''George and Junior'' are cartoon characters, two anthropomorphic bears created by

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...

for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

. All of the George and Junior shorts were directed by Tex Avery in the 1940s. They appeared in four cartoons: '' Henpecked Hoboes'' (1946), ''Hound Hunters'' (1947), ''Red Hot Rangers'' (1947), and ''Half-Pint Pygmy'' (1948). The cartoons would usually follow the misadventures of two bears inspired by George and Lennie from John Steinbeck's ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...

'': George, the short, short-tempered intelligent one (voiced by Dick Nelson) and Junior, the tall, dim-witted one (voiced by Tex Avery). George would usually come up with a plan to fix their current situation. Junior would accidentally mess it up somehow resulting with an angry George saying "Bend over, Junior", and, when Junior does so, George delivers a hard kick to his rear end.

Appearances

The characters' looks and voices were altered for their fourth appearance. Later, they were brought back to life by Pat Ventura on the Hanna-Barbera anthology franchise ''

What a Cartoon! ''What a Cartoon!'' (later known as ''The What a Cartoon! Show'' and ''The Cartoon Cartoon Show'') is an American animated anthology series created by Fred Seibert for Cartoon Network. The shorts were produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions; by ...

'' in the 1990s voiced by John Rubinow and Tony Pope, respectively. A gray-purple version of George made a headshot cameo appearance during the final scene of the 1988 film ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 19 ...

'' (the octopus from ''Half-Pint Pygmy'' also made a cameo as a bartender at The Ink and Paint Club). Junior was planned to have a cameo in the film, but was later dropped for unknown reasons. They would later make appearances in

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

with Tex Avery's ''Wolf and Red'' and ''

Screwy Squirrel Screwy Squirrel (also known as Screwball Squirrel) is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic squirrel created by Tex Avery for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is generally considered the wackiest and outright most antagonistic of the screwball c ...

''. '' Lucky Ducky'' was originally planned to feature George and Junior. Adamson, Joe, ''Tex Avery: King of Cartoons'', 1975, Da Capo Press In 2019, both George and Junior make an appearance as zoo catchers in the fourth season of '' The Tom and Jerry Show'' episode called "Shadow of a Doubt". They also make various cameos in the series. In the show, George is voiced by Ben Diskin, while Junior is voiced by

Stephen Stanton Stephen Walter Stanton (born August 22, 1961) is an American voice actor and visual effects artist. His roles include Sasha Nein in ''Psychonauts'' and ''Psychonauts 2'', Grand Moff Tarkin in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, Admiral Raddus in ''Rogu ...

Cartoons

Voice actors

* Dick Nelson (1946–1947, George) *

(1946–1948, Junior) * Wally Maher (''Half-Pint Pygmy'', George) * John Rubinow and

Tony Pope Anthony J. Pope (March 22, 1947 – February 11, 2004), also known as "Anthony Mozdy", was an American voice actor. He is best remembered for voicing Goofy for eleven years. He also worked on the first two DVDs of LeapFrog, voicing Mr. Websley ...

(''

'') * Ben Diskin and Stephen Stanton ('' The Tom and Jerry Show'')

Comics

List of comics appearances

* ''Tex Avery's

Screwball Squirrel Screwy Squirrel (also known as Screwball Squirrel) is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic squirrel created by Tex Avery for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is generally considered the wackiest and outright most antagonistic of the screwbal ...

'' #1 (plus ''Wolf and Red'') (1995) (Dark Horse Comics) * ''Tex Avery's

'' #3 (plus ''Wolf and Red'') (1995) (Dark Horse Comics) (Junior only) * ''Comics and Stories #2 Featuring Tex Avery's

'' (1996) (Dark Horse Comics)

Home media

* ''Henpecked Hoboes'' is on the DVD of

Till the Clouds Roll By ''Till The Clouds Roll By'' is a 1946 American Technicolor musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A fictionalized biopic of composer Jerome Kern, portrayed by Robert Walker, Kern was originally involved with the production, but died before ...

* ''Hound Hunters'' is on the DVD of ''Fiesta'' (1947 film) * ''Red Hot Rangers'' is on the DVD of

Tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

In 2020,

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

released the cartoons ''Hound Hunters'' and ''Red Hot Rangers'' uncut and digitally restored as part of the ''Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1'' Blu-Ray.

References

External links

George and Junior
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. {{Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoons Tex Avery Animated film series MGM cartoon characters Film characters introduced in 1946 Film series introduced in 1946 Fictional bears Fictional anthropomorphic characters Male characters in animation Animated duos Comedy film series Of Mice and Men Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio film series