The Mystery Cartoon Character Game, ongoing-ier.

Is this the puppet master, A.K.A Mr. Pietro from The Backstage Rage?

Yes, Salty, Pietro is da man!

1, He printed up counterfeit bills at the Strand, using his puppet show as a front.

2. He tried throwing Scooby and the gang off the trail by deliberately leaving a real twenty dollar bill for them to find, and also by posing as the doorman.

3. He hid the counterfeit bills inside violin cases.

4. He lured Scooby with a poodle puppet, and used bigger marionettes to scare Mystery Inc into giving up.

5. Both he and Shaggy donned Cloaked Cavalier costumes. Of course, he wore his longer than Shaggy did.

6. When he was caught at the end of the episode, he didn't say a single word. Most of the culprits, of course, say they'd have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids.

So you're finally up again, Salty. Good job.

Great! Here's one that I scrounged up.

I debuted in the same short as another famous character's debut.
I did other shorts after that, but I wasn't as popular as this other guy.
In my debut cartoon, I cause trouble during a recital.

I do indeed know this one, but will leave it for someone else.

Could this be Beans the Cat, created by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising for Leon Schesinger's studio? The same cartoon that also introduced a timid, stuttering pig: I Haven't Got A Hat?

Yes OUB, it is indeed Beans the cat!

Here's your point and gold star.

Take it away.

Ooh, that felt nice. You'd think they'd have figured out that a belligerent, bullying character won't get much sympathy from an audience, as compared with a timid, troubled go-along Joe. Would Fleischer Studios have had the runaway hit if it were Bluto as the lead, and Popeye as the support? Yeah, didn't think so.

Hmm, this character seems interesting. Let me field him:

1) This character started life in literature, and was adapted into an animated feature film. That film played so well that this character got a sequel film and some short cartoons as well.

2) Playing fair here: this character is not human. Not no how, not no way. Gets involved with humans, though, and bonds with one in particular.

3) This character gets a non sequitur name, such as "Tiny" for a large fellow, or "Einstein" for a dimwit. To be fair, this character can do something that most creatures can't, which is how he got his name.

I've racked my brains, and none of the characters match the clues so far.

Yipe, time for more clues.

4) This character never utters a word. He makes a few sounds here and there, but nothing which could be called speech.

5) This character is a Good Guy. Really. Despite the fact that he's first encountered participating in a Viking-style raid: show up out of the blue, plunder / pillage / burn the townsfolk, then bug out with the booty. Nonetheless, this smash-and-grab terrorist is a Good Guy in the story.

6) For his crimes, this character is captured, and awaits his approaching executioner.

I'll really have to look this one up.

Nuh-uh, this one's not going unguessed. I have too many of those as it is.

7) Forget the pixie dust, this character needs a tail fin.

8) Debuted on Friday 26 March 2010.

9) Doubles as an instructional video?

My search is on. I'll be back with the answer in a moment.

Ah, should have known this from the get-go. It's Toothless. isn't it?

Yes, from the get-go this is Toothless the Night Fury dragon from Dreamworks' How To Train Your Dragon, and its many subsequent productions. Toothless got his name when Hiccup offered him a fresh fish, and saw no teeth in the dragon's mouth when it was opened. A moment later, upper and lower teeth deployed, belying the "toothless" moniker. I don't know of any creatures with a retractable dentition, except snakes with hinged fangs or hippos with sockets in their upper jaws to sheathe their tusks.

And poor Berk was beset by dragons raiding the village routinely for sheep and livestock, in a case of Vikings being raided as opposed to doing the raiding. The "terrorist awaiting execution" of course refers to Toothless lying caught in the weighted net, awaiting doom from Hiccup, who instead takes pity on the dragon.

So, I gladly give EI her +1 (it's a bit rusty at this point) and let her take control of the Board.

Allow me to remove the rust with these characters:

1. Our cartoons were produced at a time when our animation studio hit rock bottom--aside from a pair of live action superhero shows.

2. Our names rhyme.

3. We're from the prehistoric era, but end up in a modern American city.

This must be Filmation's Wacky and Packy.

Yes, Pete. You got it. It most certainly is Wacky and Packy. Now to explain:

1. In 1975, of all the new shows from Filmation, "The Shazam/Isis Hour" was the studio's only hit. The other two, "Uncle Croc's Block," which featured "Wacky And Packy," "M.U.S.H," and "Fraidy Cat," and "The Secret Lives Of Waldo Kitty," were both duds. There were also reruns or new episodes of "The New Adventures Of Gilligan," and "Fat Albert."


Clues 2 and three are self-explanatory.

So you get another turn, Pete. Good job.

Thank you, Emeraldisle! Although I could probably have gotten by without the introduction to Wacky and Packy, who must be the unfunniest couple of toons ever! Well - maybe the laugh track killed any real humour, but their voices are so dull, and the poses are so expressionless...

Never mind, here's a character to take our minds off them!

1) I am half of a detective team - albeit the smaller half!
2) I get to perform an important function when we are driving to a case.
3) I am not to be confused with the similarly named, talkative child from 19 years earlier.

I haven't a single, solitary clue.

I got three fine clues, and they zeroed me onto target nicely: this is Blabber Mouse, from the Hanna-Barbera detective duo Snooper and Blabber. Not to be confused with Little Blabbermouse from Leon Schesinger's studios. This pair borrows the mechanic from Tom and Jerry, but discards the antagonism in favor of cooperative mode versus villains and criminals.