"	September 5, 1963
Robin Hood (played by Don Messick) sends Loopy on a mission to rescue Maid Marian from the Nottingdoing Castle, but Loopy blunders and takes out the Sheriff of Nottingham's (also played by Don Messick) wife. Animation by Jack Ozark. Backgrounds by Curtiss D. Perkins.
36	8	"Drum-Sticked"	October 3, 1963
On Thanksgiving, Loopy protects a turkey (played by Doug Young) from a farmer and his dog (both played by Don Messick) who always says "Shee" whenever the farmer doesn't notice what's going on with Loopy hiding him. Animated by Jack Ozark.
37	9	"Bear Up!"	November 7, 1963
Loopy is minding his own business out in the woods until he comes across The Three Bears and their baby keeps wandering off and they keep assuming Loopy is taking their baby. Animated by Jerry Hathcock and Ken Muse.
38	10	"Crook Who Cried Wolf"	December 12, 1963
Loopy comes across a pair of crooks hiding in his cave and they mistake him for "Big Louie" thinking he's in a wolf mask. Animated by Don Patterson.
39	11	"Habit Rabbit"	December 31, 1963
Loopy helps cure a rabbit named Raymond (played by Howard Morris) of his crazy carrot addiction which worries his wife, but not his daughter (both played by Janet Waldo) who keeps skipping rope. Animated by Bill Keil and George Goepper.

1964

No.	#	Title	Air date
40	1	"Raggedy Rug"	January 2, 1964
A hunter named Quincy (played by Don Messick) promises his wife Genevieve (played by Jean Vander Pyl), by bringing back an animal rug for her and does it by not blasting Loopy, but his dog (also played by Don Messick) suspects Loopy is alive. Animated by Dick Lundy.
41	2	"Elephantastic"	February 6, 1964
Loopy helps deliver the elephant from "Zoo Is Company"(who is green this time) to the circus from a hunter and encounters Bigelow the mouse (played by Doug Young) again who antagonises the elephant. Animated by Ed Parks and Chuck Harriton.
42	3	"Bear Hug"	March 5, 1964
Loopy helps a bear named Braxton (played by Mel Blanc) who has a mad, crazy jealous streak to win over his girlfriend Emmy-Lou (played by Janet Waldo) who has other suitors. After some rivaling with Loopy, Braxton falls for Emmy-Lou's cousin, Jenny-Lee. Animated by George Nicholas and Bill Keil.
43	4	"Trouble Bruin"	September 17, 1964
The second episode where Loopy helps Braxton (played by Mel Blanc) cure his insane jealously problem of Emmy-Lou having other suitors coming in her home. Animated by Ken Muse and Jerry Hathcock.
44	5	"Bear Knuckles"	October 15, 1964
Braxton (played by Mel Blanc) wants to propose to Emmy-Lou, but his jealousy kicks in for the third time in this episode, and it's Loopy to the rescue again. Animated by George Nicholas and George Goepper.

1965

No.	#	Title	Air date
45	1	"Horse Shoo"	January 7, 1965
Twister, a rodeo horse (played by Doug Young) who sounds like Doggie Daddy, thinks that his rodeo owner (played by Hal Smith) is getting rid of him cause he's no good no more, so he runs into Loopy and he tries hiding him out from his rodeo owner. Animated by Don Patterson.
46	2	"Pork Chop Phooey"	March 18, 1965
Loopy's nephew Bon-Bon reads a story of the Three Little Pigs and goes out to find them where he tries to blow down their houses. Loopy tries to stop him, but he only makes things worse. Animated by Jack Ozark.
47	3	"Crow's Fete"	April 14, 1965
When Farmer Brown (played by Mel Blanc) goes crazy after attempting to catch a corny crow (also played by Mel Blanc), Loopy attempts to get him, but he messes with poor Loopy. Animated by Ed Aardal and Chuck Harriton.
48	4	"Big Mouse Take"	June 17, 1965
Unable to deal with Bigelow Mouse (played by Doug Young), Chatterly Cat accepts Loopy's help. After a successful mouse catch, both Chatterly and Bigelow with his family move in with Loopy. Animated by Carlo Vinci and Hugh Fraser.

Television

In 1969, Loopy's film shorts were gathered together into a syndicated television series, simply titled Loopy de Loop.

Cast

• Daws Butler as Loopy De Loop
• Other voices include Don Messick, Doug Young, Mel Blanc, Red Coffey, Hal Smith, Arnold Stang, June Foray, Jean Vander Pyl, Julie Bennett, Janet Waldo, Nancy Wible, Howard Morris, Paul Frees.

Crew

• Writers: Michael Maltese, Warren Foster, Tony Benedict, Dalton Sandifer
• Story Direction: Alex Lovy, Paul Sommer, Lewis Marshall
• Musical Direction: Hoyt S. Curtin
• Production Supervision: Howard Hanson
• Animation Direction: Charles A. Nichols
• Animation: Ed Aardal, George Goepper, Bill Keil, Jerry Hathcock, George Nicholas, Chuck Harriton, Ed Love, Hugh Fraser, Dick Lundy, Ed Parks, Bob Bentley, Jack Ozark, Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Bob Carr, Lewis Marshall, Carlo Vinci, Don Patterson
• Story Sketches: Dan Gordon
• Layout: Dick Bickenbach, Walter Clinton, Dan Noonan, Jack Huber, Tony Rivera, Bill Perez, Alex Ignatiev, Lance Nolley
• Background: Art Lozzi, Fernando Montealegre, Neenah Maxwell, Robert Gentle, Richard H. Thomas, Anthony Rizzo, Bob Abrams, Lee Branscombe
• Titles: Lawrence "Art" Goble
• Film Editing: Joe Ruby, Ken Spears, Don Douglas, Greg Watson, Warner Leighton
• Eastman Color by: Pathé

Other appearances

• A brief scene from "Two Faced Wolf" appears in The Monkees' film Head.^[2]
• Loopy appeared in the 1991 NBC series Yo Yogi!, as an employee and owner of The Picnic Basket at Jellystone Mall's food court.
• Loopy appeared in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Juror in Court." He escapes from the prison along with many Harvey's clients, when his cases are sent to the review. It is unknown why he was there because he never appeared in the show before and was not a client of Harvey. Loopy also appears in a recap of the previous episode in "The Death of Harvey".

Home media releases

On September 9, 2014, Warner Archive released Loopy De Loop: The Complete Collection on DVD in Region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection.^[3]

References

1. "The Cartoon Scrapbook". Loopy De Loop Profile
2. The HEAD page, from The Monkees Film & TV Vault
3. 'The Complete Collection' of the Theatrical-Shorts-turned-TV-Show!

External links

• Loopy De Loop at the Internet Movie Database
• Loopy De Loop at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015.
• The Cartoon Scrapbook – Loopy De Loop
• The Big Cartoon Database – Loopy De Loop