Line #32 WesternAnimation/TheDoverBoys


1	[[quoteright:241:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smallerdoverboys_5868.jpg]]
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3	''[[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere A Description]]''... '''[[MemeticMutation I'LL STEAL IT]]! [[WithCatlikeTread NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW]]!'''
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5	A [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1942]] [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] short subject directed by Creator/ChuckJones, ''"The Dover Boys at Pimento University" or "The Rivals of Roquefort Hall"'' (just "The Dover Boys" for short) is an animated parody of a series of early 20th Century juvenile fiction novels called ''The Rover Boys''.
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7	This was Chuck's first attempt at making a cartoon that would later be reflective of his (and by extension, the studio's) trademark style – unlike the cloying cuteness and Disney-like nature of his [[Characters/LooneyTunes Sniffles the Mouse]] cartoons. It was also an early experiment with stylized LimitedAnimation, as well as smearing. It ''almost'' got Chuck fired for its unorthodox nature – he just barely managed to avoid the pink slip from his boss.
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9	The short has fallen into the public domain and can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR0eBWDVAtw here]] on Website/YouTube or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dover_Boys_at_Pimento_University here]] on its Website/{{Wikipedia}} article. [[Creator/ColumbiaCartoons Columbia's Screen Gems studio]] even made their own lower-budget [[FollowTheLeader knockoff]] of it, in 1943's "The Rocky Road to Ruin" (which also features comically-pompous narration by John [=McLeish=], alongside the directorial influence of eventual WesternAnimation/MrMagoo creator John Hubley).
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11	The Dover Boys were also used in an ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' Slappy Squirrel Short (acting as musical narrators to Daniel Boone), in ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish'', and made a cameo as crowd members in ''Film/SpaceJam''. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0U8iL38xfM remake,]] featuring ninety-plus animators reanimating each individual shot in their own style, was released in 2018.
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13	Unmarked spoilers abound. If you have a problem with that, just watch the cartoon first. It's only 9 minutes long.
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15	!!CONFOUND THOSE LISTED TROPES! OOOOH, HOW I ''HATE'' THEM!
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17	* ActionGirl: Dora Standpipe manhandles, throws and beats Dan Backslide multiple times when he tries making advances towards her, enough so that he's barely able to stand when help arrives, though she still wants the Dover Boys to rescue her. By that point, Dan wants the Dover Boys to rescue ''him''.
18	* TheAlcoholic:
19	-->'''Dan:''' THEY DRIVE ME TO DRINK! ''(Cue rapid shot-taking)''
20	* AlcoholHic: Dan, shortly after downing fifteen shots in four seconds.
21	* AllForNothing: Dora is the sole reason Dan and the Dover Boys are in conflict. In the aftermath, when all four of them are knocked unconscious, Dora leaves the scene being courted by somebody else.
22	* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Dan Backslide is green, [[NonStandardCharacterDesign despite everyone else having normal skin colors]].
23	* BadGuysPlayPool: Dan Backslide is introduced playing pool in [[BadGuyBar "a tavern of unsavory repute"]].
24	* BerserkButton: It seems the mere ''presence'' of the Dover Boys is enough to set Dan Backslide off, as he launches into an angry tirade after he senses them pass by the bar he's in.
25	* BigBad: Subverted with Dan Backslide, who is supposed to be the picture's antagonist but is [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain too comically inept to be a real threat]].
26	* BigManOnCampus: The Dover Boys are the most popular students at P.U.
27	* BigThinShortTrio: Tom is tall and athletic-looking (and he's the one who gives Dan Backslide the worst beating when the boys finally catch up to him), Dick is slim and weedy, and Larry is rotund and shorter than the other two.
28	* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Tom, Dick, and Larry respectively.
29	* BrickJoke: The old man in an OldTimeyBathingSuit who keeps popping up out of nowhere in the short to the tune of "While Strolling Through the Park One Day" goes off with Dora in the end.
30	* CreepyHighPitchedVoice: Dan Backslide speaks -- or rather, [[EvilIsHammy shouts]] -- with a ''very'' shrill voice.
31	* CrossCounter: A three-way one, delivered by each of the Dover Boys simultaneously to the other two Dover Boys. [[DeadlyDodging They were all aiming for Backslide]], who [[EpicFail didn't actually mean to dodge them]].
