Dennis the Menace was an Animated Adaptation of the Beano character, which launched in 1996, and would be the first animated version of the character. It was produced by Collingwood & Co..
Airing on CBBC between 1996-1998 in The United Kingdom it ran for two seasons, taking a hiatus in 1997.
Outside the United Kingdom it was known as Dennis and Gnasher to avoid confusion with the other Dennis the Menace. As such, this series is not to be confused with the 1986 cartoon of the American version by DiC Entertainment.
Tropes present in Dennis the Menace (1996):
- A Day in the Limelight: "Dennis and the Grown-Ups" focuses on the adults of Beanotown and how Dennis's antics have affected them.
- Adaptational Heroism: Downplayed. He's still the same menacing character, but saves Beanotown from the Villain of the Week every so often. He also behaves more like a rebellious prankster rather than an outright bully.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Walter is much more snobbish and less sympathetic here than his depiction in the comics, making him a genuine rival to Dennis. This would pave the way for his later appearances.
- Art Evolution: The series had a wishy-washy, traditionally animated style akin to the comics in the first season, but switched to digital ink-and-paint for the second, resulting in a much brighter and cleaner look.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: The Colonel. Is he a genuine military man or just a local eccentric in a uniform who goes around barking orders at everybody? The series really loves to play with this fact.
- Cool Old Lady: Dennis's mischevious, motorcycle riding Granny, whom he looks up to very much.
- The Ditz: Pie-Face. Mum also has her moments.
- Fractured Fairy Tale: "Dennis and the Beanstalk" is an episode-long spoof of Jack and the Beanstalk.
- Hypocrite: Sir Fitz-Patrick Flush, an Eccentric Millionaire, offers a million-pound cheque to Beanotown residents if they can live without television for a whole week, but he breaks it by watching a telenovela.
- Jerkass: Dennis is a prankster, and although not evil, he can be malicious at times.
- Lantern Jaw of Justice: Sgt Slipper has a rather prominent one.
- Loophole Abuse: In "The Competition", Dennis wins a Blue Peter art contest and is invited onto the set. When "his" winning drawing is revealed on air, however, it turns out to be a bunch of splodges that Gnasher made, with the judge apparently oblivious to Dennis' actual drawing on the other side of the page. Once this has been explained, the presenters decide there ain't no rule saying a dog can't win - since Gnasher's under the age limit, he's still eligible.
- Lost Aesop: The moral of "The Day TV Was Banned" was supposed to be "Television is a pleasure, but not the only pleasure", but it ended up being "What was the moral in the episode?" due to the over-the-top challenge for a cheque and the Eccentric Millionaire breaking his own challenge to watch a telenovela.
- Killer Gorilla: Genghis Kong, an escaped circus gorilla who appears only in the episode "Gorilla Warfare" is an example of this trope.
- Menace Decay: Averted in this adaptation, but he is a lot less malicious and more like a rebellious prankster. Later adaptations would tone it down.
- Meaningful Name: Sgt Slipper, the local police officer. In earlier Beano comics, when corporal punishment was considered acceptable, Dennis would often be disciplined with a slipper by his father.
- More Dakka: In one episode, Dennis and Gnasher got a pair of Humongous Mecha which happened to look like them; Gnasher's had an enormous gun pop out of its "nose". Then more guns. Then some more. Then some more. Then it fell over.
- Morphic Resonance: No matter what the aliens in "Unidentified Funny Object" shapeshift into, their eyes will always be misplaced and often the antenna on their head will appear, as shown by when they shapeshifted into Dennis' dad.
- Mythology Gag: Dennis's favourite TV show, Nick Kelly, is based on another DC Thomson strip, Send For Kelly from The Beezer.
- Not Me This Time: In "The Day TV Was Banned", an eccentric millionaire challenges Beanotown to go a week without TV, with the promise of £1 million if they succeed. Dennis spends the whole week trying to power his family's TV back up in spite of the challenge, only to be thwarted time and again. On the final day, the TV in Dennis' house is suddenly switched on, and the townspeople immediately assume Dennis is responsible and chase him down. It's only when they reach his house that they realise he can't be responsible because he's not in the house.note
- Only Sane Man: Dennis's dad, in spades.
- Sliding Scale of Silliness vs. Seriousness: It's a very campy and wacky take on the comic, which is why it's so much fun. Later adaptations would be far more down to earth.
- Special Guest: Katy Hill of Blue Peter fame appeared in "The Competition" as an Ink-Suit Actor version of herself Adam Westing.
- Every other episode features a character played by an established British actor or comedian, including Hugh Laurie, Ken Dodd, Bernard Cribbins, and even BRIAN BLESSED.
- Status Quo Is God: Dennis may cause damage or even blow a place up, but everything is back to normal by next episode with no mention of what happens.
- The Dreaded: Most of Beanotown are frightened of Dennis, even his own family.
- Villain Protagonist: While not a full-on villain, due to his The Prankster nature, Dennis is the closest thing to a villain protagonist the show has.
