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Spike Bulldog

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For other uses, see the disambiguation page for Spike.

Spike Bulldog is the deuteragonist of the Tom and Jerry franchise, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Spike is a grey or brown English bulldog who has appeared in many Tom and Jerry cartoons. He has a somewhat minor friendship with Jerry and is an archnemesis to Tom, although he is occasionally a rival to both, as shown in his debut in the 1942 animated reel Dog Trouble.

Spike's relationships with Tom and Jerry have varied from time to time, but essentially Spike has little affection for Tom Cat, who seems always to be disrupting his life, causing trouble, antagonizing Tyke, or all of the above. The Truce Hurts (1948), Pet Peeve (1954), and Hic-Cup Pup (1954) are so far the only cartoons where Spike actually cares about and shows affection for Tom; these relationships often dissolve and usually end with them fighting. Tom does not usually antagonize Spike intentionally, but Spike often ends up in the middle of a Tom and Jerry chase (as they are all seemingly living together), which ends up waking Spike up, ruining his new dog house, wrecking his and Tyke's picnic, and so on. Spike has a few weaknesses that Tom tries to capitalize upon: his possessiveness about his bone and his ticklishness.

Spike's fiercest behavior is reserved for anyone who interferes with Tyke, but also, Spike's generally well-intentioned brain is at times easily outwitted by Tom and/or Jerry. Jerry also arranges to get Tom in trouble with Spike, provoking a chase and/or a pounding from the bulldog, and Spike will keep Tom's attention off Jerry for a while. Several stories also have Jerry taking advantage of Spike and Tyke's size and proximity, as he often tries to hide or sleep with or near Spike and Tyke for protection.

History[]

Tom and Jerry original shorts[]

Spike made his early appearance as an unnamed Bulldog in the 1942 Tom and Jerry cartoon, Dog Trouble, he appears as a somewhat realistically designed mute bulldog. In his first named appearance and his first speaking role was in The Bodyguard (1944), where he was voiced by Billy Bletcher, he also appears to being an anthropomorphic bulldog. Spike was voiced by Bletcher until 1949, from which point he was voiced by Patrick McGeehan, Jerry Mann, Bob Shamrock, John Brown, Stan Freberg, and Daws Butler, with a thick New Yorker accent similar to Jimmy Durante's.

In his early appearance in Dog Trouble, Spike as an unnamed Bulldog as the short's antagonist, chasing and attacking both Tom and Jerry on sight, even trying to eat Jerry, which forced the two to work together to defeat him. However, in his second appearance in The Bodyguard, after Jerry willingly saved him from being poached in a dogcatcher truck, he became Jerry's protector whenever needed. In all subsequent shorts, Spike becomes typecast as the stereotypical dumb brute who is always duped into becoming a shield for Jerry from Tom. It is only in two episodes where Jerry gets Spike out of a jam and the dog willingly protects him from Tom in well-earned gratitude (The Bodyguard and Fit to Be Tied). On most occasions, Jerry causes trouble for Tom by luring him near Spike and harming him to get him angry, and in some cartoons when it is perfectly obvious that Tom is not responsible, as seen in The Invisible Mouse, Spike still blames Tom and hurts him instead of Jerry. Only on one occasion does Jerry fail to frame Tom, in Hic-Cup Pup where Tom unintentionally cures Spike and Tyke's hiccups, and Spike shakes Tom's hand.

Spike, however, is not without a softer and sympathetic side: in the episode Pet Peeve, after believing that Tom is willing to leave the house in Spike's favour, Spike feels sorry for him to the point that he offers to leave instead, which Spike does until he realises that Tom is only using reverse psychology to trick him into leaving. In The Truce Hurts, Spike is portrayed as a very intelligent and equilibrated character when he convinces Tom and Jerry to stop the fighting among the three of them and sign a Peace Treaty, but their newfound friendship comes to an end when they argue over how to share a big steak, symbolised when Spike tears the truce contract to shreds and they go back to fighting again after Tom accidentally threw the steak into the sewer drain. From the 1944 cartoon The Bodyguard to 1948 cartoon Heavenly Puss, he was voiced by Billy Bletcher. His first name is Bulldog in Dog Trouble, His name also varies in some shorts: in Puttin' on the Dog, Solid Serenade and Cat Fishin' he is named "Killer", and in The Truce Hurts he signs his name "Butch" on the treaty peace paper.

