The Dogfather

The Dogfather

2.21.2015

My new "The Dogfather" coffee mug complete with a cocker spaniel.

The Godfather movie poster.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Birthdays are a time when we are often on the receiving end of some unique gifts. This year, my daughter and son-in-law gave me one such present that not only made me smile, but when I showed my new coffee mug to Chloe, even she took notice.

Everyone has probably heard the term "The Godfather", made famous by Marlon Brando in the movie with the same name where he plays the role of the underworld family patriarch. His job of course is a simple one, ...keep the family business in power,  ...by whatever means possible.

The Dogfather Cartoon.
Courtesy DePatie-Freleng Studio

But have you heard of "The Dogfather"? It's a parity of course that was developed in 1974 soon after the Godfather movie came out.  The animation studio of DePatie-Freleng produced a 17 cartoon series known as "The Dogfather" where dogs played different members of the Mafioso crime family. These shorts as they were called were shown in the theater as cartoon fillers before the main attraction. Other than trading off of the 70s Godfather fad, the series never made the transition to television, and for the most part was lost after the DePatie-Freleng studio was closed down.

Today it seems everyone wants the Dogfather name along with the familiar white lettering style on black, where it has become synonymous with the name of countless doggy grooming shops, dog walking services, dog training techniques, restaurants, beer breweries, and a whole host of other establishments.

Oh yes, even the Muppets got into the act when Rowlf posed as Marlon Brando for the 1999 Muppets Movie Parodies Calendar.

Rowlf, as the Dogfather.
Courtesy of the Muppets