''Dennis the Menace'' is a daily
syndicated newspaper
comic strip originally created, written, and illustrated by
Hank Ketcham
Henry King Ketcham (March 14, 1920 – June 1, 2001) was an American cartoonist who created the '' Dennis the Menace'' comic strip, writing and drawing it from 1951 to 1994, when he retired from drawing the daily cartoon and took up painting ...
. The comic strip made its debut on March 12, 1951, in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by
Post-Hall Syndicate. It is now written and drawn by Ketcham's former assistants, Marcus Hamilton (weekdays, since 1995), Ron Ferdinand (Sundays, since 1981), and son Scott Ketcham (since 2010), and distributed to at least 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and in 19 languages by
King Features Syndicate. The comic strip usually runs for a
single panel on weekdays and a full strip on
Sundays
The Sundays were an English alternative rock band, formed in the late 1980s, which released three albums throughout the 1990s.
The band's beginnings came with the meeting of singer Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin while attending ...
.
The comic strip became so successful that it was adapted to other popular media, including several television shows, both live-action and animated, and several feature films, including theatrical and
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...
releases.
Coincidentally, a
UK comic strip of the same name debuted on the same day. The two are not related and change their names subtly in each other's respective home bases to avoid confusion.
Characters and setting
''Dennis the Menace'' takes place in a
middle-class suburban neighborhood in
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...
. In the comics, the Mitchell family lives in a two-story house at the fictional address of 2251 Pine Street. The Wilson family lives next door at 2253 Pine Street. The television series differs, putting the Wilsons at the also-fictional 627 Elm Street.
The Mitchell family
* Dennis Roger Mitchell is a
freckle
Freckles are clusters of concentrated melaninized cells which are most easily visible on people with a fair complexion. Freckles do not have an increased number of the melanin-producing cells, or melanocytes, but instead have melanocytes that ...
-faced 5-year-old boy with a troublesome but good-hearted and helpful personality. His long-suffering parents, Henry and Alice Mitchell, can only shake their heads and try to explain their son's antics to others, yet they very much love and care for him. The comic efficacy of Dennis's personality lies within how his genuine attempts to help those in need, combined with his youthful energy and enthusiasm, frequently lead to trouble wherever he goes (usually at Mr. Wilson's expense). He wears a black T-shirt with blue stripes with red
overalls
Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers".
Overalls were ...
and white
sneakers, yet he often prefers going
barefoot
Barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear.
There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead to h ...
. He hates
carrots and baths, loves
root beer
Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree '' Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of '' Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla, also used to make a soft drink, sarsaparilla) as the ...
(especially with
cookies
A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chi ...
or
brownies),
ketchup
Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among o ...
,
sandwiches
A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
,
water pistols, playing with other boys his age, mud puddles,
camping
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...
, and
Westerns
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
(especially those starring Cowboy Bob, the comic's take on the
Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture.
He first appeared in 1933 in ...
), and has occasionally been depicted wearing a
cowboy costume. Dennis has a Cowboy Bob Deputy Badge, poster, and an autographed picture of Cowboy Bob, as well. Among the
running gags
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
: Dennis has a soft spot for animals such as
kittens
A kitten is a juvenile cat. After being born, kittens display primary altriciality and are totally dependent on their mothers for survival. They normally do not open their eyes for seven to ten days. After about two weeks, kittens develop q ...
and
puppies
A puppy is a juvenile dog. Some puppies can weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the York ...
, which he is always taking home to feed; he loves loud instruments, such as
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
and
drums, and he ruins
Christmas songs
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject m ...
with shouts of cowboy songs or annoys adults by shouting out loud.
[Dennis the Menace Fawcett comic 3](_blank)
/ref> When Dennis is in the local department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
trying out toys, such as tricycles
A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle.
Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes ...
, he often ends up breaking them and making his parents buy them. In fact, Dennis nearly causes portrait photographers
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...
, hairdressers
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be re ...
,[Dennis the Menace Fawcett Comic #18](_blank)
/ref> bank presidents, grocery-store personnel,[Dennis the Menace 42](_blank)
/ref> kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
teachers, restaurant waiters
Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending ...
