How can you not love dogs in cartoons? They are so funny. Most of the time they make us laugh. Yes, sometimes, they can make us cry. In the cartoons, they do almost the exact same things they do in real life. For example, they chew on shoes, pee on the furniture, dig holes, bark, and everything else. But the famous cartoon dogs make us laugh.
In the cartoons, they also get some new skills. For example, they can solve puzzles, talk to babies, walk on their hind legs, and help their owners with any scheme.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most famous cartoon dogs. Fun fact: the cartoon dog names are just cherry on the top.
Droopy
An animated character from the Golden Age of American animation, Droopy is an anthropomorphic white Basset Hound. He has a droopy face, hence his name.
Created by Tex Avery for the cartoon shorts of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, Droopy moves slowly and lethargically. He also speaks in a jowly monotone voice.
But when roused to anger by a bad guy or a villain, this cartoon dog can easily beat adversaries many times his size with a comical thrashing.
Tramp
Larry Roberts voiced Tramp in the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp. He is a mixed-breed dog of apparent terrier ancestry. Tramp has a knack for dodging dog catchers. In the animated movie, he calls Lady “pidge” which is short for Pigeon.
The famous dog never refers to himself by name, but most of the canine cast refers to him as the Tramp. In the sequel, humans call him Tramp. But it is never explained why they named him like that.
Lady and the Tramp is a 1995 American musical romance film produced by Walt Disney. The movie was the first animated film to be filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen film process.
Spike
Spike usually gets forgotten in all the Tom and Jerry antics. But the fictional character created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera is a British bulldog who is often the funniest person on the show. He is particularly disapproving of cats. Yet, he has a soft side when it comes to mice. He and his son Tyke are often part of the reason Jerry manages to escape Tom.
In the Tom and Jerry cartoons, Spike is shown with a few weaknesses. For example, his possessiveness about his bone and his ticklishness.
Odie
Speaking about famous cartoon dogs, we have to mention Odie. He is a fictional dog appearing in the comic strip Garfield. He made an appearance in the animated television series Garfield and Friends.
Odie is a yellow-furred and brown-eared dog. In the movies, he is depicted as a wire-haired dachshund and terrier mix.
Odie is funny because he has a large tongue and slobbers in his appearance. Since October 1997, he is seen walking on two feet, instead of all fours, like Garfield.
Fun fact: the name came from a car dealership commercial written by Jim Davis, which featured Odie the Village Idiot.
Spunky
The fictional character appears in the Nickelodeon cartoon series Rocko’s Modern Life. He also appears in the comic book series of the same name.
Spunky is Rocko’s dog. His breed is not revealed in the show. But he is a miniature Bull terrier. He emits foul odors, drinks his saliva, rolls in, eats trash, and provides laughs thanks to his mischievous behavior.
The creator of the show, Joe Murray, says he originally designed Spunky to be a dog more brain-dead than the dog in the film My Dog Zero. He also wanted to complete it with drooling and crossed eyes.
Because that scenario could limit storytelling, Murray gave Spunky a little more intelligence. Unlike other famous cartoon dogs, Spunky is low on intelligence.
Pluto
Going back to Disney characters, Pluto is a yellow-orange and short-haired dog with black ears. Unlike most Disney characters, he is not anthropomorphic beyond some characteristics like facial expression.
Pluto is Mickey’s pet. In the movies, cartoons, and series, he is shown as a mixed-breed dog. In the Mickey Mouse cartoon The Chain Gang, Pluto made his debut as a bloodhound.
Fun fact: This animated dog is the only one not dressed as a human from Disney’s Sensational Six big characters and stars.
Copper
Here is another pet cartoon movie. Copper is an admirable dog from the 1981 movie, The Fox and the Hound.
The buddy comedy shows Copper, a youthful hunting dog becoming a friend with a fellow fox named Tod.
As they get older, they are on the opposite side of the hunting world.
Slinky Dog
The fictional character from the Disney and Pixar movie Toy Story is a toy dachshund. He speaks with a Southern accent. The late voice actor Jim Varney voiced Slinky Dog in the first two movies. Blake Clark took over in the third movie.
The fictional pet cartoon character is a toy dog.
Goofy
We cannot talk about famous cartoon dogs without mentioning Pluto. The famous Disney character is a tall and anthropomorphic dog who wears a turtle neck and vest with pants and white gloves. He is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
In Disney movies and shows, he is shown as hopelessly clumsy and dim-witted. Yet, sometimes, he is intuitive and clever but in his own unique way.
Fun fact: His original cartoon dog name was Dippy Dawg.
Astro
Astro is the pet of Elroy Jetson, the kid in The Jetsons cartoon series. He is also the self-appointed best friend of George Jetson.
Astro has a flair for dramatics. Like many dogs, he often cries for attention. His main form of exercise is walking the floating treadmill outside of the house and showering George with affection.
Courage
Arguably one of the most famous cartoon characters, Courage from Courage The Cowardly Dog series is a rose dog. He is the main protagonist of the Cartoon Network TV series.
He is easy to fear when some incidents happen. But what is true is that most of these bizarre developments lead to a catastrophe.
Yet, Courage often saves his careful owner, Muriel.
He is a timid pink dog with paranoia problems. And his owners are an old couple living on a farm.
Brian Griffin
We cannot have a list of famous dogs in cartoons without Brian Griffin. The fictional character in the Family Guy TV series is an anthropomorphic white Labrador. Seth MacFarlane voices the cartoon character.
Brian is a less-than-adept writer struggling to find himself. His jokes usually come from trying to write novels and essays.
He is one of the Family Guy show’s biggest merchandising characters. The fun part is that he has a dog name that can easily be a human name as well. We said there are funny cartoon dog names, but then there are also human dog names.
Scooby Doo
Let’s continue with the eponymous character and main protagonist of the animated television franchise, Scooby-Doo. The show was created by Hanna Barbera. Scooby Doo is a male Great Dane. The irony is that the big dog is afraid of almost any sound and anything that moves.
The famous cartoon dog is the lifelong companion of amateur detective Shaggy Rogers. The two share many personality traits.
Scooby speaks in a slurred and dog-like voice.
Snoopy
Let’s finish off the list of famous cartoon dogs with the most famous of them all. Snoopy is an iconic dog character. In the comics and television series, he is shown as an anthropomorphic beagle.
Since his debut in October 1950, Snoopy has become one of the most iconic and recognizable characters in the world.
Fun fact: in some countries, Snoopy is more famous than Charlie Brown. The original drawing of Snoopy was inspired by Spike, one of Charles. M Schulz’s childhood dogs. He was the one writing the strip.
Snoopy can be selfish and lazy at times. Sometimes, he will mock his owner, Charlie Brown. Yet, generally speaking, Snoopy shows love, care, and loyalty for Charlie.
Most of his fantasies follow a similar formula. The famous dog pretends to be something world-famous and then fails. For example, he imagines himself speaking, but never actually does. He only gives nonverbal sounds and sometimes delivers “woof”.
