L-to-R: Hokey and Ding-A-Ling
A Hanna-Barbera cartoon about the adventures of a con-artist wolf (voiced by Daws Butler impersonating Phil Silvers) who is always trying to cheat his way into the simple life. He is invariably accompanied by his young, diminutive sidekick, Ding-A-Ling Wolf (voiced by Doug Young in a manner suggesting Buddy Hackett), both of whom are featured as part of The Huckleberry Hound Show in their own segment.
Hokey Wolf contains examples of:
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Hokey wears only a porkpie hat and neckwear (collar and bowtie).
- Affectionate Nickname: Hokey sometimes calls his sidekick, "My dear Ding-Ding."
- Badass Adorable: Ding-A-Ling Wolf. In one episode, he witnessed a robot trying to strangle Hokey, and what did he do? He grabbed a massive stick and beat the living crap out of the robot. Keep in mind, this is an adorable wolf cub with Puppy-Dog Eyes and an innocent personality.
- The Charmer: As part of Hokey’s huckster persona, he consistently exudes an oily, silver-tongued charisma.
- Civilized Animal: Both Hokey and Ding-A-Ling exhibit characteristics of humans and wolves, and are able to communicate with the former as needed. While bipedal and sporting limited amounts of clothing, they seem to be homeless, live hand to mouth, and like to eat their species' usual favorites, such as sheep and chickens.
- Crying Wolf: After reading The Boy Who Cried Wolf to Ding-A-Ling, Hokey tries to steal some sheep, hoping the boy herding them won’t be taken seriously. It doesn't work. It isn't even known if that boy had pulled the prank in the first place. From the episode "Lamb-Basted Wolf".
- Fractured Fairy Tale: Fairy stories form the basis for several Hokey Wolf cartoons. Examples include "Hokey Dokey" (Three Little Pigs), "Castle Hassle" (Snow White), "Too Much to Bear" (Three Bears), "The Glass Sneaker" (Cinderella), and "Bean Pod'ners" (Jack and the Beanstalk).
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Ding-A-Ling wears a shirt and a vest with no pants. (He also wears a nice hat, a derby specifically.)
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Hokey and his sidekick form a consistent buddy pair and appear not to have any romantic connection.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: In the episode "Robot Plot", Ding-A-Ling beats a robot with a large stick after he sees it strangling Hokey. That scene is enough to qualify little Ding as a Badass Adorable.
- Limited Wardrobe: Inverted, as Ding-A-Ling apparently owns both a red and a black hat.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Hokey's voice is modeled after that of Phil Silvers (as is his huckster-like Sgt. Bilko personality), while Ding-A-Ling sounds a lot like Buddy Hackett.
- Ring Around the Collar: Like most Hanna-Barbera characters from this time, Hokey wears an accessory around his neck (a shirt collar and bowtie in this case) to facilitate animation shortcuts. The top of Ding-A-Ling's shirt serves the same function.
- Schemer: Hokey constantly tries to come up with some clever scheme to better himself and/or his sidekick. Not surprising, given that he is voiced similarly to Phil Silvers of Sgt. Bilko fame.
- Species Surname: Hokey's last name is also that of his species.
- Three Shorts: Hokey became the final segment on The Huckleberry Hound Show in the last two seasons.