, librarians
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
, museum guards, police officers
A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
, bus drivers
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
, house heating equipment repairmen, town mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
, department-store Christmas Santas and saleswomen, drug store
A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmaci ...
salesmen, hardware store salesmen, shoe salesmen, barbers
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
, and the local post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...
workers[ Dennis the Menace Fawcett Comic 61] to have nervous breakdowns when he comes around. A running gag is that Dennis causes chaos wherever he visits, such as the city park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...
, a Marineland Aquarium, the US Army, and even on vacation trips to Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and Hollywood. Despite all this, he is a "popular kid" with his peers, having countless friends both at his school and around the neighborhood, who are taken with his very fun-loving demeanor. Dennis also believes in the Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" ori ...
and Santa Claus. Another running gag is Dennis dreaming that he meets Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and causing chaos for everyone else.
* Henry Mitchell, age 32,
is Dennis' father, a workaday teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
at Dennis's school; he is an alumnus of Wilberforce University
Wilberforce University is a private historically black university in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans. It participates ...
with a master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
. Henry seems to understand Dennis more than his wife does, especially in affairs of the heart. One example was when a furious Dennis stormed in, saying, "Wimmin can say some of the stupidest things!," Henry knowingly said to Alice, "Margaret." Another time, while Dennis was watching Gina, he confided to his dad, "There's somethin' about Gina that I can't figger out." Henry wisely advised his son, "Wait." Again, Henry and Alice overhear Dennis tell Gina that she "smelled better than a plateful of peanut butter samwiches." Henry remarks, "The ultimate compliment." Like his creator Hank Ketcham, Henry served in the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
; starting as a position as a quartermaster (helmsman) second class on a US Navy ship, he ended up on an aircraft carrier and rose to the rank of chief petty officer
A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards.
Canada
"Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi ...
. Among his hobbies are playing card games
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific.
Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...
such as poker, bird watching
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
, and playing the ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
and singing old songs. A running gag is that Henry often plays the straight man
The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the c ...
dupe—either resulting from Dennis's "helpfulness," or because of his own foolishness; once, he tried to save money on a Christmas tree by cutting one down in the country—and ended up paying $20.00 ($10.00 for a fine and $10.00 for the owner charging him for the tree).
* Alice Mitchell, née Aberdeen is Dennis' stay-at-home mother, who is usually the reassuring figure to whom Dennis can run when things get too overwhelming, ready to greet him with a warm hug
A hug is a form of endearment, universal in most human communities, in which two or more people put their arms around the neck, back, or waist of one another and hold each other closely. If more than two people are involved, it may be referre ...
. Although she grew up among animals on a chicken ranch, a running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...
is that Alice is ophidiophobic. (She also dislikes mice and white rats, implying she is musophobic as well.) She is the president of a local bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
club. Another running gag involves Dennis's ever-changing parade of new babysitters; no one will take the job twice, much to Alice's annoyance. Alice is the disciplinarian in the Mitchell household; for example, she punishes Dennis for his misbehavior by having him sit in the corner in a rocking chair
A rocking chair or rocker is a type of chair with two curved bands (also known as rockers) attached to the bottom of the legs, connecting the legs on each side to each other. The rockers contact the floor at only two points, giving the occupant ...
for timeout.
* Ruff Mitchell is Dennis's pet dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
(a Newfoundland mix) and best friend. He is always eagerly following him around, accompanying him while Dennis is running
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
, or riding his bike
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
or skateboard
A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks.
The skateboarder ...
. Another running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...
is that although Ruff chases cats, he is actually afraid of them.
* Hot Dog is Dennis's rarely seen cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
, which usually commiserates with him while he sits in the corner and reflects on his wrongdoings. Dennis gave the cat its name after the cat ate a package of hot dogs
A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a f ...
.
* Barney is another cat of the Mitchells.
* Grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell
* Grampa (Arnold "Swede" Aberdeen) is Alice's father, who spoils Dennis often. He evokes the unintentional jealousy of Mr. Wilson, for he gets to see Dennis occasionally, but Mr. Wilson sees him all the time. Because they are so much alike, Dennis and Grampa Johnson get along well. Mr. Wilson also thinks that Johnson should act his age, but this advice is often ignored. To Grampa, life is worth living and he encourages Dennis to live it to the fullest. His wife's status is unknown; she is never seen in the comics, although she is mentioned four times—twice when, thanks to Dennis, Alice finds out Henry destroyed his Christmas gift (a tie) from his mother in law; another time a furious Alice finds out that Henry had thrown his mother-in-law's gift (a tie) into the trash. Another time, Alice wished her mother a Happy Mother's Day by telephone. Grandpa mentions his wife to Dennis but not her status
* Uncle Fred and Aunt Mollie
* Uncle Richard and Aunt Ginny
* Uncle John lives in Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. The Mitchells visited him once for a vacation.[''Dennis the Menace Pocket Full of Fun'' #8]
* Uncle Al lives in Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
and works in the "oil business." He runs a small oil and gas station.