32	* DamselFightAndFlightResponse: [[UncannyValleyGirl Dora]] beats [[DastardlyWhiplash Dan Backslide]] to a pulp [[OffhandBackhand while banging on the door and calling for the Dover Boys to save her.]] Before long, [[PityTheKidnapper both of them are begging to be saved from each other]]. It's also worth noting that the door she's banging on is [[TooDumbToLive locked from the inside]].
33	* DamselOutOfDistress: Played with in that, even though Dora effortlessly [[WaifFu hurls Dan Backslide across the room and pummels him within an inch of his life]] when he tries to advance on her, she continues calling for Tom, Dick, and Larry to save her. And then she absconds with the RunningGag guy after the Dover Boys knock each other out, subverting their BigDamnHeroes moment.
34	* DarkhorseVictory: At the end of the short, the old man in the OldTimeyBathingSuit manages to hook up with Dora, despite previously appearing as nothing more but a strange RunningGag.
35	* DastardlyWhiplash: Dan Backslide, [[RunningGag coward-bully-cad-and-thief]].
36	* DeclarativeFinger: Used frequently by Dan Backslide, and when Tom confronts him.
37	* DeconstructiveParody: For its time, this was the nature of the parody of the ''Rover Boys'' books.
38	* DecoyProtagonist: The Dover Boys are the heroes, but the short focuses more on Dan Backslide and his attempt to kidnap Dora Stanpipe.
39	* DelayedReaction: Dan Backslide doesn't realize he's taken both Dora and the tree she's clutching until he's loaded her into the runabout and driven a couple dozen feet.
40	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Dan Backslide's first scene establishes him as the villainous turn-of-the-century DastardlyWhiplash by having him smoke like a chimney and down a dozen shots in less than a minute, showing how absurd his vices are even by the standards of the '40s.
41	* DevilishHairHorns: Dan Backslide, coward-bully-cad-and-thief, has his hair styled into two wicked horns, just in case you couldn't tell he's the bad guy.
42	* TheDividual: The Dover Boys move in unison, speak in unison, act exactly the same, and all three of them are fiancés to the same woman.
43	* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: Dora Standpipe beats up the bad guy, Dan Backslide, on her own, yet she doesn't seem to realize it and keeps calling the Dover Boys for help. Alternatively, she simply wants to be saved and is just holding the villain off until the Dover boys can do so.
44	* DontExplainTheJoke:
45	-->'''Narrator:''' Pimento University. Pimento U. Good ol' [[{{Pun}} P. U.]]\
46	[-{barbershop quartet singing}-] ''Pimento U, oh, sweet P.U.''\
47	''Thy fragrant odor scents the air'' \
48	''A pox on Yale; poo-poo, Purdue''\
49	''Pimento U, my college fair''
50	* EdibleThemeNaming: Pimento University, Roquefort Hall, and Miss Cheddar's Female Academy are all named after types of cheese.
51	* EitherOrTitle: "The Dover Boys at Pimento University" or "The Rivals of Roquefort Hall".[[note]] The name of the short is a parody of the title of the first ''Rover Boys'' book, ''"The Rover Boys at School" or "The Cadets at Putnam Hall"''.[[/note]]
52	* EmbarrassingInitials: Pimento University. Pimento U. [[DontExplainTheJoke Good ol' P.U.]]
53	* EpicFail: The Dover Boys knock themselves out trying to beat up an already limp and unconscious man who can't even stand up. In fact, they knock themselves out ''precisely'' because he can't stand up!
54	* EvilIsHammy: Save for his very first line, Dan Backslide is always screaming and it's hilarious.
55	* {{Expy}}:
56	** The Dover Boys (Tom, Dick, and Larry) are, of course, expies of [[Creator/StratemeyerSyndicate Edward Stratemeyer's]] "Rover Boys" Dick, Tom, and Sam (and their schoolfellows Larry, Fred, and Frank). Their names are also a {{pun}} on the phrase "every Tom, Dick, and Harry", as a way to indicate that they're all interchangeable and unremarkable.
57	** Dan Backslide is this to the villain of the books, Dan Baxter.
58	** Dora Standpipe is based on Dora Stanhope from the books.
