Dennis the Menace (1986 TV series)

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Dennis the Menace
Created by	DiC
Starring	Brennan Thicke Phil Hartman Marilyn Lightstone Jeannie Elias Donna Christie
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	78
Production
Running time	22 Minutes
Original release
Network	Syndication CBS
Release	September 22, 1986 – March 26, 1988

Dennis the Menace was an American animated series produced by DiC Entertainment, based on the comic strip by Hank Ketcham.

The young blond boy with a cowlick and a mischievous personality, Dennis the Menace, gets into numerous scrapes and adventures with his dog Ruff and his friends Joey, Margaret, Gina, Tommy, PeeBee and Jay.

Dennis is an impulsive, angel-faced little devil who is always getting into scrapes whom end up tormenting his hapless next-door neighbor, Mr. Wilson (though Dennis always means well). Dennis finds himself involved in all kinds of wild adventures (some of which are fantasy-based like the international espionage and trips into the past stories) but always manages to save the day.

The series was originally syndicated in the U.S. by The Program Exchange. Each half-hour show consists of three six or seven minute shorts. The show later aired new episodes on CBS' Saturday morning lineup.

• Dennis Mitchell - Mix together an unruly shock of hair, freckles, and a smudge on his nose, dirt on his pants and chocolate on his hands and you have Dennis the Menace. He is hospitable and generous and takes it for granted that everybody feels the same...especially Mr. Wilson. He loves root beer and thinks peanut butter smells better than perfume! His greatest dislike is reserved for carrots...with green beans and spinach bringing up the rear. Mischief seems to follow wherever Dennis appears, but is the product of good intentions, misdirected helpfulness and good heartedness. What a dull world it would be without any Dennises in it. Peaceful...but DULL! Dennis was voiced by Brennan Thicke.
• Alice Mitchell - Attractive and intelligent, Alice is the mother we would all love to have! She runs a "tight ship", but is often amused by the predicaments her little boy finds himself in. And she's always there with a hug, when things get too overwhelming. Alice loves tennis, but with a "five-ana-half year old", she does not get to pursue her pastime as often as she would like to. She cheerfully provides the solid foundation for the Mitchell household, and is the axis around which Dennis spins his adventurous orbit. Alice was usually voiced by Marilyn Lightstone, but on certain occasions by Louise Vallance.
• Henry Mitchell - Dennis' dad is an avid fisherman and golfer. Henry loves the outdoors and tries to instill an appreciation for nature in his son. Weekends may find father and son camping, boating or hiking. As a loving husband and father, Henry meets the challenges of raising a family in today's changing landscape, and to Dennis, he's a SUPER DAD! Henry was usually voiced by Phil Hartman, but on certain occasions by Maurice LaMarche.
• Ruff - Ever by his master's side, Ruff is the heart and soul of Dennis' world. Always there with a listerning ear, and a dangling tongue... Ruff is truly "Boy's best friend". Ruff was usually voiced by Phil Hartman, but on certain occasions by Maurice LaMarche.

• George Wilson - Next to Martha, George's greatest loves are his garden and stamp collecting. Unfortunately, these two commodities are usually in short supply thanks to Dennis. George has, quite willingly, had the role of surrogate grandfather foisted on him. There is, however, a tender heart beating under that gruff exterior. And, if you look closely, you may occasionally see just a hint of a smile. Mr. Wilson was usually voiced by Phil Hartman, but on certain occasions by Maurice LaMarche.
• Martha Wilson - In addition to his mom, Dennis' other female refuge, and willing surrogate grandmother is Martha Wilson. Always ready with a hug and a piece of her delicious, homemade apple pie, "Missus" Wilson provides the warmth, compassion and encouragement a little boy needs in his neighborhood universe. Despite being a gentle soul, she's amazingly adept at getting a good laught at the expense of her blunderbuss of a husband, George. Whether cooking, knitting, or placating George, Martha is truly the calm in the eye of the storm. Mrs. Wilson was usually voiced by Marilyn Lightstone, but on certain occasions by Louise Vallance.