* Uncle Charlie
* Uncle Ernie and Aunt Blanche
*Aunt Betty
* Aunt Hetty
* Aunt Sue
The Wilsons
* George Everett Wilson Sr. is Dennis's cranky, cantankerous, middle-aged next-door neighbor, a retired postal carrier
A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...
and (at least as far as Dennis is concerned) his best adult friend. Not much is told about his early life except he grew up on a farm, went through The Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of the 1930s, and served in World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Dennis loves Mr. Wilson, but unintentionally annoys him, as he regularly disrupts Mr. Wilson's attempts at a serene, quiet life; he often interrupts Mr. Wilson's hobbies such as gardening and bird watching, at times accidentally damaging his property. As a result, he displays a less than cordial attitude towards the young boy, though Dennis continues his well-meaning intrusions unabated. Actually, as many readers suspected, he is secretly fond of Dennis and misses him when he is away, although he would never openly admit it. On one occasion when the Mitchells went to Hollywood for two weeks, Mr. Wilson kept seeing Dennis' face everywhere! Mr. Wilson is named after a teacher Hank Ketcham knew. Dennis often (especially in the television series) refers to him as "Good Ol' Mr. Wilson." Although a running gag is that Dennis's pranks drive Mr. Wilson crazy, at times Dennis tries to do nice things for Mr. Wilson, such as the time Dennis left Ruff the dog and Hot Dog the cat with Mr Wilson so he would not be lonely on Father's Day
Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the Unite ...
, while Dennis and his father went to a baseball game, or the time Dennis tries to cheer Mr. Wilson up on April Fool
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
's day by placing a fake "Mitchell House for sale" sign up.
* Martha Wilson is Mr. Wilson's engaging wife, who adores Dennis. Mrs. Wilson freely dotes on him and plies him with freshly baked cookies and milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...
. Martha sees Dennis as a surrogate grandson. By 1975, George and Martha had been married for 25 years.
* John Wilson is Mr. Wilson's brother.
* Eloise Wilson is John's wife, Mr. Wilson's sister-in-law.
* Earl Wilson is Mr. Wilson's estranged son.
* Elena Wilson is Earl's wife.
* Winnie Wilson is Mr. Wilson's granddaughter and Earl's daughter.
* Walter "Walt" Wilson is Mr. Wilson's grandson and Earl's son.
* Keith Wilson is Mr. Wilson's grandson and Earl's son.
* Sammy Wilson is Mr. Wilson's grandson and Earl's son.
* George Wilson Jr. is Mr. Wilson's son.
* Edna Wilson is George Jr.'s wife.
* Tammy Wilson is Mr. Wilson's daughter.
* George Wilson III is Mr. Wilson's grandson.
* Will Wilson is Mr. Wilson's grandson.
* Helga Wilson is Mr. Wilson's granddaughter.
* Uncle Ned is Mr Wilson's 70-year-old uncle who visited his nephew in 1964.
Dennis' friends
* Tommy Anderson is Dennis' best friend (after Mr. Wilson). This character eventually disappeared from the strip, although he does make appearances in the ''Dennis the Menace Pocket Full of Fun'' books.
* Joey McDonald is loyal, timid, and not too bright. He is a year younger than Dennis. He usually plays the sidekick
A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany.
Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
to Dennis's schemes, and sees him as a big-brother figure. Dennis often gives him naïve advice, and gives him little "nuggets" of wisdom and insight. Joey's baby sister was introduced on November 13, 2016.
* Margaret Wade is a freckled, red-haired
Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a hair color found in one to two percent of the human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and l ...
