Baby Huey is a gigantic and naïve
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
ling cartoon character. He was created by
Martin Taras
Martin Bernard Taras (9 August 1914 – 2 November 1994), also known as Morrie Tarasinsky, was an American cartoonist who mostly worked at Famous Studios, the New York-based animation division of Paramount Pictures.
Career
Taras started his anima ...
for
Paramount Pictures'
Famous Studios, and became a Paramount cartoon star during the 1950s. Huey first appeared in ''Quack-a-Doodle-Doo'', a ''
Noveltoon
''Noveltoons'' is a series of cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios from 1943 to the end of the studio during 1967. The series was known for bringing to life characters from Harvey Comics, such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, We ...
'' theatrical short produced and released in 1950.
Famous Studios
![QuackaDoodleDooNT1950](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/QuackaDoodleDooNT1950.jpg)
Huey first appeared onscreen in the ''
Noveltoons'' short ''Quack-a-Doodle-Doo'', released in theaters on March 3, 1950.
The character's voice was provided by
Sid Raymond
Sid Raymond (born Raymond Silverstein, January 21, 1909 – December 1, 2006) was an American comedian and character actor.
Early years
Born Raymond Silverstein in Manhattan, Raymond dropped out of New York University and became the recreation ...
, an actor and comedian who created several other voices for Famous Studios' characters, including
Katnip from
Herman and Katnip. Eleven Baby Huey cartoons were produced between 1951 and 1959.
Many animated shorts featuring Huey had recurring themes. Most common among them was him trying to be just like any other kid his age. He would see his peers playing, and would immediately get excited. Unfortunately, whenever he tried to involve himself in the activities of his peers (also
anthropomorphic ducklings), he would often inadvertently cause problems at their expense, and as a result they would drive him away through trickery (and into tears). A hungry
fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
(voiced by
Jackson Beck) would show up, originally intending to eat Huey's peers, but upon seeing Huey as a bigger meal and overhearing the distraught duck's desires to play with someone, would feign friendship and set traps along the way, all of which would prove ineffective on Huey and/or backfire on the fox. At first, Huey was blissfully unaware of the fox's true agenda. But as his peers watched the annoyed fox in action from a safe distance (and fearing for ''his'' safety just as they did their own), Huey would come to realize the truth about his
predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
and dispose of him, usually by saying: "Hey, you! You're the fox! And I think you're trying to kill me!", and would finish the fox. Other times, however, Huey would remain blissfully unaware and the exasperated fox would finally give up, fleeing Baby Huey before any more misfortune befell him. In the end, Huey's peers would make amends for their previous attitudes towards him and happily include him in their activities.
Baby Huey had a sidekick in later comics. This was his slow-thinking cousin, whom he referred to as Cousin Dimwit. Dimwit was characterized as a fairly skinny duck in an oversized red woolen sweater, with sleeves that ran over his hands and hung down several inches.
Harvey Comics and later animated appearances
''
Little Audrey'' #25, Harvey Comics 1952 first ever Harvey appearance (pre-dates Harvey Comics Hits #60 by one month). ''
Harvey Hits'' #60 was the second Harvey-published comic book to feature the character.
The 1956 comic ''Baby Huey, the Baby Giant'' was the first to bear the character's name; it ran for 99 issues until 1972. The spin-off ''Baby Huey and Papa'' lasted for 33 issues (1962-1968), and ''Baby Huey in Duckland'' for 15 issues (1962-1966).
Spin-offs included ''Baby Huey in Duckland'' and ''Baby Huey and Papa'' (1962-1968).
Huey's parents, Papa and Mama Duck (Gilbert & Silly), always struggled to manage their overgrown son despite his overbearing weight and strength, which often resulted in damage to his family's house or car, injury to Papa, or a threat from Papa's boss to fire him if Huey harmed the boss or caused damage to his home or office. Papa often disparaged Huey (who remained oblivious to his disapproval). Huey's main sidekicks were small identical triplet ducks (who bore a striking resemblance to
Donald Duck's nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie) who resented or mocked Huey for his stupidity and clumsiness but depended on his superhero strength to get them out of trouble.
Characters who appeared in Baby Huey comic books in separate strips included Herman and Katnip and Buzzy the Funny Crow, who was always outsmarting a blue cat (who resembled Katnip) that tried to catch and eat him.
Harvey purchased the rights to all of Famous's original characters in 1959, and Huey continued to appear regularly in Harvey publications until 1972. Huey was rarely seen for nearly two decades afterwards, returning to comics in 1990.
Originally, Baby Huey was intended to appear as a cameo in the film ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 19 ...
'' in the deleted scene "Acme's Funeral".
Carbunkle Cartoons produced a new series of Baby Huey cartoons for television in 1994, which aired as ''
The Baby Huey Show
''The Baby Huey Show'' is an animated television series which ran in syndication during the 1994–95 and 1995-96 TV seasons. The show featured the Famous Studios/Harvey Comics character Baby Huey. 26 episodes were produced by combining old theatr ...
