The Characters of Pound Puppies (1980s)
For their 2010 counterparts, click here.
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The Pound Puppies
Cooler
Voiced by: Dan Gilvezan
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: It's not uncommon for the characters to address the audience and acknowledge that they were in a cartoon (even Katrina got in on the act!), but Cooler definitely does it the most; he basically treats the fourth wall as if it isn't there at all.
- Catchphrase: "Pound Puppies, let's start pounding!"
- Deadpan Snarker: He's got a bit of a sarcastic edge to him, frequently quipping and making fun of whatever situation he's in.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: He knows he's in a cartoon and has seen plenty of fantastical and supernatural things, but he remains a skeptic at heart. His initial reaction to things like the legend of the Star Pup or the Fairy Dogmother is to dismiss them as nonsense, even though they frequently turn out to be true.
- The Leader: He is the leader of the Pound Puppies.
- The Smart Guy: In addition to being The Leader, he's also clearly the pup with the most smarts. He's by far the one who most often comes up with the solution to the problem of the episode, and he's also the one who makes most if not all the plans.
- Signature Laugh: He's got a very distinct chuckle, inspired by Eddie Murphy.
Nose Marie
Voiced by: Joanne Worley (1985 special), Ruth Buzzi (series)
Click here to see her in Season 2
- Girly Girl: Of the two main female Pound Puppies, she's the most traditionally feminine.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple / Pink Means Feminine: Her outfits.
- Southern Belle: She speaks in a Southern accent.
- Sudden Name Change: Was named "The Nose" in the original 1985 TV special.
- Team Mom: Serves as a maternal figure in the second season.
- Verbal Tic: As the Southern Belle she is, she tends to use the description "little ol'" a lot, no matter if it makes sense in context or not. For example, when telling a story she opens with "once upon a little ol' time..."
Bright Eyes
Voiced by: Adrienne Alexander (1985 special), Nancy Cartwright (series)
Click here to see her in Season 2
- Age Lift: Goes through one no less than twice. In the original special, she's clearly an adult who takes care of herself (and even takes charge when teamed up with Howler), but in the series' first season she comes across as a lot younger; not only is she more immature and needs more guidance and protection, but she starts displaying a childlike wonder and innocence. In the second season she's been de-aged even further, and her and her Like Brother and Sister relationship with Whopper is played up, really cementing her as a young pup.
- The Cutie: She is a very endearing girl.
- The Ditz: Very sweet and loving, but she can also be quite ditzy and a bit naive.
- Genki Girl: She is often cheerful and energetic.
- Like Brother and Sister: Has this relationship with Whopper.
Howler
Voiced by: Frank Welker (1985 special), Robert Morse (series)
- Bungling Inventor: In the first season he has some traits of this; he's genuinely a competent inventor but his absent-mindedness sometimes contribute to inventions not always working exactly as planned. But it soon becomes clear that he's much more a...
- Gadgeteer Genius: It's a trait of his character that started out as very downplayed, but got increasingly important; in the second season when he was moved Out of Focus, his main function was to provide the gang with various inventions to help solve their problems.
- Hammerspace: His derby. He somehow manages to fit an entire feast in there (complete with plates and even a table), which comes in handy when he encounters a pack of hungry wolves.
- Hat of Power: He wears a derby with a handle on it that activates retractable robot arms and other gadgets. Occasionally it seems to have some semblance of sentience, as it thinks of solutions before Howler himself manages to.
- Out of Focus: In the second season, he is no longer part of the main cast and is even absent in some episodes.
- The Speechless: In the '85 special, Howler couldn't speak, only howl. This was dropped for the TV series.
- Verbal Tic: Replacing The Speechless above, the series version of Howler gained a tendency to mix up his words when talking, using howling as a mental "reset" to straighten his phrasing out.
Whopper
Voiced by: B. J. Ward
- Afraid of Needles: In "Whopper Gets the Point", he went out of his way to avoid getting a shot.
- Drunk with Power: In "King Whopper", he lets his status as temporary head of the pound get to his head and relentlessly orders everyone around.
- Inflationary Dialogue: At least Once an Episode, his stories have a tendency to have details changed until Whopper makes them as outlandish and blatantly untrue as possible.
- Instant Costume Change: He's got an uncanny knack for these; while the other pups occasionally wear disguises, Whopper does it by far the most. He'll frequently don an elaborate costume if he's playing a role, or sometimes just for a brief gag. Sometimes the costumes are pretty blatantly imaginary, but other times they're just at blatantly real.
- Kid-Appeal Character: He's the youngest of the main characters and a source of comic relief.
- The Lancer: He frequently serves as Cooler's number two.
- Like Brother and Sister: Has this relationship with Bright Eyes.
- Meaningful Name: Appropriately enough, Whopper has a tendency to tell tall tales.
- Motor Mouth: Even when he isn't telling tall tales, he still talks a mile a minute.
