''Dennis and Gnasher'' (or ''Dennis the Menace'' and ''Dennis the Menace and Gnasher'') is a British animated television series based on characters from ''

The Beano ''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'', also known as ''Beano'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it became the world's longest-run ...

'' comic, which was broadcast on BBC from 2 April 1996 until 7 May 1998. Repeats of the programme ran on

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7–16 ...

(BBC1, BBC2 and CBBC Channel) until January 2009. The series was produced by Collingwood O'Hare Productions and D.C. Thomson & Co. in association with

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

, alongside Flextech and

PolyGram Video PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to b ...

for the first season only. It was distributed by

HIT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sop ...

worldwide and was directed and largely written by Tony Collingwood. A revival series was announced by the BBC and was debuted in September 2009. Season 2 of the revival came in 2013

Characters

Main

Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is somet ...

(voiced by Richard Pearce) is the main character, Dennis is a 10-year-old troublemaker and mischievous young boy. While most of his mischief is for fun, sometimes it can cause serious problems, or even help others. Dennis' antics have caused him to gain multiple enemies including his next-door neighbour Walter, the Colonel, and Sergeant Slipper. Dennis has saved the world on one occasion and appeared on ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...

'' after winning an art competition ("The Competition"). One of his favourite TV shows is "

Nick Kelly Nick Kelly (born 25 July 1993) is an Australian-born New Zealand cricketer who plays for Northern Districts. He made his first-class debut on 23 October 2015 in the 2015–16 Plunket Shield. He made his List A debut on 6 January 2016 in the 201 ...

" (a character who featured in another D.C. Thomson & Co. comic). * Gnasher (voiced by

Kerry Shale Kerry Shale is a Canadian actor and writer based in London, England. Filmography Film Television Video games References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shale, Kerry Living people 20th-century British male actors 20th-century Ca ...

) is Dennis's pet dog, an Abyssinian wire-haired tripe hound. He is Dennis's "partner in crime" twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week together they are the proverbial "two peas in a pod". When Gnasher is not by Dennis's side, like during school hours (though he does follow Dennis to school in the mornings), he'll have taken up his vigil, hiding in the front garden, ready and waiting to ambush the postman as he attempts to deliver the mail on Gnasher's watch. Gnasher's family still lives on the isle of Abyssinia, as revealed in "The Trial", when a company had accused Gnasher of being a rat. Gnasher possesses a set of teeth that are capable of chewing through almost anything, hence his name. His favourite food is bones, and his favourite dog toy is his squeaky bone. In "Summer Holiday", Gnasher went by the alias of 'Norman' - in order to pass himself off as a baby to help the family find lodgings at a hotel that forbids pets. In "Special Agent Dennis", it's revealed that Dennis feeds Gnasher his homework rather than actually do the homework. *Dennis' Dad (voiced by John Baddeley) is under a lot of stress due to Dennis' mischief; he often tries to discipline his son, with little results, and is forced to take extreme measures at times. He works in an office. *Dennis' Mum (voiced by

Eve Karpf Eve Karpf (born 2 August 1947) is a British actress. Among her roles was the voice of Weed for the 2001 ''Bill and Ben'' reboot. She was a voice of Dennis' mum, Matilda in the 1996 '' Dennis the Menace'' television series, Mrs. Bird in '' Th ...

) seems to be able to cope more with Dennis' behaviour and on equal terms, Dennis listens to her when she tells him off. At times, she can be rather oblivious to events around her and silly at times, using household objects to help her when she takes driving lessons ("Menace Power"). *Dennis's Granny, Gertrude (voiced by

Sally Grace Sally Grace (born 10 September 1951) is an English actress who has worked extensively on radio and television and in animation. Life and career Grace was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, and trained at the Guildhall School of Musi ...

) Although she is eighty years old, Dennis's Granny is still very young at heart. Dennis loves his Granny, he defends her when another speaks ill of her ("Dennis and the Beanstalk") and will come to her for advice in times of need ("The Secret Diary"). In her youth, Dennis's Granny was every bit the Menace towards anything like a peaceful society in Beanotown that her grandson is today, as revealed in "The Secret Diary", and in her day there was a police officer, Sgt. Boot, who was the "Sgt. Slipper" to her "Dennis". According to information from the Beano comic, she is the mother of Dennis's Dad; in "The Secret Diary", when Dennis's Dad mentions more than once how well-behaved he was to his parents, he may have been referring particularly to his father because Dennis's Granny favours her grandson, Dennis, who takes after her. In "The Secret Diary", she was depicted as having black hair, like her son and grandson, but in "Gorilla Warfare", she was seen in a flashback with blond hair (so possibly she dyed it). She rides a motorcycle and eats pizza with "everything on them". She is perhaps the only adult, as mentioned by Dennis's Dad, "insane enough" to provide Dennis with any adult supervision and survive intact; she will even willingly come back for more of the fun and mayhem. *Curly (voiced by

Jill Lidstone Jill is an English feminine given name, a short form of the name Jillian ( Gillian), which in turn originates as a Middle English variant of Juliana, the feminine form of the name Julian. People with the given name *Jill Astbury, Australian re ...

