| Touché Turtle and Dum Dum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Animated Comedy |
| Directed by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Voices of | Bill Thompson Alan Reed |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 52(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producers | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Running time | 7 minutes (per short) |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 3, 1962 (1962-09-03) – August 26, 1963 (1963-08-26) |
Touché Turtle and Dum Dum is a television cartoon series that aired as one of the segments from the anthology show The New Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Series, produced by Hanna-Barbera.[1] The show also included segments starring Wally Gator and Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har.[2]
Following its first airing there in 1962 as part of The New Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Series, Touché Turtle and Dum Dum was later repeated several times on the BBC in the UK as a standalone show during the 1970s and 1980s, and then part of the Children's BBC service in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Touché Turtle (voiced by Bill Thompson, known for voicing Droopy) and his dim-witted sheepdog sidekick Dum Dum (voiced by Alan Reed, known for voicing Fred Flintstone) were a pair of heroic fencers who battle villains and heroically save kings, queens, and others in distress.[3] Touché was the brave (if not entirely competent) leader brandishing his trusty sword and exclaiming his catchphrase "Touché away!"[4] He wore a plumed musketeer type hat. Dum Dum was more of a simple-minded follower in a smaller plumed hat and a scarf.
During the run of the show, Touché Turtle used a standard fencing foil as a weapon. Though not particularly bright, he was an accomplished fencer and could hold his own against other sword-fighting opponents. Despite his expertise at fencing, Touché always mispronounced the word "sword" when speaking. He always pronounced the "w" rather than leaving it silent, resulting in his constantly pronouncing the word "suh-wohrd."
The series did not follow any lasting timeline or continuity. Touché had adventures in the Old West and in the Middle Ages, as well as battling villains during the modern era of the 1960s.
A running gag in nearly every episode showed him keeping a telephone inside his shell, and it would ring at inopportune moments when someone called for help. Touché would politely excuse himself, duck into his shell, and take the call regardless of where he was at the time.
The first episode "Whale of a Tale" is available on the DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960's Vol. 2. “Rapid Rabbit” is available on DVD on disc 2 of The Best of Warner Bros.: Hanna-Barbera 25 Cartoon Collection.
