2 Stupid Dogs Explained

Genre:	Comedy
Creator:	Donovan Cook
Director:	Donovan Cook
Open Theme:	"2 Stupid Dogs Title Theme"
End Theme:	"2 Stupid Dogs Ending Theme"
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Num Seasons:	2
Num Episodes:	26
List Episodes:	2 Stupid Dogs#Episodes
Executive Producer:	Buzz Potamkin
Company:	Hanna-Barbera Cartoons
Runtime:	22 minutes
Network:	TBS

2 Stupid Dogs is an American animated television series created and designed by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. It originally ran from September 5, 1993, to May 15, 1995, on TBS as a part of their Sunday Morning in Front of the TV block and in syndication. The show's main segments feature two unnamed dogs, called the "Little Dog" and the "Big Dog" in the credits (voiced by Mark Schiff and Brad Garrett, respectively).^[1] The show entirely used digital ink and paint in every episode.

The show has been described as "Hanna-Barbera's answer to Ren and Stimpy",^[2] a hit show that premiered two years earlier in 1991 on Nickelodeon. Like Ren & Stimpy, the Dogs characters are not very bright, the show is scored with jazz music, and the comedy style leans on gross-out body-secretion humor. Asked about the comparison, Hanna-Barbera CEO Fred Seibert was unconcerned, saying that it was "like Pearl Jam worrying about being compared to Nirvana."^[2] Ironically, following his dismissal from Nickelodeon, Ren and Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi was credited as contributing "bad taste" gags to a few episodes of Dogs.

A backup segment, Super Secret Secret Squirrel (a sequel series to Secret Squirrel), is shown in between the main 2 Stupid Dogs cartoons in the first season's episodes, similar to early Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 1960s.

Plot

The show is about two unnamed dogs—neither of whom, as the title states, is very intelligent—and their everyday misadventures. the Big Dog tends to talk much less than the Little Dog. When the Big Dog talks, he usually talks about food. The animation style in the first season is unusual for the time: a very flat and simplistic style similar to the early Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 1950s and 1960s, but with early 1990s humor and sensibility. The wilder, more absurd second season has more fluid and exaggerated character animation.

Characters

The Little Dog (voiced by Mark Schiff), a small, tawny-colored Dachshund, is much more energetic and hyperactive than the Big Dog. The Little Dog is very scared of cats, and when a cat (usually the same cat) appears, it is the Big Dog who scares it away.
The Big Dog (voiced by Brad Garrett) is a large grey Old English Sheepdog with a purple nose. He is much stronger and significantly more stoic and reserved than the Little Dog, and speaks much less – on occasion, he has also been shown to be surprisingly smarter than the Little Dog.
The Cat is a small innocent cat which the Little Dog is terrified of, despite it being harmless. The Big Dog's bark causes the Cat to freeze in terror; however, the Cat is not afraid of the Big Dog unless he barks.
Mr. Hollywood (voiced by Brian Cummings) is a large man who is both arrogant and loud, and likes to point out others' mistakes. He has a completely different job in each appearance, including teacher, farmer, casino manager, Noah and pet shop salesman. When pointing out others' mistakes he will first say, "Well now, isn't that cute..." and then yell out, "...BUT IT'S WRONG!!!", usually accompanied by a blaring foghorn.
Cubby (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is a fat, spotty man with big glasses, blonde hair and blue lips. In the episodes that he appears in, he works different jobs, like Mr. Hollywood.
Kenny Fowler (voiced by Jarrett Lennon) is a small skinny kid with nerdy glasses, who is often pushed around by Buzz and often falls down.
Buzz (voiced by Whit Hertford) is a school bully who picks on Kenny and says "What a Fowler!" whenever Kenny falls or makes a mistake.
Buffy Ziegenhagen (voiced by Tawni Tamietti) is a girl in Kenny's class who he has a crush on and who has a secret crush on him.
Red (voiced by Candi Milo) is a small, meek little girl that the dogs sometimes encounter in the woods. When she speaks, she shouts one word (sometimes two) in the sentence very loudly compared to the quiet tone of voice she usually has. Trying to visit her grandmother, she ends up in trouble due to her bad eyesight and the dogs' stupidity.

Episodes

Series overview

Each episode consists of three segments, with two 2 Stupid Dogs shorts bookending a Super Secret Secret Squirrel short. Cumulatively, each episode is approximately 22 minutes in length, which amounts to roughly 7 minutes per segment.

Season 1 (1993)

Note: All episodes in this season were directed by Donovan Cook.

Season 2 (1994–95)

Home media

On August 14, 2018, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (via the Warner Archive Collection) released the first season of the series as 2 Stupid Dogs/Secret Squirrel Show Volume One on DVD.

Reception

Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman of Animation World Magazine described 2 Stupid Dogs as one of two "clones" of The Ren & Stimpy Show, the other one being The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show.^[3] The series was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award but lost to Rugrats.

Accolades

Award	Category	Nominee(s)
Annie Awards	Best Individual Achievement for Artistic Excellence in the Field of Animation	Paul Rudish
Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Film Sound Mixing	Rex Slinkard and James L Aicholtz
Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Animation	Todd Frederiksen, Miles Thompson, Tony Craig, Mark Saraceni, Rob Renzetti, and Donovan Cook

Notes and References

Book: Perlmutter, David . The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows . 2018 . . 978-1538103739 . 667.
Book: Erickson, Hal . Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 . 2005 . . 978-1476665993 . 2nd . 876–878.
Goodman . Martin . March 2001 . Cartoons Aren't Real! Ren and Stimpy in Review . 12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20011227232653/http://www.awn.com/mag/issue5.12/5.12pages/goodmanrenstimpy.php3 . 2001-12-27 . 2022-12-05 . Animation World Magazine. 5 .