59	* EyesAlwaysShut: Dora's eyes remain closed for most of the short, which gives her an oddly serene look even while she screams for the boys to save her (or while she's kicking Dan Backslide's ass).
60	* {{Foreshadowing}}: At the tavern, Dan places a picture of Dora in front of a poster showing a muscled man; the picture, of Dora's face, covers the man's head. When Dan kidnaps Dora as she's grasping a tree while counting for Hide-and-Seek, she rips the tree out of the ground without losing a beat or realizing she's being taken. As we later find, she's strong enough to tie Dan in a knot.
61	* TheGayNineties: The setting of this short. The original ''Rover Boys'' book was published in 1899.
62	* GoldDigger: Dan Backslide, who really loves Dora Standpipe... [[TwoFacedAside 's father's money]].
63	* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Dan Backslide uses a cigarette holder -- of course he must be a coward-bully-cad-and-thief.
64	* GreatBigBookOfEverything: The ''Handbook of Useful Information'' which informs Dan Backslide "How Best to Remove Young Lady from Tree (Fig. 1)".
65	* GreenAndMean: Dan Backslide has a greenish complexion.
66	* HamToHamCombat: {{Subverted\|Trope}}. By the time the Dover Boys confront Dan Backslide, he's already been beaten senseless by Dora to the point that he doesn't even say anything.
67	* HaveAGayOldTime:
68	** "A gay outing at the park has been planned by the merry trio."
69	** Where else in modern times will you hear the term "runabout" outside of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''? (The runabout was an early car body style, popular around the turn of the 20th century. By 1942, they were long obsolete and presumably associated with the 1890s nostalgia that the short is parodying.)
70	* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: As Dora pounds on the door and cries for help, Dan starts slinking up behind her with a creepy look on his face, no doubt with impure intentions. He keeps doing this even after she starts casually hurling him across the room, looking less menacing every time.
71	* INeedAFreakingDrink: The Dover Boys drive Dan Backslide to drink. To drive the point home, he then goes over to the bar and downs a baker's-dozen worth of shots in the span of about four seconds (with the barkeep knocking one back in the process).
72	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Dan Backslide gets casually beaten up by Dora while she's screaming for help, to the point that ''he'' starts calling for help. Then the Boys beat him up again without stopping to see whether he's actually doing anything threatening.
73	* InformedAttribute: The narration describes Tom, Dick, and Larry as at least somewhat different from each other (Tom is the party animal, Dick is the serious one, and Larry is the youngest), but in the actual cartoon, they have basically no appreciable differences aside from Tom tending to speak for the group. They speak more lines in unison than they do apart. Mind, this is intentional; much of the Dover Boys's jokes are dedicated to them being blandly heroic archetypes with nothing going on upstairs.
74	* InsistentTerminology: Dan Backslide, coward-bully-cad-and-thief.
75	* InstantCostumeChange: When stealing the runabout, Dan Backslide first takes a string-tied package out from its trunk. He holds the package up and drops it onto his own head, instantly dressing him in an old-timey driving outfit -- including a huge overcoat, hat, scarf, gloves and goggles -- and placing a wrench in his hand.
76	* IronicEcho:
77	** Dora Standpipe on being captured by Dan Backslide.
78	--->'''Dora''': Help, Tom! Help, Dick! Help, Larry!
79	** Dan Backslide after being kicked, knocked, and tossed senseless by Dora Standpipe several times.
80	--->'''Dan Backslide''': HELP, TOM! HELP, DICK! HELP, LARRY!
81	* LanternJawOfJustice: Tom has a massive chin.
82	* LargeHam: Dan Backslide. Which is to be expected, given Creator/MelBlanc is voicing him.
83	* LastSecondWordSwap: "And Larry, the youngest of the three jer-- ah, um, brothers."
84	* {{Leitmotif}}: Every time the old man in the swimsuit appears and walks across the screen, a instrumental version of [[https://youtu.be/iUOBF9nMdLg "Fountain in the Park"]] (better known as "While Strolling through the Park One Day") plays.
85	* LemonyNarrator: The narrator's prose is whimsically theatrical, he has a tendency to get caught off guard by some of the events in the story, and almost lets slip his own opinions (such as nearly calling the boys jerks near the beginning).