After Dog Trouble, Spike has appeared as a solo guest in Tom and Jerry cartoons for the next several years; his son Tyke was introduced in 1949, with Love That Pup.

Spike's later years and Tyke's debut[]

In Tom's later attempts to catch Jerry, he has to deal with Spike for bothering his son. In 1949's Love That Pup, Spike was given a puppy son, Tyke, who became another popular supporting character in the Tom and Jerry cartoons. His voice was taken over by Daws Butler, who styled Spike's voice after Jimmy Durante taking after his 1940s radio series with Garry Moore. He is named Spike from then on and is not changed again. When Tyke is introduced, Spike is given a softer approach (mainly towards his son) and is kinder and less aggressive, but is still portrayed as a dumb animal on more than one occasion. Spike's love and affection towards Tyke becomes Jerry's newest weapon against Tom, as his strategy goes from luring Tom towards Spike to inflicting harm on Tyke, and even when it is perfectly obvious that Jerry is responsible and not Tom, as seen in Love That Pup. Spike fails to notice this and still blames Tom (although this can be partially due to Spike's dislike of Tom).

A short-lived Spike and Tyke cartoon series was produced by MGM in 1957; only two entries were completed. Within a year, the MGM cartoon studio had shut down, and Hanna and Barbera took Spike and Tyke and retooled them to create one of the first television successes for Hanna-Barbera Productions, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy.

Later Apperances[]

Spike and Tyke would not appear in new Tom and Jerry cartoons, until the 1970s The Tom and Jerry Show, the 1980s The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, and 1990s Tom & Jerry Kids (in which Tom and Jerry themselves were made younger, but Spike and Tyke remained the same ages, and appeared both with Tom and Jerry, and in new episodes of their own with a girlfriend for Tyke). He had also made a cameo in the 1967 MGM Animation/Visual Arts production Matinee Mouse, which reused footage from Love that Pup and The Truce Hurts, and added some new animation in the final punchline. Spike would continue to appear in Tom and Jerry full-length features released in the early 2000s and finally, Tom and Jerry Tales.

Spike and his son Tyke also appear as regulars in the recent reboot series.

Spike made an appearance in the 2021 film, Tom & Jerry under the ownership of Ben. He was voiced by Bobby Cannavale.

Characteristics[]

Personality[]

He is, in personality, a feisty bulldog that is quite prone to anger, usually critical. He does not hesitate to use force if he wants, and often causes Tom harm. Spike strongly has a repetition of hating cats, which is a common stereotype in cartoon canines. In some part, he is often friendly and supportive to Jerry Mouse at the most part. Spike later learns that Jerry was the true manipulator, not Tom and their friendship to each other is slowly deteriorating until he finally end his friendship with him for his actions, despite this they still are getting along. However, he is extremely warm and loving to his son Tyke, whom he cares the most, as a primal duty of a father. Plus, sometimes when humans give Tom a home, they insist on him being friends with Spike, who sometimes frames Tom and get him in trouble.

Whenever he gets into a fight with Tom or any other cat, he always relies on and brute force like a muscular boxer, the fact that he is a bulldog, but is also wise enough to use items in his environment to fight back when brute force is not an manifested choice. However, his personality often gets blurred and more irascible when it comes to Droopy, mainly because Droopy always outsmarts Spike at hand.

