Western Animation / The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound

The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound is a 1988 Made-for-TV Movie, created as a part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series.

The film follows the adventures of Huckleberry Hound, who, in his journey to a raise a small farm with goats and pigs, comes upon the California town of Two-Bit, where he meets up with the residents, Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, who've run away from Jellystone Park; Snagglepuss, who serves as the piano player at Rusty Nails' Saloon; Hokey Wolf, who acts as the town's mayor, and Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey, who run the Two-Bit National Bank. Unfortunately, Huckleberry runs afoul of a group of bandits known as the Dalton Gang: Hair Trigger Tempered leader Stinky Dalton, diminutive Manchild Finky Dalton, Ambiguously Gay Pinky Dalton, and Dumb Muscle Dinky Dalton. Huck is appointed as the new sheriff of Two-Bit, where it is his job to try to rid the town of the notorious Dalton Brothers.

A subplot of the TV film also includes Huck forming a romantic relationship with an American Indian girl hound named Desert Flower, which occurs after Huck gets blasted off by the Daltons.

The movie was the last production voiced by Daws Butler, who passed away on May 18, 1988 - just weeks after the movie premiered on television - which added a certain piquancy to the ending, which reveals how the characters wound up. Especially as Huck rides off into the sunset, singing.

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Tropes:

• Accidental Misnaming: When Huckleberry rides off on his 'Faithful Horsie' who he discovers can talk;
  Bob: Huck, would you please stop callin' me 'Faithful Horsie'?
  Huck: Why?
  Bob: Because my name is Bob!
  Huck: Oh.
• Achievements in Ignorance: Huck manages to win the first of the Native American dog tribe's initiation test (a quiz show) by simply stating the first thing to come to mind after the Chief secretly rings his buzzer in an attempt to ruin him.
• Ambiguously Gay: Pinky seems to show shades of this, as he dresses in pink, often complains about Huckleberry Hound being a rotten dresser, and is always complaining about the decor of the Daltons' secret hideout.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: After Stinky has been captured and put on trial, the Judge lists all of his transgressions:
  Judge: Stinky Dalton, you've been charged with assault, train robbery, cattle rustling, and worst of all, forgetting Mother's Day! (jury gasps)
• Babies Ever After: The ending of the film shows that Huckleberry marries Desert Flower, and not only do they get to raise goats and pigs on a farm, but they also have three children.
• Bank Toaster: Being the first person to deposit anything in the Two-Bit National Bank, Huckleberry is offered one of several free gifts, a toaster being among them. Despite a free cruise vacation being an option, Huck chooses the fountain pen.
• Barefoot Cartoon Animal: Other than the regular characters, there's also Desert Flower and the rest of her tribe.
• Born in the Theatre: During the chase scene, the Daltons ride so fast they end up almost riding out side of the film's frame.
  Stinky: Hey, not that fast!
• Brick Joke: The blue fountain pen that Huck receives from the bank as a prize gets stolen by the Daltons when they rob the bank. It's not until near the end of the film that Huck gets it back in order to sign a young boy's autograph for capturing the Daltons.
  Dinky: Ah, rats! He remembered!
• The Cameo: Besides Huck, Yogi, Boo-Boo Snagglepuss, Quick Draw, Baba, and Hokey, other Hanna-Barbera characters also make cameos in the movie. Peter Potamus appears as the captain of the ship bound for Tahiti, Magilla Gorilla appears as a reporter interviewing a Bound and Gagged Mr. Peebles, and Muttley, Doggie Daddy, and Snooper appear as audience members in the scene where Huck is trying to pick a complimentary prize from the bank.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Even despite Huckleberry's best efforts to win the Test of Strength in the Initiation Test, Chuckling Chipmunk beats him easily.
• Dating What Daddy Hates: Because Desert Flower is The Chief's Daughter, her father is so aggressive and serious he does not want her to be with Huck every day and night, even when the couple becomes engaged.
  Chief: But he is not... one of us. He is blue!
  Chieftess: Love has no color to Desert Flower. She sees not with her eyes but with her heart.
  Chief: And I will not permit her heart to be broken!
• Disguised in Drag: When Huck goes looking for help against Stinky, Snagglepuss tries to avoid him by putting on a dress and wig. Huck doesn't realize it until after Snagglepuss scampers away.
• Dumb Muscle: Dinky (similar to his portrayal in Laff-A-Lympics^note There have been several fictional "Dalton gangs" in Hanna-Barbera productions, all of which (more or less) have a Dinky Dalton each with varying degrees of intelligence. The one in Yogi's Treasure Hunt, for instance, is an inversion of this trope.)
• Easy Amnesia: Huck develops this when he is found by Desert Flower, due to the injuries inflicted upon from having the Daltons launch him on a rocket.
• Epic Fail: After being thrown out of town, the residents try to make a living by operating a carnival. Unfortunately, the customers are so dissatisfied that they demand double their money back.
• Faking the Dead: As part of his plan to beat the Daltons once and for all, Huck pretends he's come back as a ghost after they blasted him off.
• Falling-in-Love Montage: Huck and Desert Flower fall in love while Huck stays with her for a while.
• Floral Theme Naming: Desert Flower is literally named for Flowers of Femininity, even with a flower on her head.
  Huck: Your name's almost as pretty as your face.
• Fluffy the Terrible: Chuckling Chipmunk, despite having a cutesy-sounding name, is actually a huge muscle-bound Laughing Mad warrior of Desert Flower's tribe.
• Frothy Mugs of Water: When Pinky, Finky, and Dinky are served drinks at Rusty Nails' saloon, the implications of alcoholic drinks are removed, only having them drink concoctions such as Rattlesnake Juice and a Shirley Temple with two cherries in it. Also, Huckleberry orders some root beer when he enters the saloon.
• Hartman Hips: Rusty Nails.
• I Will Wait for You: Before heading out to deal with the Daltons once and for all, Huck tells Desert Flower he'll be back for their wedding once he tends to his unfinished business and asks if she'll wait for him. She responses she'll wait as long as it takes.
• Jail Bake: This was subverted, as while Stinky Dalton (disguised as his brothers' grandmother) offers them a cake, Huckleberry takes it from him, thinking that he hid a file in it. It was actually a distraction so that Stinky could give Pinky, Finky, and Dinky the tools necessary for them to escape from jail while Huck was busy eating the cake and there is no file.
• Laughing Mad: Both Finky Dalton and Chuckling Chipmunk.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Huck's friends running out on him before his showdown with Stinky comes back to bite them hard when they return to find the Daltons have taken over Two-Bit. It's as they're thrown out of town that they realize they shouldn't have turned down Huck's request for help.
• Literal Metaphor: After Huck has been appointed as sheriff of Two-Bit, the narrator explains that Huck's first job as sheriff was cleaning up the town. Cut to Huck, wearing a garbage man's uniform^note In "The Recap" he's seen wearing a maid's uniform instead., picking up the trash.
  Huck: I do not do windows.
• Love Theme: Huck sings "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" to Desert Flower.
• Offscreen Teleportation: Huck does this when he chases the Daltons.
• Psychopathic Man Child: Finky qualifies for this, as he's the size of a small child, yet is very cunning and tends to laugh maniacally.
• Real Men Wear Pink: Pinky Dalton.
• Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: In the climax, Huck takes advantage of the Daltons' belief they blew him up by pretending to be a ghost.
• Running Gag:
  • Pinky calling Huck a rotten dresser, as well as Finky's Malicious Misnaming of Huck.
  • There's also any mention of Huck's faithful horse and fancy saddle.
    Huck: Not to mention my spiffy western duds.
  • Yogi and Boo Boo just can't get away from kids saying "Look at the bears! Look at the bears!".
• "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: A rare example were it is done by the heroes. Huckleberry, with the help of friends, pretends to be his own ghost to fool the Dalton in going into prison.
• Shout-Out:
  • The title is an obvious reference to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
  • When the residents of Two-Bit return from Tahiti to find that the place was renamed to Daltonville, Quick Draw quips that it would qualify for an episode of The Twilight Zone.
  • The chase scene has a one to two Droopy shorts in which the Daltons (with Stinky having rejoined them) trying to escape Huck only for Huck to appear wherever they go. This is later subverted when the Daltons realize they outnumber him 4 to 1.
• Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace: During Huck and Desert Flower's initial wedding, the Chief asked this question. Huck's horse Bob comes up at that moment to restore Huck's memory are remind him he has some unfinished business to deal with.
• Spoiler Opening: Of a sort. The commercial bumpers (which were left intact on the DVD release) spoil the aforementioned Babies Ever After ending a mere seven minutes into the movie.
• Suddenly Speaking: Huckleberry's faithful horsie, who had been voiceless up until Huckleberry gets separated from him then finds him, reveals that he can talk. Not to mention that he [the horse] also reveals his name to be Bob.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Huck may be sheriff, but the Daltons realize they don't have to be afraid of him because they have him outnumbered. Huck comments that he had been hoping they wouldn't figure that out just before they bushwhack him.
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: When Finky refers to Huck as "Huckle-poo".
  Huck: That's "Sheriff Huckle-poo" to you.
• The Unintelligible: Chuckling Chipmunk, who can only cackle maniacally. Though, he does coherently say, "I win", after beating Huck in the Test of Strength.
• Villain Song: "Gold, Gold, Gold".
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: In the final scene, after defeating the Daltons, Huck and his friends go their separate ways:
  • Snagglepuss goes on to becoming the toast of Broadway.
  • Quick Draw becomes Two-Bit's new sheriff with Babba-Looie as his deputy.
  • Hokey Wolf opens a used wagon lot.
  • Yogi and Boo Boo return to Jellystone Park and continue filching picnic baskets (and being tormented by kids saying "Look at the bears! Look at the bears!").
  • As for Huck, he marries Desert Flower, with the two of them settling down on a farm where they raise goats, pigs, and a family.
• With Friends Like These...: With Stinky coming to town, Huck looks for help from the friends he made in town. Every single one refuses to help and even beats it outta town before Stinky arrives. Huck lampshades the trope when Mayor Hokey has him sign a million dollar life insurance policy (of which Hokey is the sole beneficiary).
• You Are Too Late: Despite Bob, Huck's faithful horse, attempting to reach him in time, he doesn't make it before the Daltons send the rocket and Huck into the air and it explodes.

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