86	* LimitedAnimation: Or at least extreme stylization. As mentioned in the introduction, this short was one of the first to use the "smear" technique now nearly ubiquitous throughout Western animation (including '''''many''''' of Chuck's own later works).
87	* LovableJock: Tom is the beefiest of the Dover Boys and wears a varsity jacket, implying that he's intended to be read as a lovable jock, though the narrator ''does'' briefly describe him as a jerk.
88	* LoveMakesYouDumb: ''[[ExaggeratedTrope Everybody.]]''
89	** Dan [[BullyingADragon kidnaps and attempts to take advantage of a woman who can rip an oak tree clean out of the ground]]. Though to be fair, he himself grabbed said lady while she was holding the tree, carrying both her and the tree at the same time, so he's very strong himself.
90	** Dora pounds on the door screaming for help instead of ''unlocking'' it or, you know, breaking one of the windows, all while obliviously ''kicking Dan's green ass black-and-blue''.
91	** And the Dover Boys? The first thing they do when they reach the lodge is [[DoorSlamsYou plow through the door that Dora was right behind]], potentially killing her depending on their levels of strength. No wonder she [[TakeAThirdOption ditches them all for the swimsuit hobo]].
92	* {{Manchild}}: The entire cast. Dora and the Dover Boys' idea of a fun time consists of an intense game of hide-and-seek in the park.
93	* MayDecemberRomance: In the end, Dora leaves with the old man in the swimsuit.
94	* MeaningfulName: Dan Backslide (coward-bully-cad-and-thief).
95	* MotionBlur: This short pioneered the use of the smear, in which the characters appear elongated for two or three frames as they zip from one pose to the next. Creator/JohnKricfalusi has [[http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2009/07/smears-and-poses.html an analysis on this and the poses]], and explains how the cartoon influenced his style.
96	* MRSDegree: Dora is picked up from Mrs. Cheddar's Female Academy.
97	* MuggingTheMonster: If Dan Backslide had realized just ''how'' strong Dora was, he might have picked a different girl.
98	* MundaneMadeAwesome: Dan Backslide announces his plan to steal a runabout with all the enthusiasm of someone about to steal the Statue of Liberty.
99	* MusclesAreMeaningless: Dora's arms are about as thick as the [[NoodlePeople frame of Tom's bicycle]] and yet she hurls Dan Backslide across the room like he's made of matchsticks.
100	* NoIndoorVoice: Dan Backslide rarely speaks below a shrill scream.
101	* NoodleIncident: "Dick, a serious lad of eighteen summers [[{{Pun}} plus a winter in Florida]], as related in ''The Dover Boys in the Everglades''..."
102	* OffhandBackhand: Dora to Dan, as she continues to call for help.
103	* OffscreenCrash: The first two times Dora throws Dan offscreen, the camera stays on Dora (still pounding the door) long enough for Dan's crashing to stop, and ''then'' pans over the aftermath.
104	* PetTheDog: If you pay attention while Dan Backslide is throwing back drink after drink in rapid succession, you'll notice that the bartender sneaks in a drink; when he does this, Backslide smiles and gestures at the glass. This seems to indicate that he bought the bartender that drink.
105	* PityTheKidnapper: By the time the boys got to the shack, Dan Backslide is beaten black and blue by Dora, and is calling for the Dover boys to help ''him''.
106	* {{Polyamory}}: Hang on... so Dora is the fiancée of ''all three'' of the Dover Boys?
107	* PublicDomainAnimation: The cartoon entered the public domain sometime in the 1970s, due to the copyright not being renewed in time. As such, it was a staple of unlicensed VHS cartoon compilations in the '80s.
108	* PurpleProse: The narration often finds itself lost in irrelevant tangents and confusing metaphors, parodying the oft-criticized narration of the ''Rover Boys'' novels.
109	* RuleOfThree:
110	** "Unhand her, Dan Backslide!!" [[LampshadeHanging The repetition is lampshaded]] with "Hey, we're getting in a rut!"
111	** The short also comedically contrasts the [[TheDividual fundamentally-interchangeable]] personalities of the Dover Boys themselves against the remaining cast's tendency to unnecessarily address a comment or demand to all three of them (e.g. "Help, Tom! Help, Dick! Help, Larry!").
