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 Mintz's Screen Gems for RKO Radio Pictures. The series lasted from 1930 to 1931. Twelve cartoons were produced, though some are still considered to be lost. The character was voiced by Dick Huemer. All of the character's cartoons fell into the public domain in the 1950s due to the copyrights not being renewed.
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 the 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 looked 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 to be headed again by Huemer, Marcus, and Davis. For this series, Huemer devised a new character, a small boy named Scrappy.
Today, only eight of the Toby cartoons are known to exist.
A fragment of The Museum is held by 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. Cartoon Factory, a syndicated compilation of public domain cartoons distributed throughout Europe by Lobster Films, features three Toby cartoons: The Milkman, Down South, and Halloween. 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. A substantial fragment of The Showman has also surfaced. In 2016, Inkwell Images issued a Blu-Ray release of the five existent Toby cartoons, "The Museum," "The Milkman", "Down South", and "Halloween" through an arrangement with Lobster Films, and "Circus Time" through UCLA Film Archives. In 2024, a French print of "The Fiddler" was discovered by Thunderbean, who unofficially released it on one of their special Blu-Rays, "Thunderbean Sneak Preview Blu-Ray 2024", which was only available for purchase for one week. It was leaked online later that year, but was taken down.
Toby can be seen dancing in one of the scenes of the movie, Cool World.
In 2016, the company Inkwell Images attempted to Trademark "Toby the Pup" for exclusive use on home video. This effort, after several revisions, failed. This attempt was likely done to prevent other companies from releasing a Toby the Pup home video.
Filmography
1930 No.TitleDirectorOriginal release dateDistributorFilmNotes1The MuseumAuthur Davis, Dick Huemer, & Sid MarcusAugust 19, 1930RKO Radio PicturesFirst Toby the Pup cartoon. Exists in several 35mm prints of undetermined completeness and a 17.5mm sound print.2The FiddlerSeptember 1, 1930A French print exists.3The MinerOctober 1, 1930Lost film4The ShowmanNovember 22, 1930Exists in a complete sound print with french titles. A silent print with no opening or ending titles was found in 2010, A nitrate cartoon reel with a sound fragment of the film was found later on by Cartoon98100 which was donated to Thunderbean Animations and was included in the Special Disc "Cartoons Most Wanted". 5The Bug HouseDecember 7, 1930Lost film
1931 No.TitleDirectorOriginal release dateDistributorFilmNotes6Circus TimeAuthur Davis, Dick Huemer, & Sid MarcusJanuary 25, 1931RKO Radio PicturesA sound unedited print is held by UCLA in 35mm.7The MilkmanFebruary 25, 1931A French 35mm release print survives, held by Lobster Films.8The Brown DerbyMarch 22, 1931A full 16mm print was found in 2005 in San Marcos, Texas but as of now it is unavailable to the public.9Down SouthApril 15, 1931A French 16mm release print survives, held by Lobster Films.10Hallowe'enMay 1, 1931A French 35mm release print survives, held by Lobster Films.11Aces UpMay 16, 1931Lost film 12The Bull ThrowerJune 7, 1931Last Toby the Pup cartoon. Lost cartoon.
See also The Golden Age of American animation
References
Maltin, Leonard (1987): Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. Penguin Books.