- Mr. Imagination: It's made evident by his constant fabrications that he has quite a vivid imagination.
- Tagalong Kid: Often follows the other Pound Puppies on their adventures.
Other Characters
Holly
Voiced by: Ami Foster
Click here to see her in Season 2
- Cool Big Sis: To the Pound Puppies.
- The Cutie: A kindhearted and likable young girl.
- Expy: Disney's Cinderella. Her "Auntie Katrina" and Brattina uses her like a slave for housework.
Word of God said that Brattina was inspired by Anastasia and Drizella. Has friends with the Pound Puppies like Cinderella has friends with the mice and birds. Holly even had an episode similar to Cinderella. - Heartwarming Orphan: Her parents are supposedly deceased, but that doesn't in any way prevent her from being a nice person.
- Naïve Newcomer: At the start of the TV series.
- Pink Means Feminine / True Blue Femininity: Her clothing, through she seemed to wear less pink and more blue in the second season.
- Shorttank: More in the second season.
- Tomboy: In the second season.
Millicent Trueblood
Voiced by: June Lockhart
- Older Than They Look: In spite of looking like she's in her 60's, Cooler mentions that she passed away at the age of 101.
- Posthumous Character: She's the founder of Holly's Puppy Pound and the aunt of Katrina Stoneheart. She only appeared in flashbacks during the episode "How to Found a Pound". The house where Katrina lives was inherited from Millicent while Holly inherited the Puppy Pound.
Villains
Katrina Stoneheart
Voiced by: Pat Carrol
- Card-Carrying Villain: She named her kid Brattina! That's all you need to know, other than the fact that she takes it as a compliment when Holly calls her out for stealing the Puppy Pound's food supply in "Whopper Cries Uncle" and when she is booed by the audience in "The Captain and the Cats".
- Catchphrase: In the second season, she frequently states "Those mutts drive me nuts!"
- Cruella to Animals: Who wants to turn the puppies into fur coats.
- Evil Redhead: She has red hair and is quite mean.
- Ignored Epiphany: In "Happy Howlidays", after the Pound Puppies make her dream that she is a dog so she can witness firsthand how heartless she's being by shutting down the Puppy Pound and leaving the dogs out on the street, she considers changing her ways so that she can be on better terms with the Pound Puppies, but then says "Nah" and goes right ahead with her mean scheme.
- Kick the Dog: Appropriately enough for the trope's name, it's rare for Katrina to go even a single episode without at least attempting to do something cruel to Holly and the Pound Puppies. One particularly cruel example is hiding bills from Holly and not revealing them to her until it's too late to pay them on time in "Happy Howlidays".
- Meaningful Name: She's every bit as nasty as her surname suggests.
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: She can't go one episode without exclaiming how much she hates the Pound Puppies or all dogs in general.Katrina: You Pound Puppies / I hate them, yes I do
Brattina
Voiced by: Adrienne Alexander
- Abhorrent Admirer: Had a very obvious crush on Captain Slaughter, much to his annoyance.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: She has a crush on Captain Slaughter because of how rotten and mean he is.
- Cute, but Cacophonic: Her voice can get pretty grating.
- Disappeared Dad: Her father isn't even so much as mentioned.
- Evil Redhead: She has red hair and is as bad a person as her mother.
- Meaningful Name: True to her name, she is rather bratty.
- Spoiled Brat: She whines whenever she doesn't get her way.
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: Like her mother, she can't go one episode without exclaiming how much she hates the Pound Puppies or all dogs in general.Brattina: Eww! Pound Puppies! / They’re yucky, icky-poo!
- Valley Girl
- Verbal Tic: Always calling things "icky", no matter how little sense it makes.
- Villainous Glutton: "The Fairy Dogmother" shows her being more concerned with eating food at the dance than actually dancing.
- Who Names Their Kid Brattina?
Catgut
Voiced by: Frank Welker
- Cats Are Mean: Belongs to Katrina and is just as mean as his owner.
- Right-Hand Cat: He's a pet cat belonging to Katrina Stoneheart.
- The Voiceless: He never speaks, instead meowing and hissing like a normal cat would.
Captain Slaughter
Voiced by: Peter Cullen
- Artificial Limbs: He has a robotic right hand.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappeared completely in The All-New Pound Puppies.
- The Comically Serious: Despite being a serious villain, the lines he says are actually pretty funny when he delivers them with a completely straight tone.
- Determinator: He blamed Cooler for how he lost his hand during a previous chase.
- Evil Sounds Deep: He has a deep and sinister voice, being voiced by Peter Cullen.
- The Faceless: His eyes are the only part of his face visible.
- Knight of Cerebus: Brings a more serious tone to an otherwise lighthearted series whenever he turns up.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: He has menacing red eyes.
- Red Right Hand: His most distinguishing feature is that ginormous robotic prosthetic hand.