Spike has a grudge against Tom, not just because he is a cat, but because whenever they cross paths, Tom can sometimes interrupts his nap and relaxation in his doghouse or his quality time with his son, Tyke, because he is too preoccupied about chasing Jerry to see where he is going. Obviously, whenever Spike tells Tom not to do an unequivocal thing, Jerry overhears the order and does his best to get Tom framed (in the example, Jerry would get Tyke as unhygienic as possible). Spike would then proceed to beat or fight Tom thinking he was the culprit for it. After Spike's brutality, he is shown having a good time or resting peacefully with his son Tyke and they are joined by Jerry, ironically, their real culprit. In The Tom and Jerry Show (2014) series, Spike learns that Jerry was also involved in interupting his time and his son time, leading his friendship with Jerry slowly deteriorating until he finally end his friendship for his actions. Despite their friendship already severed Spike still get along with Jerry. Spike also appeared in some of the 1980s cartoons featuring a basset hound called Droopy, a semi-popular MGM cartoon character created by Tex Avery.

In The Tom and Jerry Show (2014) episode '''In the Beginning' At first, he was actually friendly to Tom when he arrived to the house, but quickly despised him ever since he framed him and got him kicked out of there by Ginger. He can be quite aggressive to humans due to his personality which is common for some real life and animated dogs.

Appearance[]

Spike is a large, muscular bulldog with grey fur and wearing a red spike collar. In some short he has brownish-gray fur with a light brown marking that spans up to the front of his torso. In many cartoons, his fur is light gray, while his underbelly marking is white. His ears are pointed with pink insides and his tail is slender, small, and pointed as well. His only consistent article of clothing is a red, spiked dog collar. He has an anchored tattoo on his left upper arm as seen in Quiet Please!.

All voice actors[]

Appearances[]

Tom and Jerry original shorts[]

Spike and Tyke[]

MGM one-shots/Tex Avery[]

The Tom and Jerry Show (1975)[]

The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show[]

Tom and Jerry Tales[]

Season 1[]

Season 2[]

The Tom and Jerry Show (2014)[]

Season 1[]

Season 2[]

Season 3[]

Season 4[]

Season 5[]

Tom and Jerry in New York[]

Season 1[]

Season 2[]

Tom and Jerry Singapore[]

Feature films[]

Theatrical films[]

Direct-to-video films[]

Featuring a similar bulldog to Spike[]

Hanna-Barbera era[]
Gene Deitch era[]
Chuck Jones era[]

Tom and Jerry: The Movie[]

Others[]

War of the Whiskers[]

Spike appears in Tom and Jerry in War of the Whiskers he is the one of the four strongest fighters alongside Eagle, Lion and Monster Jerry, like the smallest characters, it was different that he fights Robot Cat instead of Monster Jerry for a final boss.

Notes[]

  • By the events of the recent reboot series The Tom and Jerry Show, he finally realized that Jerry was the true saboteur and therefore ended his friendship with him for abusing him, his son and as well framing Tom, sometimes even joining forces with Tom (though rarely), although it varies greatly between episodes: sometimes he is shown to be still getting along with Jerry like in the original shorts.
  • Before being voiced by Bobby Cannavale, Dwayne Johnson and John Goodman were considered to voice Spike in the 2021 movie.
  • The only cat that he did not interact with was Cousin George.
  • He interacted with Jerry's entire family, including his cousin Muscles and Uncle Pecos.
  • In the 1952 short Fit To Be Tied, Spike was a fan of professional wrestling and doing his wrestling techniques as he watched and learned on television.
  • In the episode of Double Dog Trouble, it shows that Spike loves Riverdance and is very good at it saying: “What can I say? This stuff grows on ya.”
    • In the same episode, Spike much dislikes corned beef and cabbage toppings on his pizza.

Gallery[]

Main article: Spike Bulldog/Gallery

References[]

  1. ↑ "Hanna-Barbera's Dog Trouble" - cartoonresearch.com
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