'' for two seasons. Sid Raymond reprised his role but was later replaced with
Joe Alaskey, once the production was taken over by
Film Roman.
He also starred in a live-action direct-to-video film, ''
Baby Huey's Great Easter Adventure
''Baby Huey's Great Easter Adventure'' is a 1999 live-action direct-to-video film directed by Stephen Furst, based on the Harvey Entertainment Company animated character Baby Huey. It was released by Columbia TriStar Home Video on VHS on March 2, ...
'', in 1999, voiced by
Stephen Furst (who also directed the film) and portrayed physically by
Rodger Bumpass
Rodger Bumpass (born November 20, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his long-running role as Squidward Tentacles on the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He voices several other characters on the show as ...
(who had a cameo in this film).
U.S. President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
in a 1993 conversation cited his similarities to Baby Huey: "I'm a lot like Baby Huey. I'm fat. I'm ugly. But if you push me down, I keep coming back."
In ''
The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper
''The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper'' is an animated television spin-off and a sequel of the feature film ''Casper'', which, in turn, was based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character of Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Production
At the time ...
'' segment entitled "Legend of Duh Bigfoot", Baby Huey makes a cameo at the end of that segment. In ''
Harvey Girls Forever'', Baby Huey makes cameo appearances in the third and fourth seasons as a Horn-a-Corn costume.
The documentary ''
Hype!
''Hype!'' ( 1996) is a documentary directed by Doug Pray about the popularity of grunge rock in the early to mid-1990s United States. It incorporates interviews and rare concert footage to trace the development of the grunge scene from its early ...
'' references Baby Huey; by comparing it to different music revolutions that hit different cities at random times.
Filmography
Theatrical shorts
* ''Quack-a-Doodle Doo'' (March 3, 1950)
* ''One Quack Mind'' (Jan 12, 1951)
* ''Party Smarty'' (Aug 3, 1951)
* ''Scout Fellow'' (Dec 21, 1951)
* ''Clown on the Farm'' (Aug 22, 1952)
* ''Starting from Hatch'' (Mar 6, 1953)
* ''Huey's Ducky Daddy'' (Nov 20, 1953)
* ''Git Along Li'l Duckie'' (Mar 25, 1955)
* ''Swab the Duck'' (May 11, 1956)
* ''Pest Pupil'' (Jan 25, 1957)
* ''
Ghost of Honor
''Ghost of Honor'' is a 1957 American animation and comedy film directed by Izzy Sparber. The film features Casper the Friendly Ghost as well as additional music composed by Winston Sharples.
Plot
Cast
* Cecil Roy - Casper
* Mae Questel - P ...
'' (1957, guest)
* ''Jumping with Toy'' (Oct 4, 1957)
* ''Huey's Father's Day'' (May 8, 1959)
Television
* ''
Matty's Funday Funnies
''Matty's Funday Funnies'' is a 1959—1961 American animated anthology television series.
Broadcast history
The original ''Matty's Funday Funnies'' was broadcast from 1959 to 1961 by American Broadcasting Company, scheduled during Sunday after ...
'' (1959, theatrical shorts shown along with other post-1950 Paramount cartoons)
* ''
Casper and Friends ''The Harveytoons Show'' is a television series presenting Movie theater, theatrical animated cartoons produced by Famous Studios from 1950 until 1964, which were acquired by Harvey Films, Harvey Entertainment.
History
This show features Harvey Com ...
'' (1990–1994, original and re-dubbed soundtrack)
* ''Casper: Classics'' (1994-1995, guest in "Ghost of Honor")
* ''
The Baby Huey Show
''The Baby Huey Show'' is an animated television series which ran in syndication during the 1994–95 and 1995-96 TV seasons. The show featured the Famous Studios/Harvey Comics character Baby Huey. 26 episodes were produced by combining old theatr ...
'' (1994–1995)
* ''
The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper
''The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper'' is an animated television spin-off and a sequel of the feature film ''Casper'', which, in turn, was based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character of Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Production
At the time ...
'' (1996, cameo in "Legend of Duh Bigfoot")
* ''
Harvey Girls Forever'' (2018, cameo in "Jet Fretters", "Now It's Con", "Bobby of Influence", "Misadventureland", "Scare Bud", "All Harveys Eve" and "Harvey Endings")
Films
* ''
Baby Huey's Great Easter Adventure
''Baby Huey's Great Easter Adventure'' is a 1999 live-action direct-to-video film directed by Stephen Furst, based on the Harvey Entertainment Company animated character Baby Huey. It was released by Columbia TriStar Home Video on VHS on March 2, ...
'' (1998, direct-to-video film)
References
External links
Baby Hueyat
Don Markstein's ToonopediaArchivedfrom the original on February 22, 2018.
{{Famous Studios
Film characters introduced in 1950
Harvey Comics titles
Harvey Comics series and characters
Famous Studios series and characters
Fictional ducks
DreamWorks Classics franchises
Fictional infants
DreamWorks Classics
American comics adapted into films
Male characters in animation
Child characters in animated films
Humor comics
Comics about ducks
Comics about animals