History Literature / WhatAMess

''What-a-Mess'' is a series of children's books written by English comedy writer and [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] radio personality Frank Muir. It was thrice adapted for animation: once by Smallfilms in 1979, again as a [=BBC=] miniseries by Creator/BevanfieldFilms which pulled stories directly from the books and again as a SaturdayMorningCartoon by Creator/DiCEntertainment which aired on ABC Kids in the United States in 1995.

The titular What-A-Mess (real name Prince Amir of Kinjan) is a mischievous but good-hearted Afghan Hound puppy whose naïveté and pride often get him into ''messy'' situations. Other characters include his beleaguered human family, the snooty Cat Next Door and a bird who nests in his hair.

* AnimationBump: As was tradition with [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation this era]], the animation in the intro for the Creator/DiCEntertainment series is far more fluid and weighty than that seen in series.

* TheBully: Trash is a hotheaded bully and the neighborhood thief, particularly in his debut episode, "Talking Trash". He mellows into more of a frenemy to the gang over the course of the series.

* SarcasmBlind: What-A-Mess, though it's probably because he's a puppy. One episode ("Out With The Garbage") has him referring to another dog as "Mr. President" because he introduced himself as Prince Amir of Kinjan, to which the other dog replied "Yeah, [[AndImTheQueenOfSheba and I'm the president of the united states]]!"
* SmallNameBigEgo: Trash and Felica are both very arrogant and have an inflated sense of self-importance (What-A-Mess tends to humor them). Whenever they're pitted against each other, its ego versus ego.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: What-A-Mess is the younger, naive, noble, and sensitive guy to Trash's older, tougher, street-smart and unscrupulous manly man whenever they're paired up for an episode.

* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Inverted. Well-groomed Afghan Hounds naturally have long hair on their heads, and long hair that tends to make them look like they're wearing fancy clothes. Despite all that, What-a-Mess is a male dog. Played straight with the cat, Felicia. She has long eyelashes and a bow.

* UnreliableNarrator: The narrator often says the exact ''opposite'' of what is really going on.

* MusicalEpisode: "This Hydrant Is Mine", in which Trash gets to show off Joe Niptoe's singing chops and What-A-Mess nearly gets sucked into a gang war.

The 1995 show, in particular, had a pretty catchy [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGeJ6jDPE2U opening song]].

The show, in particular, had a pretty catchy [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGeJ6jDPE2U opening song]].

* FiveManBand:
** TheHero: Whatamess
** TheLancer: Norton
** TheSmartGuy: Frank
** TheBigGuy: Trash
** TheChick: Felicia
** TeamPet: Baldwin

* AdaptationalDyeJob: The bird living in WAM's hair is blue in the DiC cartoon but yellow in all other works.
* AdaptationNameChange: WAM's best friend The Archbishop of Canterbury was renamed (and [[AdaptationDyeJob recolored]]) Norton in the Creator/DiCEntertainment series.

* DependingOnTheWriter: How mean Trash is depends on the needs of the episode. Sometimes, he's a full-on JerkAss antagonist with little to no redeeming qualities. Other times, he's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, BigBrotherBully type who's not that good of an influence on What-A-Mess, but has a soft spot for him nonetheless and will take the kid under his wing for a day of fun.
** Likewise, Felicia can range from What-A-Mess's closest friend to a rather cruel and manipulative prankster, who would gleefully toy with his naive mind for her own amusement.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Trash, who acts like a street-smart tough guy most of the time, but can be quite nice when push comes to shove, as seen in the episode, "Christmas Mess". Despite Trash being the neighborhood bully, What-A-Mess does consider him to be a friend of his and the two dogs sometimes hang out.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: What-a-Mess's real name is actually ''Prince Amir of Kinjan'', but in practice, he is rarely called this. Even his mother calls him What-a-Mess most of the time.

* TheBully: Trash is a hotheaded bully and the neighborhood thief, particularly in his debut episode, "Talking Trash". He mellows into more of a frenemy over the course of the series.

* CatsAreSuperior: Felicia very much believes this, though it's often disproven.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Trash, who acts like a street-smart tough guy most of the time, but can be quite nice when push comes to shove, as seen in the episode, "Christmas Mess". Despite Trash being the neighborhood bully, What-A-Mess does consider him a friend and the two dogs sometimes hang out.

* TheDogBitesBack: It's not uncommon for Trash or Felicia to try to take advantage of What-A-Mess' naivety, and in the episode "Messed-Up What-A-Mess" they both try to do it when he's an amnesiac. What-A-Mess is pissed off when he finds out and he sets them both up for some well-deserved payback.

* SarcasmBlind: What-A-Mess, though it's probably because he's a puppy. One episode ("Out With The Garbage") has him referring to another dog as "Mr. President" because he introduced himself as Prince Amir of Kinjan, to which the other dog replied "Yeah, [[DAndImTheQueenOfSheba and I'm the president of the united states]]!"