) is Dennis's best friend and fellow Menace. He is the loyal friend that will stand up for Dennis no matter what and can be considered his second-in-command. *Kevin "Pie-Face" (voiced by Gary Martin) is Dennis' other best friend and fellow Menace. Portrayed as being dim-witted and at times cowardly, as well as being a fan of pies (hence his nickname). * Walter the Softy (voiced by

Judy Bennett __NOTOC__ Judy Bennett (born 1943) is a English voice actor whose career in radio began with the long-running soap opera ''The Archers'', in which she has played the role of Shula Hebden-Lloyd since 1971. She played Shula's twin brother Kento ...

) is Dennis' next-door neighbour, rival and major enemy. Always exasperated with Dennis' mischief and often tries to come up with ideas to humiliate and outshine him. But he is always unsuccessful as his plans tend to backfire. *Matilda (voiced by

) is Walter's best friend and girlfriend, often seen with him and swooning over him. Matilda will also give Walter cucumber sandwiches with the crust cut off on their picnics. *

Sgt SGT may refer to * Sergeant, a rank in many uniformed organizations * Scotland's Great Trails * Singapore Standard Time or Singapore Time * Society of Glass Technology {{disambiguation ...

. Slipper (voiced by

Colin McFarlane Colin Andrew Ignatius Peter McFarlane (born 15 September 1961) is a British actor, narrator and voice actor. He is best known for his role as Gillian B. Loeb in two films of Christopher Nolan's '' The Dark Knight Trilogy'', Ulysses in the STAR ...

) is a local policeman and another enemy of Dennis, usually being the first one to deal with Dennis' antics outside his house, and often is seen with the Colonel. He is a bit clumsy at times and often overreacts to things. However, considering that there have been occasions where he and Dennis have encountered a common enemy, there have also been times when he proves himself to be extremely responsible, adept (enough to both take on the role of judge and pilot a police aircraft in 'The Trial') and effective at his job. *The

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

, Godfrey; voiced by John Baddeley A neighbour of Dennis' family who lives across the road. He is a stereotypical military veteran who is forever seen in military uniform, his house resembles a military bunker and he even has a tank parked in his front garden. Likely, he is still in active (albeit limited) service, as he is occasionally seen conducting meetings at the nearby military base and is sometimes accompanied by a platoon of soldiers to tackle an opponent (usually Dennis). The Colonel often recalls memorable battles in his life and is considered an enemy of sorts by Dennis. However, there are occasions when the both of them join forces against a common enemy, such as in the episode 'The Trial', during which they, along with Sergeant Slipper and the Colonel's cousin Hugo, set off to find Gnasher (after the Colonel had made a false accusation against him). *Foo Foo is Walter's pet poodle and Gnasher's rival. She has been seen in a few episodes with Walter holding her while he's scolding Dennis. She tries to beat Gnasher at his own game but fails. Even though she does not appear as often as her master, Foo Foo is a minor antagonist.

Minor and guests

*Mrs. Pie Face, Kevin Pie Face's Mum (voiced by

) *Mr. Pie Face, Kevin Pie Face's Dad (voiced by Gary Martin) *The Postman (voiced by John Baddeley) Like in the comic, the Postman is mostly harassed by Gnasher whenever he tries to deliver the mail to Dennis' House. *Rasher is Dennis' pet pig that made a cameo in the episode ''Dennis and the Beanstalk''. *Sidney is Dennis' spider based on the comic book spider Dasher that with his web saved the day. Seen in ''Secret Agent Dennis''. *Walter's Dad (voiced by Gary Martin) *School Headmaster (voiced by

) *Flossy Muggins (voiced by

) is a wacky inventor who helped Dennis build some ingenious inventions. Seen in ''Revenge of the Robot''. *Dirk Cool, Secret Agent (voiced by Gary Martin) Seen in ''Special Agent Dennis''. *Aunt Beryl is Gran's sister. *Hugo (voiced by

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in ''A Room with a View'' (19 ...

) is the Colonel's adventurer cousin who helped Dennis and the others save Gnasher and other Abyssinian tripe hounds from the rat catchers. Seen in ''The Trial''. *Mr Smiley (voiced by

Derek Nimmo Derek Robert Nimmo (19 September 193024 February 1999) was an English character actor, producer and author. He is best remembered for his comedic upper class "silly ass" and clerical roles including Revd Mervyn Noote in the BBC1 sitcom ''All ...

) is a nutty psychiatrist, who tried Dennis like practical jokes on the parents during his course on "How to Understand Children", but couldn't get the better of Dennis even though the parents thought he was worse than him. Seen in ''Dennis and the Grown-Ups'' *Slasher Brown (voiced by

Denis Quilley Denis Clifford Quilley, OBE (26 December 1927 – 5 October 2003) was an English actor and singer. From a family with no theatrical connections, Quilley was determined from an early age to become an actor. He was taken on by the Birmingham Re ...

) is Walter's twisted uncle, who runs the barbershop. Seen in ''Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow'' as the main antagonist. *Reg Trademark (voiced by John Baddeley) is an eccentric inventor who makes insane and useless gadgets. He builds a shopping mall and uses subliminal messages to make the customers buy his on sale gadgets. Seen in ''Malled''. *Bertie Blenkinsop is a fellow softy and friend of Walter. Seen in ''Snowbound''. *Spotty Perkins is a fellow softy and friend of Walter. Seen in ''Snowbound''. *Captain Trout (voiced by

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

) is a sailor who enlists Dennis and the gang as the crew aboard his ship, the S.S. Rustbucket. Despite managing to capture the boys' interest when he relates to them how he lost his father, Captain Prefab to a whale known as Dopey Mick (a parody of

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

) Captain Trout is essentially a strict, no-nonsense person - which results in Dennis very quickly losing all respect for him when he discovers this! However, he is grateful to the gang for their role in helping him be reunited with his father, and when they help him escape from the whale. Both captains appear in ''Dennis Ahoy!'' Captain Prefab later appears in a non-speaking cameo role in ''Summer Holiday''.

Episodes

During the series' credits, the guest stars were always at the top before the regular cast.

Series 1 (1996)

Series 2 (1998)

For this series, the animation team switched from traditional cel-animation to digital ink-and-paint, making the motions appear much smoother.

Revival series

A new television series has now been produced. The new series features the return of Dennis, Gnasher, Mum, Dad, Curly and Pie-Face and also features the introduction of Dennis' little sister Bea. The production shots also showed Dennis' treehouse with a more menacing design. Screenshots and an episode can be found at the production company Red Kite Animation's website. The show used to be shown at 4.00 pm from Monday-Friday on CBBC.

Release

Broadcast

The series initially aired on BBC and

, with the latter channel airing it until 2009 when it was replaced with a revival series, it also later started airing on TCC and

Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a jo ...

. In the US, the series aired on Sprout from 2005-2006, it was removed due to the channel wanting to focus more on preschool programming. Internationally, it aired on RTL 7 in Poland, NCRV in the Netherlands,

Super RTL Super RTL is a German free-to-air television network owned by the RTL Group. The channel originally launched in 1995 as a joint venture between RTL Group predecessor company CLT-UFA and Disney's Buena Vista International Television Investments ...

in Germany,

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is oriented at both young and adult people. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, originally, was o ...

in Italy, and

SBT sbt is an open-source build tool for Scala and Java projects, similar to Apache's Maven and Gradle. Its main features are: *Native support for compiling Scala code and integrating with many Scala test frameworks *Continuous compilation, te ...

in Brazil.

Home Media

Episodes 1-4 of series one are available in two, separate volumes each containing two episodes. The further thirteen episodes are yet to be released. All 13 episodes of series two are available in three, separate volumes each containing four-five episodes. These were later re-released in a box-set alongside "The Beano Videostars" and "The Beano Allstars". All 26 episodes the complete 2 series was released 22 August 2011 in a DVD boxset titled Dennis & Gnasher: Special Agent Dennis & 25 More Crazy Adventures (8 Discs), it also contains "The Beano Videostars" and "The Beano Allstars" on 22 August 2011 which makes all episodes available on DVD.

Ratings (CBBC Channel)

:Saturday 22 June 2002 - 40,000 (3rd most watched on CBBC that week) :Sunday 23 June 2002 - 30,000 (5th most watched on CBBC that week)

References

External links

* * {{Portal, Television, United Kingdom, 1990s, Cartoon 1990s British children's television series 1996 British television series debuts 1998 British television series endings 1990s British animated television series British children's animated comedy television series English-language television shows The Beano Fox Kids BBC children's television shows Television shows based on comics Television series by Mattel Creations Television series by Universal Television Animated television series about children Animated television series about dogs Dennis the Menace and Gnasher