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Spike and Tyke (characters)

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Spike
Tom and Jerry character
File:Love That Pup2.JPG
Spike holding Tyke in Love That Pup.
First appearanceDog Trouble (18 April 1942)
Last appearanceThe Karate Guard (2005)
Created byWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Voiced bySee below
In-universe information
SpeciesDog
GenderMale
ChildrenTyke
RelativesTyke (son)
Mike (son)
Tyke
Tom and Jerry character
First appearanceLove That Pup (1949)
Last appearanceScat Cats (1957)
Created byWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Voiced bySee below
In-universe information
SpeciesPuppy
GenderMale
RelativesSpike (father)
Mike (brother)
the unnamed tiny bulldog from The Cat's Me-Ouch! and Purr-Chance To Dream (possible relative)

Spike (occasionally referred to as Butch or Killer) and Tyke are fictional characters from the Tom and Jerry series, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Spike is a stern but occasionally dumb American bulldog who is particularly disapproving of cats, but a softie when it comes to mice, and later, his son Tyke. In the shorts Jerry would often try to get Tom in trouble with Spike making him a shoo-in for a beating from the bulldog. Spike has a few weaknesses that Tom tries to capitalize upon: his possessiveness about his bone and his ticklishness. He made his first appearance in the 1942 Tom and Jerry cartoon Dog Trouble, and his first speaking role was in 1944's The Bodyguard, where he was voiced by Billy Bletcher up until 1949, from which point he was voiced by Daws Butler. Tyke is known as a cute, sweet, happy and a loveable pup. He is Spike's son and they make the perfect father and son, with Spike spending much of his free time comforting his son, taking him out or teaching him the facts of life of being a dog. In Tom and Jerry Kids, Tyke has a speaking role and was the first time that Tom and Jerry fans were able to hear Tyke speak.

(Please remember that Spike is an American bulldog who is particularly disapproving of Alice from 1951's Alice in Wonderland, but a softie when it comes to Fern from 1973's Charlotte's Web, Pinocchio from 1940's Pinocchio, Quasimodo from 1996's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Wendy from 193's Peter Pan.)


Spike

In his very first appearance, Dog Trouble, Spike is the main 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. 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. 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's perfectly obvious that Tom is not responsible, as seen in The Invisible Mouse, Spike still blames Tom and hurts him instead of Jerry.

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. From the 1942 cartoon Dog Trouble to 1948 cartoon Heavenly Puss he was voiced by Billy Bletcher. His name also varies in some shorts: in Solid Serenade he is named "Killer", and in The Truce Hurts he signs "Butch" on the treaty paper.

Spike's later years when Tyke debuts

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 the first television successes for Hanna-Barbera Productions, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy. 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 age, 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 (decade) and finally, Tom and Jerry Tales.

Droopy's enemy

Spike is not to be confused with another bulldog of the same name who appeared in Tex Avery and Michael Lah's Droopy cartoons, and four solo shorts, for MGM. However, the two characters were essentially combined into one in the Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, where the Tom & Jerry version of Spike would also appear in the new Droopy cartoons, filling the role of the other Spike as an antagonist of Droopy the Basset Hound. They were not separated as distinct characters again, until the feature Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring. This character, now named "Butch" (not to be confused for the black alley cat of the same name from Tom and Jerry), would then make several appearances in the Tom and Jerry films as a minor antagonist, ironically alongside Droopy.

Catchphrases

  • That's my boy!
  • Speak to me, son. Say something!
  • Listen pussy cat!
  • Bother my boy again and there'll be trouble!
  • Where's my boy!?
  • There's gonna be murder (a.k.a "Moi-der")!"
  • I'll skin you alive!
  • Don't spend it all in one place. (From Tom and Jerry Tales)

Trivia

  • In the short Quiet Please!, it is revealed that Spike has an anchor tattoo on his left upper arm when he chases after Tom near the end. However, it is unknown whether he still has an anchor tattoo.
  • As a bulldog, Spike has razor-sharp teeth, as revealed in Dog Trouble (1942), Puttin' on the Dog (1944), The Bodyguard (1944), Solid Serenade(1946) Cat Fishin' (1947), Love That Pup (1949), and Fit to Be Tied (1952), Smarty Cat (1955), and Tops with Pops (1957).
  • In Solid Serenade, Love That Pup and Tops with Pops, Spike's teeth are revealed to be dentures.
  • In Tom and Jerry Kids, Tyke wears a dark blue leather collar, instead of the usual red and gold studded collar.
  • In the Tom and Jerry Tales episode, "Game Set Match", Tyke wears a red T-shirt instead of the usual red and gold studded collar.
  • In the episode "The Framed Cat", Spike for some odd reason, does not have a light grey chest what he usually has.
  • Spike sometimes gives his son Tyke big, sloppy kisses. This is notable in "Love that Pup", "Slicked-up Pup" and "Tops with Pops".
  • Spike often refers to Tom as Pussy Cat.
  • Although Gene Deitch's & Chuck Jones' Tom and Jerry shorts occasionally feature Spike as a minor character, however Tyke never showed up in any of those Deitch and Jones cartoons.
  • In Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring Spike and Tyke are colored yellow. Similarly in Tom and Jerry: Blast Off To Mars, Spike was colored yellow, too. The yellow coloring in referenced from Chuck Jones' incarnation of Spike from the Chuck Jones' Tom and Jerry shorts.
  • Spike made a cameo in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, coloured grey, dressed as a security guard, and viewed from the back alongside Disney's Pete and Horace Horsecollar before Porky Pig and Tinkerbell close the movie.
  • Spike also made a cameo in Tom and Jerry: The Movie as the brown-furred vicious bulldog that chased Tom, but designed differently from his classic-era counterpart.
  • Spike made a cameo in a one-shot cartoon War Dogs.

One-shot

Spike and Tyke

The Tom and Jerry (1975)

The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show

Tom & Jerry Kids

  • Dog Daze Afternoon:
  • Puss n Pups: Spike teaches His Son how to Chase Cats, and selects Kyle to be Tyke's Prey.
  • Super Duper Spike: to Ensure that Tyke won't be disappointed, Spike dresses as Super Duper, Duper Hunk.
  • Hoodwinked Cat: Tyke goes to deliver a Canary for His Grandmother, but Kyle is determined to turn the Canary into Dinner.
  • Crash Condor:
  • My Pet: Tyke hides an Escaped Tiger from His Father.
  • Chumpy Chums: Spike forces Tom and Jerry to become Friends.
  • Tyke on a Hike: Spike and Tyke go on a Nature walk, unaware that a Mountain Lion is wanting Food from Tyke.
  • Boomer Beaver: a Beaver declares a Lumber War with Spike, and a Environmental Tyke.
  • Tyke on a Bike: Tyke wins a Bicycle and wants lessons from His Father, but Spike has a Secret. He doesn't know how to Ride a Bike!
  • Here's Sand in Your Face: Spike tries to Deal with a Beach Bully.
  • Fish that shoulda got away: Spike and Tyke goes in a Fishing Expedition.
  • Love Me, Love My Zebra: Tyke hides the Zoo's Zebra in His House.
  • Barbeque Bust-Up: Tyrone the Cat tries to Abscond a Steak from Spike and Tyke's Summer Barbeque.
  • Pink Powder-Puff Racer: as His Father builds a Soapbox Car for Him, Tyke becomes conflicted, that He wouldn't want to Race against Mary-Lou, Tyke's Girlfriend.
  • Down in the Dumps: Tyke tries to save His Father's Job in the City Dump, by standing Guard all Night from Kyle the Cat.

Tom and Jerry Tales

Direct-to-video and TV special

Voice actors

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