, bespectacled
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...
know-it-all
''Know-It-All'' is the debut studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Alessia Cara. It was released on November 13, 2015 through Def Jam Recordings. The album followed the release of her debut extended play (EP) ''Four Pink Walls'' (2015), w ...
whose cloying and self-important demeanor is always getting on Dennis's nerves. She is attracted to Dennis and is stubbornly confident in the belief that she will marry
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
him when they are adults, but he clearly has no interest in her. She always tries to improve Dennis and his manners, but succeeds only in annoying him. She has a certain amount of dislike for Gina, whom she sees as her competition. Gina gains Dennis' respect and admiration by just being herself, and Margaret's pretensions fail to make a mark on him. Margaret, who is two years older than Dennis, is very ambitious: when she was five, she decided to join the Camp Fire Girls when she reaches the age of seven; an organization in which she is very active, and in one cartoon, she sells Girl Scout cookies to the Mitchells. She likes taking gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
and ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
,[Dennis the Menace 143](_blank)
/ref> singing Christmas carols, and taking piano lessons; she also plays the saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
, the fife, and the violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
. She is a devout religious believer, and has had pets of her own—four white Persian cats: one named Charlie, one named Prudence, one named Snowflake, and another named Mr. Coodles (whom she wheels around in a baby carriage). Besides hoping to marry Dennis,[Dennis the Menace #39](_blank)
/ref> she also has decided to be the first female President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
. A running gag is that whenever Margaret tries to be genuinely nice to Dennis, such as inviting him over to her house to help decorate a Christmas tree,[''Dennis the Menace Pocket Full of Fun'' #2 "How not to Decorate a Tree"] be a guest at her birthday party, or when Dennis tries to have Margaret give him too much candy—Dennis' "helpfulness" results in him being sent home. One weakness of Dennis is that no matter how much he dislikes Margaret, he cannot resist eating food at the Wades'. Margaret and Dennis are not always adversaries. In one scene, Dennis sprayed both Margaret and Gina with his mother's perfume
Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...
with a water pistol, which resulted in both girls playing with him and Dennis' mother becoming very angry with him. A running gag is that Margaret is a victim of Dennis's practical jokes
A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...
, such as being sprayed on by a garden hose
A garden hose, hosepipe, or simply hose is a flexible tube used to convey water. There are a number of common attachments available for the end of the hose, such as sprayers and sprinklers (which are used to concentrate water at one point or ...
. On one Valentine's Day, Dennis gave "trick" Valentine's messages to Margaret, Gina, and Sally that had messages read "I DON'T Like." This earned Dennis having to sit in the corner as punishment. In one April Fool's Day comic, Dennis decided to trick Margaret with compliments instead of pranks; to Dennis' horror, Margaret accepted the joke as real and dragged Dennis to hear her piano playing. Although she is fond of Dennis, she can on occasion lose her temper and "bop" him, and once "flipped" him after she graduated to a black belt in karate.
* Gina Gillotti is a fiercely independent young Italian-American
Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...
girl, on whom Dennis is mostly unaware that he has a crush. Gina is tomboyish
A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...
yet still feminine in appearance. She also likes Dennis in a future-sweethearts kind of way, but in contrast to his dislike of Margaret, Dennis actually enjoys being with Gina. He likes her because she is as independent-minded as he is, and she enjoys the same things that he does. Gina is aware that she is a girl, and woe betide anyone who thinks otherwise. Just as Margaret had "flipped" Dennis in karate, Gina once "flipped" Dennis in judo
is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...
* Jackson is an African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
character whom Ketcham decided to add to the cast in the late 1960s. Ketcham designed Jackson in the tradition of a stereotypical cartoon pickaninny
Pickaninny (also picaninny, piccaninny or pickinninie) is a pidgin word for a small child, possibly derived from the Portuguese ('boy, child, very small, tiny').
In North America, ''pickaninny'' is a racial slur for African American childr ...
, with huge lips, big white eyes, and just a suggestion of an Afro
The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...
hair style. A panel from May 13, 1970, depicted Jackson and Dennis playing in the backyard, with Dennis saying to his father, "I'm havin' some race trouble with Jackson. He runs FASTER than I do!" The character depiction was not received well. Protests erupted in Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, Little Rock
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
, leader_name2 ...
, Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, and St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, and debris was thrown at the offices of the '' Post Dispatch''. Taken aback, Ketcham issued a statement explaining that his intentions were innocent, and Jackson was not seen in the comics again. However, another African American character named Jay Weldon appeared in the 1986 animated series to far less controversy, as he was not a stereotype.
* Ben is a Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
friend of Dennis.
* Cowboy Bob is a film cowboy, whom Dennis idolizes. He appears in a series of Westerns known as Cowboy Bob films. The boy fails to realize that Westerns are rarely made in these times and that the films he is seeing are actually old repeats. In one story arc where Dennis' parents invite the retired actor to a party, they have Dennis meet him, to which Dennis comments that he must be "Cowboy Bob's grandpa!"
History
Inspiration
The inspiration for the comic strip came from Dennis Ketcham, the real-life son of Hank Ketcham, who, at four years old, refused to take a nap and made a complete mess of his room. Hank tried many possible names for the character, and translated them into rough pencil sketches, but when his studio door flew open, and his then-wife Alice, in utter exasperation, exclaimed, "Your son is a menace!," the "Dennis the Menace" name stuck. The character of Henry Mitchell bore a striking resemblance to Ketcham, while the Mitchell family of Dennis, Henry/Hank, and Alice were all named after the Ketchams.
Visuals
Ketcham's line work has been highly praised over the years. A review on comicbookbin.com states: "...a growing legion of cartoonists, scholars, aficionados, etc. have come to appreciate the artistry of Dennis's creator, Hank Ketcham. Ketcham's beautiful artwork defines cartooning elegance. The design, the composition, and the line: it's all too, too beautiful." AV Club reviewer Noel Murray wrote: "Ketcham also experimented with his line a little early on, tightening and thickening without losing the looseness and spontaneity that remains the strip's best aspect even now."
In 2005, Dennis appeared as a guest for Blondie and Dagwood's 75th anniversary party in the comic strip '' Blondie''.
Awards
Ketcham received the Reuben Award
The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...
for the strip in 1953.
He also was made honorary mayor of Wichita. He was quoted as saying, "I set the whole thing in Wichita, Kansas, and as a result I got made an honorary mayor of Wichita."
Ketcham retires
Hank Ketcham retired from the comic strip in 1994, turning over production of the strip to his assistants Ron Ferdinand and Marcus Hamilton. They continued their run after Ketcham's death in 2001, alongside Scott Ketcham since 2010.
Advertising
Dennis the Menace appeared in A&W Restaurants
A&W Restaurants is an American fast food restaurant chain distinguished by its Hamburger, burgers, draft root beer and root beer floats. Being the oldest restaurant chain in America, A&W's origins date back to 1919 when Roy W. Allen set up a r ...
advertising in the 1960s, then Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and ...
marketing from 1971 until 2001, when he was dropped because Dairy Queen felt children could no longer relate to him. Dennis also appeared in the Sears Roebuck Wish Book Christmas catalog in the 1970s.
Comic books
Dennis the Menace has been published in comic books and comic digests
Digest may refer to:
Biology
*Digestion of food
*Restriction digest
Literature and publications
*'' The Digest'', formerly the English and Empire Digest
*Digest size magazine format
* ''Digest'' (Roman law), also known as ''Pandects'', a digest ...
from the 1950s through the 1980s by a variety of publishers, including Standard/Pines (1953–58), Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel, the alter ego of ...
(1958–80, during their only return to comics after settling the Captain Marvel lawsuit and selling much of their comics division to Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...
), and Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
(1981–82). These included both newspaper strip reprints and original ''Dennis the Menace'' comic book stories, produced by others besides Ketcham. Al Wiseman, one of Ketcham's assistants in the 1950s and '60s, worked on many of them. Ron Ferdinand, Ketcham's Sunday page artist, drew several of the Dennis stories in the Marvel books, including the cover for issue No. 11.
Giant series
The main comic book series (simply named ''Dennis the Menace'') ran in tandem with the "Giant" series. The ''Dennis the Menace Giant Vacation Special'' and ''Dennis the Menace Christmas Issue'' were published by Standard in 1955. Those issues inaugurated the Giants series, which was published by Pines for issues 2–6, and continued by Hallden/Fawcett for issues 6–75. The Giant series was later renamed the ''Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series'', which started with issue No. 76 in 1970. CBS and Hallden later retitled the series as ''The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus Series'', which ran through issue #194 in October 1979.
Other series
By October 1979, Fawcett began publishing a separate series of 36 issues titled ''Dennis the Menace and Mr. Wilson''. By the second issue, the series was rechristened ''Dennis the Menace and His Friends'' which now involved Dennis, Mr. Wilson, friends Joey and Margaret, and dog Ruff. Because of this, the Mr. Wilson stories were alternated with the three characters as ''Ruff, Joey, and Margaret'' who each shared a No. 1 issue with Dennis.
Three other series of Dennis the Menace comic books also were published, beginning in 1961. First was ''Dennis the Menace and His Dog, Ruff.'' ''Dennis the Menace and His Pal, Joey'' was published in summer 1961, and ''Dennis the Menace and Margaret'' was published in the winter of 1969.
In 1972, as part of a bonus magazine series, Fawcett published a "Short Stuff Special" where Dennis visited Children's Fairyland
Children's Fairyland, U.S.A. is an amusement park, located in Oakland, California, on the shores of Lake Merritt. It was one of the earliest "themed" amusement parks in the United States. Fairyland includes of play sets, small rides, and anim ...
in Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
.
Bible Kids series
In 1977, Word Books, Inc. (now HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...
) commissioned Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc. to produce a series of 10 comic books under the title ''Dennis and the Bible Kids'', with the usual cast of characters reading (and sometimes partly acting out) the stories of Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, Moses, David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
, Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
, and other Biblical characters. These were sold through Christian bookstore
Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librar ...
s and related outlets. Each issue contained several inspirational renderings by Hank Ketcham himself.
Marvel series
The ''Dennis the Menace Fun Fest'' and the ''Dennis the Menace Big Bonus'' series were revived for a short-issue run in 1980:
* January: ''The Dennis the Menace Fun Fest'' #16
* February: ''The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus'' #10
* March: ''The Dennis the Menace Fun Fest'' #17
* April: ''The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus'' #11
After these revival series, the Hallden and CBS comics run came to an end in 1980. Ketcham had half of the comic book rights purchased by Stan Lee and Marvel Comics, so they were able to produce a new series of ''Dennis the Menace'' comic books. The new Marvel series ran from December 1981 to November 1982. The smaller ''Dennis the Menace'' comic digests were published continually by Fawcett and Hallden between 1969 and 1980, and they were briefly resurrected in reprints by Marvel in 1982 for a run of three issues.
List of comic books
Main series
Other series
Book compilations
''Dennis the Menace'' has also been published in mass market paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, lea ...
collections, made up of newspaper strip reprints:
* ''Dennis the Menace'' (1952) Avon (also published in hardcover by Henry Holt & Co.)
* ''More Dennis the Menace'' (1954) Avon (also in hardcover by Holt)
* ''Baby Sitter's Guide by Dennis the Menace'' (1955, 1961) Pocket Books, Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
* ''Wanted: Dennis the Menace'' (1955) Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
* ''Dennis the Menace Rides Again'' (1956, 1971) PB, Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
* ''Dennis the Menace vs. Everybody'' (1957) PB (also in hardcover by Holt)
* ''Dennis the Menace: Household Hurricane'' (1958, 1963) PB, Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
* ''The Adventures of the Pickle'' (1958) Corgi Books
* ''In this Corner... Dennis the Menace'' (1959) Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
* ''Dennis the Menace ...Teacher's Threat'' (1960) Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
* ''Dennis the Menace: Voted Most Likely'' (1960) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace, A.M. *Ambassador of Mischief'' (1961) Fawcett (also in hardcover by HRW)
* ''Dennis the Menace: Happy Half-Pint'' (1962) Fawcett (also in hardcover by Random House)
* ''Dennis the Menace ...Who, Me?'' (1963) Fawcett (also in hardcover by Random House)
* ''Dennis the Menace: Make-Believe Angel'' (1964) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace ...Here Comes Trouble'' (1966) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace and Poor Ol' Mr. Wilson'' (1967) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: All-American Kid'' (1968) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace and His Pal Joey'' (1968) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Your Friendly Neighborhood Kid'' (1969) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Perpetual Motion'' (1969) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace ...Everybody's Little Helper'' (1970) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Non-Stop Nuisance'' (1970) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Surprise Package'' (1971) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Short 'n' Snappy'' (1971) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Where the Action Is'' (1971) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Dennis Power'' (1972) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Just for Fun'' (1973) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: The Kid Next Door'' (1973) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Busybody'' (1974) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Little Pip-Squeak'' (1974) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Play It Again, Dennis'' (1975) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace to the Core'' (1975) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Little Man in a Big Hurry'' (1976) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Short Swinger'' (1976) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace and His Girls'' (1977) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: "Your Mother's Calling!"'' (1977) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Ol' Droopy Drawers'' (1978) Fawcett
* ''Someone's in the Kitchen with Dennis the Menace'' (1978) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Driving Mother Up the Wall'' (1979) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: I Done It MY Way'' (1979) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Short in the Saddle'' (1979) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Ain't Misbehavin (1980) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Stayin' Alive'' (1980) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Good Intenshuns'' (1981) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: One More Time!'' (1981) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: The Way I Look at It...'' (1982) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Dog's Best Friend'' (1982) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Supercharged and Ever Ready'' (1983) Fawcett
* ''Dennis the Menace: Sunrise Express'' (1983) Fawcett
In 1990, Abbeville Press
Abbeville Publishing Group is an independent book publishing company specializing in fine art and illustrated books. Based in New York City, Abbeville publishes approximately 40 titles each year and has a catalogue of over 700 titles on art, ar ...
published Hank Ketcham's fully illustrated autobiography: ''The Merchant of Dennis'' (, hardcover). The book was reprinted by Fantagraphics
Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint.
History
Founding
Fantagraphics was founde ...
in 2005 (, trade paperback). Abbeville also published a softcover retrospective of the strip in 1991, ''Dennis the Menace: His First 40 Years''.
''Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace''
In 2005, comics publisher Fantagraphics began to reprint Ketcham's entire run on ''Dennis the Menace'' (excluding Sunday strips) in a projected 25-volume series over 11 years. No new volumes have been issued since 2009 and it is unknown when and if the series will resume. They are published in hardcover editions as well as paperback.
# ''Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace, 1951–1952'' (2005)
# ''Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace, 1953–1954'' (2006)
# ''Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace, 1955–1956'' (2006)
# ''Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace, 1957–1958'' (2007)
# ''Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace, 1959–1960'' (2008)
# ''Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace, 1961–1962'' (2009)
Worldwide success
Film and television
''Dennis the Menace'' has been the subject of a number of adaptations. The first one produced is a CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
sitcom that aired from 1959 to 1963 starring Jay North
Jay North (born August 3, 1951) is an American actor. His career as a child actor began in the late 1950s with roles in eight TV series, two variety shows and three feature films. At age 7 he became a household name for his role as the well-mean ...
as Dennis, Herbert Anderson
Herbert Anderson (March 30, 1917 – June 11, 1994) was an American character actor from Oakland, California, probably best remembered for his role as Henry Mitchell, the father, on the CBS television sitcom '' Dennis the Menace.''
Back ...
as Henry Mitchell; Joseph Kearns
Joseph Sherrard Kearns
TV Guide. July 15–21, 1961, Savetheorgan.org; retrieved September 28, 2011. ...
as George Wilson, and subsequently Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon (born Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr., February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfiste ...
as his brother, John Wilson. North also appeared as Dennis on an episode of ''The Donna Reed Show
''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary ...
'' and in the theatrical film ''Pepe
Pepe is a pet form of the Spanish name José (Josep). It is also a surname.
*
People
Mononyms
* Pepe (footballer, born 1935), real name José Macia, Brazilian footballer
*Pepe (footballer, born 1983), real name Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira ...
'' (both 1960). On September 11, 1987, a ''Dennis the Menace'' live-action television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
was broadcast; it was later released on video under the title ''Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter''. Another live-action '' Dennis the Menace'' film, starring Walter Matthau as Mr. Wilson and Mason Gamble
Mason Gamble (born January 16, 1986) is an American former actor. He is mostly famous for his interpretation of Dennis Mitchell in the 1993 film '' Dennis the Menace'', selected over an estimate of 20,000 children who had auditioned. He played ...
as Dennis, was released to theaters in 1993. It was originally titled ''The Real Dennis the Menace'' before the final name was approved. This was followed with the direct-to-video '' Dennis the Menace Strikes Again'' in 1998, starring Don Rickles
Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's ''Enter La ...
as Mr. Wilson. The most recent film adaptation, ''A Dennis the Menace Christmas'' was released to DVD on November 6, 2007. The Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
production starred Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and '' Hart to Hart'' (1979 ...
as Mr. Wilson, Louise Fletcher
Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress who portrayed the antagonist Nurse Ratched in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA Award, a ...
as Mrs. Wilson, and Maxwell Perry Cotton
Maxwell Perry Cotton (born May 7, 2000) is an American actor who portrayed Cooper Whedon in the television series '' Brothers & Sisters''.