• Joey McDonald - Like a younger brother, Joey is constantly looking to Dennis for guidance and inspiration. He considers him the paragon of experience and wisdom. Dennis, meanwhile, is continually challenging Joey, in the hopes of increasing his confidence and courage. As the "master" to his apprentice, Dennis is forever imprating nuggets of wisdom and insight he's attained in his five-an-a-half years on terra firma. Joey, ever the pupil, takes it all in, joyously following Dennis wherever his destiny leads! Joey was voiced by Jeannie Elias.
• Margaret Wade - Margaret corrects Dennis' grammar, assails his lack of manners and insults his dog. Dennis reacts with a blend of confusion and outrage. Despite insults, putdowns and continual rebuffs, she is always back for more. As you might expect, she excels in school, piano and ballet. As you might also expect, she makes sure everybody KNOWS IT! Occasionally, Dennis may find something to admire in her...like her fudge brownies, but there is definitely an ADVERSARIAL relationship, which suits Dennis just fine. Margaret was voiced by Jeannie Elias.
• Gina Gillotti - She is tomboyish, yet feminine, and personifies warmth, passion and charm. She is attracted to Dennis and vice versa. Unlike Margaret, Gina does not try to change or improve Dennis...which he appreciates and respects. To Dennis' complete amazement, Gina never comes unglued in the presence of spiders, lizards or other creepy-crawlies. Instead, she rather enjoys them, which causes Dennis to opine..."If there ever WAS such a thing, Gina would be MY KINDA GIRL!". Gina was named after Gina Lollobrigida. She was voiced by Donna Christie.
• PeeBee Kappa - He is a genius and loves studying things. But was once totally fooled when Dennis got control of a full sized radio controlled shark. He even talked to PeeBee, who thought he was the missing link and ran off to report it to the Oceanographic Society. He also claims to have a blackbelt in ichthyology! He was created specifically for this series and does not appear in the original comics.
• Jay Weldon - Jay is Dennis' "too-tall" African-American friend who loves to play basketball. He is usually seen wearing a green long-sleeve shirt with #6. Like PeeBee, he was created specifically for this series.
• Tommy Anderson - Tommy is another one of Dennis' friends. A kid that is not alone just if he ever sees something wrong after they talked well he would be shocked. He's the cartoon version of the same character Billy Booth portrayed on the 1960s sitcom.

• Grandpa Mitchell - Henry's father and Dennis' grandpa who once reveals that Dennis acts the same as Henry did when he was a kid. Voiced by Phil Hartman.
• Grampa Johnson - Alice's globe-trotting widowed father, Carleton "Swede" Johnson, is the senior version of his grandson. Nothing excites Dennis more than hearing the words, "GRAMPA'S HERE!" Alice says, "My dad has mischief in his eyes and a spring in his step." Since the two are like peas-in-a-pod, grandfather and grandson get along beautifully together. Most visits often find them out and about the neighborhood looking for addventure much to the chargin of Mr. Wilson, who thinks the old coot should act his age. Grampa Johnson, however, will have none of it, and challenges Dennis to "live life to the fullest!"
• Mr. Cavallini - He is the hair stylist who has a barber shop nearby. He turns out to be a cut above the rest. Voiced by Brian George.
• Hot Dog - The family's seldomly seen cat who earned his name because of his mustard color. Quiet and independent, Hot Dog is nevertheless a definite presence in the Mitchell household. Whether commiserating with Dennis as he serves out his time in the corner, or sprawled out on Dennis' lap while he is watching his favorite television program, Hot Dog is truly a cat for all seasons. Although Hot Dog is hardly ever seen in the daily comic strip, he appeared only once in the animated series.
• Molly - Margaret's dolly who she can often be seen playing with.
• Willy - Dennis' pet frog who he often sneaks in his back pockets.
• Benson - Dennis' pet mouse who appears in one episode and gets cloned by PeeBee before he clones Dennis.
• Cowboy Bob - A retired movie cowboy who Dennis loves.
• Uncle Charley - Dennis' uncle who lives on a farm.
• Prentice - Dennis' identical cousin.
• Max the Magnificient - A magician who Margaret thinks is better than Dennis.
• R.O.D. (pronounced Rod) - PeeBee's mechanical dog who can imitate and do everything better than Ruff.
• Marky - Dennis' cousin who is a pint-sized terror who pulls all kinds of pranks and Dennis is blamed for them all.
• Officer Mike - A local policeman who once took Dennis and Tommy for a ride in his police car.
• Horace - An old horse who Dennis once made friends with and rode him in the town derby.
• Lars - Another one of Dennis' friends who appears in fewer episodes.
• Winston - Dennis' enemy.

