Essentially the polar opposite of Avery's other MGM character, the loud and wacky Screwy Squirrel, Droopy moves slowly and lethargically, speaks in a jowly monotone voice, and—though hardly an imposing character—is shrewd enough to outwit his enemies.
When finally roused to anger, often by a bad guy laughing heartily at him, Droopy is capable of beating adversaries many times his size with a comical thrashing.
[6] The character has been revived several times for new productions including films and television shows also featuring MGM's other famous cartoon stars, Tom and Jerry, either as their ally or enemy.
Avery had used a similar gag in his Merrie Melodies short Tortoise Beats Hare (1941) starring Bugs Bunny, which in turn was an expansion/exaggeration of the premise of his The Blow Out (1936) with Porky Pig.
"[8] Droopy himself was a versatile actor: he could play a Mountie, a cowboy, a deputy, an heir, or a Dixieland-loving everyday Joe with equal ease.
One of Droopy's more surprising traits is his incredible strength, given his diminutive stature and unassuming looks and personality, but this was usually reserved for when he was upset (with a few rare exceptions, where he very easily moved his adversary without harming him), at which time he would say in a monotone voice "You know what?
One example of Droopy showing his strength without being provoked was in The Chump Champ in which Spike (as "Gorgeous Gorillawitz") stuffs an anvil in a speed bag.
As the tree started coming down and was about to crush the unsuspecting Droopy, the adversary would run far the opposite way, point to the sky, and shout, "TIM.....".
Then, in a moment of surprise, the tree would change direction and end up crushing the adversary instead and he would finish by saying, ".....ber" while still pointing to the sky with a look of confusion on his face.
Two Droopy cartoons – The Shooting of Dan McGoo and Wild and Woolfy – also feature appearances from the curvy cutie of Avery's Red Hot Riding Hood (1943) as a damsel in distress being pursued by the Wolf.
The opening title card was replaced with a newly drawn sequence in which Droopy gives his deadpan greeting: "Hello, all you happy people."
Droopy also had cameos in two theatrical features: as an elevator operator in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (where he was voiced by the film's animation director Richard Williams), and in Tom and Jerry: The Movie.
[9] In June 1999, Droopy appeared in a Cartoon Network short entitled Thanks a Latté, in which he works at a coffee shop and forces a stingy wolf into giving him a tip.
A memorable Cartoon Network promotional spot featured Droopy (voiced by Don Messick) and Shaggy from Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo parodying a dialog scene between Jules and Vincent in Pulp Fiction.
Animation: Grant Simmons, Walter Clinton, Bob Cannon, Michael Lah, Preston Blair[17] Music: Scott Bradley[17] These cartoons can also be found as extras on DVDs of classic Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the period: