2 Stupid Dogs? 2 Stupid Dogs!


    The 1990s is considered to be a golden age for TV animation. Spearheaded by the 1992 debut of Nickelodeon’s animation line up, TV cartoons changed. Gone were the shows designed to sell toys, “Transformers,” “GI Joe,” replacing them were a new wave of creator-driven shows that were smart, funny, and all innovative in their own ways. Growing up in this era we had no clue that we were so lucky to have an insane amount of creative shows for us to watch, it just seemed like “these are the shows that are on right now.” 

    By the ‘90s, Turner Entertainment had bought animation giant Hanna-Barbera. The studio had been struggling for a decade to produce a hit show, under new leadership, TBS would get its first cartoon and the legendary studio would see a new wave of shows start that would give the famed brand a much-needed boost. The first of these shows was “2 Stupid Dogs” that premiered in 1993. Created by Donovan Cook, the series focused on the adventures on two unmanned dogs, but officially known as “the big dog” and “the little dog.” 

    The two dogs have no family they belong to, no home of any kind, they just exist and wander around between adventures. During the first season, each episode of the show featured two stories with the dogs, and in the middle an episode of “The Super Secret Secret Squirrel Show” an updated take on the 1960s HB character. The series only ran for two seasons but stayed on in reruns on TBS’s sister station Cartoon Network. Having developed into a cult classic, Warner Archive has at long last brought the first season of “2 Stupid Dogs” to DVD. 

    I was eight when “2 Stupid Dogs” first aired and I loved it. It was funny and had the right amount of random. There are bits from the show I still quote from time to time, including recurring character Mr. Hollywood’s catchphrase where he would point out to people “Well isn’t that cute” and then yell loudly accompanied by a foghorn “BUT IT’S WRONG!” Not to mention the great visual gag of one of the dogs randomly coughing up an entire corn on the cob with a pat of butter on it. 

    It’s been well over a decade since I’ve seen “2 Stupid Dogs” and I was most excited about getting my hands on the DVD collection from Warner Archive. Watching the show, I was happy to see it’s held up beautifully. Still as funny as I remember and I found some adult humor in the show that I missed entirely as a kid. Warner Archive’s release of “2 Stupid Dogs” is uncut, including things I had long forgotten about that hadn’t aired since the TBS broadcasts the show. Fake teasers for the episode, mentioning plot points that never happened like “Today the Two Stupid Dogs open a portal to another world,” and bumpers going in and out of commercials. 

   I’ve been long awaiting to see “2 Stupid Dogs” get it’s much overdue DVD release. Warner Archive has done a great job bringing the show’s first season to DVD complete. It looks and sounds good, taken off the master tapes made back in the ‘90s. If you grew up on the show, you have to buy these, if you have kids who like things a bit more left of center, I’d highly suggest getting these to share with them too. 

    Sometimes we revisit shows we grew up with and find that they don’t hold up, this was not the case with “2 Stupid Dogs.” The show is as delightful as I remember it being. With the overdue arrival of “2 Stupid Dogs” on DVD, maybe—just maybe—we’ll get closer to seeing another gem of the era released on DVD, “Sheep in the Big City.” Please? I really need that one to go with this.


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