78 episodes were produced

1. So Long, Old Paint/Trembly Assembly/Private I (09.22.1986)
2. A Visitor From Outer Space/Train That Boy/Genie Madness (09.23.1986)
3. Cheer Up/Ghostblusters/The Life You Save (09.24.1986)
4. Shark Treatment/Jungle Bungle/Racetrack Menace (09.25.1986)
5. All The President's Menace/The Love Rowboat/Wilson The Menace (09.26.1986)
6. Fishing For Trouble/Future Fortune/Time Bomb (09.29.1986)
7. Spa Blahs/Whale Of A Tale/Disaster On The Green (09.30.1986)
8. Here, Kitty/Circus Beserkus/The Monster Of Mudville Flats (10.01.1986)
9. The Price Of Stardom/Space Menace/The Magic Flute (10.02.1986)
10. Dennis' Yard Sale/The Abominable Snow Menace/It Came From The Planet Dennis (10.03.1986)
11. Snowman Madness/The Invisible Kid/Home Destruction (10.06.1986)
12. Chitty Chitty Moon Walk/Wet 'N Wild/Dennis At The Movies (10.07.1986)
13. The Supermarket/The Big Candied Apple/The Detective Detector (10.08.1986)
14. Henry The Menace/Come Fly With Me/Camping Out (10.09.1986)
15. Up Up & Away (From Here)/Going Ape/Dennis The Pirate (10.10.1986)
16. It's A Ruff Life/Professor Myron Mentalapse/Dennis Race 2000 (10.13.1986)
17. A Better Mousetrap/The Wizzer Of Odd/Canine Car Wash (10.14.1986)
18. Ride'Em Cowboy/Tenting Tonight/A Hair Raising Tale (10.15.1986)
19. Medieval Evil/Beaver-Mania/Say Uncle (10.16.1986)
20. Hopping Mad/Mayan Mayhem/The Big Power Trip (10.17.1986)
21. Strong Medicine/Gold Strike/Lights! Camera! Mud! (10.20.1986)
22. Invasion Of The Blob/Wild West Showdown/The Hen Party (10.21.1986)
23. Up Up & Oh Boy!/The Company Picnic/Aw Nuts! (10.22.1986)
24. Clip-Joint Capers/Tanks For The Memory/Second Honeymoon (10.23.1986)
25. A Couple Of Coo-Coos/The Cloneheads/Nothing But The Tooth (10.24.1986)
26. Mummy's Little Boy/Horsing Around/Dennis Plasters Pamplona (10.27.1986)
27. Dennis Predicts/Dennis & The Kangaroo Cavalry/Meatball Mess (10.28.1986)
28. My Fair Dennis/A Good Knight's Work/Life In The Fast Lane (10.29.1986)
29. A Nightmare At The Opera/A Royal Pain/Having A Marbleous Time (10.30.1986)
30. Marky The Menace/Dennis The Genius/A Step Ahead (10.31.1986)
31. The Boss Gets Scalped/Mr. Dennistein/Lean Green Jumping Machine (11.03.1986)
32. Laundry Business/Journey To The Center Of Uncle Charlie's Farm/Dennis Springs Into Action (11.04.1986)
33. Ruff's Hat Trick/A Moving Experience/Lemon-Aid (11.05.1986)
34. Sounds In The Night/Dennis Does Hollywood/Ruff To The Rescue (11.06.1986)
35. The Bicycle Thief/Menace Of The Mine Shaft/Margaret's Birthday Party (11.07.1986)
36. So Sorry/Shock Therapy/Yard Wars (11.10.1986)
37. Ruff's Masterpiece/Going To The Dogs/Big Baby (11.11.1986)
38. Building A Better Dog House/Dennis & The Dragon/Hic! (11.12.1986)
39. Strike Up The Band/Queen Of Chinatown/Tale Of A Tux (11.13.1986)
40. Give A Little Whistle/Charmed I'm Sure/After Hours (11.14.1986)
41. Baseball's Best Ballplayer/Mr. Wilson's Diet/The Backyard Band (11.17.1986)
42. Double Dennis/Timber Wolves/Help Not Wanted (11.18.1986)
43. Million Dollar Dennis/3-D & Me/Barber Shop Disharmony (11.19.1986)
44. Bowling For Dennis/Dennis Conquers The Navy/The Longest Half-Yard (11.20.1986)
45. Vampire Scare/Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Dennis/Wilson For Mayor (11.21.1986)
46. Dangerous Detour/The Prodigy/The Chimp (11.24.1986)
47. High Steel/Bicycle Mania/Little Dogs Lost (11.25.1986)
48. Dennis Destroys Dallas/Black & Blue Hawaii/Oil's Well That Ends Well (11.26.1986)
49. Door To Door Bore/Dennis In Venice/Young Sherlock Dennis (11.27.1986)
50. Surf's Up/Yo Ho Ho/The Karate Kiddie (11.28.1986)
51. Dennis & The Deep/K-9 Kollege/Housepests (12.01.1986)
52. Animalympics/No Bones About It/Dennis Takes The Cake (12.02.1986)
53. Quiet Riot/The Magic Pen/A Feeling For Stealing (12.03.1986)
54. Househusband Henry/Wheeling & Double-Dealing/Stop That Car (12.04.1986)
55. Lights, Camera, Auction/Boy Ahoy/Faulty Alarm (12.05.1986)
56. Hail To The Chief/Dennis In Microchipland/Handy Dandy Dennis (12.08.1986)
57. Dennis The Businessman/Soccer It To Me, Dennis/Camp Over Here-Over There (12.09.1986)
58. Hullaballoo At The Harmony Homes/Phantom Of The Wax Museum/Dennis & The Gypsy Woman (12.10.1986)
59. Attack Of The Giant Tomatoes/The Dinosaur Doozy/Funhouse Grouch (12.11.1986)
60. Dennis Rocks Out/Deserted With Dennis/Fashionable Menace (12.12.1986)
61. Back To The Drawing Board/Part-Time Helper/G.I. George (12.15.1986)
62. Wanted: Scarface Wilson/Ruff Come Home/10-4 Dennis (12.16.1986)
63. Heroes Unwelcome/The Martians Are Coming/Ancient Olympics (12.17.1986)
64. Pool Haul/Fool For Gold/Nothin' To Be Afraid Of (12.18.1986)
65. Yankee Doodle Dennis/Dennis The Barnstormer/Trial & Error (12.19.1986)

