Dan Backslide
| Dan Backslide | |
|---|---|
 That article must be alone and unprotected!! | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Former university student Thief |
| Father | Not mentioned |
| Mother | Not mentioned |
| First appearance | MM: The Dover Boys at Pimento University (1942) |
| Played by | Mel Blanc |
Dan Backslide is an antagonist who appears in the Merrie Melodies short The Dover Boys at Pimento University. He is notable for being a "coward, bully, cad and thief" and archenemy of the Dover Boys. He is voiced by Mel Blanc.
Character description
| “ | Confound those Dover Boys! Oh, how I hate them! I hate Tom! I hate Dick! And I hate Larry! THEY DRIVE ME TO DRINK! ― Dan expressing his hatred of the Dover Boys, The Dover Boys at Pimento University (1942) |
” |
Dan is recognized for having a sickly, green skin and unique attire, consisting of a sharp, purple Edwardian suit, dress shoes and green bowtie. He often posesses a loud, over-the-top attitude, as evident by his exaggerated and melodramatic movements. These qualities make Dan an example of a classic villain archetype, as he enganges in cunning schemes, but he is also shown to be a coward to the point where he calls for help.
He has a particular hatred for the Dover Boys due to their romantic connection with Dora Standpipe, which he also has a crush on, even if he reveals that he is only interested in her father's wealth.
Appearances
Movies
- King Tweety (no lines)
Shorts
Biography
Confound Those Dover Boys!
In The Dover Boys, Dan Backslide is first seen playing pool and smoking at a local tavern. Dan is revealed by the narrator of this cartoon as a former sneak of Roquefort Hall, in addition to being the archenemy of the Dover Boys. When he notices that his enemies are escorting "dainty" Dora Standpipe on their bicycles, he expresses his thoughts on how he loves her (father's money) and lets out a furious rant on how he despises the Dover Boys, while also downing himself with copious amounts of alcohol.
When the Dover Boys partake in a simple game of "hide, go and seek" with Dora, the boys scramble to find a spot to hide and decide to go inside of the tavern. When Dan finds out that they have been hiding under a pool table, he realizes that Dora must be alone and unprotected, and uses it as an opportunity to kidnap her. After stealing a runabout car, Dan drives to the park and finds Dora still counting on a tree. He then grabs Dora and puts her inside the car, only to realize that she is stuck to the tree, and uses a pair of pliers to remove Dora out of the tree.
While Dan is still driving, Dora finishes counting and suddenly realizes that she had been kidnapped. When Dan pulls over at the tavern, she calls her attention to the Dover Boys while still held hostage, before being whisked away to an isolated hunting lodge. Dan takes Dora inside and proceeds to sneak up on her, but is suddenly attacked when the lady proves herself to be not "dainty" by throwing him off the other side of the cabin. The resulting attack catches the attention of a local boy scout, who sends a telegram to Dover Boys, causing them to rush into Dan's hideout.
Dan continues to stalk on Dora twice, but with each attempt, he is again thrown out to the cabin's other side. The last of his attempted assaults causes him to call out each of the Dover Boys for help. When the boys arrive, they prepare to fight with the already bruised Dan, and after repeatedly beating him out, they proceed to do one last attack, only to accidentally punch themselves unconscious when Dan falls to the ground. Following the so-called "fight," Dora leaves the cabin with a strange, unnamed man wearing a bathing suit and sailor hat, and then walk out towards the sunset.
Behind the scenes
- Dan is a parody of Dan Baxter, a recurring antagonist of the Rover Boys book series.
- His physical appearance is modeled after animator Ken Harris.
In popular culture
- Following an explosion of Dover Boys internet memes that came around the 2010s, scenes involving Dan have since garnered a cult following. One particular moment of the short, which involves Dan sneaking onto a car and exclaiming, "A runabout. I'll steal it! No one will ever know!", gained notability due to his hammy delivery.
- In the pilot episode for Hazbin Hotel, footage of Dan in The Dover Boys can be seen at a bar's TV monitor, during Charlie's appearance on the 666 News program.