112	** And Dan gets thrown across the room three times (on-screen) by Dora.
113	* RunningGag: The old man with the bathing suit and sailor hat, who periodically appears at random, makes everything come to a screeching halt, and hops in the air before walking offscreen to the tune of "Fountain in the Park." He gets Dora in the end.
114	* SilkHidingSteel: Dora is a prim and proper lady who will effortlessly ''school your ass'' without breaking a sweat or a fingernail.
115	* SinisterSchnoz: Dan Backslide has one. It's the biggest nose in the short, and the 2017 reanimation adds a new gag into the short by having Backslide play pool with it.
116	* StandardFemaleGrabArea: How Dan gets Dora (once she's removed from the tree) to go with him to the runabout.
117	* StandardSnippet: As would be expected from Carl Stalling.
118	** The score is punctuated by many college and popular turn-of-the-century songs – [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tDVABEmi_k "Far Above Cayuga's Waters",]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH5iKNSBLr0 "Sweet Genevieve",]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jTdgM66mWg "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree",]] and of course [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGSCQtHs0dk "Fountain in the Park"]] [-(a.k.a. "While Strolling through the Park One Day")-].
119	** Another scene-setter, for the "tavern of unsavory repute", is the 19th century MurderBallad "Frankie and Johnny". The William Tell Overture is heard in the climax as well.
120	* SuddenlyShouting:
121	** Dan Backslide (coward-bully-cad-and-thief) after his first two lines.
122	** "Telegram for the Dover Boys! Messirs Tom, Dick, and Larry, care of Wayward Tavern, Upper Bottleneck, New York. Sirs, Quote: '''''HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLP!''''' unquote. Signed, Dora. Thirty-five cents collect."
123	* TalkingIsAFreeAction:
124	** Dora and the Dover Boys pass the outside of the tavern of unsavory repute, wherein Dan Backslide notices them and rants. Once he's finished, the Dover Boys and their mutual fiancée are exactly where we left them, apparently having paused outside for a full minute.
125	** An even more ridiculous occurrence happens when Backslide kidnaps Dora in his stolen runabout. When Dora calls out to each Dover Boy for help, he doesn't just stop the car during; he ''pulls it back'' half a block.
126	* TandemParasite: Tom Dover is riding a tandem bike all by himself, with Dora Standpipe leaning on the front, which is left up in the air due to Tom being huge.
127	* TwoFacedAside: "...Dora Standpipe! Dear, Rich DORA STANDPIPE! HOW I LOVE HER... ''(AsideGlance)'' [-father's money-]."
128	* UnInstallment: TheNarrator refers to a non-existent previous "novel," ''The Dover Boys in the Everglades'', when introducing the trio.
129	* UnPaused: As Dan Backslide curses out the Dover Boys, he is interrupted by the swimsuit guy passing by, getting only up to "Con--". After the man leaves, Dan finishes with "--found them!"
130	* UselessProtagonist: The Dover Boys. They inadvertently reveal that Dora has been left unprotected to Dan Backslide, freeze immediately when she gets kidnapped, have to be spurred into action by a telegram, and by the time they do come to her rescue, the vile villain has already been beaten to within half an inch of his life by her. And then they end up knocking ''[[EpicFail themselves]]'' out.
131	* VillainousBreakdown: After Dan Backslide kidnaps Dora Standpipe, she proves to be too much for him to handle. It gets to the point were Dan is calling for the Dover Boys help too.
132	* WithCatlikeTread: Dan Backslide's idea of stealth:
133	** He sees the Dover Boys hiding under his pool table and he shouts his dastardly plans at the top of his lungs. [[FailedASpotCheck The boys, some two-and-a-half feet away, don't seem to notice]].
134	--->"The Dover Boys! THEN DORA MUST BE ALONE AND UN-PRO-TECTED!"
135	** And just outside, he follows up with "A runabout![[labelnote:]]This line is appropriately whispered.[[/labelnote]] '''I'LL STEAL IT! ''NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW!'''''"[[labelnote:]]This line, on the other hand, Backslide ''screams in the middle of a city.'' (yet no one seems to hear or try to stop him.)[[/labelnote]]
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Context WesternAnimation / TheDoverBoys