1. Frankenstymied/Space Race/The Incredible Shrinking Dennis (01.02.1988)
2. Crummy Mummy/Swiss Family Mitchell/Pie In The Eye (01.09.1988)
3. Instant Replay/Underwater Wonderland/Safe At Home (01.16.1988)
4. It's Magic Time/Dennis In Wonderland/Water On The Brain (01.23.1988)
5. The Great Pie Swap/Climb Of The Century/Little Beauty Shop Of Horrors (01.30.1988)
6. Tunnel Vision/Super Duper Dennis/Ice Show Show-Off (02.06.1988)
7. Snow Wars/The Moroccan Pigeon/Dennis Of The Jungle (02.13.1988)
8. Young At Heart/Thor-Sicle/A Word From Our Sponsor (02.20.1988)
9. A Froggy Day/Loch Ness Mess/Box Office Smash (02.27.1988)
10. Menaced Marriage/Dennis Of The Yukon/Seal Of Approval (03.05.1988)
11. A Fox Tale/Gorilla Warfare/Shared Interest (03.12.1988)
12. Kooked Goose/Pell Mell Hotel/The Old Ball Game (03.19.1988)
13. The Wright Stuff/Hassle In The Castle/Wilson's Night Out (03.26.1988)

On June 2, 1993, these four NTSC VHS tapes were released by CBS/FOX Video:

• Dennis' Great Adventure contains the episodes All the President's Menace, The Abominable Snow Menace, Dennis in Venice and The Big Candied Apple

• Animal Antics contains the episodes Lean, Green Jumping Machine, Shark Treatment, Jungle Bungle and Dinosaur Doozy

• Boys Will Be Boys contains the episodes Disaster on the Green, Baseball's Best Ballplayer, Soccer it to Me, Dennis and Racetrack Menace

• Spies, Robbers and Ghosts contains the episodes Ghost Blusters, The Monster of Mudville Flats, Young Sherlock Dennis and The Defective Detector.

On March 18, 2007, Fox Home Entertainment is scheduled to release a select 7-episode DVD entitled Dennis the Menace: Trouble, Trouble Everywhere in Region 1. Contains the episodes Dennis in Venice, Mayan Mayhem, The Big Candied Apple, A Royal Pain, Dennis and the Kangaroo Cavalry, Dennis Plasters Pamplona and Black and Blue Hawaii.

This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (November 2007)

• Mr. and Mrs. Wilson can often be heard humming the Inspector Gadget theme song.
• The show was sponsored by General Mills.
• In 1992, The Program Exchange re-released the series with a different opening sequence and end credits (but containing the same theme songs). This is still used when reran today.

• USA
  • Syndication (1986-2006)
  • CBS (1988)
  • USA Network (1996-1998)
  • FOX Family Channel (1998-1999)
  • Cartoon Network (2001)
  • Black Family Channel (2005)
  • Boomerang (2007)

In addition, the live-action Dennis the Menace TV show (1959-63) was rerun on Nickelodeon in the USA from about 1986 to 1993.

• UK

The title was shortened to Dennis so as not to create confusion with the UK character Dennis the Menace.

• • Channel 4
  • Sky One
  • Fox Kids (?-2003)
  • POP (2006-present)