Toby the Pup

Toby the Pup is an animated cartoon character created by animators Sid Marcus, Dick Huemer, and Art Davis. He starred in a series of early sound shorts produced by Charles B. Mintz for RKO Radio Pictures. The series lasted from 1930 to 1931.[1] Twelve cartoons were produced, though only seven still survive today.

A Toby the Pup promotional poster

Toby can be seen dancing in one of the scenes of the movie, Cool World.

History

In 1930, Charles Mintz, while simultaneously producing the Krazy Kat cartoon series for Columbia, decided to create an additional series to be distributed through RKO Radio Pictures. He hired two Fleischer animators, Dick Huemer and Sid Marcus and assigned them to work with Art Davis to create a new series. Marcus, who worked for the Mintz studio when it was still located in New York City, devised Toby the Pup. Toby was very similar to Fleischer's Bimbo, in both personality and character design. He wore a custodian hat, and a pair of shoes that look like dog feet. Despite the series' success, it concluded after only twelve films; most likely because of RKO's ties with the Van Beuren studio. However, by the time the series ended, Mintz was already negotiating with Columbia for backing on a second cartoon series headed again by Huemer, Marcus, and Davis. This time, Huemer devised a new character, a small boy named Scrappy.

Today, very few of the Toby cartoons are known to exist. Only a fragment (about half) of The Museum exists in the Library of Congress. Prints of the short have turned up in a few private film collections in the United States and four were discovered in Europe. UCLA currently owns a sound print of Circus Time. The Cartoon Factory, a syndicated compilation of public domain cartoons distributed throughout Europe, featured three Toby cartoons, The Milkman, Down South, and Halloween. Lobster Films, the company behind the program, currently holds these titles. A substantial fragment of The Showman has also surfaced. In 2005, a full 16mm print of The Brown Derby was found in a private collection in San Marcos, Texas, by Toby Heidel. The print is currently housed at UCLA and restoration is being attempted by Jere Guldin.

Filmography

1930
# Film Original release date Notes
1 The Museum August 19, 1930 First Toby the Pup cartoon. A French release print survives, held by Lobster Films.
2 The Fiddler September 1, 1930 Lost cartoon.
3 The Miner October 1, 1930 Lost cartoon.
4 Toby the Showman November 22, 1930 A silent print with no opening or ending titles was found in 2010.
5 The Bug House December 7, 1930 Lost cartoon.

1931
# Film Original release date Notes
6 Circus Time January 25, 1931 A sound print is held by UCLA.
7 The Milkman February 25, 1931 A French release print survives, held by Lobster Films.
8 The Brown Derby March 22, 1931 A full 16mm print was found in 2005 in San Marcos, Texas.
9 Down South April 15, 1931 A French release print survives, held by Lobster Films.
10 Halloween May 1, 1931 A French release print survives, held by Lobster Films.
11 Aces Up May 16, 1931 Lost cartoon.
12 The Bull Thrower June 7, 1931 Lost cartoon.
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See also
  • The Golden Age of American animation

References
  1. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 147–148. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  • Maltin, Leonard (1987): Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. Penguin Books.
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