* SarcasmBlind: What-A-Mess, though it's probably because he's a puppy. One episode ("Out With The Garbage") has him referring to another dog as "Mr. President" because he introduced himself as Prince Amir of Kinjan, to which the other dog replied "Yeah, [[DeadpanSnarker and I'm the president of the united states]]!"

** WAM appeared in a few of [=ABC=]'s well-remembered [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVymO3GTDI "After These Messages" bumpers]] during it's initial run, the animation for which was also much cleaner and more fluid.

* GRatedDrug: "Only Four More Left" presents excessive shopping as this when Felicia gets addicted to a home shopping network. What-A-Mess, in [[TookALevelInBadass a rare instance of competence]], even tries to block her from the phone by saying that it's for her own good.

''What-a-Mess'' is a series of children's books written by English comedy writer and [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] radio personality Frank Muir. It was twice adapted for animation: once as a [=BBC=] miniseries which pulled stories directly from the books and again as a SaturdayMorningCartoon by Creator/DiCEntertainment which aired on ABC Kids in the United States.

* DependingOnTheWriter: How mean Trash is depends on the needs of the episode. Sometimes, he's a full-on JerkAss antagonist with little to no redeeming qualities. Other times, he's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, BigBrotherBully type who's not that good of an influence on What-A-Mess, but has a soft spot for him nonetheless and will take the kid under his wing.

The titular What-A-Mess (real name Prince Amir of Kinjan) is a mischievous but good-hearted Afghan Hound puppy who's naïveté and pride often get him into ''messy'' situations. Other characters include his beleaguered human family, the snooty Cat Next Door and a bird who nests in his hair.

** Likewise, Felicia can range from What-A-Mess's closest friend to a rather cruel and manipulative prankster.

[[caption-width-right:346:He's an Afghan Hound, but it's not apparent through all the mess]]
''What-a-Mess'' is a series of children's books written by English comedy writer and [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] radio personality Frank Muir. It was twice adapted for animation: once as a [=BBC=] miniseries which pulled stories directly from the books and again as a SaturdayMorningCartoon by Creator/DiCEntertainment.

The titular What-A-Mess (real name Prince Amir of Kinjan) is a mischievous but good-hearted afghan puppy who's naïveté and pride often get him into ''messy'' situations. Other characters include his beleaguered human family, the snooty Cat Next Door and a bird who nests in his hair.

** The random bird in What-A-Mess's hair was not only named Baldwin, but was turned into a RunningGag ("Do you know you've got a bird living in your hair?" "That's not a bird. That's Baldwin!").

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: What-a-Mess's real name is actually ''Prince Amir of Kinjan'', but in practice he is rarely called this. Even his mother calls him What-a-Mess most of the time.

* SarcasmBlind: What-A-Mess, thought it's probably because he's a puppy. One episode ("Out With The Garbage") has him referring to another dog as "Mr. President" because he introduced himself as Prince Amir of Kinjan, to which the other dog replied "Yeah, [[DeadpanSnarker and I'm the president of the united states]]!"

* ADayInTheLimelight: For Trash, he is the focus of episodes like "Talking Trash", "This Hydrant Is Mine", "Trash's Wonderful Life", and "Pound Pals".

* SarcasmBlind: What-A-Mess, thought it's probably because he's a puppy. One episode has him referring to another dog as "Mr. President" because he introduced himself as Prince Amir of Kinjan, to which the other dog replied "Yeah, [[DeadpanSnarker and I'm the president of the united states]]!"

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Trash, who acts like a street-smart tough guy most of the time, but can be quite nice when push comes to shove. Despite Trash being the neighborhood bully, What-A-Mess does consider him a friend and the two dogs sometimes hang out.

* DependingOnTheWriter: How mean Trash is depends on the needs of the episode. Sometimes, he's a full-on JerkAss antagonist with little to no redeeming qualities. Other times, he's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold BigBrotherBully type who's not that good of an influence on What-A-Mess, but has a soft spot for him nonetheless and will take the kid under his wing.

* DependingOnTheWriter: How much of an asshole Trash is depends on the needs of the episode. Sometimes, he's a full-on JerkAss antagonist with little to no redeeming qualities. Other times, he's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold BigBrotherBully type who's not that good of an influence on What-A-Mess, but has a soft spot for him nonetheless and will take the kid under his wing.

* DependingOnTheWriter: How much of an asshole Trash is depends on the needs of the episode. Sometimes, he's a full-on JerkAss antagonist with little to no redeeming qualities. Other times, he's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold BigBrotherBully who's not that good of an influence on What-A-Mess, but has a soft spot for him nonetheless and will take him under his wing.