Two Stupid Dogs' simple seven‑minute shorts influenced later Hanna‑Barbera shows

Polygon recounts how 2 Stupid Dogs, created by Donovan Cook and produced for TBS a few years before Cartoon Network’s What a Cartoon!, centered on two unnamed, dimwitted dogs and a seven-minute short format that helped shape several later Hanna‑Barbera series. The show paired a large, slow “Big Dog” with a fast‑talking “Little Dog,” voiced by Brad Garrett and Mark Schiff respectively, and relied on very simple premises — for example, retrieving a can that rolls down the street or hunting for pie in a mall — to build a string of jokes.

In a recent interview, Cook credited the seven‑minute structure, patterned on Looney Tunes, for letting the show tell a beginning, middle and end without complication; its flat, 1960s‑style character designs also echoed classic Hanna‑Barbera work and influenced shows such as Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo and The Powerpuff Girls.

The piece notes that Dexter’s and Johnny Bravo used the same three‑segment seven‑minute format, while Powerpuff Girls used an 11‑minute, two‑segment structure. The article points out that 2 Stupid Dogs only lasted two seasons and suggests part of that short run could be linked to airing for two years in a dying cartoon block on TBS.

Key Topics

Culture, Donovan Cook, Hanna-barbera, Cartoon Network, Tbs, Seven-minute Format