Life and career
Cotton was born on May 7, 2000, in San Diego, California. Cotton graduated from Notre Da ...
, then a six-year-old actor, as Dennis.
Animation
''Dennis the Menace'' was adapted into an animated special, '' Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother'' which aired in 1981 and was produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
DePatie–Freleng Enterprises (also known as Mirisch-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng Productions when involved with the Mirisch brothers and Geoffrey Productions; and DFE Films) was an American animation production company that was active from 1963 to 1 ...
and Mirisch Films
The Mirisch Company was an American film production company owned by Walter Mirisch and his brothers, Marvin and Harold Mirisch. The company also had sister firms known at various times as Mirisch Production Company, Mirisch Pictures Inc., Miris ...
. A daily animated syndicated series was produced by DiC Entertainment
DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production com ...
in 1986 with Brennan Thicke as the voice of Dennis, also featuring Phil Hartman
Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...
who voiced George Wilson and Henry Mitchell. DiC also produced the '' All-New Dennis the Menace'' for CBS Saturday Mornings in 1993 with Adam Wylie voicing Dennis. An animated movie, ''Dennis the Menace in Cruise Control'', premiered as part of Nickelodeon's '' Sunday Movie Toons'' block in 2002 and later released to DVD.
List of film and TV adaptations
Films
* '' Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter'' (1987, live-action TV movie)
* '' Dennis the Menace'' (1993, live-action)
* '' Dennis the Menace Strikes Again'' (1998, live-action DTV)
* ''Dennis the Menace in Cruise Control'' (2002, animated TV movie)
* ''A Dennis the Menace Christmas'' (2007, live-action DTV)
Television shows and specials
* '' Dennis the Menace'' (1959, live-action)
* '' Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother'' (1981, animated, TV special)
* '' Dennis the Menace'' (1986, animated)
* '' All-New Dennis the Menace'' (1993, animated)
Merchandising
* From 1971 to 2001, Dennis the Menace was licensed by Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and ...
as their official mascot, appearing in many commercials and on the chain's cups, bags, and other promotional items, until he was dropped because the chain felt children could no longer relate to him as much.
Playground
In 1952, Hank Ketcham spearheaded the construction of the Dennis the Menace Playground, designed by Arch Garner. It opened in Monterey, California on November 17, 1956. The playground featured a bronze statue of Dennis sculpted by Wah Chang
Wah Ming Chang (August 2, 1917 – December 22, 2003) was an American designer, sculptor, and artist. With the encouragement of his adoptive father, James Blanding Sloan, he began exhibiting his prints and watercolors at the age of seven ...
. On the night of October 25, 2006, the 125 lb statue, which was estimated to be worth $30,000, was stolen from the playground. In April 2007, it was replaced by a reproduction of another Dennis statue Chang made for the Ketchams. It was donated by Willis W. and Ethel M. Clark Foundation. In 2015 the missing statue was found in a scrap yard in Florida, returned to Monterey, and installed in front of the city recreation office.
Video games
* '' Dennis the Menace'' (known as ''Dennis'' in Europe), a video game tie-in
A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prop ...
to the 1993 feature film, was released that same year by Ocean Software
Ocean Software Ltd was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and publishers of the 1980s and 1990s.
The company was founded by David Ward and Jon Woods and was based in Manchester. ...
for the Super NES
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in ...
, Amiga and Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...
.
''Dennis the Menace'' in other languages
The comic strip has been translated into many foreign languages, which has helped make the strip's characters famous worldwide.
References
External links
*
''Dennis the Menace'' at King Features
NCS Awards
{{King Features Syndicate Comics
1951 comics debuts
American comic strips
Comics set in Kansas
Comic strips set in the United States
Children's comics
Gag cartoon comics
Gag-a-day comics
American comics adapted into films
Comics adapted into animated series
Comics adapted into television series
Comics adapted into video games