Frederick "Tex" Avery directed some of the funniest cartoons ever made, but he relied primarily on situations and moving graphics, rather than on the personalities of familiar characters.
Of course, one of Tex's most famous creations is Droopy, the laconic basset hound who always manages to get the upper hand despite his deadpan delivery and slowpoke demeanor. Droopy is instantly loveable, the quintessential underdog, if you will. He looks perpetually sad, so much so that when he's happy, he has to tell you, and to look at him wouldn't inspire much confidence, but he always manages to pull through in the end.
The double-DVD set Tex Avery's Droopy - The Complete Theatrical Collection has the twenty-four Droopy cartoons shown before MGM features from 1943 to 1958. Seventeen of the first eighteen were directed by Tex Avery, the final six by Michael Lah, who worked in Avery's animation crew. (The packaging fails to mention that Dick Lundy actually helmed cartoon #12, "Caballero Droopy.") The final seven were also made in widescreen CinemaScope, and that aspect ratio is preserved here. Additionally, the cartoons are put on disc in their proper chronological order, allowing one to see the evolution of the series, including Droopy's physical changes over the years.